The classic issue Dubbed or Subbed

[Az]

Ok, this is the big one. It seperates the otaku from the curious. Do you watch subtitled or dubbed? I want a clean fight here. No blows below the belt. All right... and fight!

[BigMcLargehuge]

1. subbed 9 out of ten times

however, I have seen two titles that actually improve with English dubbing-

Licenced by Royalty (L/R), which was set in a land that mirrored England the characters were all meant to be English. Pioneer (who licenced the title) did a really nice job with the voice characterizations for the English dub.

Blood: The Last Vampire. Although this one might have been produced in both languages as character switched between English and Japanese all through the film. In both cases the voices were well chosen.

[Chovexani]

2. Subbed.

Dubbed anime sounds like nails on a chalkboard to me. It's terrible because 99% of American/Canadian voice "actors" couldn't act their way out of a paper bag. I hate the fact that dual-language DVDs always default to English, because if I'm tired and forget to change the language I'm subjected to those no talent assclown English-speaking people and I literally dive for the remote. Seriously it's like Kryptonite, I can't take the shit for more than a couple of seconds.

There are only two animes I'll watch dubbed: Shinesman, whose English script was 100 times funnier than the original one, and Cowboy Bebop because that was one instance where the people could actually act, and I thought the English voices were better. Especially Faye's, but then again I've never really been a fan of Megumi Hayashibara, I think she's probably the most overrated seiyuu in the business.

I REALLY hate when they "dub" songs though...stupid fucks, it's called "J"-Pop for a reason...Americans can't do J-Pop right and they never will. The worst offender has to be the English version of the Rurouni Kenshin OP...omg that's the worst shit ever, it's a crime against music.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

4. Amen on the Rurouni music. It's horrible.

[Zhade]

5. Man, this post says it all. Agreed.

NT!

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

3. Both simultaneously

I cannot yet understand Japanese, and with dubbed quality improving vastly these days, it's more enjoyable to be able to listen to it in a language I can understand. I still like subtitles, however, to see differing translations.

[auburngrad82]

7. We watched Ghost in the Shell dubbed with subtitles on

The subtitles were completely different from the dub. It wasn't even close. It was actually kind of fun to watch it that way for a while, then it just got annoying.

[shugah]

6. to quote my son

"DUBBED ANIME SUCKS!"

also, i do find that the subtitiles can often add an unexpected facet of fun to the anime watching experience, for instance, "edstroy the idots!" "hoe your potatoes." "you are a dead pie." etc. and why, exactly, does the inuyasha series translate sesshomaru as "the killing pill" for a run of episodes? :shrug:

my vote is for subbed. (my son would not allow me to watch any dubbed anyway.)

:hi: Az