Poll: Dubbed or Subbed?

[PMorgan18]

For me it depends on the voice actors.
Some dubs are better then the subs like Spice and Wolf and Baccano. While some subs are much better then the dubs like Highschool of the Dead and Sekirei.

 

[Ilikemilkshake]

subbed definatly, most of the dubbed voice acting makes me want to kill myself

 

[AyreonMaiden]

Dubbed primarily, but I have rules. I'm not a sub-hater the way I used to be.

I'll for sure watch it dubbed without changing my mind if:

1) The dub is good enough for me and/or better than the original Japanese (Believe it or not, it's possible that Glorious Nippon can be trumped every once in a while. Cowboy Bebop, Haruhi Suzumiya, FLCL, Evangelion, Samurai Champloo, Trigun, Outlaw Star, Cromartie High School)
2) I grew up with the dub and so have nostalgia for it (Rurouni Kenshin, Yu-yu Hakusho, Great Teacher Onizuka)
3) The show takes place outside of Japan (Baccano! Fullmetal Alchemist)
4) The main cast isn't Japanese, therefore it makes no sense to hear it coming out of their mouths (Black Lagoon, Baccano!, Fullmetal Alchemist)

I'll for sure watch it subbed without changing my mind if:

1) The dub sucks (Irresponsible Captain Tylor, countless others)
2) The show's too culturally Japanese to make sense of in English (Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei)
3) I simply can't wait for the dub, even if the dub is good (The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya.)
4) I start the show subbed, and so can't be arsed to change it back now that I've gotten used to the voices (Fate/Stay Night)
5) The show isn't getting licensed (Detroit Metal City, Ore no imouto ga Konnani Kawaii wake ga nai)

 

[TRR]

I prefer dubbed but only if it's good. Best example of a good dub is Hellsing Ultimate. In fact it shouldn't even have a Japanese dub, it doesn't make sense. No character is Japanese. Do you know what an Italian accent sounds like in Japanese? ...Didn't think so. Also, want to know how well a Japanese person can sing in German? Answer: not very well. Of course I can't leave out the fact that Crispin Freeman provides the perfect voice for Alucard in the English version.

Basically, I enjoy a good English dub over staring at the bottom 2-inches of the screen while missing the visuals that anime should be known for. Too bad most English dubs are violent ear-rape.

 

[Darks63]

Dub actors usually phone it in and that alone makes for a bad Experience so I voted subbed

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

Need a third option - for people who like both dubbed and subbed.

this

nearly always i turn on dubs just because i speak english, but i nearly always have subtitles on anyways no matter what i am doing.

 

[Grabbin Keelz]

It just sounds better when they talk in Japanese. The reason for this I think is because the Japanese language can send information faster than the English language (aka we talk slower) so when there's an English dub the characters sound uncanny as they try to match lip movements with the Japanese version, meaning they can't pause for dramatic effect or emphasize on certain words because they need to keep up. Also most english voice actors are kinda shittay.

 

[MisterM2402]

Where's the option for Raw - since I understand Japanese fluently?!

Spoken like a boss.
I don't watch anime but I hope my 日本語 gets to that level some time in the near future - just gotta keep working at it, I guess

 

[Alaster Angelo]

There are so many reasons I prefer dubbed over subbed, however, the main reason is because the way women sound in japanese make me want to murder everything. They're too high pitched, they try to sound cute but it ends up sounding like nails on a chalkboard to me.

 

[sleekie]

Subs, because dubs are rarely up to the standard of the original work, assuming it was any good in the first place.

 

[Irridium]

Dubs. Because with subs I end up watching the bottom of the screen, where the text is, rather then whats actually happening.

 

[Naheal]

Subbed usually, but DO NOT watch Haruhi Suzumiya subbed, it's terrib le compared to the dubbed version.

That's just because they got Crispin Freeman to play Kyon...

 

[Thespian42]

Generally speaking, I like the Dubbed versions when available, both because I like supporting the sales of Anime in America (you're not helping, pirates), and I like English voice actors, having met many of them. I think they do a pretty good job.


But, if it's subbed, I'll still watch and enjoy it.

 

[alandavidson]

I rely heavily on lip-reading to function day-to-day, so if it doesn't sync up, I'm lost. Subbed.

 

[Samwise137]

I don't have all that much experience with anime but I do watch a lot of French and Italian shorts. I am MUCH in favor of subtitles. The English dubs sound forced.

 

[captaincabbage]

Some english dubs are so bad though ;-;

lol true dat. Although, now and then you'll get something like Cowboy Bebop, or Samurai Champloo, and it'll just blow your fucking head off with it's awesomeness.

OT: I would have said both, but the OP is short-sighted and didn't realise there should be at least two more options; one for people who like both and one for people who understand Japanese. I would be in the former of those two options.

So yeah, as many, many, many people have stated before, it depends entirely on the show you watch.

 

[Anomynous 167]

Need a third option - for people who like both dubbed and subbed.

this. dubs can sometimes be good, but subs should always, always, always be an option. especially since i'm about 1/4 deaf...

actually, on anime, i usually prefer dubs over original voice casting, since it seems 90% of all anime voices are done by the most annoyingly high pitched girls in the world. as long as they don't fuck up royally, ala Naruto, i tend to prefer dubs. however, live action movies tend to be the opposite. bad dubs are way worse than just reading subs.

But Naruto was supposed to be terrible...

Although it still screwed up royally in that for the credits of Shippuuden, they remain uneditted.

I always prefer to consume my media as close to the source material as I can get, so subs.
It's the same reason I try to read books in their original language.

That, and the Japanese voice actors are just better for the most part.
Urghghghablabaleh

Firstly, I don't care if it is close to the source material. All I care about is whether they do it well.
Secondly, I have scene a lot of lazy sub titles that simply leave in the honouriffics of forein languages when we have an accurate or suitable translation available. Like seriously "Ni-san", why can't the stupid fan subbers just say "Bro"?.

Finnally, saying that "Japanese voice actors are just better", and then showing us a clip of an English dub with no comparrison is like: airing a show and calling it "Deadliest Warrior" where two people face off in head to head comparrisons of technique and weaponry, but only one gets any screen time. It fails epically because you need 3 or more to be use the term "-iest" and there is no comparrison.
-For the record, I am aware that a show like the one I described exists of that name, and I mentioned a detail that would be the only way for it to fail more.

Dragonball Z: Has anyone ever actually seen Dragonball Z in Japanese? Has anyone truly? Because omigod, it's horrible. Just horrible. No, no, no, no, no...

I haven't seen Zed in Japanese, but admittingly I have seen both Dragonball Z Kai (Dubbed) and Dragonball Kai (not-dubbed), and I still have a preference for the former.
The only part of the Japanese version that I prefer is the vocals for the opening song. And that is only because it had a wee bit of anger in it.

Of course, I don't have a problem with subs if there's not an English dub available. Or if the English dub has been horribly butchered and edited in the name of child-friendliness...

Personally, I don't mind dubs doing that for child-friendliness. If anything, it may show the talent of the editing team.
-Turning a gun into a wierd gun-mallet-hybrid-thingy early on in One-Peice can be interpreted as a move to etcentricism or wackiness that may of fit the mood of the show.
-First season of Poke`mon's episode with SQUIRTLE's debute had this jem:
--Ash: "Misty, you're still..."
--Misty: "Still a red-head. The SQUIRTLY Squad may be pranksters, but they would never turn a girl's hair purple."
While it's obvious that they are avoiding any terms that may link to "Death", this could also be interpreted as a stealth insult to Jessy, another girl in the cast, who has purple hair.

Dubs for everything.

EVERYTHING.

I mean, I even put up with the old 4kids One Piece dubbing.

The only reason I stopped watching One Piece was because of the plot summary that happened prior to the openning song, every episode. Turns out that it was there in the original.

 

[Peteron]

We tend to get this thread a lot. Well, it depends on the anime. For shows such as Cowboy Bebop, or FMA, the dubbed is perfectly fine! However, I do watch shows such as One Piece in subtitles.