Sub or Dub

[Jiro]

When watching anime (or anything with a language you don't understand), do you prefer having subtitles or dubbed voices?

I ask this because I just started watching a couple episodes of Bleach again (thank you Shattered Dreamer, leader of mortals) and to my surprise I now have the dubbed version.

I can't figure out which one I hate more -- the annoying English voices and occasionally bull dialogue (I'm looking at you Orihime), or the crazy nihongo I can't understand but the stupid subtitles (everything is overstated in the subtitles. There's too many "in any case", "finally" etc etc).

But yeah discuss why I am a weeaboo traitor for not watching the Japanese version.

[Yar]

Before I was [somewhat] proficient at Japanese, I always preferred the dubbing.

Now that I know quite a bit, I only use subtitles as a reinforcement to the Japanese part itself. "What did that person just say?" Well there is a sort-of translation at the bottom of the screen if you need help.

The reason why there are too many "in any case" "finally" in subbing is because of Japanese's silly over used words like yappari and their intriguing extended predicates. The subbers are going for a more "accurate" translation. But to be fair, that isn't always the best way to translate. imo

ALSO this is my little opinion but if you don't like dubbing because they often come off as too cliché then why the hell are you watching anime in the first place anime is already full of clichés.


So ya, if it's German or Japanese, I'll go for sub over dub, but that's because I actually use the audio speech. Any other language, it's a toss-up because I really don't watch anything that isn't English, German or Japanese.

[Shiny]

I prefer the English voices. There's usually a lot going on in anime and I don't want to miss the action.

[blackmage_nuke]

I prefer hearing things in the language it was made.

[NorthernChaosGod]

Subs are for elitist pricks.

Localizations are superior in that they actually allow conversations to make sense, rather than literal translations in which all inflection, context, humor, wordplay, and flow are lost. Why is being closer to the original preferable? Literal translations are an approximation of meaning, subtitles can rarely express puns or culture specific terms or verbal gestures that have no equivalent meaning, the more literally accurate you attempt to be in a translation the less likely you are to convey the intended meaning.

[Yar]

Subs are for elitist pricks.

Localizations are superior in that they actually allow conversations to make sense, rather than literal translations in which all inflection, context, humor, wordplay, and flow are lost. Why is being closer to the original preferable? Literal translations are an approximation of meaning, subtitles can rarely express puns or culture specific terms or verbal gestures that have no equivalent meaning, the more literally accurate you attempt to be in a translation the less likely you are to convey the intended meaning.

Thank you Julian for typing this, because I was too lazy to do it myself.

After having translated tons of stuff from Japanese into English, and vice versa, I can tell you that if you were to try to keep dialogue as close to the original as possible, the dialogue would feel a lot more clunkier and just overall, awkward.

[Freya]

I hate reading tv. It distracts me form what's going on like Shiny said. Most animes have too much going on and if i'm reading the words I'm not paying attention to it. So Dubs over Subs for me.

[Marshall Banana]

There's no all-encompassing answer to which is better, because localizations are not always superior and neither are the originals. It depends! Ichigo Mashimaro is an example of an anime with an English dub that makes no sense at times, ruins the humor, and is just plain unlistenable, so Japanese voices/English subtitles are preferred. Pokemon is an example of an anime with an English dub that is awesome and more fun than the original!

Some other examples: Spirited Away has a great English dub, but Howl's Moving Castle has a very unfitting one (Billy Crystal as Calcifer is the worst part), which I can't stand to listen to.

I'm pretty wary of dubs in general, though.

[Vermachtnis]

Choosing just one is so limiting. I go both ways.

[The Summoner of Leviathan]

Subs over dubs though I will occasionally indulge into dubs. Example: Sailor Moon, horrible dubbing but so nostalgic. Though if it is live action, most definitely subs otherwise it is just weird. Anyone ever watched a French dubbed episodes of Friends? It's weird.

I am so used to subs that it doesn't really prevent me from missing anything on screen. Moreover, my biggest pet peeve when watching anything is when the audio and the lips aren't in sync. Even when it is English (it happens sometimes), it irritates me to no ends.

As for anime subbing, I sorta half listen, half read it anyways. Also, I prefer minimal localization because I get most of the general cultural references, or if I don't there's usually TL's anyways. Plus, it is a cultural product, why shouldn't it reflect the cultural milieu it is from? I think it is part in parcel with consuming media from other cultures.

[Shlup]

Meh, I'll do either. Sometimes I just pop in an anime while I do something else, and I obviously am not going to read it so it'll be the dub.

[Rantz]

If the dub and the subs hypothetically were equally well/badly executed, I would go with the subs over the dub. But like Marshall Banana says, it varies. Sometimes the dub is better done, sometimes the subs are.

That's for animated series/movies, though - dubs in live action are almost always completely awkward and I'd go with subs over dub any day for that.

[Jiro]

I watched the start of the movie High Fidelity and it was for some reason dubbed in like, German or something. It was a language I was completely unfamiliar with in any case. I didn't like it, it was weird. Live action requires subs.

I go both ways too () but it usually depends what version I see first. For instance, I watched the subbed version of Bleach first so now all their voices are keyed in as Japanese. When some random american starts trying to be Ichigo it's like "uh no you sound off".

However I first watched Death Note on Aus Tv so it was dubbed and I probably wouldn't be able to deal with subbed Death Note. It just feels wrong.

But either way to begin with

[Mirage]

I prefer to watch things in their original language, be that english, japanese, french, or whatever else.

[Rase]

Only show I watched with subtitles was Gurren Lagann. If you've seen both the reason should be obvious. Same thing with Cowboy Bebop, only with dubs instead. Those are about the only two anime I really watched though.