Every time I’ve tried a dub it’s like nails on chalkboard, and its always very awkward sounding as they try to time it to the cadence of the japanese. Add to that the liberties taken with the dub translation and it’s just a hard no. Just stop trying to do other shit and pay attention to what you’re watching it’s not that hard
For me, the performance of the main voice actors is THE single most important moment-to-moment element in how an anime hits. Shows with pretty poor animation can be rescued by amazing VA performances, but even the best animation can’t save a show if the acting doesn’t land right.
And in dubs, the voice acting almost never reaches the quality of the original.
The voice actors usually sound like they are just reading a script alone in a box, with no proper context of the emotional setting or tone, or awareness of who they are saying it to, or any feeling that they care about the words. The delivery is flat at times it should be spirited, or dialled to 100 at times where it should be nuanced.
Simply put, it’s very clear you are listening to an actor, rather than the actor being invisible (as good performances are) and letting you hear the character.
Even in the cases where dubs are actually competent (Ghibli movies, as a prime example) the process still introduces changes - entirely unavoidably - and this isn’t just true for anime, it’s true for all foreign films and shows.
The original casting directors chose the actors they did for a reason, and it’s those people whose performances I want to hear.
Yeah, also as I understand it the original seiyuus are getting direction from whoever directed the show vs the dubbing work outsourced to a dubbing studio
laughs in light novel
Subtitle gang, always and forever.
Bad VA in a language I don’t speak is still better than a good dub in most cases for me. I can separate the voice acting from reality and make it part of the character.
Bad VA in English is just so noticeable. Like, I’m not that good at hearing intent in Japanese, other than obvious emotion, but with English it often sounds like they’re trying to sound like an animated character.
So true. Related: I don’t read Japanese, so it’s usually English translations for manga, but whenever I read manga in my native language it just reads way to much like comics for grade schoolers with cringy dialogue - this might very well be the same if I read it in English if I was a native English speaker, but I’m not, so I’m enjoying that degree of separation that shields me from truly knowing how cringe a lot of manga is.
I watch Dubbed with subtitles. Come at me.
Yeah I can’t always separate sounds. I need my subs.
The only time to watch dubs is when they’ve gone all out on the visuals.
I just don’t want to listen to English voice actors all the time, and I like that degree of separation of listening to anime dialogue in a language that’s not native to me - it shields me from truly knowing how cringe a lot of anime dialogue is.
I usually watch both and pick the one with the better voices!
I feel you. I’ve always preferred subs. There’s just so much missing in the dubs. The tone of voice and such never translates for some reason. (I’m not sure it has to be that way. If the voice actors just… did a better job of preserving how the original language emoted, and the people overseeing them let them do a better job, then I’d imagine dubs could be fine.)
I’m really into Critical Role lately and all of the folks on Critical Role are voice actors, and most of them do a lot of anime. Liam O’Brien voiced Gaara in the English dubbed Naruto, for instance. And I feel a little bad because I consider myself to be fans of all the Critical Role folks, and I love the voices they use in Critical Role, but god I can’t stand dubbed anime. Even roles they play. Given that they’re great in Critical Role and terrible in anime, I have to imagine there’s some reason out of their control why dubs just can’t be “good”.
The other thing about all this. I don’t tend to “just” watch anime these days. I put anime on while I’m doing other things. But I can’t read subs and do other things at the same time. The result of all that is mostly that I watch less anime than I used to. I spend more of my time watching stuff that is natively in English that I can most-listen-to and glance at every few minutes. (Like Critical Role. Sorry, I didn’t mean this post to end up being an ad for Critical Role. Lol.)
But when I watch anime, I still watch it subbed because I can’t stand dubs.
Speaking of which, it’s high time I watch some anime. (But I can’t right now because I’m trying to at least finish campaign 2 of… wait for it… Critical Role before they start campaign 4.)
The other thing about all this. I don’t tend to “just” watch anime these days. I put anime on while I’m doing other things. But I can’t read subs and do other things at the same time. The result of all that is mostly that I watch less anime than I used to. I spend more of my time watching St that is natively in English thatIcan most- listen-to and glance at every few minutes. (
hey that’s me too. i put up videos I’m slightly interested in to be noise and sometimes pay attention to, so it has to be English for me.
it’s basically tradition now for me to just watch anime subbed.
so no anime in that role. besides I’d like to pay more attention to anime most of the time.
I feel like some of y’all are just holding onto old grudges from the 90s and 2000s when dubs were done on zero budget and didn’t have experienced actors who were being paid enough to take the roles seriously. Modern dubs are generally pretty great now that voice acting as a profession is taken a lot more seriously over here. There are even a few dubs I’ve watched just because a VA I like is in them.
At this point it’s all preference, and anyone being an elitist gatekeeper about it is a dick.
Ehh, IMO it’s not about the skill of the voice actors but with the cultural differences of the entire production. English speaking people either mimicking asian social quirks or outright shifting them to English quirks while the rest of the media stays asian, is a bit offputting. Sure it doesn’t apply to many lines and scenes, but when it matters, boy is it nice for every aspect to be perfectly congruent!
I still agree it’s a preference and shouldn’t reflect negatively on professionals’ work, but there are actual reasons behind at least my preferences.
I’d also say it’s applicable far beyond anime/asian productions too, but since it’s the current topic…
English American (especially) voice acting uses a totally different acting methodology than the Japanese voice actors typically do. Imo unless the dub is exceptional (maybe one piece), you are missing emotional content that I prefer to consume.
To me dubbed shows just make me think of kids’ shows
Most subs are still objectively worse than the sub in VA quality. That’s just how it is. It’s certainly gotten better and some dubs such as the Konosuba dub are fantastic, so good it’s worth watching both
I’ll say it: I prefer dubbed over subbed. English voice acting has been getting much better over the past several years (when studios want to pay for it, at least), and honestly, I get tired of reading all the subtitles in every show I watch. That said, I still watch more subbed than dubbed, since it’s more available.
Side note - sub watchers who think they’re superior need to get over themselves. Let people enjoy things however they want. Yes, I know this is a meme, but I’ve also met plenty who seriously think this way.
Side note - sub watchers who think they’re superior need to get over themselves. Let people enjoy things however they want. Yes, I know this is a meme, but I’ve also met plenty who seriously think this way.
OK but I am this way. (I have Superiority Complex 😔) /j
At a certain point, it feels like they’re reusing the same voice actors, over and over and over again, in everything. It all starts blending together. So for some things, I’ll switch to sub (usually just if I’m getting impatient with a release schedule and the sub is finished already, tho)
Yeah, that can be an issue. It’s likely due to studios not paying much for Eng VA work, so the talent pool is small.
I get tired of reading all the subtitles in every show I watch
Happens unconsciously for me
Aggretsuko has a great English dub 😙👌
Dub is easier to follow when you’re eating noodles 🍜
Skill Issue Honestly never had problem while eating hell even while playing board game.
Can’t even make out dialogue in my native language in a quiet room sometimes. Not just in action scenes, why are ambient sounds louder than the dialogue? 😤
It’s interesting what you get used to. My wife is from a country with a strong dubbing culture and where I’m from all foreign films were always subbed.
She finds the subtitles distracting, whereas I barely register them and read almost subconsciously.
Came here to post this. Dubs if I’m eating, subs if I’m not.
Subs are always most seeded on nyaa, the only leaderboard that matters.
Dual audio versions generally have more seeds than jap audio only version. Even for shows where the dual audio versions is released later.
Yeah, I mean, it makes sense. English dubs haven’t been dogshit for a while, so why would new viewers go out of their way to listen to the japanese dhb when there’s a perfectly good english dub? Reading subs was always a thing of necessity, and continuing to do so’s just a force of habit for me.
@[email protected] i can now confirm that i am better than most americans… i have a higher grade than that :ablobcatheartbroken:
@[email protected]I think the only time I watch an anime dubbed is if I expect it to be action heavy and I want to see the action instead of the subtitles.
Mecha anime, as an example. I want to see the robots and explosions, not the bottom 4th of the screen.
But nearly every other anime, I just watch it subbed. Also, if I start in dub and I find the character voices annoying, I switch to sub.
