Jump to content

Dubs or Subs


gggg

Recommended Posts

I'm fine with either, but I'll usually watch dub. I prefer being able to just listen instead of having to read subtitles (although I usually have to put on subtitles anyways because I can't hear what they're saying 😭).

But if the dubs actual shit I'll watch it subbed.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My preference is for subtitles, though it was dubs when I first got into anime. And there are some instances where I prefer the dub (Cowboy Bebop for example).

  • Agree 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I much prefer subtitles, indeed these days I only watch subs. However it wasn't always like that because when I started watching everything was VHS and almost everything was dubbed, subs, when you could find them were more expensive. Anime distributors always claimed that dubs were cheaper, but I never quite understood this because for a dub you had to get someone to write the English dialogue, hire voice actors, hire a recording studio etc. Then DVDs came along, which could have both sub and dub and all of a sudden the distributors started releasing series sub only because it was cheaper that way.

Anyway, after watching several series subtitled I decided that I preferred to listen to the original Japanese cast rather than the American cast. I've now now become so used to watching subs that I've reached the point where I don't read them word for word, my brain just absorbs the subs with me needing to consciously read them.

Of course the big problem with watching subtitled series is that when you look away from the screen the characters stop speaking English. 😃 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Personally I prefer dubs because I grew up on dubbed anime and could never get used to the subtitles. In fact I get tunnel vision of sorts when trying to read the subtitles, so dubbed anime is overall just easier and more enjoyable for me. I know the same can't be said about everyone, but I can only speak for myself.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, Otaku Gamer said:

Personally I prefer dubs because I grew up on dubbed anime and could never get used to the subtitles. In fact I get tunnel vision of sorts when trying to read the subtitles, so dubbed anime is overall just easier and more enjoyable for me. I know the same can't be said about everyone, but I can only speak for myself.

A good few years back I was on a forum that had a group of people on it that looked down on dub watchers and regarded them as second class anime fans.  I thought such an elitist attitude was totally wrong, and still do, there's no such thing as first or second class anime fans, we should all be free to watch in whatever format we enjoy best without anyone judging us.

  • Agree 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, Animedragon said:

A good few years back I was on a forum that had a group of people on it that looked down on dub watchers and regarded them as second class anime fans.  I thought such an elitist attitude was totally wrong, and still do, there's no such thing as first or second class anime fans, we should all be free to watch in whatever format we enjoy best without anyone judging us.

I totally agree. Such elitism shouldn't even exist, so it's sad that it does. I'm glad I never stumbled across that forum, I might've picked up self-harm again at such opinions of being a dubs fan. Not my finest times.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I generally prefer subbed, as it's the way it was more or less meant to be heard and seen. Having said that, I appreciate being exposed to different languages maybe a little more than the average person does, so that probably has a lot to do with my preference (even though, in the case of Japanese, I largely have no idea what is being said without the help of the subtitles). I'm with @Ohayotaku on Cowboy Bebop, however. That particular title is an example of when the dub is equal to or greater than the sub. I might say that DBZ falls under that category as well.

  • Cool (Kakkoii) 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I nearly always exclusive watch Anime dubbed, mostly because anime is a visual audio medium and I am not a trained apache pilot capable of splitting my eye sight. If I can only watch something subbed, and I want to watch it, then I'd do it but if their is a recourse to avoid me having to pause and start the show every ten seconds I'm taking it. 

Steam Community :: :: Astolfo shrug

To be fair, I bet most Japanese people watching or playing western media use their version of dubbing - I mean Arbiter from Halo 3 in Japanese did sound pretty bad ass. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I usually prefer subs, but if I always give the dub a chance. I try not to be hardcore on subs but most the time I just prefer them. I do find it mildly annoying if I have to pause to read a whole wall of text, but those moments are few and far between imo.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I do wanna preface that is that a really unfortunate reality is that due to the poor treatment of translators in the industry and the nature of rushed sub and simul dub releases for services means the quality of translations whether subbed or dubbed does suffer and both can be a gamble. The format never truly was a guarantee of authenticity or a lack there of but it is doubly true in the modern sense, just not in a positive way.

But for me it is just going to vary wildly. My natural preference for viewing something by myself is to have a dub with subtitles/close captioning enabled, especially because I am a little hard of hearing. Having this option is something I've loved about DVD and Blu Ray releases. But if a show doesn't have a dub, there's no problem. I'll watch it in the only way that's available. And if there is an option when looking up a show, especially an older one, I might do a little research first or watch a bit of both to compare and contrast and see which I'm vibing with more. And then come to a decision. Re-watching a show I might also watch the version I didn't before.  For example, when watching the a lot of the  old Universal Century Gundam shows, I watched the dubs, which generally will say are well done and perfectly fine ways to experience them. However, I did get something out of rewatching them later with subs because unlike in the dubs there were consistent voice actors for the recurring characters between the different shows like Char and Amuro.

The social nature of group watching adds a whole extra dimension to things. Am I watching something with friends or partners and talking during it? Well, then I'm doing to use the sub because then us talking doesn't interrupt much and we can understand everything. If it's purely an online group watch and we're doing some text chat, then I'm turning on the dub for the exact same reason.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...