Obligatory "Sub vs. Dub" thrad

[Ⓐaron]

I can't believe we haven't had one of these yet, but if we have, I can't find it.

Anyway, do you usually prefer to watch foreign-language films, animé, etc., with subtitles or dubbing into your language of choice? Explain.

I'm usually partial to subtitles. They're more work, sure, but I've seen too many poorly lip-synched or voice-acted dubs to want to watch them. There have been well-done dubs though, such as the Cowboy Bebop one (I still watched most of the series in Japanese though).

Then again the internet would have lost several of its best in-jokes if not for bad dubbing (over 9000, ninja info cards, etc.).

 

[looneymoon]

Usually I prefer subs but it really depends on how I "envision" the setting.

I've watched Cowboy Bebop in both English and Japanese. I can't watch it in Japanese anymore. It's just weird to me. The atmosphere just feels too western and generally much better suited to English imo.

Similarly, while the Samurai Champloo dub is also very good I can't watch it in English without it being weird. It has to be in Japanese for me.

Also I've been trying forever to find a French dub of Utena with no luck

 

[Fangu]

Subbed, almost always. For me it's no stress because I'm used to them - only cartoons for children (and lately Hannah Montana and the likes) are dubbed in Norway.

If there was a choice to play for instance Final Fantasy XIII with Japanese voices and English subs, I would prefer it. It's just something about language and mood sometimes. It's strange watching some English or American interpretation of a Japanese character. Don't get me wrong, I think the script translators and voice actors are awesome (Sazh anyone) but it... it'll never be quite the same.

I also like watching English/American movies and series with English subs (when I can find them). It can be hard picking up what people are saying, and then I have the extra text for support.

 

[Theozilla]

Usually subbed for me, but there are a few shows (i.e. Cowboy Bebop, Trigun) where I prefer the dub. Oh and the dubs of Studio Ghibli films are nearly always great (and are normally the ones I saw first; and while it might not have been as linguistically accurate as the current one I prefer the old 20th Century Fox dub over the Disney dub).

With Kingdom Hearts...it is a weird one. Ideally I wish could have it where the Final Fantasy and Final Fantasy-esque characters were subbed and the Disney characters dubbed.

 

[DrakeClawfang]

I don't watch a lot of subs. The only anime I've watched subbed extensively is Yugioh 5Ds, because well, look at the alternative.

That said, I think, provided the subs are good quality, they're preferable if only because they're going to be the raw original creation. No jab at any anime dubbers, many of them do great jobs and even 4Kids have done some decent work, but the original product of any form of media will always be the adaptation closest to the creator's intent, unless said creator actively remakes it.

 

[Madame Mayor]

If it's animated I generally prefer dubs. This is mainly because of growing up with all the anime I saw being dubbed to begin with. And honestly, I've never had an anime I liked where I thought it was better in Japanese. Not that I didn't like it being subbed, but if the dubbed is just as good, that's what I'd like to watch.

Live action I'd always prefer subs.

 

[Alessa Gillespie]

generally still like subs cause a lot of older anime that i watch had pretty shitty vas

 

[Cat Rage Room]

I don't watch much anime, but when I do, it's pretty much always dubbed. I just cannot immerse myself in a narrative where I can't understand a thing anyone is saying, and my reading of the subs is distracted by a language I can't understand (read: gibberish). I don't mean 'gibberish' in terms of rudeness, I'm just saying, if I can't understand any of it, that's how my ears interpret it.

Strangely, foreign live action films are totally exempt from this.

 

[Ghost X]

Anime, a professionally done dub. Foreign films in general, sub.

 

[Vendel]

I dub manga.

 

[Ite]

Subbed. It helps me more readily accept the zany cultural differences.

 

[Celes Chere]

After the Love Hina dub, there's no way I can prefer dubs to subs. That actually scarred me...

 

[Max Caulfield]

I usually prefer subtitles because dubbing doesn't always capture the original emotions of scenes and movies.

Also, subs make me focus on what I'm watching instead of tuning it out when I'm watching something on my computer.

 

[Cthulhu]

Dubs suck, they sound awkward and out of place and, at least dubs of English movies, lose a lot of the jokes and funnyness (if applicable). But the latter also applies to subtitles. I watch most stuff I download without subtitles these days (obligatory, since my TV doesn't show subs, ), so no nuances are lost. I still need subtitles and the like in video games though, the sound engineering in games isn't that good yet sometimes and I feel like I'm missing half when trying to listen to subs.

 

[Alex Strife]

Subtitles, all the way. Both in movies and animé. However... I admit I have a soft spot for Catalan dubbed animé, as there is not a lot of series that underwent this process. That said, I still prefer original Japanese to Catalan dubbed. It's just I love to hear them every now and then.

 

[Masamune]

Foreign-language films = Subbed. Every time.

Otherwise you end up with this:

As for my anime, eeeeeeh, it depends. There's a lot of old-skool anime I grew up with dubbed, like Akira, Ninja Scroll, GITS etc. They might sound outdated by today's standards but they'll always have that nostalgic quality which puts them before the original Japanese. Equally, there's also a lot of old anime that I had to rewatch in Japanese years later to truly enjoy due to godawful dubbing.

As anime becomes a mainstream market in the West, so too does the dubbing. For that reason, I feel a lot of the character and wit from the classic dubs has been lost in that time. Many companies recycle the same old voice actors and stay within the lines of translation a little too literally. The end result come across as formulaic and clunky. It's not just about bridging the language gap, it's also about remembering the vernacular of your audience. I don't know about you, but I appreciate a dub that isn't afraid to take artistic license and throw in some catchy one-liners (a la Carl Macek's 80/90s era):

Also, you never really know what you're going to get with dubs. Even if it's more of a professional industry these days, it's still largely hit 'n miss. The nuances of the Japanese language can always be lost in translation, as well. So for that reason, I almost always watch anime subbed, just to play it safe if anything.

 

[Makoeyes987]

Oh God, I haven't seen dubbed Hokuto no Ken in forever. That was fucking hilarious.

 

[Fangu]

HAHAHA that made me LOL so hard

A quite modern version of what dubbing can do to a scene -

Spoiler: Scenes from Crisis Core

I find these two scenes from Crisis Core with Zack and Aerith so different. The Japanese one is much more on the light side and you get the sense that Aerith is playfully toying with the fact that Zack would do anything for her - in the English dubbed version it sounds like she's a demanding b*tch and Zack is getting fed up with it. Also, Aeriths disappointment that Zack has to leave is IMO totally overlooked in the English one.

It's interesting.

(Sorry if this comparison has been posted on the forum before.)

 

[Hisako]

I do prefer subs simply because I prefer watching things in their original context. There are plenty of exceptions to the rule, though.

Lost Odyssey was a game that synched the facial movements for English dialogue, even though it had options between Japanese, English, and Korean. So while my experience of the game was still in Japanese, I probably could very much appreciate the game in its English dialogue.

Of course, it always depends on the voice talent too.

 

[Rumpelstiltskin]

Depends entirely on the anime.

Like mentioned above I can't listen to cowboy bebop in japanese and much prefer the English dub, same with Beck: Mongolian Chop Shop.
Then on the other hand I can't stand the english VA's for Naruto/Bleach/Death Note/too many anime's to count.

9/10 times though I would say Sub's are better than dubs.

 

[Dana Scully]

For anime, usually subs, with major exceptions being Trigun, Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo, and Afro Samurai.

Video games, always dubs, even if I feel the English VAing is terribad.

Foreign films, always subs.

So I guess subs win.

 

[Splintered]

Subs, because if a Japanese actor sucks I probably won't notice it.

 

[Cthulhu]

Subs, because if a Japanese actor sucks I probably won't notice it.

Truly, nearly all Japanese voice actors suck, but because they have a weird yapping language nobody likes to admit it to avoid being called intolerant .

 

[Theozilla]

For anime, usually subs, with major exceptions being Trigun, Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo, and Afro Samurai.

Video games, always dubs, even if I feel the English VAing is terribad.

Foreign films, always subs.

So I guess subs win.

Was not Afro Samurai originally made with english dialogue? I think the "dub" came before any "sub" with Afro Samurai.

 

[Dana Scully]

Was not Afro Samurai originally made with english dialogue? I think the "dub" came before any "sub" with Afro Samurai.

Uhh I have no idea, though that would make sense considering the A-list voice cast. By the time I watched it both versions were out so