Poll: Anime: Original Japanese or English Dub?

[Mike Laserbeam]

I thought Ed's original voice sounded very childish, very high pitched. never watched pokemon but I do agree they toned things down in the americanized version. 'Course I mainly read manga and don't bother with the anime versions, so what do I know? hahaha. It is touch and go on a per character basis.

Haha I do I agree with that, too childish for my liking. They tone stuff down in the anime compared to the manga too, I prefer the manga most of the time too, that's why I haven't bothered with Brotherhood (If it's just the story I've already read)

Maybe we're both talking from slightly uninformed viewpoints!

 

[feeback06]

I prefer the original Japanese audio. It's just the way it's meant to be seen.

 

[Mike Laserbeam]

It goes on a per anime basis, for instance mostly the original cast is the best, however there is stuff like Full Metal Alchemist where the voice just better in english.

Whoa. Do you mean Brotherhood or the original...? I'm not sure about Brotherhood (having not seen it) but I totally disagree with that statement if you mean the original FMA series. FullMetal should not be aimed at children, it is an adult series in my opinion. They deal with some pretty heavy stuff, and yet in the English dub every character sounds like they belong in Pokemon.
Sorry for the difference in opinion but I just cannot take any form of media seriously when the voices involved sound so much like a joke
:/

Whose voice sounds like a joke? The only one I can think of that sounds childish is Al's, and that's because when he got stuck in a suit of armor, he pretty much got stuck with the voice of a ten year old, so he's supposed to sound like that. Ed's was done by a girl inn Japanese, so it just sounded really high-pitched there.

In my opinion, just about all of the FMA English dub voices sound absolutely ridiculous. Just watch the first 2 minutes of the first episode: Ed, Al, Winry, Pinako. They sound awful...

I'm much more familiar with the old 2003 anime than the Brotherhood one, but from what I've seen of Brotherhood most of the cast seems to be the same, except for Al's. Now, if you're talking about Ed, Al, and Winry before they tried to bring their mother back, then they obviously do sound childish - because they are. But for the most part the actors are all excellent in English, and the only complaint I've heard against Ed's english actor has come from you. Maybe you're just predisposed toward hating any dubbed series? You might want to watch the original 2003 anime again, and then the Brotherhood one. The 2003 one is infinitely superior, anyway.

Well I have seen the entire 2003 series before, and had to watch about 4 of the episodes dubbed because at the time I couldn't find them in subbed form for some reason. However this was a long time ago so for reference yesterday I did just go through the first episode skipping through bits just to hear the voices a bit.
It's entirely probable that I am predisposed against them like you say, I generally dislike any kind of dubbing because IMHO, I find the quality of the voices very poor.
I just have a problem with how they sound, I feel like none of the actors are taking their roles seriously.

At least we both agree that the original FMA series is brilliant...?

 

[Freechoice]

English dub. If I can't understand the spoken language I won't watch it. Not only that but every time I hear a female speak in the original voices I reach for the 10w30 and start stopping the fans in my PC one by one...sounds just like a bearing running dry.

Also, DBZ didn't really need to be dubbed. Screaming in Japanese sounds like screaming in English.

English dub. If I can't understand the spoken language I won't watch it. Not only that but every time I hear a female speak in the original voices I reach for the 10w30 and start stopping the fans in my PC one by one...sounds just like a bearing running dry.

Also, DBZ didn't really need to be dubbed. Screaming in Japanese sounds like screaming in English.

Thank the FSM you posted first.

If you're reading, you're not giving full attention to the action.

Wait, last comment. Goku was voiced by a 70 year old woman or something. It's different. Japanese SSJ3 wasn't nearly as badass as the Funi dub.

 

[Gindil]

Sometimes the voice is just an odd choice.

When I was watching the English dub of Air Gear, I was wondering why a 13 year old kid sounded like a 30 year old man.

Then you listen to the Japanese voice and it's a helluva lot better. I mean geez, why the hell do you want a kid with different personalities to just magically sound like he's super mature?

 

[Ninja-Jordan]

Hard to tell really, some anime's english voiceovers suit the characters better than the Japanese, like Witch Hunter Robin, while others like Advent Children completely butcher them. Generally though, the Japanese dubs are better, but I think there's some room for debate

 

[Mike Laserbeam]

Well I have seen the entire 2003 series before, and had to watch about 4 of the episodes dubbed because at the time I couldn't find them in subbed form for some reason. However this was a long time ago so for reference yesterday I did just go through the first episode skipping through bits just to hear the voices a bit.
It's entirely probable that I am predisposed against them like you say, I generally dislike any kind of dubbing because IMHO, I find the quality of the voices very poor.
I just have a problem with how they sound, I feel like none of the actors are taking their roles seriously.

At least we both agree that the original FMA series is brilliant...?

Brilliant? Yes, absolutely. I don't think I've ever seen a character so fleshed out as Edward Elric, and nearly all the others are very well done too. The way the story sets up and then resolves every plot point very tightly with no loose ends that I can think of is nearly unheard of in any sort of cinema, be it animation or live action. For that matter, the only story I can think of that came out in recent memory that was wrapped up so well with no loose ends is the original Bioshock. All this comes from someone who generally dislikes anime and animated movies in general - Fullmetal Alchemist is just that well done. The ending isn't so great, but it would have been so much better if they would have left it alone and not made that horrid movie that just sent him and his brother back to boring old Earth, implying that they would never get back.

The only difference in opinion you and I seem to have is the quality of English voices. I had the same problem with the first few episodes of Brotherhood, but vice versa - I couldn't find dubs.

Haha I agree, the 2003 series of FMA is one of my favourite series' of anything... Ever
Oh and yeah, the film was awful, Ed and Al get trapped in 1940s Earth or whatever it was...? Terrible!
I suppose I shouldn't really be so hateful towards dubbing when I can see that people - such as yourself - seem to have as much of a good time as I did with a series despite a language difference.
I guess (and this puts me back on topic, I've slightly gone astray) it doesn't matter what language you watch something in as long as you're happy with what you're watching

 

[Ultra_Caboose]

I'm pretty much open to either, but more often than not, I watch it in Japanese. A lot of times the Japanese actors seem to have a better grip of the character and can make them emote much better than the English actors. While this isn't always true, it does influence me to hear it in it's native tongue.
Thats not to say that I don't like English voice acting. Trigun, Cowboy Bebop, Robotech (Macross), Gundam Wing, The Big O and Rurouni Kenshin are a few series that I've seen and readily prefer in English. If the dubbing studios put good actors in the roles, I'll watch anime in English.

 

[Kyuubi Fanatic]

Japanese Sub all the way, with a few exceptions. Overall English dubbing sucks ass, the voices suck or are too high pitched and whiny (I'm looking at you Naruto), or just can't convey the same depth of emotions and convincing character as their native counterparts.

There are exceptions of course. If you want an amazing example of English voice acting done right, check out Hellsing Ultimate, Cowboy Bebob, Escaflowne (the movie), or Ghost in the Shell. All have steller voice acting.

Seems the older, greater animes have the best English voice acting. Gotta love the classics.

 

[RollForInitiative]

Where's the option for "both?" Sometimes I watch it one way, sometimes another. It's a case-by-case basis, not a black-and-white comparison, and it's silly to view it otherwise.

 

[Luhrsen]

Depends. Usually I prefer to listen to the original language and read subtitles. For me I read so fast that I'm rarely aware of the text consciously. But sometimes a voice is so out of place that I try the dub and enjoy it. Like DBZ and Goku's childvoice in a man's body.

 

[Ghost]

I watch both, 50/50, I guess. Recently I have watched English dubs of Ghost in the Shell, Hellsing and Code Geass, I very much recommend all 3 by the way. And why would you watch Hellsing with Japanese voices, that would just ruin the 'Englishness..(?)' of it.

I don't get why so many anime fans are so militant in their defence of English Subs only.. Also I find Crispin Freeman is an excellent Voice Artist, I always recognize his voice everywhere now. I was playing Castelvania SoTN on Dracula X Chronicles and surprised to see him voicing Dracula.

 

[Polyg0n]

Japanese. I only watch anime to maintain my language skills so id it was in english that would kinda defeat the purpose.

 

[Rorschach II]

It goes on a per anime basis, for instance mostly the original cast is the best, however there is stuff like Full Metal Alchemist where the voice just better in english.

Whoa. Do you mean Brotherhood or the original...? I'm not sure about Brotherhood (having not seen it) but I totally disagree with that statement if you mean the original FMA series. FullMetal should not be aimed at children, it is an adult series in my opinion. They deal with some pretty heavy stuff, and yet in the English dub every character sounds like they belong in Pokemon.
Sorry for the difference in opinion but I just cannot take any form of media seriously when the voices involved sound so much like a joke
:/

Whose voice sounds like a joke? The only one I can think of that sounds childish is Al's, and that's because when he got stuck in a suit of armor, he pretty much got stuck with the voice of a ten year old, so he's supposed to sound like that. Ed's was done by a girl inn Japanese, so it just sounded really high-pitched there.

In my opinion, just about all of the FMA English dub voices sound absolutely ridiculous. Just watch the first 2 minutes of the first episode: Ed, Al, Winry, Pinako. They sound awful...

I'm much more familiar with the old 2003 anime than the Brotherhood one, but from what I've seen of Brotherhood most of the cast seems to be the same, except for Al's. Now, if you're talking about Ed, Al, and Winry before they tried to bring their mother back, then they obviously do sound childish - because they are. But for the most part the actors are all excellent in English, and the only complaint I've heard against Ed's english actor has come from you. Maybe you're just predisposed toward hating any dubbed series? You might want to watch the original 2003 anime again, and then the Brotherhood one. The 2003 one is infinitely superior, anyway.

I have to agree with that one. I really enjoyed Ed's english voice as opposed to his Japanese Counterpart. He sounds more mature as a kid. (It's a shame that there isn't more English Dubs of FMA on Youtube. I really got into it and about 5 episodes in they stop having the English dub ;_

I don't mind Al's voice because it sounds pretty much how it should in both. But I've always found Japanese voices most of the time to be on the girly side.

But to each their own I guess.

 

[Delightful]

I'm not surprised by the fervor of the Always Subtitle people. Catch a 4Kids One Piece, and you might swear off the English language entirely.

That said, I have to go the exact opposite with everything foreign, not just anime. Always dub, always localize. I actually really don't understand how people can legitimately argue the other way.

As I see it, if I don't speak the language fluently, I'm *always* going to miss out on the little verbal cues and connotations that native speakers take for granted. Japanese voice acting isn't "better" than the even the worst English voice acting, because it's just noise to me. Meaningless sound, chopped up into word-bits.

Because I don't speak the language, it's impossible for me to ever know if a Japanese voice actor is doing a good job--they could be over-acting terribly, for all I know! In other words, when it's subbed, I always miss out on emotional content and verbal shades of meaning.

The other thing (mentioned by several in this thread) is that if I'm looking at the bottom of the screen, I'm not looking at the center. If I'm not looking at the center of the screen, I'm missing action. Simple as that.

I scratch my head whenever I hear someone say something like "dubs are content rape" or "dubs lack emotion." Do you guys not understand that both dubs and subs are... translations? So... both are inevitably going to involve missing/shifted meaning--is READING a translation inherently better than HEARING it? Of course not. In fact, exactly the opposite is true.

I think part of this debate hinges on the similar "translation vs. localization" debate. Should a translator struggle to retain foreign concepts/jokes/puns wherever possible, or should a translator localize those elements into similar, more familiar concepts/jokes/puns for the intended (in this case) English audience? In my opinion, the answer is emphatically the second one. Unless I suddenly become a native speaker, I'm never going to really understand those ideas--so change them! Change them to something I will understand, something I'll immediately identify with and respond to.

Take One Piece and the word "nakama." I watched a fandub a while back, which included a huge, inexplicable text-dump (..err... a lot like this post...) inserted at the beginning of the episode on the meaning of "nakama" and their refusal to change it. No matter how much text they unloaded into my eyeballs, it didn't make the untranslated word any less awkward and distracting. Then I watched the same episodes, this time dubbed by Funimation. Those odd cultural interruptions were gone, replaced by a deeper understanding (thanks to clever, unobtrusive localization). And the voice actors were great, too.

 

[Rorschach II]

It goes on a per anime basis, for instance mostly the original cast is the best, however there is stuff like Full Metal Alchemist where the voice just better in english.

Whoa. Do you mean Brotherhood or the original...? I'm not sure about Brotherhood (having not seen it) but I totally disagree with that statement if you mean the original FMA series. FullMetal should not be aimed at children, it is an adult series in my opinion. They deal with some pretty heavy stuff, and yet in the English dub every character sounds like they belong in Pokemon.
Sorry for the difference in opinion but I just cannot take any form of media seriously when the voices involved sound so much like a joke
:/

Whose voice sounds like a joke? The only one I can think of that sounds childish is Al's, and that's because when he got stuck in a suit of armor, he pretty much got stuck with the voice of a ten year old, so he's supposed to sound like that. Ed's was done by a girl inn Japanese, so it just sounded really high-pitched there.

In my opinion, just about all of the FMA English dub voices sound absolutely ridiculous. Just watch the first 2 minutes of the first episode: Ed, Al, Winry, Pinako. They sound awful...

I'm much more familiar with the old 2003 anime than the Brotherhood one, but from what I've seen of Brotherhood most of the cast seems to be the same, except for Al's. Now, if you're talking about Ed, Al, and Winry before they tried to bring their mother back, then they obviously do sound childish - because they are. But for the most part the actors are all excellent in English, and the only complaint I've heard against Ed's english actor has come from you. Maybe you're just predisposed toward hating any dubbed series? You might want to watch the original 2003 anime again, and then the Brotherhood one. The 2003 one is infinitely superior, anyway.

I have to agree with that one. I really enjoyed Ed's english voice as opposed to his Japanese Counterpart. He sounds more mature as a kid. (It's a shame that there isn't more English Dubs of FMA on Youtube. I really got into it and about 5 episodes in they stop having the English dub ;_

I don't mind Al's voice because it sounds pretty much how it should in both. But I've always found Japanese voices most of the time to be on the girly side.

But to each their own I guess.

I hope Escapist doesn't have a problem with me linking to another site. I don't think they do.

http://www.watchcartoononline.com/fullmetal-alchemist-episode-1-english-dubbed

The entire series is there, in its English form.

I...I love you 0_0