Forum - View topicDubs better or on par with subbed version?
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WhiteHairGirls
 Posts: 4713 Location: New York City |
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I haven't watched many dubs because there always seems to be that one annoying voice. But I think its safe to say Cromartie Highschool dub is much better than the sub version unless you understand Japanese. Half the great humor came from the characters face expression which could not be fully appreciated while reading subs. Kamiyama, purple mohawk, and mechazawa voices were brilliant. Code Geass and Clannad had pretty good dubs too.
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ArsenicSteel
 Posts: 2370 |
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Hmmm I can still see facial expressions while reading subs, hell I can read faster than I can hear and finish reading the subtitles before the character is done with their lines. I don't know how poorly a person's peripheral vision needs to be in order to not see the talking heads directly above the text on the bottom of a screen but I guess it's pretty bad.
There are a handful of anime I have only seen dubbed and I can say they are well done but can't honestly state they are better or on par with the subbed versions since I have not heard the subbed version. Of the anime I have heard both tracks to, no matter how well done, the dubbed version has never been on par or better than the original. Last edited by ArsenicSteel on Tue Aug 30, 2011 9:53 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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swienke
 Posts: 245 |
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I can really only think of two series where I would consider the dub better than the subs.
The first is Baccano!, which has one of the most memorable and entertaining dubs I've ever seen. Since it's a series set in 1930's America, the use of period slang and the New York accents in the dub enhance the setting and the crazy gangster antics of the cast, whereas the Japanese voices (although very good) lead to a less immersive experience. Hellsing is the other series that immediately comes to mind. Once again, the British setting becomes substantially more alive paired with the mostly suberb British voice acting, although there are a couple of characters whose accents seem a bit odd at times. Nevertheless, if given a choice between the English and Japanese casts, I'll almost always pick the dub. |
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ethanftw
 Posts: 107 |
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I think I'm going to bring a different opinion to the table as opposed to those above. I personally like dubs better in general, but that's not saying that subs are not good. In fact, I just watched Tokyo Godfathers today, and I thought it was a pretty good movie. It's not dubbed at all, so my only choice was to watch it subbed.
The reason I like dubs better is that it just feels more comftorable to me. I never really have an issue with any of the characters voices, I just accept them for what they are. I can't understand japanese so it doesn't really matter to me. I just simply prefer to watch and listen rather than read and watch. However, I will watch an anime subbed if a dubbed version is unavailable. There are also exceptions to this rule when saying "i prefer dubs". What I mean is shows like "One Piece" that have been ruined by 4Kids. Completely changing things and altering crap so that the anime suits "the children", which is never what it was intended for in the first place. But whatever, that's another story. Things like that though, I prefer to watch subbed. Even then though, it has nothing to do with the voices really, its more of 4kids changing crap. |
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ikillchicken
 Posts: 7272 Location: Vancouver |
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Eh, I'd say most dubs are on par with the subbed version. Especially if we're talking about modern dubs. Of course, that's not to say that all dubs are great, but rather voice acting in anime can be pretty spotty all across the board. It's just easier to notice bad acting in a language you actually speak.
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Kruszer
 Posts: 7983 Location: Minnesota, USA |
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The majority of recent dubs I've seen have generally been very well acted or at least adequately acted. It's rarely bad enough where I have to switch to the other language track and you can usually always blame Media Blasters for those.
 As far as superior performances from a dub I've noted plenty of those too.
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ThePoliced
Posts: 130 |
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You r my hero. Like u i dont speak Japanese so to me any kind dubbing i can understand (eng or spa) is always more apreciated. Altho if they start messing with qthe words just so its more kid friendly, like ethan said, i get e mad. But i do have one complain , the gook dub of code geass wad bad but the english dub was even worse¡¡!! The voices did not match at all. Its the only anime id rather watch subbed than dubbed. Other than that, boo subs yay dubs |
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MorwenLaicoriel
 Posts: 1617 Location: Colorado |
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I agree with most of the people here, I think these days dubs and subs are basically on par with each other. (I prefer dubs when I can, too, because I absorb information better through hearing it than I do through reading it. Even when I'm reading a textbook for school I have to read out loud to make sure I remember everything well.) That being said, I do think it's pretty rare for a dub to be hands-down better than the Japanese, but I can definitely think of a few that, in my opinion, ended up being better in the dub.
I think Welcome to the NHK! is overall better in the English dub, if only because of the strength of Chris Patton's performance as the lead. The Japanese actor isn't that bad, but it was one of his first major anime roles (if not his first, period?) and it shows--his version of Sato is more cartoony and over-the-top, and while the show's a little wacky it's still grounded in reality, so it helps to have an actor that can handle the darker and more realistic scenes in the anime well. The rest of the English cast is on par with the Japanese with the exception of Misaki (who is fine in the English but fantastic in the Japanese), but I think the Patton's performance is great enough to make the dub better, IMO. I agree with both Cromartie High School and Baccano!, although I think Cromartie really deserves a listen in Japanese, if only for the always-fantastic Norio Wakamoto as Mechazawa. |
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Key
Moderator
 Posts: 18168 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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ThePoliced, this isn't a textspeak forum. We do have standards here, so you are expected to make at least some effort to use proper English. Ethnic slurs are also absolutely not acceptable.
And yes, this is an official warning to you and other relative newcomers who believe that what gets tolerated in other forums will be tolerated here, too. As for what you're saying: the English dub of CG is awful? Really? I know a lot of people who think the English rendition of Lelouch is an improvement. Have to wonder what you actually consider a good dub to be. |
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dtm42
Posts: 14084 Location: currently stalking my waifu |
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Yep, really. The atrocious English dub took Lelouch - arrogant, proud, cynical, massively intelligent - and toned him down until he was practically a different character. Bosch's portrayal was too soft-spoken and had none of the conviction and raw edge of Fukuyama's. Incidentally, the exact same problem crops up with Death Note's English dub, albeit with different people. Miyano's performance of Light Yagami was amazingly good, whereas Swaile just made the character come across as a bland, average teenager who just happens to be a bit of a prick. None of the actual personality and edge made it through Swaile's almost unwatchably-bad performance. In both cases, if I had watched the English dub first rather than the original Japanese, I would almost certainly have never become such a huge fan of the show (and of the characters). Lelouch and Light both spoke to me, invoked something in me, I could wholeheartedly relate to their view of the world. As long as you are watching the English dub, Bosch and Swaile, respectively, completely destroy what made those characters just so fantastic in the first place. Other performances in both series are pretty bad too, like Ryuk, who is so badly played by Drummond that I would outright refuse to watch the English dub even if Swaile hadn't already worked his death magic on Light. There are some good dubs out there that hold their own, no doubt about it. Problem is, while in Japan there are many standout Seiyuu and individual performances that spring to mind, I really cannot think of any Voice Actors or performances that have wowed me recently. Oh, there's been plenty of solid if uninspiring work, but nothing that has hooked me so thoroughly that I would watch the show just to listen to the voice work. Okay, so let's talk about dubs that are actually good. I too liked Cromartie High School's dub, although I admit I have not heard the show in the original Japanese. I loved the dubs of Heat Guy J, Vision of Escaflowne, Cowboy Bebop and - curiously, given Bosch's aforementioned stuff-up - Trigun. In the latter's case, Onosaka was by far more accomplished and technically (in a skills sense) stronger than Bosch, but Bosch managed to bring an emotional impact that I thought was much stronger. |
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naninanino
 Posts: 680 |
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I can see the faces while reading subs too. I don't really see the problem, but maybe it's because I've read subs since I was a little kid.
Anyway, these kind of discussions tend to go for people talking about completely different things with each other. The dub users make it out to be a comprehension issue, while sub users value voice direction and treat it more like an audio issue. As for the topic, I say dubs are neither better or on par with the subbed version, except for comprehension, but even then you need the volume to be set right to understand. Subs are better and people with poor hearing can use them too. |
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Key
Moderator
Posts: 18168 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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We'll never be in agreement here, then, because I found the DN dub to be solid. I did listen to that one extensively in Japanese but felt that it lost nothing in the transition to English; I liked Ryuk's gravelly texture in English far better than the Japanese effort, Loved Juliani's take on L, and thought that Swaile did a respectable job of making Light sound like a normal kid with an evil streak. The performances are distinctly different in English in several of the key roles, and I wouldn't call that a top-of-the-line dub, but it was good enough that I'm one of three ANN reviewers who has rated them evenly - and at least one of the others (Carl) tends to be harsher on English dubs than I am. I'll concede a bit more on CG, as I was never happy with a couple of the significant supporting performances in English (I particularly didn't like Nunally's English voice, for instance) and have heard much less of the original Japanese voice work. However, based on what I have heard, I echo the common complaint about Fukuyama's performance as Lelouch: that it was over-the-top, and not in a good way. (Made him sound like more of a madman than a mastermind - although I suppose some fans prefer that?) Bosch's performance, while not a crown jewel of voice acting, at least kept the histrionics to a reasonable level, and I rather like his slyly evil voice. |
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Unicorn_Blade
 Posts: 1152 Location: UK |
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Does Vampire Hunter D Bloodlust count? Although, in this case it's the Japanese version that is the subbed one, since they did the English one first.
Anyways, FMA and FMA Brotherhood (with the exception of Eric vale whose dry performance as Kimblee did not grab my attention) have one of the best dubs I have ever heard. I usually prefer subbed anime to dubbed, and I am so used to reading subtitles that they do not bother and distract me, but the bunch of people who worked on those two series did such an excellent job that I would pick it over the original anytime. Baccano is another one- I was not that fond of the original versions, and Isaac and Miria in English were hilarious. Now and Then, Here and There Had a very good dub that I also prefer to Japanese version (that I can't even remember all that well). And finally, last but not least, Wolf's Rain had an excellent dub that did not introduce many changes to the characters. I have seen half series dubbed and half subbed- and I really enjoyed both equally. Oh, I would totally forget about Planetes. The original was quite average though, so perhaps that's why the dubbed version looked so good. |
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Megiddo
 Posts: 8360 Location: IL |
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I would like to laud the efforts at ADV for their work on Nerima Daikon Brothers by not only having perfectly casted characters (Chris Patton in particular nails Ichiro) but also by taking the effort to dub all the songs. They didn't just translate the Japanese lyrics either, but rather they made an attempt to make all the songs hilarious and catchy. Hell, they even expanded on the songs. In the Japanese version the same song ('Rental Song') is played in each episode, but in the English they made it so they each episode's Rental Song had different lyrics. They clearly went above and beyond on the title, and sadly I'm sure it sold poorly (In line for Nabeshin autographs, I was one of 2 people with Nerima DVDs... the rest were Excel, Wallflower, or Poemy) but the VAs, ADR staff, and the writers definitely deserve credit on making the English dub much funnier and more entertaining than the original (although it is more crass as well).
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Kruszer
Posts: 7983 Location: Minnesota, USA |
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I can't agree with this either. Personally, I found their Japanese equivalent voices annoying. Last edited by Kruszer on Wed Aug 31, 2011 7:38 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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