Anime & Manga Subbed or Dubbed Anime

[e c h o]

Which do you prefer?!

Personally, I usually go for the subtitles because I like the way everything is worded instead of their dubbed counterparts.

 

[Emmie-inactive]

Subbed almost every time for me. I just think that the subbed voice acting is better. This is probably a perception that I have only because Japanese is not my native tongue, though.

Plus, I know that things get lost in translation a lot. Not just in anime, but in other mediums. I feel that watching subbed anime then reading posts people make about those lost meanings just feels... I don't know. Right. To me, anyway.

 

[Count Gensokyo]

I'm not a sub elitist by any means. If a dub is bad, I'll watch it subbed, but I haven't had many troubles with that for the most part. I'd mainly like to watch in a language I'm familiar with, but there's nothing wrong with subs.

 

[AnimeGenork]

I started with dub (accidentally) when I saw Digimon on NickToons, and then I saw Attack on Titan in dub on Toonami. So I've basically been started on dub and can't stop the chain. I'll watch a dub just to see how the anime itself is, and then, if I like it (plot, characters, etc) then I'll rewatch in sub. (Though I only did this for Blue Exorcist because I wanted to rewatch it to prepare for the upcoming season.) Sometimes the dub quality is crappy, and I know that. But to be fair, they're trying their best to translate it in a way that the movement of the characters' mouths, originally animated to match their Japanese voice actors. I won't call a dub crappy unless there is sufficient reason to. It's a hard business, translating a script for an anime. Not to mention, I personally find it fun hearing familiar voices of actors I like in an anime. I'm sure it happens in sub, too, but it's clearer to me in English.

There are plenty of anime that don't have dubs that I enjoyed in sub. Considering I want to learn Japanese (or at least have the chance to take it in my school), I get to pick up on a lot of things while watching sub. Nisekoi, Pandora Hearts, Gosick--all were really awesome in dub. (Gosick especially.) But if there's something in dub, I'll watch that first so I don't miss anything while watching it. I tend to do homework while I watch anime, and it's nearly impossible to do that while watching sub, since you look away and miss something important. That's half the reason I look for dub first, in any case.

I would give the normal excuse of "I can't read that fast," but I can, so I won't. I like both of them pretty equally, but I always look for dub first. If it's not there, fine. Sub it is!

 

[astraeaaa]

sub all the way. the only anime i watch dub are yu-gi-oh and pokemon, since i've watched them dub from childhood (abd bc its confusing with the different pokemon names in japanese). i used to watch naruto dubbed on tv but now i watch it subbed.
but yeah most of the time i just prefer the sub seiyuus? the voices in sub sort of annoy me rip [#getmorebritishvoiceactors2k17] and sometimes they pronounce things differently too like the names or things get lost in translation and its like nooo. also i just generally love subtitles to make sure i get exactly what they're saying, so even if i did watch something dubbed i'd have subtitles too cx

 

[Tamura_Kaori]

Subbed is more authentic. At least for me it seems so weird that there are English speaking characters in anime which has events clearly located in Japan (is there other languages anime is often dubbed into?). And for me, non-native English speaker, subtitles are easier to pay attention to than speaking, sometimes some accents are so difficult to listen to.

 

[Bacon is fluffy]

It depends. Generally speaking comedies are a lot better in english dubs, like highschool of the dead. But I wouldn't be watching anime if I hated pokemon and dragon ball z, which were better dubbed by far.

Spoiler

Goku sounds like he inhaled a balloon full of helium.

 

[Hall Kervean]

The only dubbed I've liked is L from Death Note is actually better in english.
He sounds more like L would actually sound.
Other than that, subbed has overall been better for me.

 

[SarcasticDingleberry]

I like both subbed and dubbed but I find myself watching animes dubbed rather than subbed because I find it hard to keep up with the subtitles sometimes.
But subbed is good because there is more given information than the dubbed version.

 

[Hall Kervean]

SarcasticDingleberry AND if multiple people are speaking at once, you can catch what they're all saying, as opposed to having to listen over everything.

 

[Passing Through]

I usually try both out and pick which one I like best. When it comes to my all time favorite show, FMAB, I prefer the dub. But I've seen a lot of it in sub as well.

 

[Xel]

I almost watch subbed exclusively but there are times where I actually prefer the dub. Things like Dragonball Z or Black Lagoon are shows where I prefer the dub over the sub.

 

[AnimeGenork]

Subbed is more authentic. At least for me it seems so weird that there are English speaking characters in anime which has events clearly located in Japan (is there other languages anime is often dubbed into?). And for me, non-native English speaker, subtitles are easier to pay attention to than speaking, sometimes some accents are so difficult to listen to.

From what I've seen, there are French and German dubs sometimes, too

 

[Elephantom]

Sub for me, it seems. I just don't see the need to ruin a work's original essence.

 

[RoyalPhoenix32]

Both. Depending on which studio does a good job on the dub I'll watch dub, but I don't find very many that are dubbed anymore.

 

[Figuratively]

Depends. Some dubbed animes are done really well, though I would say that most are done poorly.

Subbed I generally prefer because of better translations without the worry of a voice actor trying to fit the mouth movement of a character. So tons gets lost in translation. Also, you get episodes quicker with subs vs dubs.

 

[Blemmigan]

I usually need to have subtitles when watching things anyway, so may as well watch the subbed version.

But dubs can be interesting to watch and see what they've done with it. Digimon for example is a treat because the dub is so ridiculous, it's pretty much a completely different experience to the subbed version.

Ghost Stories is the best dub though. If you've never watched it... it's incredible. I don't even know how to describe it.

 

[Myrta]

Raws, gotta practice my 日本語.

But I used to prefer subs. I've always liked listening to Japanese and Japanese voice actors just seem to put in more passion than their English counterparts.

 

[hyakinthos]

I think that if a show is reputed to have a REALLY good dub (FMA:B, Death Note) then I'll watch that, but usually I prefer subs. I don't have anything against English voice actors, only that there seems to be about five of them and I'm sick and tired of hearing the same voices over and over and over again.

 

[Negative Zone]

I kind of default to subtitles but if I hear good things about a dub I'll definitely check it out. Sometimes I'll switch back and forth to get a feel for both casts and settle on what I prefer.

I find with video games though I tend to default to the English voices if it's a dual audio release unless I've heard absolutely terrible things about the English dub.

 

[PillowCannon]

Subbed anime seems the best for me, I am subconsciously used to their voice pitch and little details like the lip sync.

 

[Windsock]

I had to reply in memese

Spoiler: dank

 

[Kawaranu]

English is just not the vibe, maybe for older animes. Maybe...

 

[NekoQueen49]

Like others, it depends. I usually go for sub to help me with my Japanese but I don't mind dub. If I really like a voice actor, then I go for the version with them in it, like with either Vic Mignogna, J Micheal Tatum or in Japanese, Koji Yusa.

 

[Kingfisher]

I started watching anime in dubs only up until I watched Attack on Titan in subs, and only because Netflix didn't have a dub for it. I can say now though that I enjoy subs better even though reading the subtitles and concentrating on the show itself can be difficult at times.

I did enjoy all the dubs I watched, though, and I didn't really notice any bad voice acting... But I'm not particularly observent either. After watching in subs and then rewatching in dubs, though, usually I hate the dubs. For example, I really hate the Attack on Titan dubs now. XD

With subs, though, you get to hear how it originally sounded, and the translation is more accurate because you don't have to arrange the words to fit right like you have to in dubs. I also have begun to pick up on Japanese language a bit just from watching in subs, and seeing how I'll be learning Japanese in about a year from now it's a definite plus for me.