Sub vs. Dub !!! (excluding edited dubs)

[teigeki_calesa]

Meh, I've never been instilled with the "media should be watched in its original form" mindset, so I don't really care whether it's sub or dub, as long as it's done well, or at least watchable, I'm fine with it.

Although, I have to say, Johnny Yong Bosch is Lelouch-arrific.

[ST. Attidude]

Meh, I've never been instilled with the "media should be watched in its original form" mindset, so I don't really care whether it's sub or dub, as long as it's done well, or at least watchable, I'm fine with it.

I totally agree.
Altough I must say that I have major doubts on the English dub for Seto No Hanayome, that is to say, if it exists...

[Atria35]

Paranoia Agent- Sub. The dub is adequete, but the acting and actors chosen for the sub are better.

[KhakiBlueSocks]

[font="Trebuchet MS"][SIZE="4"][color="RoyalBlue"]I have to add one more to my list:

"Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad": Dub - I have to say that, while the Japanese voice actors did an awesome job with the English dialogue, my vote goes to the Dub because, and I know this sounds odd, they dropped the "F-Bomb" and other random swears much smoother than the original Japanese. Also, any opportunity to hear Greg Ayres rock out is welcome in my book!
[/color][/SIZE][/font]

[Wyntre Rose]

I'm back! I said I'd have more, didn't I?

Hikaru no Go: Sub. Now, granted, I only watched one episode of this dubbed, and so it's very possible that the actors may have become more familiar with their characters after a while, but...the dub just grated on my nerves. Especially Sai. Dunno why, I've loved Brad Swaile in other things, but his Sai didn't do it for me. But I really love Sai's seiyuu, Susumu Chiba.

Escaflowne: Sub. Oh my goodness, sub. lol. With a cast like Maaya Sakamoto, Minami Takayama, Jouji Nakata, Tomokazu Seki, Shinichiro Miki...yeah, there's no contest in my mind.

Darker Than Black: Tie. They are both incredible, and both have a plethora of my favorite voices, so I cannot choose.

Saiunkoku Monogatari: Sub. Nothing against the dub, which I saw several episodes of, and had no problems with, but I just much prefer the sub.

Mushishi: Dub. The sub is great, don't get me wrong, but I love this dub. Just about all my favorite Funi actors are in this, and special kudos go to Travis Willingham, who is an amazing Ginko.

Castle in the Sky: Sub. As fun as it is hearing Luke Skywalker...erm, I mean, Mark Hamill, voicing a bad guy...I have to stick with the Japanese for this one. I just...am not so enamored with the two main characters in English...and their Japanese seiyuu were amazing. The rest of the English cast was great, but...yeah.

My Neighbor Totoro: Sub. I know, I'm in the minority here, Miyazaki dubs are generally considered peerless, but...though I don't think this one is bad...the way everyone pronounces Totoro (sounds like Toadero) gets on my nerves. Just a small nitpick, but it honestly does interfere with my enjoyment of the show.

Detective Conan: Sub. By a tiny margin. Though I really liked the idea of Conan thinking in his "Jimmy" voice in the English. That was a cool touch. And I'm a big Jerry Jewell fan, so hearing him more is always a plus. BUT...Conan's kid voice I much prefer in Japanese (and Minami Takayama does the snarky, inner voice of Conan so well that I don't miss the Shinichi voice in Japanese). Plus, the localization of the series gets annoying, and I could even forgive the Americanized names, but it's when the cases are solved by some kind of pun, or something to do with kanji and they completely make up something that has nothing to do with what the visuals are showing on the screen....that gets on my nerves.

D.N.Angel: Sub. I know, I know, a Vic anime that I prefer the sub for?! But honestly, although Vic as Dark is great, and Greg Ayres as Satoshi is ditto, just about everyone else I prefer in Japanese. Especially Daisuke. Miyu Irino is amazing in that role.

Spice and Wolf: Tie. I just. can't. choose. Too much love for both the seiyuu and voice actors, and they all brought their A games. And I'm SO glad that Funi didn't get someone else to sing the EP. Since it was already in English, it would have been easy to do, but the Engrish pronunciation in that song makes me so happy.

Angelic Layer: Sub. I couldn't even finish one episode of the dub. Can't remember why, exactly, but the fact that I never wanted to watch another dubbed episode again makes me think it was pretty annoying.

Spirited Away: Tie. Both are fantastic, though I probably watch the sub more, just because I first watched it in Japan, so it's how I know the characters best. However, the dub is amazing, too, so I certainly have no complaints.

Gankutsuo: Sub. I watched the first episode dubbed on Netflix, and thought it was great, but then I watched it subbed, and I never turned back. Jouji Nakata and Jun Fukuyama are so amazing as The Count and Albert, respectively, that I couldn't bear hearing anyone else voice them.

Soul Eater: Sub. Just barely. There are so many of my favorite voices in both tracks, but the two I slightly prefer in Japanese are my two favorite characters: Death the Kid and Dr. Stein. Not that their VA's were bad at all, I just prefer the Japanese voices.

[AnimeGirl]

Angelic Layer: Sub. I couldn't even finish one episode of the dub. Can't remember why, exactly, but the fact that I never wanted to watch another dubbed episode again makes me think it was pretty annoying.

I admit, the first episode wasn't spectacular, but I watched it all dubbed and the actors really grew into their charries. So my opinion is don't judge until you give it a chance. I gave my opinion on the sub, but that is only seeing snippets, but I'm going to watch it all subbed later. It's just that the part where [spoiler]Tamayo revealed her true feelings for Kotaro, I felt Monica Rial nailed the emotion, while in the sub, whoever played her, it felt kinda stiff[/spoiler] though I DO need to see the sub. So if you can get past the first few episodes, it's a good dub. But each her own. My 2 cents ^.^

[the_wolfs_howl]

I just now realized that I never added this, but I've come to like the Death Note dub. I still think the minor characters are rather bland (and I twitch at all the pronunciations of Japanese names), and generally I prefer the subbed version, but Alessandro Juliani does such an amazing job with L that it just about makes up for everything else. I don't think anyone else could have hit all the subtle nuances that Juliani did, and make it sound so natural and effortless.

[Wyntre Rose]

L/R (Licensed by Royalty): Tie. Dangit, I just cannot choose for this one. On the one hand, the dub is AMAZING. And why have I never heard of any of these people before?! I was starting to think I was pretty familiar with most of the really good VA's by now, but I don't know anyone in this dub. They - with the exception of a few minor characters here and there - are all fantastic. However, I'm a huge Yuji Ueda fan, and he's Rowe, one of the main characters. Jack's seiyuu (the other main character) is also lovely. So...can't choose. I pretty much have to watch every episode twice, once in each language.

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

Toadero? I think that might just be your hearing. It sounds to me like the girls pronounce Totoro as 'Toe-ta-row', which still sounds not quite right. I thought it was meant to be pronounced 'Tot-tor-o'.

[steenajack]

Cross Game: Okay this one isn't all that fair, because currently there is no dub (I wish there were though. T-T...lol XD!) But, so far I like the acting in the sub. Haven't paid too much attention to it since I've been too busy trying to read it (lol XD!), but the dub sounds good and decent enough. Nicely acted thus far. Can't wait to see a dub so I can really compare it.

Millenium Actress: I've only seen a little bit of the dub. So far, the sub and dub both sound even. The main character's younger-self voice sounds a wee-bit off to me in the dub...you can tell it's a woman voicing a little girl. It was fine though, nothing irratating though. I kinda perfer the girls voice in the Japanese version...by a wee smudge though. XD! This is actually odd for me, since I'm more a dub fan. 0.0!

Angelic Layer: I listen to the dub, but IDK, from what I heard from the sub I kinda perfer the Japanese acting and some of the voices over some of the English ones. Although, I agree with AnimeGirl, the VAs are getting better and more into their characters. I think the translation may be a bit off...idk, maybe I'm just being a bit nitpicky...either that or Angelic Layer isn't quite my favorite Anime out there. But hey, that's just my opinion. All in all, I do think I'll be continuing this series since it has still kept me interested. :3! I do think I like this show. XD!

[Sailor Kenshin]

L/R (Licensed by Royalty): Tie. Dangit, I just cannot choose for this one. On the one hand, the dub is AMAZING. And why have I never heard of any of these people before?! I was starting to think I was pretty familiar with most of the really good VA's by now, but I don't know anyone in this dub. They - with the exception of a few minor characters here and there - are all fantastic. However, I'm a huge [SIZE="3"]Yuji Ueda[/SIZE] fan, and he's Rowe, one of the main characters. Jack's seiyuu (the other main character) is also lovely. So...can't choose. I pretty much have to watch every episode twice, once in each language.

Isn't he also Sanosuke in Rurouni Kenshin? I love the guy too.

[Wyntre Rose]

He certainly is. He's marvelous.

[mysngoeshere56]

Bleach: Dub... less language.

D.N.Angel: SUB SUB SUB!!! I don't like Dark's voice in the dub at all. Mio's voice was less annoying in the dub, though... But she's kind of just annoying overall, so I felt an annoying voice pretty much suited her anyway.

Fruits Basket: Dub! I liked Yuki's more masculine sounding voice. I can see why they had him sound like a girl in the sub, but I like his more manly voice a bit better.

Rurouni Kenshin: Dub... His voice in the sub is too feminine for me (but I think he originally had a female seiyuu, too?)

Tsubasa Chronicle: Both versions have great voice acting, but the dub has less language. So, dub as a whole.

xxxHOLiC: Same opinion as Tsubasa.

I would say I prefer the subs for Cardcaptor Sakura and Sailor Moon, but I would suppose those would count as "edited dubs".

[Wyntre Rose]

Rurouni Kenshin: Dub... His voice in the sub is too feminine for me (but I think he originally had a female seiyuu, too?)

That's right. Kenshin is voiced by a woman in Japan.

[Juliannesan]

I'm just gonna start of in saying that a good portion of anime I have only watched the dubs, and not subs. But I will do my best.

First of all, Rurouni Kenshin. [Dubs over subs]
Sorry, but I just don't like Kenshin's voice as much in Japanese as in English, I think it suits his personality better. Not to mention its a guy who dubs his voice, as opposed to his Japanese Seiyuu which is female. [Now, I do understand that he's based off a character from that era that was "feminine" in stature, but I still think he was a strong person and could have had a slightly manlier voice. To me the English just does so much better in all the characters, except maybe Kaoru... Though I do like her voice in English.

Fushigi Yuugi-- [Subs over dubs]
Now, I don't like this show really AT ALL. But! I did like the voice acting a lot. Especially Tomokazu Seki [Whom is one of my favorite Japanese Seiyuus ever, second only to Takehito Koyasu] Which brings me to my next point... I LOVE TAKEHITO KOYASU, who plays as Hotohori. Fantastic jobs. Seki played as Chichiri. I also like the other characters as well as Hikaru Midorikawa who played Tamahome, and even though I am usually opposed to male characters being played by women, I did like Nuriko's voice in Japanese done by Chika Sakamoto. And Tasuki's voice by Nobutoshi Hayashi.

All in all, great Japanese casting, minus Miaka. I can't stand her character anyway though? And I'm not sure people are supposed to like her? But her voice is really annoying, but so is her attitude. Thus my great distaste for the show as a whole, plus other things. But yeeah.

Full Metal Alchemist -- Dub wins. [But the Japanese cast wasn't terrible either, its just that when I started watching it in dubs, I couldn't really stop]

Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood. [Tie?] I'm not too crazy about the voice acting I've heard so far, aside from Vic, Colleen and Travis, like others have said. Meh, I don't know. I haven't watching it yet, so we'll see.

CLANNAD. [Dubs over subs, just slightly though] I think their voices match their characters quite well, I got really into the dubs in the first season, and then when I saw the "After Story." I was just used to the English, but the Japanese did great also. I just like certain characters better in English. Like Nagisa. I think she sounds much more like her in the English.


Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle. [Dubs slightly over subs, again]
I reallyreally loved the English cast, Vic is awesome [as usual] and I much prefered Syaoran's & Sakura's voices in English, as well as Mokona & Kurogane's. I dunno. I just think for the most part Vic fits his character's so well. [Not ALL the time, but a good portion of the time].

Weiss Kreuz [[SIZE="2"]the main anime & OVA, not Weiss Gluhen, as I refuse to watch it[/SIZE]] Subs, wayyy over dubs

Again, not the best series of anime, though I enjoyed it. I LOVED THE CHARACTERS & VOICES in Japanese. Takehito Koyasu, Tomokazu Seki, Shinichiro Miki & Hiro Yuuki. Best cast. Mmhm.
That's all I'm gonna say about that.

Saiunkoku Monogatari -- [Tie]
It's really hard for me to say, it's really hard to beat Tomokazu Seki, who once again STARRED in this series, along with Kentarou Itou, whom I looove as a seiyuu as well, I just think he plays Ensei so well, and again with Hikaru Midorikawa, and again. Takehito Koyasu! As Sa Sakujun. I was really ready to pounce on the English dub of his voice and the one for Ran Ryuuren. But I was pleasantly surprised at how well they tried to match the Japanese voices, They did a pretty darn good job in my opinion. So I really love both, and I'll watch either at anytime.



Well, that's all for now, I'll post more later. Maybe.
I really liked both casts a lot, and I heard the whole series originally in Japanese and I LOVED the cast, and then I heard it in English and didn't really like it at all at first, but then it grew on me, and I still hope to see a dub in for the second season.

[tojik]

I overwhelmingly prefer subs, so it's pretty special when I prefer a dub:

Martian Successor Nadesico - A great watch either way, but the dub dials up the goofiness while still nailing the serious drama. I think Akito Tenkawa was *the* role for Spike Spencer.

Haibane Renmei - Back when this was first released, I had never heard any anime dubbing that made me think an English cast could handle such a delicate drama. Dead wrong, of course! The English Reki and Rakka are completely immersing, and everything falls into place from there (I also love the English voice of Midori).

Big O - I'm usually put off by English VAs fumbling through Japanese names, but Big O inverts that problem. The Dub soundtrack sounds far more natural, and (IMO) Lia Sargent's Dorothy R is definitive.

Trigun - Ditto to the above, though more mild. Love Bosch's Vash.

Spirited Away - Much preferred Chihiro's English VA.


Also, two favorite dub moments:

Fullmetal Alchemist - Scar's "man who inflicts suffering" scene gives me goosebumps. It's my favorite moment in FMA, subbed or dubbed.

Robotech - I grew up with this one, but being more of a purist was looking forward to seeing the original Macross, especially for the music. So it came as a bit of a shock that the climatic moment of the entire series plays better to "We Can Win"! ("My Boyfriend is a Pilot" beats most of the Minmei music in Robotech, but it's no battle anthem.)


And finally, even though I'll always recommend subs, here are some I *really* recommend:

Boogiepop Phantom - Not a bad dub, from what I've watched of it, but the sound design of the original is very intricate. Even if you watch the dub, I recommend watching the sub for the full experience. (You'll need multiple viewings to sort the story out anyway.)

Escaflowne / Evangelion - In fairness, I haven't watched the entire dubs of either series, but from watching the early epsiodes there seems to be a pretty huge gap in quality between the English and Japanese performances, and both of these series rely heavily on character drama to tell their stories (compared to more typical mecha series).

Sketchbook (sub only) - This is the kind of "delicate atmosphere" show that I think would defy any attempt at dubbing, but I'd love to see a company license it and prove me wrong (very unlikely to happen, it was even pulled from Crunchyroll). Both Sora and Natsumi are among my all-time favorite VA performances.

[Atria35]

Sketchbook (sub only) - This is the kind of "delicate atmosphere" show that I think would defy any attempt at dubbing, but I'd love to see a company license it and prove me wrong (very unlikely to happen, it was even pulled from Crunchyroll). Both Sora and Natsumi are among my all-time favorite VA performances.

Excited to watch this- Cruchyroll did keep the first episode in it's site, so I'm going to see that.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Kenshin being voiced by a female was tough to get used to---as was Kurama! But now I like both, and prefer Ougata Megumi's Kurama.

Not quite there yet with Kenshin. I still give the sakabatou-edge to Hayworth.

[Cadence]

Sketchbook (sub only) - This is the kind of "delicate atmosphere" show that I think would defy any attempt at dubbing, but I'd love to see a company license it and prove me wrong (very unlikely to happen, it was even pulled from Crunchyroll). Both Sora and Natsumi are among my all-time favorite VA performances.

WHAT?! Crunchyroll took it down?! No way...this just shattered my world. Oh, and I agree that Hamazawa Kana's Sora was fantastic. I don't know if a dub would be able to do justice to the character.

[AnimeGirl]

Rozen Maiden Both. I actually really like the dub, but when I watched some of it subbed, it was actually pretty good! So I can deal with either.

Tsubasa Tokyo Revelations Both. I had watched this in Japanese over and over again, so much that I had gotten so accustomed to the seiyuu over the characters. Once the long awaited dub came out, it was like watching this for the first time! The English cast had surpassed their acting skill in the anime series, and made this OVA a fresh new experience! But, I'm still in love with the original audio, so they tie!

Tsubasa Spring Thunder Dub. Based on Syaoran and Sakura's performance alone! Don't get me wrong; the sub was excellent, but the dub surpasses it because of the emotion that Jason and Monica put into their parts! It was just epically beautiful acting! And just like the first OVA, I was so accustomed to the Japanese voices, but man, the dub was so breath-taking! And....like in the movie....Jason's scream surpassed Miyu's.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Wow, long time no here.

Someone gave me an intro DVD to Prince of Tennis, and while I liked it, I looked for the sub and I LOVE that.

Guess I just have a thing for Japanese voices.

[Nanao]

typically i only watch anime in sub version, mostly for language learning purposes ^_^

Spirited Away ~ prefer sub, but the dub of this is really good too. i particularly like Daveigh Chase as Chihiro in the dub. in some ways i like her better than in the sub version.

Serial Experiments Lain ~ either sub or dub

Fullmetal Alchemist ~ sub. i just like the sound better. sorry, i know it's lame.

Bleach ~ sub. the dub just doesn't sound realistic for me.

Grave of the Fireflies ~ usually sub, but the dub isn't bad either

Mushishi ~ prefer sub. for some reason, this anime sounds off to me when it isn't in Japanese. maybe that's because to me it has a distinctively non western feel to it.

[ShunketsuXZ]

One Piece- I'd take either one, both are good. I'm just more used to Sub.

FMA Brotherhood- same as One Piece.

Dragon Ball Kai- Dub, only because the sub is nothing original whereas they actually fixed things with the dub

Original DBZ- Definitely sub, the dub was butchered.

[MxCake]

it depends for me of what im doing if i want to do something like surf the web and watch anime i usually pic dubed so i can hear what there saying haha but if all im doing it watching the anime then ill pick subed. i really dont care unless its cheesy sounding then i would whatch the anime when i have nothing else to do haha.

[Atria35]

Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann - I caught this in dub on the sci-fi channel last night. While the dub was good, I really did NOT care for their voice for Yoko. In the sub she has a tomboy voice, which is appropriate. I mean, she is a tomboy- a girl with a gun, and not afraid to use it! But they gave her a too-young girly-sweet voice in the dub. I hated it. So sub for me!

EDIT: and looking at the VA for her, somehow I'm not surprised that she doesn't fit. All her roles are for the sugary-sweet, gentle girls, or pre-teen ones.

[Atria35]

Eh, double-posting, but I can't edit my other one now.

Hell Girl- Just a superb dub. I hate to say it, but it might just outdo the sub! Voices are appropriately creepy and fitting, acting is well-done... I think this dub is Baccano! level for me.

[Atria35]

It's been a while, so why not?

The Place Promised in Our Early Days- Tie. The VAs were excelent on both sides.

Summer Wars- sub, if only because there's a bit more language in the dub. Otherwise.... well, I still prefer the sub ever so slightly.

[Sapphire225]

Full Metal Alchemist (both the first and Brotherhood): Dub, the voice acting is great,a dn like someone said before, it has Vic!

Darker Than Black: Dub, the voices are great, especially November 11's accent.

Kuroshitsuji: Dub, the English and other European accents are on the spot.

Higurashi no naku koro ni: Sub by far. Dub is atrocious, IMO.

Cowboy Bebop: Dub, I think this goes without saying.

One Piece: Sub, he dub could have been better is someone other than 4kids had done it. But in reality, it isn't really bad at all.

As you can see, I'm usually nclined to dubs more.

[rocklobster]

new additions:
Full Metal Alchemist: I really think the sub voice doesn't work for Ed. It sounds too feminine.
Chobits: Crispin Freeman is so funny as Hideki!

[Maokun]

No dubs for me. Just no.

I'm not sure if I've just been particularly unlucky with the few anime I've watched dubbed, but in every case I couldn't last more than 5 minutes before recoiling in disgust and anger. Everyone sounds bored and dull (except the characters that are meant to sound bored and dull, in which the voice actor tries so hard to achieve that effect, that it comes out as psychotic,) the kids sound like adults pretending to be teenagers, the teenagers sound all like spoiled sons or daughters of rich families, and women trying to sound either innocent or sensual fail in ways that would be hilarious if it wasn't all so sad.

Not to mention english VAs seem all uncapable of screaming in earnest: they think that saying "AAAHH" without any inflexion in a loud voice can pass as a scream of anger, enthusiasm, pain or whatever. And don't get me started on the way they pronounce the Japanese names (and that when they don't droop to the even more odious practice of simply changing them to western names.)

Bad experiences aside, I just dislike them in principle. If there were no other possible ways of enjoying your foreign media than dubbed, it would be understandable; however, having readily available the always superior choice of subs, I firmly believe it's inexcusable to choose the dub (unless we're talking of edited/joke dubs.) To watch the sub is to be exposed to the media as it was created: with all the subtle nuances of entonation and the careful selection of VA which is usually one of the first choices in an anime productionthat end shaping the whole development of a character. All things that are easily lost in translation.

All this without even touching the fact that subs have more chances of providing an accurate translation because they're unhindered by the need of lipsynching (which by absolute nature will always look more forced when trying to accommodate foreign words, as opposed to having the actual animation be built around the dialogue as it happens in the original work!)

Yes, I'm ready to admit that surely some dubs make a really good work out of it which is commendable. However, there is not a single way in which a dub can possibly be better than a subbed original (once again, barring intentional editing with homorous purpose.) I've heard that some people say that they find difficult or distracting to read the subs, but I believe that's just a result of not watching enough subs and getting trained eyes for it. I can positively state that as I read, I don't miss a single frame of animation and everything is experienced and processed as a whole.

The only dubs I ever liked where the Spanish ones back at my home country, but that's because Mexicans (which I'm not, btw) have a gift for localization and interweave so many idioms, regional accents and Latin pop culture references in whatever they'r dubbing as to count as edited dubs. And that applies not only to anime: Shrek, The Simpsons and Pinky and the brain are all 50% more funny in those dubs.

Bonus trivia fact: Everything that's good about Mononoke Hime's dub can be credited to the genius who thought of putting Neil Gaiman in charge of localization. True story.