Subs vs Dubs

[Anubis68]

K, so BuBBa and I thought this would be a good discussion. =D

Personally I prefer subtitles with the original Japanese soundtrack. Only exceptions to this for me are Hellsing (Crispin Freeman kicks serious ass) and Saiyuki (think the trash talkin' loses something in the subs). What do you think? Subs or Dubs?

[BuBBa]

Well I would have to say Dubs but not always I tend to listen in English unless it is a horrid translation then I will watch Subs but Films and series like GITS are prime examples of great English Dubs. Also even though I Have all 169eps of Bleach In Subs I still Like the Dubs of that series it was well done and a lot of the newer series have great dubs and Anubis68 is right anytime you have trash talking Dubs are better well that's my take . Yours? Of course I speak 4 languages and I understand a little Japanese so that does give me an edge

[Anubis68]

If there's a ninja or a samurai on the screen I just gotta have the original Japanese. it's just plain badass. Also, I love to watch what's currently airing in Japan and that has done a lot to foster my preference of the original Japanese soundtrack.

I will admit that often you run into bad subtitles that are in Engrish...boooo.

[BuBBa]

Yea I will go with original language if it a Samurai Movie and anything new out of Japan will be Subs so I go with it looks like we are almost agreed on our preferences with slight differences

[Anubis68]

dude, I'm amazed on this one. thought we'd be polar opposites. hehe

[Red Candle]

I listen to both. And don't mind if an anime is only sub. But sometimes I'm eating or something so I listen to the dub then.

[Anubis68]

Now that I think about it, I have to add Mezzo to my list of exceptions. Like the dub on that one also. I've been burned by bad subs and bad dubs alike. Neither is flawless. Subs can be butchered to the point that they're completely useless because they make little sense. Dubs depend upon the quality of the voice actor. A real hack can ruin a perfectly good piece of eye candy. Generally speaking, I'll go for the sub first, not just in anime, but with other genres like foreign horror as well.

[BuBBa]

Yes I agree with that also I have Audition with subs I(I think it is the only way it comes) but Ichi The Killer was neither and everybody spoke everything on that movie Plus all the Classics like Sanjuro and Rashmon and Seven Samurai are only truly Classic in the Original language

[Orion1]

My view is that a good dub is great. However, I really like to listen the Japanese voice fluctuations. However, when subs are done terrible and are way too fast that is bothersome too, and I can read fast. Not three lines in two seconds though if you know what I mean. I've gotten used to the pause button.

[Anubis68]

recently I've run across some subs where the lines of what a character is saying are on top of the translation for what's going on in the background (ex: a translation for a reporter on tv). and you're right about the pause button. If the sub is seriously jacked up it can be the only thing to make it bearable.

[BuBBa]

I took speed reading or I should say I was given it when I was a kid(not that I have grown up any) so yes even with that I can't follow two lines of subs at the same time

[Belgand]

Subs only... with some minor exceptions. Frankly I wish they wouldn't even bother to release anime with dubs. Does anyone watch any other foreign films dubbed? Definitely not! Why should anime be the exception? My only guess is because well... since it already uses voice actors it's a lot easier and far more believable to overdub it into a new language without destroying it as completely as with live-action, but it's still a process I resent. I'd rather have my anime released sooner and hopefully at a lower cost because time and money weren't spent on making a dub that I'm probably never going to listen to.

At the same time there are a few cases where the English dub is tolerable or excellent. While I didn't care for the Hellsing dub (and I must be the only one) it definitely makes more sense to have it delivered by English voice actors with appropriate accents. The GITS:SAC dub was very good, much better than the almost completely intolerable dub for the film (Kusanagi being the main problem). Cowboy Bebop is, well, probably the best English dub that's ever going to be made.

Generally I only watch the dub when it's available on TV and that's the place where I first watched it. If the dub there isn't completely terrible I often find it more confusing and jarring to try and switch to the original. If I'm watching it on DVD then I'll go for subs without question. Even with this I often find that I usually prefer fansubs best of all. The additional cultural notes help in some shows if they're provided, more background and other dialogue is usually translated, and I find that the translations are often more literal which I prefer. Yes, in some cases idioms and the like don't translate well, but I'd rather learn a new word with an explanatory note or learn a transliterated idiom that doesn't make much sense in English (again, with a note if necessary) than have it reworked.

Of course, I watch a lot of foreign film to begin with so subtitles are just a normal and common thing for me. Until we all have babel fish I'm ok with using subtitles as a necessary crutch to enable my enjoyment of everything produced in foreign languages.

Ultimately I'm a purist in almost all things. American remakes are an abomination (especially remakes of British shows and movies... we share a language! If the original is good don't try to rip it off, just export it!) and dubbing is, well, more or less a vocal remake. Subs just let me understand what's being said and keep the original pure.

[TheDarkness]

I prefer subs to dubs for this reason; dubs generally don't follow the convention of making the heroines voices very high pitched and the villains low pitched. I love that. I will not watch an anime for months if i don't have the time to focus on it and read the subtitles. This is especially true for hentai. I also like the flow of how Japanese sounds; the starts and stops and punctuated stresses and glides. I think it enhances the feeling of the scene and what it is attempting to convey.

There are exceptions, though. I usually watch both the subs with the english dub to see how much they match up. If the dub isn't bad and the subs are a wreck, i'll go for the dub.

My dream is to learn Japanese, but i'm not very good with languages, so i'm hoping that listening to it will help me catch on.