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Sub vs Dub

Do watch DUB/SUB animes of your favorite

  • Dub

    Votes: 7 25.0%
  • Sub

    Votes: 21 75.0%

  • Total voters
    28
13,131
Posts
19
Years
I would say subbed, just because that's how I've been getting most of my anime lately, but...

If there was the choice? If it's an older series (say like pre-2000 or so), definitely subs if possible because I don't trust dubs from before a certain time. A few exceptions do exist in that regard, though. Newer series, I might actually give the dub a chance because I feel they've gotten so much better at it within recent years - although I haven't seen a lot of dubbed series lately, so my sample size is admittedly small - and if it's not god-awful, I might just keep watching the dub.

Really, though, I don't mind either. For me it just boils down to what I have available.
 

Ozymandias

i'm going on a journey
1,069
Posts
10
Years
It makes me really frustrated when people say they only watch subs and that all dubs are **** cause there are some dubs that are just as good if not better than their japanese counterparts.

Baccano, Bebop, Durarara, FLCL, Gurren Lagann, Champloo, and Full Metal Panic are a few
 
31
Posts
10
Years
  • Age 27
  • Seen Oct 14, 2014
I don't really prefer one over the other in terms of anime as a whole. But there are dubs I prefer over the original Japanese such as Dragon Ball and there are subs I prefer over the dubs. I'm usually biased towards a sub if I saw something in Japanese first though. As an aspiring voice actor (in Japanese and English) I find both very well done, most of the voice actors are very talented, I hope to be as talented as them some day.

I like both, most of the time both are very well done. FUNimation does an amazing job with their shows, One Piece for example, is on par with its Japanese counterpart in my honest opinion, the voices fit both the characters and the tone of the series. There are a few particular voices I prefer a bit more in Japanese, but nonetheless they still fit very well.

Another reason I like dubs is because I don't have to give it my undivided attention, I can be browsing this forum while watching Zatch Bell without missing anything in the show (I just so happen to be doing this right now haha.) But with subs, since my Japanese isn't so good, I have to be looking at the screen almost all the time. This won't really be a problem once I'm done learning Japanese haha.

Usually I'll watch a dub if it is available dubbed, unless it is by Sentai or I already saw the sub and don't feel like rewatching it. I watch a lot more subs than dubs though since Crunchyroll is sub only.
 

Luck

¯\_(ツ)_/¯
6,779
Posts
16
Years
  • Seen May 20, 2023
I'd say subs, not only because I'm a closet weeaboo but also because some English anime tend to rearrange or outright cut things out. Even if content is changed for the better, I'd rather see the creator's original vision first and foremost.

Also I have a much harder time recognizing Japanese voice actors, mostly because I don't care about remembering their names. I love Troy Baker and all, but I already get way too much exposure from him in my video games. The world does not need any more Troy.
 

Yukiyo Kayume

Dragon Goddess
204
Posts
10
Years
when I first started watching anime, I started out on the dubs and for a long time that is what I preferred because I thought subs were distracting.

now, I exclusively watch subs because i think that it's awesome to hear the original creation! i mean, in the language it was intended to be in... plus, I think the Japanese voice actors (seiyuus?) do a far better job most of the time in portraying the characters

for instance, I recently heard there was a Magi dub in the making and the voices were just.... well, not good, that I was kinda laughing the whole time and I couldn't take it seriously lol since I watched all of Magi with subs.

some dubs are very good though. such as Bleach and Death Note.

but yeah, I love subs!

(lold at your post Luck. Troy Baker IS everywhere...)
 

antemortem

rest after tomorrow
7,481
Posts
12
Years
I'd say subs, not only because I'm a closet weeaboo but also because some English anime tend to rearrange or outright cut things out. Even if content is changed for the better, I'd rather see the creator's original vision first and foremost.

I agree with this, I think. There are certain anime that I enjoy both of, but it's always old anime that I rehash every now and then because I've still not coped with it being over, like InuYasha, but that's really a whole other deal. As for modern anime, if I've read the manga, I much prefer the dub because then I can tell what's been changed, what was really meant to be said, and so on. If I've never read the manga, I'll settle for watching all of the sub and then trying out the dub when the time comes simply for hearing how the voice acting was carried out. Normally I'm satisfied, but in certain cases (Angel Beats! :|) it doesn't work.
 

Evyl

t r a g i c
261
Posts
10
Years
Sub all the way. I like the voice actors for subs better, since the dub actors more or less try to fit the power level, and don't try and get the personality right.

Byakuya from Bleach, for example. He's a right posh guy and one of the strongest Captains. The subbed voice actor makes him sound posh, adding a certain tone and way of speaking to his voice (it's posh in japanese culture). The dubbed voice actor just sounds generic and like he couldn't care as long as he's paid.
 

starseed galaxy auticorn

[font=Finger Paint][COLOR=#DCA6F3][i]PC's Resident
6,647
Posts
19
Years
Because of my poor reading comprehension and special needs, I've always watched my anime dubbed. It helps me process the details of what I'm watching faster. I have watched some things subbed, like 1 litre of tears... but it's still very hard for me to watch anything subbed.
 
3,722
Posts
10
Years
Exactly this ;) Unfortunately many people feel (because of this fact) that their voices are too high pitched and annoying. I always laugh when they put Kugimiya Rie as an example just because they heard her tsundere roles (in which she's absolutely perfect =D)... these people should seriously hear her voicing Rise from Persona 4.

I'm one of the people who have an issue with high-pitched voices actually XD I don't mind it, to be honest since my solution is to keep away from series that have too much focus on female characters or have too many of them x: Thus my preference for shounen-type anime and a more male-dominated cast. But the female Japanese voice actresses that can do male ones are good.
 

Olli

I am still bathing in a summer's afterglow
2,583
Posts
13
Years
Unless an anime hasn't been dubbed yet, or if the dub is unbearably bad, I'll always go for the dub as a starting point. I often have a habit of doing other things while watching anime, in which cases understanding what's actually being said is a huge convenience. And it's not because most English dubs are that bad either. As someone who's jumped around a bit when it comes to dubs and subs, I always prefer the first one I've watched, since those are the voices I've grown accustomed to and associate the characters with. If I suddenly jump from dub to sub or vice versa, I'll often dislike it at first. I reckon a good example of that is Naruto.

I watched the entire original series in the English dub, but when I got to Shippuuden, only a few episodes had been dubbed. So if I wanted to watch Shippuuden, I'd have to live with the new voices. And it did take a while to get accustomed to, but I eventually started liking them. As more and more episodes got dubbed, I decided I wanted to go back and watch a few of them in English, and I actually turned out dislike the dub after that, which I'd originally preferred. Of course this isn't always the case, and there are a bunch of animes who are just downright bad, but to me, it's all about preference.

So all in all, I honestly don't really have a preference. I reckon if I were to choose something, it'd be English, simply due to how convenient it is to understand the language. But I'm completely fine with either :p
 

Scandalice

now known as Sukyandaru
45
Posts
10
Years
  • Seen Dec 1, 2015
I almost always prefer the subs, because I don't really like how the dub voices sound and because the subs seem to fit better in my opinion. I also dislike most dubs because the dub pronunciations of Japanese names are often weird sounding, maybe wrong.
 

Skystrike

[i]As old as time itself.[/i]
1,641
Posts
15
Years
I prefer subs to dubs. At first, I was an all subs guy. (Reason: Digimon Adventure/Digimon Adventure Zero-Two and the way they were dubbed.) But then I was watching Hoshi no Kirby, which was never fully subbed, forcing me to watch its dub counterpart Kirby: Right Back At Ya!. So really it depends on the dub quality, but if I have a choice, I'll go to subs first.

Of course this doesn't mean that I don't take a look at the dub. I like seeing the differences between the two.
 

Alternative

f i r e f l y .
4,262
Posts
15
Years
I'm going to admit, dubs are seriously my guilty pleasure. There is nothing more I enjoy than listening to a good dub (or cringing to a bad one haha). I mean there are some where I do prefer subs but if I ever get the chance to listen to a dub I'm going to take it. Buying DVDs, or just watching funimation previews on Youtube, whatever it is I really do enjoy some dubs of things. If there's one thing that stands out for me personally, Fairy Tail is something I enjoy for the dub. I love Todd Haberkorn's rendition of Natsu Dragneel it's simply wonderful.

Personally I think it's easier to point out a male voice actor over a female, but it depends on if the voice is incredibly prominent or not. Erin Fitzgerald is one voice I can pick out when I'm watching (or playing) something, because it's so distinguishable from other voice actors. But at the same time she's one of those people who have such a distinguishable voice that it's hard to see her voicing other roles, which I think is a little bit of a problem in the field personally. Vic Mignogna is another one from the male side, where one of his roles is quite prominent -- even fantastic in one series, but you hear that voice in something else and it doesn't sound too good, like it fits the character all too well. I know he's quite popular in funimation productions, you hear him in Fullmetal Alchemist, Ouran Highschool Host Club, Soul Eater and so forth, where it sounds the same a lot of the time. I suppose with video games it's a little harder to tell the difference but anime it's almost always easy to tell the voice. Personally my favourites in the field of voice acting are Kaiji Tang, Liam O'brien, Amanda C. Miller, and Yuri Lowenthal on the english side of things. You could also possibly say that Sean Chiplock is another one I like, but it seems like you are a bad person if you like him because of his personal life or something. :/ On the japanese side my favourites will always be Tomokazu Sugita, Hidenobu Kiuchi and Yoshimasa Hosoya (I found out he voices a lot of my favourites in series' haha). I don't think I have favourites in the female side of things, I can't find them appealing or distinguishable at all.

What a tangent I went on ahahaha.
But my point is that I do see the appeal in dubs, but I'm more of a sub man. If I enjoy a dub I can watch it or if I bought a DVD I'll watch the dub. Right now sorta on and off I'm watching The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya and Kids on the Slope in their english glory, both do have good and bad parts to them.
 

Drayton

Chilled Dude of The Elite Four
1,814
Posts
10
Years
  • Age 34
  • Seen Feb 21, 2024
Do you watch SUB/DUB animes?

So suddenly when your favorite anime shows new episode or series. Do you go straight and watch the sub or just wait for a day or two for favorites to be dubbed in English?

For me; I rather stick to dub because most SUB isn't accurately translated than dub.
 

Drayton

Chilled Dude of The Elite Four
1,814
Posts
10
Years
  • Age 34
  • Seen Feb 21, 2024
I was talking how in general dubbed anime going to be aired or how bad dub translates are
 
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