My problem with dubs

This may be nitpicky, but a big reason as to why I don't often watch dubs (other than some being just plain bad), is because I can't get into it when the characters are speaking English in a Japanese setting. It's hard to suspend my disbelief when characters are speaking English but are calling each other by Japanese names, with signs written in hiragana behind them. And really... I feel this problem can't be remedied. It would be strange and anger fans if they were to change character names (as if dubs didn't make fans angry already), and of course the dubbing company wouldn't completely overhaul the setting. The only way it would make sense is if it took place in an already English-speaking setting.

But that's just what I think, perhaps I am being too nitpicky. What are your thoughts?

Subbed


Same sequence Dubbed


I don't like that some of the voice inflections don't really carry over from sub to dub. They replaced "yakiniku" with "korean bbq" which I don't mine since its accurate but I would rather them leave it and stuff like that in Japanese. The dubber's dont do a bad job here but I would rather have the original voice actors/esses do the dubs so all the characters sound the same.

My only problems with dubs:
We lack english dubbers, and most of them sound the same even when they're playing different characters in the same series
Seeing the same name in the casts is really a problem for me.

Then there's also the part where I must consider which voice do I prefer more.
Should I stick with Horie Yui, Tomokazu Sugita, Paku Romi, which all of them are famous seiyuu's known for their great voice acting, or should I just listen to another character played by Yuri Lowenthal, Kirk Thornton or Johnny Young Bosch.

Now that I thought about for a while. Why do things get dubbed to begin with? Most anime wont ever turn up on TV in the States so why do companies like Funimation bother dubbing something for DVD release? Wouldn't they make more money by just subbing and releasing things?

I don't have this. But I'm used to seeing stuff dubbed into German since I was little anyway (although most of them were originally American, not Japanese).

That said, I came to prefer subs too. While I don't think that dubs (German ones, at least) are bad in itself, they start to sound the same to me. Maybe we have a problem with a lack of VAs too.

Adaption into another language usually causes decay in most cases. Also English and Japanese are spoken in completely different tones, as you will see most Japanese characters speak in a softer tone *polite speech* while english is spoken with a harder and louder *casual tone* You often come off as a pussy or a fag if you try to speak English in a Japanese tone. This is why english dubs usually sound bad. Of course you have Black Lagoon, but the characters in there speak English anyways and none of them are Japanese except Rock, but he's like the Tom Dubois of Japanese people.

Ummm... >_>

How much flame would I get from other users if I said I preferred the latter three over the former, even though I know how much more famous the seiyuus are. '_'

OT: If you have a problem with dubs because of the Japanese setting, it's not being nitpicky. Keeping it in Japanese retains the authenticity, and localizing it would make sure some things got lost in translation. This is why I usually only watch dubs for anime that are not only in a non-Japanese setting (FMA, Baccano, Trigun, Cowboy Bebop, etc.), but also have really exceptional dubs.

That makes sense if the setting is mostly in Japan, like Rurouni Kenshin and Evangelion. But for a show that is international or intergalactic, like Outlaw Star or G Gundam or One Piece, that argument doesn't hold up. It takes some suspension of belief to see that everyone in the galaxy speaks fluent Japanese. On the other hand you can see those people speaking English. It has to do with the way the world is today. Many people learn English because the US is the dominant power and blah blah blah.

Still, I get what you're saying. I love subs. That is the original way it was produced. But sometimes a dub can be just as good. Look no further than Cowboy Bebop.

Actually, that is not true - the way it was originally produced was with spoken Japanese dialogue, not subbed. It may retain the spoken dialogue, but since you are watching it with subtitles I feel it is safe to assume you do not speak Japanese. Despite the fact that few people will admit it, subs can be just as varied in quality as dubs. For my part, I would say I have encountered far more bad subs than bad dubs.

That said, watch any way that suits you - there is no right or wrong, just personal preferences.

In my case, My first problem is what makes me prefer the original. Too many animes, so little dubbers. So I'm just bored of their voices. Every game that I played in english has Yuri Lowenthal in it.. geez

And seriously they can't compete with Jun Fukuyama and Norio Wakamoto.

Yeah, Lowenthal is getting everywhere now. And the problem with him, unlike Nolan North, is that his voice never changes. >_>

OK, NOW you're not playing fair by bringing in Fukuyama and Wakamoto into this. :P

I love dubs, dubs FTW, except for older dubs they can all die in a hole, but newer dubs are great. Example I can no longer watch The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya subbed, I just can't. Why, three words, Crispin Fucking Freeman, he really does make the show in my opinion, and yes I will admit that Wendee Lee as Haruhi wasn't the best casting choice, but it doesn't break the show for me. Another example is Hellsing, this mostly works because the show takes place in England so them speaking English makes sense, also Crispin Freeman again, but what makes this dub really special is the major, whoever plays him just puts so much emotion and malevolence into the role and honestly the Japanese dub just didnt make me feel that way. Now just to be clear I'm not a sub hater, I'm a little concerned about the new World God Only Knows dub, even thou Chris Patton is a good VA, Hiro Shimono has always been Kemia to me, but dubbing compies have been doing good with not fucking up shows in recent years so I'm not that worried. There are a few shows actually I refuse to watch dubbed, mostly older shows, but the main one is Elfen Lied, the dub is terrible so I just put on the subs, i usually do the same with Higurashi, whcih was done by Funimation and they usually do a good job. Also as to dubbing compies changing character names, setting, plots, even thou it really doesn't happen anymore, I would totally be on board for burning their office to the ground for it.

It depends, really. I don't mind dubs, as long as they give the emotion the scene and dialogue is meant to be giving. Like for Bleach, even though I dont like Bleach, it has really good dubbing.
One Piece (Funimation ofc...4kidz can die) and Fullmetal Alchemist are also very good examples. Luffy's laugh sounds almost the same. XP

But if its like, say an anime about romance or something more emotionally complex, I prefer the Japanese voices because the story was written in Japanese, their emotions and stuff. The English voices just cant convey it the same way as the Japanese, because the difference in the two languages is too much.

Oh, I completely agree. In some cases it would make more sense for them to be speaking English in a futuristic sci-fi setting.

And of course dubs can be well done, Cowboy Bebop was fantastic. But I do also agree with others on the limitation of dub voice actors. There may actually be a fair few of them out there, but it definitely isn't apparent when I turn on the TV and see Johnny Yong Bosch voicing another character.

There are very, very few well done dubs that I've found. I generally can't stand the voices, but even if I can, there's a ridiculous amount of violence/sex taken out even in shows revolving around them as a plot (censorship in Naruto comes to mind). The only one I can think of with good voices, and not censored, is Yu Yu Haksuho...

Then again, something I don't like about watching with pure subs is you have to be watching the screen all the time. You can't do something else or get distracted even for a second. This is one of the reasons that I want to learn Japanese...





Sanji's VOICE also comes to mind. 'Nuff said. Yeah, 4kids can die.

There are a number of reasons why Dubs seem bad:

- we know English more than we know Japanese, which means we easily recognize when a phrase sounds unnatural.

- as already said above, the way we talk is different; Japanese convey emotion through words, which is wierd in English.

- censorship; completely ruins dubs

- when we first watch subbed, we accept his voice as the characters natural voice. When we later watch a dub, the character sounds weird because it's different from the original voice.

- repetitive voice actors (This actually doesn't bother me, I like Johny Yong Bosch & Yuri lowenthal

Overall, I prefer subs. They also help me learn Japanese, which I need to do before I graduate.

some dubs just dont go over right and the voice over sucks alot/most of the time

I have heard many dubs that just have horrible voice actors. And some times they edit or changes the original wording. Now I am just so used to watching subs that any dubs well done or not just feels wrong to me.

Funny because when I have tried to explain my preference for the sub to some people I have used those clips as comparison.

I would much rather watch something as it was meant to be watched rather than watching an alternate version of it. It's like if we were to watch Family Guy or South Park (both of which I haven't watched in years) in another language it would just be completely retarded because the original voice actors were picked specifically for that role.

I think the same way. The feelings are transmited in a whole different level, you can relate more with the characters and the series.

In the spanish and south american versions.. They even change names ;A; <\3
I grew up thinking that Kagome's -from Inuyasha- real name was Aome thanks to the tv Y-Y