Poll: Japanese w/ Subs vs. Dub: Which is better for an anime? [W/ Digimon clips!]

[Yopaz]

I can't say either yes or no. There are some horrible dubs out there, but that doesn't mean the original dub (it's anime so technically it's always dubbed) is any better. If I am going to deal with a horrible dub then I pick the one that annoys me the least.

If it is originally in English then I will prefer to watch it in English. You lose a lot of the expressions when it's translated. Subtitles are neat, but I prefer closed captions to help me to distinguish the words rather than a translation. That's how I learned the delightful expression "village bike". I've even started using that on occasions.

When it comes to anything but anime or cartoons though there's no question.

 

[Bara_no_Hime]

TL;DR - Which do you think presents an anime better? The original Japanese w/ English subs or an English or localization dub?

I can't vote because my answer is "it depends on the anime and the dub voice cast".

Some animes are better suited to dubbing than others - often depending on various cultural nuances that may or may not get lost in translation.

Some voice casts are better than others. There are certain names (Crispin Freeman, Liza Ortiz) that tell you instantly that the dub is a quality product. Dubs have generally gotten better over the last decade or two as more fans have become involved in the industry. When you are invested in the story and characters, your ability to dub it vastly improves.

So yeah... can't vote because there is no middle option.

 

[pspman45]

I refuse to watch the bottom of the screen 24/7, so Dub

 

[Kungfu_Teddybear]

It really depends on the anime.

If the voice acting is really bad, then obviously the subbed version. Even if the acting is bad in the subbed version, it's a lot easier not to take notice when it is a different language.

But some dubs are REALLY good. Cowboy Bebop comes to mind.

Yeah, this. It really depends. Cowboy Bebop's dubs were, as RatherDull said, really good. But I've been watching Shingeki no Kyojin with subs because I didn't like the dubbed version.

 

[lord.jeff]

I find that subs make it harder to resonate with a character's emotions, and it's really hard to read during action sequences so I almost always watch dubs. If I care that much to get the original intent of the author or whatever I'll read the comic/book.

 

[ssgt splatter]

Japanese with subs.
English dubbed animes are, 90% of the time, horribly voice acted, especially in hentai animes...don't judge me. I'd rather read subtitles during an action scene rather than listen to someone butering it and making the whole scene unbearable to watch.

 

[Soviet Heavy]

I will always search for an english dub over a japanese original audio track for one reason: the voice acting is better. Dialogue changes are one thing, but I prefer when I can see characters with more than four different emotion sets. In Japan, you have: Bored, high pitch screech, angry and muahahahahaha.

I just watched the trailer for The Wind Rises, and the main character speaks in the most monotone voice possible.

 

[Saelune]

First is best. That is, hear it in japanese first, you will likely prefer it. Hear it in english first you will likely prefer it. Also having favorite voice actors can matter. I used to watch FUNimation channel before FiOs dropped it. All those people (since it was a dub group) have become favorites of mine, so I like hearing their english voices. I just watched Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere in japanese. I couldnt stand to watch it in english now. But Id be cringing at School Rumble in japanese, since Ive watched it for so long in english. Plus people are overly critical of voice acting. What even is "good" voice acting? My idea of bad is Sonic Adventure 1, but I feel like Sonic Adventure 2 did fine. Good voice acting can be ruined by cheesy dialogue, so it might not even be the actors.

 

[TehCookie]

The original is usually the way to go. I find it just as painful to hear western things dubbed in Japanese, and if you don't believe me go watch the anime Supernatural.

I don't mind good dubs, but I usually watch anime when it's airing so it isn't an option.

 

[spartan231490]

It depends on the anime. The vast majority are more or less equal in quality between the subs and dubs, some are better in subs, some are actually better in dubs. I couldn't even watch one episode of subbed gundam wing, the voice acting was awful and the voices were painfully annoying. On the other hand, the dub of the third-ish season of fairy tale is stunningly bad. Like, incomprehensibly bad. It depends on the anime.

 

[kasperbbs]

Most dubs i encountered were horrible so i stuck with subs and eventually i got used to reading them, so i never bothered to try dub again.

 

[AndrlCh]

Since I tend to watch simulcasts, my default is usually subs, but I have nothing against dubs, and although some can be pretty bad, there are a few shows that I actually preferred the dub for. For example, with Baccano! I felt that the dub made the story feel a little more authentic since it takes place in a setting where English would be spoken. Another would be Fullmetal Alchemist, but that has more to do with the fact that I'm not a fan of Romi Paku's Edward; which then leads me to Dragonball Z and Goku's voice. So really, it depends from show to show, like others have said.

 

[jng2058]

It all depends on the quality of the dub. If you've got good actors and decent direction, I'll take a dub as I find constantly reading the dialogue distracts from my ability to take in the visuals properly.

However, a bad dub can ruin a show entirely. Especially ones that tamper with the show's intent as noted in the OP.

So which one you prefer comes down to your risk tolerance, I suppose. A sub will have a pretty consistent quality level that's good but not great. Call it a 6/10. A competent dub will be better than that, maybe an 8/10 while an excellent one, such as the classic Cowboy Bebop, a 10/10. Unfortunately, a bad dub is much worse comparatively. A bad dub can be a 3/10 or 1/10 in extreme cases. I simply can't watch the Robotech Masters part of the old Robotech show because the voice acting for the lead characters is so terrible.

These days the anime coming out of your better distributors can usually attain at least competent with their voice work, so I'll tend to go dub when I have the choice. Of course, if you're watching first run shows on Crunchyroll or Funimation sub may be your only choice, as the dub will usually be weeks or months behind. Also, the older a series is, the more likely the rights holder was to half-ass it back in the day, so that's much more of a crap shoot.

 

[Soviet Heavy]

I also don't watch anime religiously so I don't give a shit about voice acting too much. I still don't understand this mentality to binge on five different shows at once, but that's for another topic.

Also, English Goku (any of them) to Japanese Goku. Who is the better VA?

 

[MercurySteam]

All depends on the person watching it and if the dub is any better than the sub. For example: I find Souleater better in Japanese but I prefer to watch Full Metal Alchemist in English.

 

[Kalashnikov2092]

It changes from anime to anime. There are some dubs I love, some I hate.
Examples of good dubs: Trigun, Cowboy Bebop, Evangelion, Full Metal Alchemist
Bad dubs: One Piece, Naruto, Bleach, High School of the Dead

In the end, I try to read the manga if the anime is adapted from one.

 

[neoontime]

I prefer decent dubs to subs. So in that case, I watch mostly subs. Of course when there hilariously bad like ghost stories there worth watching dubbed. I wish more companies would just do hilariously bad scripts except just settling for straight crappy voice acting.

 

[dementis]

It depends on what I'm doing, if I'm sitting down to watch the anime with my full attention or watching a download so I don't have to wait for 2 years for the local DVD release then I'll watch with subs.
If I'm doing other stuff and have the anime in the background then I'll watch the dub because like most English people I don't speak Japanese.

The dubbing ruining the anime only really happens with poor dubbing, some shows like Ghost in the Shell have great English voice actors. The Evangelion voice actors do a pretty good job too.

 

[Snowbell]

I watch subs 90% of the time. The exceptions are anime that I watched as a child (Yu-Gi-Oh!, Digimon, Cardcaptors - Sailor Moon is the exception since I watched very little of it as a kid) and Death Note, which I watch in English for no known reason.

In fact I'm watching Pokemon dubbed right now. I'm not looking for depth or intrigue, and I'm really only watching it all to say that I have. Hence, dub is preferable because it really lessens the effort needed to watch it all.

Boy, I am not looking forwards to marathoning Bleach with subtitles -_-