Subs vs Dubs

LeafByNiggle · Jul 28, 2021

The classic debate among non-Japanese viewers. Subtitles or Dubs? I am on the fence about it. There may be some bad dubs out their, but my impression is that the quality of dubs of really good anime is really quite good these days. However the emotions in the voices of the original Japanese voice actors is generally more intense than in the dub. On a movie like Your Name, the visuals are so stunning that it is a shame to have to be distracted by reading subtitles and not being able to get lost in the visual experience. But I saw The Girl Who Leapt Through Time recently with subtitles and it was just fine because the visuals were not that complicated and did not need continuous attention. So for that film I liked the sub. Sometimes the dub takes liberties and changes the sense of what is being said. For example, in the climax of Garden of Words (45 minute long half-movie by Makoto Shinkai), the tearful confession of Yukino is quite a bit different in the English dub and in the Japanese sub. The sub actually made more sense too.

What has your experience been with dubs vs subs?

DragonFox91 · Jul 28, 2021

I don't really watch anime but am watching 1P (on Post Marineford arc) & watching it dubbed & loving it.

rturner76 · Jul 28, 2021

I usually go for the dub because I want to focus on the visual and if you look away for a minute or two you could miss something in the dialog. Having said that, for films in Spanish, French, or Dutch (sometimes German), I can understand half of what they are saying and just need to glance at the subtitles.

Then again, sometimes I get lazy and just flip on the dub anyway

The acting is much better in the original language I think with very few exceptions.

Multifavs · Jul 28, 2021

I've only watched a handful of anime, but I prefer dubs over subs. This is mainly because the English dubs of children's anime are much cleaner than the Japanese subs. It is nice to be able to understand what's being said, too, instead of having to read the subs. From what I've seen, a lot of English speakers seem to think that English dubs are always horrible, but I strongly disagree. Sure, there are a few places where the English dubs removed or edited things that might not have been a problem. Yes, there are a few character voices in the English dubs that aren't so great. But in my opinion, most of the voices and dubs are totally fine overall.

Sodafox · Jul 28, 2021

Unless the dub is really good or has voice actors I like I usually go with the sub.

angelsaroundme · Jul 30, 2021

In some instances the dub removes swearing and other aspects not necessary to the plot. A friend told me they loved the sub of Dragon Ball Z because it had cussing and they thought that made it more mature. To me swearing adds nothing to DBZ. Other animes are designed with adult themes and for them something might be lost with censorship.

Speaking of DBZ, I know a lot of people feel weird hearing the sub because we grew up with the dub. Probably the same with Pokemon. Whether or not the dub sounds cheesy to some, it's nostalgic, and cheesy can be fun.

Noxot · Aug 1, 2021

both have pros and cons. sometimes I get sick of reading and want to fully experience the visuals. tried watching the sub of yu yu hakusho some years ago but I grew up on and love the english dub and could not get into the sub. ofc subs have a unique pleasantness to it all their own.

yesterday I watched the isekai "I'm Standing on a Million Lives" (it's underrated imo, I like it). lots of creativity in it, some nice ideas. watched in the dub version, it was fine. but then I realized some of the subs for season two are out so gotta watch it in sub cause CR has no dub for it yet. i'm sure it will be fine.

Noxot · Aug 1, 2021

angelsaroundme said:
In some instances the dub removes swearing and other aspects not necessary to the plot. A friend told me they loved the sub of Dragon Ball Z because it had cussing and they thought that made it more mature. To me swearing adds nothing to DBZ. Other animes are designed with adult themes and for them something might be lost with censorship.

Speaking of DBZ, I know a lot of people feel weird hearing the sub because we grew up with the dub. Probably the same with Pokemon. Whether or not the dub sounds cheesy to some, it's nostalgic, and cheesy can be fun.

yeah DBZ is one example of how much some things can change. I heard they tried to make goku more like superman for the USA. it was ok but I also like the personality of full japanese goku in dragon ball super.

angelsaroundme · Aug 1, 2021

Noxot said:
yeah DBZ is one example of how much some things can change. I heard they tried to make goku more like superman for the USA. it was ok but I also like the personality of full japanese goku in dragon ball super.

I haven't heard about Goku being like Superman in the USA dub. I am aware that he is voiced by a woman in the Japanese original. People say it emphasizes his innocence to sound young or even feminine. As someone that grew up with USA Goku, I have an attachment to that version.

Gregory Thompson · Aug 1, 2021

LeafByNiggle said:
The classic debate among non-Japanese viewers. Subtitles or Dubs? I am on the fence about it. There may be some bad dubs out their, but my impression is that the quality of dubs of really good anime is really quite good these days. However the emotions in the voices of the original Japanese voice actors is generally more intense than in the dub. On a movie like Your Name, the visuals are so stunning that it is a shame to have to be distracted by reading subtitles and not being able to get lost in the visual experience. But I saw The Girl Who Leapt Through Time recently with subtitles and it was just fine because the visuals were not that complicated and did not need continuous attention. So for that film I liked the sub. Sometimes the dub takes liberties and changes the sense of what is being said. For example, in the climax of Garden of Words (45 minute long half-movie by Makoto Shinkai), the tearful confession of Yukino is quite a bit different in the English dub and in the Japanese sub. The sub actually made more sense too.

What has your experience been with dubs vs subs?

I like having both.

Seeing the literal translation and the voice acting in the original language gives a particular experience that compliments the idiomatic translation to english.

Sometimes the discrepancy between the literal sub and the idiom used in the english dub tells the story more clearly.

Sometimes the discrepancy of tone in particular sections is interesting also, but if I like one over the other, which one is the true story? Does it matter? no.

ChocoRabbit · Aug 20, 2021

Subs only. For me, part of watching foreign TV is experience another culture and language.

Alistair_Wonderland · Sep 18, 2021

People like to say that "sub voice actors have so much more heart", or that the inflections are better, and that may be quite true, but the problem is that, since I don't speak Japanese, all those subtleties are lost on me. So as a filthy monolinguist, I prefer dubs. The dubbed animes I have enjoyed are:

PreCure/ Glitter Force (Don't judge me, it's cute.)
Konosuba (Best goddess ever. Don't @ me.)
Monster Girl Doctor (A bit heavy on the fanservice, but overall a great show.)
Ghost Stories (Best dub ever, but be prepared, it makes Family Guy or South Park look tame.)

Northern Star · Nov 8, 2021

I prefer dubbed unless the quality is just really bad. I don't really like having to read a TV show or movie. Subs are even more difficult if you're trying to eat and watch at the same time, you'll probably miss stuff.

Yttrium · Nov 16, 2021

I prefer the subtitled versions, so I can catch a lot of the nuances that are lost in translation (such as the name suffixes), and to help me learn the language. I mean, I still don't understand most of the language after all these years, but I do add some words to my vocabulary here and there.

LeafByNiggle · Nov 19, 2021

Yttrium said:
I prefer the subtitled versions, so I can catch a lot of the nuances that are lost in translation (such as the name suffixes),....

That's a good point. I've watched both the sub and the dub of Kimi No Na Wa (Your Name) and the times when Mitsuha says "Tachi-kun" in Japanese means more than the English dub where she just says "Taki". To make it more descriptive in English they would have to say something "Taki dear", which isn't quite right either.

Subs vs Dubs

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