animé Article: animé Dubs and Subs

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posted by BatCountry9000

Funimation is one of the plus well known dubbing companies.

Funimation is one of the more well known dubbing companies.

I'm sorry... but I have to get this off of my chest.

Anyone who is familiar with me will know that, when it comes to animé shows, I always watch the english dub. I only watch animé with subs if the animé hasn't been dubbed yet (which is usually the case for most of the animé I watch) ou has been dubbed par a company I don't trust (I'm looking at you, Ocean Productions).

However, it seems that according to the fans of anime, watching english dubs is a sin against god. They think that the english language is terrible and would prefer the japanese language. Honestly, this makes me sick. It makes me sick to my stomach, and it pisses me off to absolutely no end at all.

People who hate english dubs will often use these arguments whenever on the subject.

"Subtitles give toi the same experience the japanese viewers received"

Sorry, but no. The experience toi get from subtitles is no better than watching it english dubbed. In fact, it's worse, since not only are toi unable to understand the voices, the stupid text at the bottom blocks the art. Do toi think that the japanese watched it with text at the bottom?

Also, when I watch animé with subtitles, toi know what experience I get? I get the experience of lire a book. As someone who enjoys lire Stephen King books, I don't want that. I want the experience of watching a TV show, since that's exactly what I'm doing.

"The animé is censored when it's dubbed"

toi know what? Yeah. You're right. Some animé is censored when translated into english. toi want to know WHY that is?

It's because the company in charge of dubbing is... oh, I don't know, AIMING IT TOWARDS KIDS?! Most of the animé fans I know of are teenagers (usually around my age) ou young adults (usually around the age of 20). Companies like DiC and 4Kids! aren't aiming the dubbed animé at teenagers and young adults. They're aiming it at kids.

If they see something that they deem inappropriate for little kids, they'll éditer it out. It was the case with DiC and Sailor Moon (yes, I am aware that Sailor Uranus and Neptune are cousins in the dub and not lesbians. Frankly, it's a change that I can live with), and it was the case with 4Kids! and most of the animé they dubbed.

"The original japanese voices are always the best"

To those that use this argument... did toi even go to school?

I guess not, because if toi did, you'd know the definition of the word "original". Original means that it came first, not that it's better. I haven't watched Cowboy Bebop, but I know that most fans consider the english dub par Viz Media to be superior to the original japanese dub.

Being the original doesn't mean that it's any better. Saying that the japanese dub is better is pretty much the equivalent of saying "The original rue Fighter II is better than Super rue Fighter II Turbo" ou "The original Resident Evil on PS1 is better than Resident Evil REmake on the Gamecube".

Subtitles provide a plus accurate translation

Alright, I'll admit that this argument DOES hold a little water. Sometimes, whenever an animé is dubbed, the script does get a change ou two. However, that's usually because that certain part of the script doesn't exactly translate well.

Here's an example. In One Piece, there was a moment where Zoro referred to Nami as a "komono", which means "little servant". "Little servant" implies that whoever was called that had child-like features, hence why Sanji thought that Zoro called Nami flat-chested (which we know isn't true). The joke doesn't exactly translate well in english. At least Funimation gave it a shot.

"Funimation/Manga Entertainment/4Kids!/Ocean Productions/*insert dubbing company here* always uses the same voice actors over an over again"

I don't really know about that. Last time I checked, japanese voice actors had just as many, if not more, roles as american voice actors. Romi Park and Vic Mignogna have almost the same amount of animé roles.

Besides, I think it's good that voice actors are used over and over again. It shows that the voice actor has skill and can voice many different characters. It's the reason why Christopher Sabat is my favori english voice actor.

"The japanese voice actors are way better"

Let me ask toi this. Are toi japanese? Can toi understand japanese? Can toi recognize when japanese voices are good? No? Then shut the hell up, because toi are in absolutely no position to say that.

Breaking out of the realm of animé and jumping into the realm of video games for a little bit, I want toi to listen to both the english voice jouer la comédie and japanese voice jouer la comédie of Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 (only for the Capcom characters, since the Marvel characters always speak english).

Compare Chris Redfield's japanese voice to his english voice.

Compare Morrigan's japanese voice to her english voice.

Compare Spencer's japanese voice to his english voice.

Compare Phoenix Wright / Naruhodo-kun's japanese voice to his english voice.

Chris Redfield's japanese voice sounds laughably bad. However, I will cut him some slack, since Chris has never been voiced in japanese before. The japanese releases of the Resident Evil games always had the characters speak in english with japanese subtitles.

Morrigan's japanese voice tries way, way, WAY too hard to sound "sexy", "seductive", and "orgasmic". Seriously, it sounds like she's taking a good dump and having an orgasm at the same time. Disappointing, since her voice in Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom kicked ass.

Spencer's japanese voice is just... ugh. No words can describe how horrible it is. Sorry, but the epic line known as "BIONIC AAAAAAAARRRRRMMMMM" clearly wasn't made to be a dit in japanese.

Phoenix Wright / Naruhodo-kun's japanese voice sounds like he just drank over 9000 (no pun intended) cups of coffee, which is ironic, since Wright isn't exactly a fan of hot coffee being thrown at him.

Try telling me that japanese voices are always better after listening to those.

Those were some of the arguments that sub amoureux use against dubs. Needless to say, they're all stupid.

Now, let me say this. Whenever I watch anime, I want to WATCH it. With subtitles, toi have to take your eyes to the bottom of the damn screen (thus causing toi to miss something going on) and READ. If I wanted to READ, I'd grab my freaking Stephen King livres off my shelf. I seriously cannot stress this enough. animé is for WATCHING, not READING. I want to WATCH anime. WATCH it, not READ it.

And some of toi will probably say "Oh, it won't matter if you're a fast reader". NO, motherfuckers. It DOES matter. And I say that as a fast reader who can scan his eyeballs across the screen fairly quickly.

Anyways, I hope that this rant convinces toi that english dubs aren't as bad as the retards out there make them out to be. I will close this with a quote.

"I'd rather not READ a TV show" -Vic Mignogna

Cowboy Bebop is a dit to have an english dub that is superior to the japanese dub.

Cowboy Bebop is said to have an english dub that is superior to the japanese dub.

In Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3, characters like Firebrand and Nemesis are blessed with not having a stupid japanese voice.

For those that desire to read, there's a little certain something called "Manga".

Hetalia fans consider the english dub to be superior due to the fact that it contains accents.

English dubs of hentai animé tend to suck (with the exception of La Blue Girl, which has a "so bad it's good" dub).

English dubs of hentai anime tend to suck (with the exception of La Blue Girl, which has a "so bad it's good" dub).

When dubbing Sailor Moon, DiC considered the idea of lesbiennes too mature for little kids, hence why Sailor Neptune and Uranus are cousins in the dub, not lesbian amoureux like in the original japanese dub.

When dubbing Sailor Moon, DiC considered the idea of lesbians too mature for little kids, hence why Sailor Neptune and Uranus are cousins in the dub, not lesbian lovers like in the original japanese dub.

Thankfully, mistakes like this definitely never occur in english dubs.

NectariaKiritsi, CuteSherry and 6 others like this

xxtaysuicunexx I feel like a stalker and I kind of don't want to post because I've posted on like everything you've done on dubs vs. subs but I just want to point some things out. I'm not going to flame you or anything but you stated some things that opened you up for people to attack you. The first thing: "Saying that the japanese dub is better is pretty much the equivalent of saying "The original Street Fighter II is better than Super Street Fighter II Turbo" or "The original Resident Evil on PS1 is better than Resident Evil REmake on the Gamecube"." This argument holds no real substance because there might be some people out there that DO think "The original Resident Evil on PS1 is better than Resident Evil Remake on the Gamecube." That's not very supportive because it's heavily opinionated, which, granted, this whole dubs vs subs is an opinion based argument but that support wasn't the greatest you could have used. Second: "Chris Redfield's japanese voice sounds laughably bad..." From that point on you became hypocritical in your argument. If people have no right to say that Japanese voices are better because they aren't Japanese/Can't understand Japanese/Etc., then you have no right to say how the Japanese voices are bad for the same reasons. That whole argument against Japanese voices being better just became null and void and it makes you look like a hipocrite which people can use against you. Third: Another thing is that you said the Japanese voices were bad because of the tone/how they sounded. Well, that's how people that do like subs can tell whether a Japanese voice is good or bad. By the tone and sound of the voice. They compare the sounds of the actors/actresses voices to one another to determine whether it is good or bad. Fourth: "In japan, the Resident Evil games always had the characters speak in english with japanese subtitles." You, literally, made your ENTIRE subs vs dubs argument null and void just by that sentence. Those 16 words killed you right there. How? Well how do you think those Japanese people feel having to play Resident Evil with subtitles? I'm sure there are probably a few that don't like it. You might not think it invalidated your argument but if you really look at it and think...it did. Fifth: "And some of you will probably say "Oh, it won't matter if you're a fast reader". NO, motherfuckers. It DOES matter." First, that cussing was extremely disrespectful again and, in the real world, also makes your argument null and void because that's "Playground Arguing" as my English teacher would say. And for someone that sat through countless Debate Speeches I can see how that turns an argument from decent to something that sounds like something an Elementary schooler would do (although probably not cussing). In the real world this argument would be laughed at and thrown away simply because you used the name-calling technique. Anyways, this is also not strong support because maybe to YOU it matters but there are people that don't think it matters. I don't think it matters since I'm a fast reader and I can read the subtitles in a few seconds and still have time to watch the scene and know what happened. And I'm probably (more than probably) not the only one out there that thinks that. If you would have said "...Well to most people who watch dubs it DOES matter..." that would have been better because it was a collective opinion when you stated it like a fact because apparently to the people who do watch the subs it DOESN'T matter since, well, they're wathcing the subs and not the dubs. Your statement is fairly weak by making an opinion seem like a fact instead of giving yourself a better standing for people not to attack you. Well, I'm done here and like I said I wasn't trying to flame you or anything like that I was just trying to show you some loop holes in your Subs vs Dubs thing. I know you were just getting it off your chest too and hopefully not trying to offend anyone but there might be people out there that are going to see this post and actually flame you so. Whether you ignore everything I've said or use it I don't really care but I just thought I'd say this since these loop holes stood out to me so much. :)

xxtaysuicunexx hypocrite* just noticed I had a misspelling on that. Lol

BatCountry9000 ^ The first thing: "Saying that the japanese dub is better is pretty much the equivalent of saying "The original Street Fighter II is better than Super Street Fighter II Turbo" or "The original Resident Evil on PS1 is better than Resident Evil REmake on the Gamecube"." This argument holds no real substance because there might be some people out there that DO think "The original Resident Evil on PS1 is better than Resident Evil Remake on the Gamecube." That's not very supportive because it's heavily opinionated, which, granted, this whole dubs vs subs is an opinion based argument but that support wasn't the greatest you could have used. Lets look at it this way. When Resident Evil REmake was released, Capcom did everything in their power to improve the game. They improved the graphics (they're no longer pre-rendered and are now animated), they improved the sound (the voices no longer sound like some random Capcom employee shoved into a recording booth), they added in some new stuff (costumes are always awesome), and they improved the controls a bit. With Street Fighter II, Super Street Fighter II Turbo had much more. More characters, faster speed, remixed soundtrack, and it even introduced super moves, an idea that would be cemented into the later games. Yes, I am aware that there are people who prefer the original. However, when you think about it on a technical level, the updated versions of those games ARE superior.

xXitachiXx "The japanese voice actors are way better" What you said, under that killed me..xD

cheese2cute I agree. I do like dubs much better. Although sometimes the dubs tend to cut out scenes or what not. I don't really mind it though.

vampiressJazz Well i can speak japanese thank you very much, so i can tell what's a good voice. not all anime fans are dumb weeaboo's whose Japanese vocabulary consists of only 'Kawaii'

Fitch I remember watching Sailor Moon dubbed when I was a kid and always thought they sounded weird. It wasn't until the internet and anime became bigger did I realize that Sailor Moon was an anime and not a cartoon. It finally made sense why I thought they always sounded weird. Anyways I personally like things subbed. I like hearing the Japanese voices. It just feels right. I cringe when I hear something dubbed. You assume people that watch subs can't enjoy anime as much as people who watch dubs. But to me, watching subs is second nature. So I can enjoy an anime just as much as the person who watches it dubbed. So it being second nature, to me, watching subs never feels like I'm reading a book.

SaveWord_Apples I almost always watch dubs! as you said watching with subs is too much like reading a book to me, but sometimes watching with subs can be fun too!

BatCountry9000 @Fitch I watched Sailor Moon when I was a kid as well, and it didn't sound weird. And let me ask you this: What if the japanese voices were total shit? Would you watch it subbed then?

kitmolly123 "The Japanese voice actors are way better" When people say that,they mean that the Japanese voice actor fits much better for the character than the English voice actor. It's not the matter of the other language,but the tone of the characters.

koolaz Such a article, better than I could ever do!!!!!! I agree totally wth what your saying!!! Why watch a movie with subs, its stupid!!! I couldn't have said it better myself!!!! Weldone!! I'm gonna give you a prop kind sir!

BatCountry9000 ^ Thanks.

fillassunshine i always watch both versions of a anime i like. sometimes i like the english version, sometimes the japaneses i guess it depends. you put up a good argument here and got me thinking.

blackpanther666 I think this just is a pointless rant, if you ask me. Why do you have such a problem with OTHER people liking subs? I like subs, because I understand a lot of the Japanese I hear and I enjoy hearing anime in subs, because for me it actually feels MORE authentic than hearing in dubbed, though I like dubs as well. If you like dubs and don't like subs, then congratulations, you offically have an opinion (just like all the people like to watch anime in subs) and you are obviously a huge hypocrite and a a bit of a hater too (I see people do this all the time, why do people have to hate on anime-related things, when we can all just like what we like and not be restricted by stupid opinions like yours, because it IS a stupid opinion... I love subs and you'll never manage to convince me otherwise) I say, good day to you, Sir/Madam.