When watching Anime, do you prefer...

[Vernikova]

Exactly digi-kun, you were already learning the language. Watching subs will not teach you the characters, just a few words that would make people look dumb if they don't actually speak.

But you do agree with me that you can't learn any language by watching the subtitles of a show?

 

[digi-kun]

Oh, by that i was implying that i started classes after starting watching anime and listening radio streams

As far as learning through subtitles go, it's not really that you can't, it's mostly that people don't. If you actually try to dig into the language, patterns, words, etc. Most people probably just end up getting into the story and forget about the vocab and stuff. Makes it a lot easier when you're watching alongside raws though

 

[devilicious]

Indeed, watching raw anime and then watching the sub does help one learn the language. Taking classes alongside that and memorizing some key expressions work wonders too.

And learning the characters [at least hiragana and katakana] is not hard at all- you can do it alone just by studying via the internet, so eh. I even learned some kanji thanks to anime, actually.

 

[Vernikova]

So are yous guys saying that by only watching subs you can learn Japanese? I don't think you are but is that it?

 

[Outlander]

depends on the anime
for animes like naruto and bleach I prefer the jap version with english subs
for things like cowboy bebop , dragonballz ,Beck, and Fma I prefer the Dub because they are better in my opionion
just depends on what it is for me

 

[Ayano Katagiri]

So are yous guys saying that by only watching subs you can learn Japanese? I don't think you are but is that it?

Personally, I think you can as long as you're making the effort to do so. I take Japanese at school and really pick up a lot of new vocab and phrases when watching subs. And I agree with digi-kun and rikanai. Watching raws alongside subs certainly does help someone learn bits of Japanese.

Of course, reading and writing is a completely different area.

 

[GunSaberSeraph]

Dubs, if possible, though I'll always go with subs if the series is further ahead in Japan.

You're just like me. i started watching Bleach subs when I found out that it would take the American version a year or so to get past the bounto filler and to the Arrancar Arc. I'm not a very patient person, so i decided to "cheat".

 

[Vernikova]

Personally, I think you can as long as you're making the effort to do so. I take Japanese at school and really pick up a lot of new vocab and phrases when watching subs. And I agree with digi-kun and rikanai. Watching raws alongside subs certainly does help someone learn bits of Japanese.

Of course, reading and writing is a completely different area.

Well, at least we're at a common ground now :classic:.

 

[Hikari318]

So are yous guys saying that by only watching subs you can learn Japanese? I don't think you are but is that it?

You can't learn a language by just watching a show, anime or not, sub or raw.
But it does help a lot if you're learning it at the same time (that's actually a really nice experience... I remember that when I learned a certain grammar point (it was the "-ta hou ga ii" structure), I kept hearing it afterwards. It's not that it didn't exist before, but that I never noticed it until then).
It also helps because it gives you an opportunity to hear the language, which is an important part of the learning process (not only with Japanese : you can do that with any language, just find some movies in their original versions)
It can also help with vocabulary, other than "kawaii" and "niisan", but for that you have to pay close attention and focus on learning new vocabulary, not really cool if you want to enjoy the show. Though the best way, for me, was to watch raw with an electronical dictionary : try to understand and quickly search new words when they're too important in the sentence that you can't skip them. This requires a certain level of understanding though. But you can be sure some of those words will be stuck in your head for a while, especially if they're repeated a lot (I learned all my police-related vocabulary by watching Detective Conan with this method), and thus will be easy to remember.

A good way to get better when you're already fluent enough is to do the subbing yourself :D

 

[Suzume]

I just want to make this clear. You can't learn Japanese by watching subs or raw. The most you"ll get of it is "Kawaii" and "Onii-chan". You can't learn to spell these things or anything

I agree that you can't learn to fully understand or speak japanese by watching subs or raws, BUT I must say that it does help to give you the basis. I mean, I've watched subbed anime for years but never studied japanese language. If I tried to watch the raws, I still can't understand what they are saying. However, I've noticed that I actually recognise pretty many words from their speech that I didn't even knew I knew. I can also tell for example if the person is talking more polite than usual or has some kind of accent. This basis will propably be a big help if you, for example, travelled to Japan as an exchange student.

As an answer to the question, I watch subs and subs only. With raws I just miss too much dialogue that I could keep up with the story. Well, I've occasionally watched some dubs just for the laughts. (well, I'm not sure whether to laught or cry with One Piece's 4kids dub :P) I'm not saying dubs can't have high quality, but I'm just fine with the original japanese seiyuus. Besides, with dubs I would have to listen american's terrible pronunciation of japanese names. (I'm sorry, but... that's just the way it is ^^)

 

[Sweet Speed]

I prefer Sub because you see the origninalty of the Actors and actresses and it also less censored.

However when the dub wants to be good, it can be extremely good =).

 

[Unforgettable]

To me, it depends on my mood and the anime. XD
Like Digimon, I grew up watching the dub, so I prefer the dub. TMoHS I really liked the dub on it cause I liked the voice actors, Romeo x Juliet I like the sub, I don't even know if there is a dub out there. Same for Strawberry Panic and Junjou Romantica. So really... it depends. And if I really like an anime, I will watch both and compare them :3