Anime Dubbing or Subtitle?

[ChibiHorsewoman]

[color=darkviolet]With me it depends on the quality of the dub. You know, how badly it was chopped up, how good the translations were. Do the VAs make you want to bang your head into a wall repeatedly while you watch the show?

I've noticed that a lot of people mentioned that they didn't like the SailorMoon dub. I'm one of those people. Not only did both DiC and CWi give Zoisite and Fish Eye sex changes respectively. But they changed the names to english (except for Hotaru in SMS and everyone was calling her Hoe ta roo) which really wasn't necessary. DiC messed up the attacks (except for SailorMercury's in the second season) then CWi got a hold of it and turned Michiru and Haruka into cousins. Couldn't decide whether to have Neptune and Uranus say their planets before the attacks, made Pluto actually yell her attack when it was so nice just being whispered, and had Jupiter changing her attack every other episode from Jupiter Thunder clap zap to Sparkling wide pressure. And then there was the episode with Telullu in SailorMoonS. There were three different names for the Tellun plant: Heart Snatcher plant, Some name I can't remeber and of course the Tellun. And in SMSs CWi decided to change only SuperSailorMar's attack from Mars Flame Sniper to Mars Flame Shooter. Why? And Terri Hawke's voice made me want to hide behind a couch.

Basically SailorMoon was a very badly done dub and I didn't like it because of the lack of consistancy. Awful scripts (Unazuki as Lizzie saying What up dawg) and frightening VA's Naru turned Molly and had a brooklyn accent and Serena made me want to hide under my couch. And don't get me started on the Rini dub voice and how CWI called her SailorMini moon. It was enough to make any sailorMoon watcher to want some moon gorgeous medication. So in that case, the sub is better.

But take a look at some of the other dubs like RayEarth, Trigun and Gundam Wing. The dialog for the dub is almost identicle to the original. In my opinion the VAs don't make you want to run away and hide. I think the quality of dubbing depends on what company is working on the anime and who their target audiance is above anything else.

Well, that's my opinion on the subject. anyone else?[/color]

[natetron46]

the trigun and coqboy bebop dubs are good as far as i know, from what ive saw they are good, nowhere near what the original japanese words were but good for american dubs

[COLOR=Navy]Once again, please try putting a bit more work into your spelling and punctuation. This will make your posts far easier to read. :)

~Dagger~[/COLOR]

[No_Regrets]

Oh wow. I will usually perfer to watch a original Japanese Dub and English Subtitles, like with my beloved Naruto. But sometimes, like in the case of Trigun, and Cowboy BeBop, I actually liked the american better. But I think the best example I own, is Andriod Kikaider. I own the series, and I really kinda hate the American...compared to the japanese. The way I usually explain this to my parents when they make me turn my anime off 'coz they can't understand it, is that I would rather watch the anime the way it was ment to be. It is [I]Japanese[/I] Anime.


No_Regrets...out-

[r2vq]

No_Regrets you liked Trigun and Bebop better in ENGLISH? JEEZ, What's [i]wrong[/i] with you??? Haven't you seen the original episodes where Vash and Spike both [spoiler]... Actually I haven't seen either of these in English. But I hear they're really good.[/spoiler] <-- (does not actually contain spoilers :P)

I actually don't mind dubs. There are some English dubs of course that make me want to scream. And I agree with ChibiHorsewoman on Sailor Moon... to a less detailed extent. :)

The problem I have with dubs is censorship and modifications.

[b]Examples[/b]:

Kami-sama no namae no naka de, doushite "Tokyo Mew Mew" ga "Hollywood Mew Mew" ni narimashita???? DOUSHITE????

I am forever in loathing of 4Kids Entertainment for dubbing Yu-Gi-Oh! into the corporate whore it has become.

Heero Yuy: "I will destroy you." (Strange... because I heard "Korosu" not "Kowasu" in the original...)

==========
Most of my friends love the subtitles because in that format you see no modification of the story or [i]characters[/i] in their voices or sound effects. "Joey Wheeler" is an example of this... him and his New York accent changes the character's appearance. The Full Metal Alchemest also has an American accent in the dub... This time southern.

I personally prefer listening to original track, but I am not against the dubbing of series... as long as it's done well.

-ArV

[Dagger]

[quote name='r2vq']The Full Metal Alchemest also has an American accent in the dub... This time southern.[/quote]

Oro? Where did you hear this? As far as I'm aware, FUNimation has never used any voice actors or actresses with noticeable accents (unless you count the woman who plays Botan in Yu Yu Hakusho; there are times when she sounds ever so slightly British). Do you happen to know the VA's name?

EDIT: Apparently Vic Mignogna (Mamoru in RahXephon, Kurz in Full Metal Panic) plays Edward Elric. I've been re-watching both of those series recently, and never once have I heard Mr. Mignogna sound even mildly Southern. ^_^;;

~Dagger~

[Sailor Ganymede]

well, Cowboy Bebop wise, I'm more familiar with the Japanese version, because my friend's brother had the import and I borrowed that. But I like the English dub better, for one: Ed sounds her age, and for another, they sound better! Inuyasha wise, the English version's better, but the Japanese version can be good when I feel like watching that one. Inuyasha's Japanese voice is a little annoying, but whatever. I still have yet to watch Rurouni Kenshin in Japanese....

[r2vq]

[quote name='Dagger IX1']Oro? Where did you hear this?[/quote]

I may be mistaken.

The website for the English version of Full Metal Alchemist had two previews when it came out. Only one survives.

The one that has disappeared was the one that actually held the voice of the main character. The surviving Trailer only has the voice of a deep throated man with a sore throat.

Gee, I hope I'm not just imagining that preview...

Besides the accent (I think) I could detect, the actor seemed to suit the character. I have hopes for this series in its licensed form.

-ArV

[Inuyasha311]

I would rather watch a Dubb video than a sub. Just for the fact I don't have to read and miss anything in the show. But it would be easier to get subtitle shows.They are faster to get than waiting for dubb show to come out.I learned on e-bay that you can get episodes 1-like 148 or something like that with Inuyasha. But if you want it were its dubb then you going to have to wait.

[natetron46]

i like the dubs, with the dubs its actually like the words that were originally said were translated, sometimes i use both and i see that the characters arent saying what the subtitles say they should be. i think someimtes the subtitles are just paraphrasing, which i dont like

[Hevn]

[COLOR=RoyalBlue][SIZE=1][B]I prefer subtitles over dubbing or rather I don't like English dubbing. Like in Ruruoni Kenshin, the English voice totally made me go O.O. It just doesn't sound right. i would prefer dubbing in our country though. Dubbers in our country are really good.

But nothing will really make me watch dubbing over subtitles. After so much reading below the screen I just watch the replays so I can totaly concentrate on the animation. Not that I'm having trouble with the words and the screens. I guess I just got used to it already. ^_^x[/B][/SIZE][/COLOR]

[KimmyLovesKyou]

SUBBED

Oh jeez, subbed on this one. I don't even know where to begin.. I just prefer it. Dubbed anime ruins the entire story for me because I'm so focused on "Jeez that voice is just [I]wrong[/I].." or something.

I can't even explain myself further then that, but for me, it's the same old "The original is usually the best" and "Why ruin a good thing"

Am I making any sense? XP

[Cahoots34]

Personally, I prefer subs. I trust more a string of words that flits across my screen than something that's subject to the moral requirements of every homebound radical Conservative in the Western Hemisphere.

In case an example is needed to prove this, let us compare Gundam Wing and its lesser spawn, the Cartoon Network dub. "Tag along on my journey into Hell!"="...bye-bye!" No, I retract my earlier statement. There _is_ no comparison, and I have been rendered forever wary of English audio tracks as a result.

[KarmaOfChaos]

[color=deeppink][size=1]"Subs are great...blah blah blah...they're the original...blah blah blah...better voice actors...blah blah-" Okay, I'll stop now, no offense to anyone. But I strongly support [I][B]dubbing.[/B][/I] * crowd steps back in shock *

To me, one of the most important things in an anime besides well developed character's and plots is the visuals. I immerse myself in them, and try to pick out tiny details which have been drawn in order to enhance the mood, significance, etc, of the scene. Therefore, seeing ugly, pixelated script at the bottom of the screen is very painful for my eyes.

To me, while most VA lack some skill, it's not like they're completely inept at conveying emotion. True, you do have the occasional deep voiced monotone actor who makes your ears bleed, but that's usually not the case. I find it much easier to ignore some quirks in the voice and put my imagination to work with reading into what he or she is actually saying, and letting my mind mold the voice to fit the character, even if it only is slightly.

If you come into watching a show with the view that most dubs suck, then yea, you're going to notice all the annoying little things that don't add up. But, for the sake of the animation, I don't mind not-incredible VA skills.

-Karma[/size][/color]

[Dagger]

Well said, Karma. ^_^

There are quite a few cases in which a show's English dub is as good as or even better than the Japanese-language version. I believe I already mentioned Fruits Basket. Judging by the first four episodes alone, [b]R.O.D the TV[/b] also falls squarely into this category. As a big fan of the series and someone who watched it fansubbed shortly before its North American release, I was prepared to be rather picky about the English voice cast. However, every single performance just stunned me with its accuracy and authenticity. Since many important characters in the show are British, I prefer hearing them speak English with the appropriate accent to hearing them talk in Japanese.

That's another one of dubbing's major advantages. Anime like Licensed by Royalty (which takes place in Britain) and The Big O simply sound more genuine in English.

~Dagger~

[Okita]

While I personally prefer subs in most circumstances, I have to agree with Dagger that in some cases the dubb are not only markably superior but entirely neccessary.

One of the first dubbed series i watched was Martian Successor Nedesico which i then proceed to buy the DVD of, to watch it in the original voice with sub. I quickly got a headache trying to follow string of voices arguing over each other and their assign subtitles. In this case, I simply couldn't follow the sub that was presented to make me enjoy the show.

That being said, I think the best dub I've seen to date belongs to cowboy bebop, which had a caste of voice actors that I think deserve a round of applause for immersing into the character and making them so much more believable than let say the voice actors for Dragon Ball Z.

[natetron46]

I usually like the subtitles, with them, i get the feeling that there was an actaul translation of the japanese words before they were written. I often get the feeling that english veiwers may be missing out on something that oonyl the japanese language speakers can get.

However, i thought Princess Mononoke had an allstar cast that did a great job with the dubbing. Billy Bob Thorton rocks, and i thought eveyrone did an awesome job to adapt the story and make it a great movie. :cool: