Dubbed versus Subbed.

[strawberryshortcake]

Great points everybody, great points. Another thing that's coming to mind is this.

(1) Given that I grew up on Disney and American animation, I had always used both my ears and eyes simultaneously to view programs without giving it much thought. Naturally, I simply hate to "neglect" either sense or even give one sense (vision/sight = eyes) more weight when watching anime. Comprehension of the original language would in fact be the only time that allows me to give both of these senses in question equal attention.

(2) If there weren't any subtitles, hearing the Japanese audio alone and not being able to comprehend or make any sense out of it doesn't give me any pleasure or satisfaction. I find reading subtitles to essentially put ALL the pressure on my eyes to try to fully understand the anime storyline 100% of the time for obvious reason.

(3) Reading subtitles essentially turns the anime into a "moving-book" with the Japanese audio track as "ambient noise" that has no meaning. It's kind of like going to a foreign country where there is a language barrier. I hear what you are saying, but I don't understand what you are saying. By default, a translator would be needed in this case.

*******
For those who prefer to watch anime in subtitled format, I would like to also know what's going on in your mind when you're actually sitting down to watch an episode, an OVA, or an anime movie. The following questions are meant to help me understand where you guys/gals are coming from. I want to see it through your eyes.

(A) Are you actually fully "listening" and "comprehending" the Japanese audio whilst reading the subtitles?

(B) Are you simply trying to make sense of the anime ONLY through reading the subtitles while leaving the Japanese audio in the background as "ambient" noise?

(C) For those that don't actually understand Japanese, is the Japanese audio considered to be "ambient" noise while your watching the anime.

(D) If you are in fact incorporating the audio part into your viewing pleasure, are you able to simultaneously process the Japanese audio AND the subtitles so that they are essentially "one of the same." In other words, when does reading subtitles with the original audio track that you obviously don't understand become an "equivalent" as if say, Japanese, is your first language.

***Hopefully that kind of makes sense.***

[aboumonkey]

I prefer subs since I can understand easier written than spoken english .

[MechaTama31]

I have a feeling that this division among anime fans largely boils down to reading speed. I read subs so quickly I barely even know I'm doing it, but if I had to spend the entire ep looking at the text and trying to keep up, while not being able to spare much of my attention for the rest of the screen, I'd probably go for dubbed too.

There are a couple of shows that I enjoy the English dub for (Full Metal Panic, Excel Saga), but by and large dubs bug the hell out of me. The way a character speaks is an important part of how that character comes across, and English dubs almost never get it right (I consider the Japanese voices to be "right", since they're the original ones), so it's like all the characters get tweaked into slightly different ones. If I saw a show dubbed that I hadn't seen in Japanese, that would eliminate that, since I wouldn't have the original voices to compare it to, but I'm not likely to buy a show I've never even seen before. And it still doesn't address how most English voice acting in anime is... Well, it's like the voice actors are all stiff and uncomfortable. They are either flat and boring, or trying way too hard to speak in a certain way and it sounds really unnatural. Some of that is because for the dub translation, they attempt to lip-sync. Drahken, while you're right that dubs and subtitles are both translations, the subtitles are not constricted by lip movements, line length, etc. the way dub translations sometimes are.

So, to sum up: I generally prefer to have the original voices, and a translation as close to the original content as possible, and I read quickly enough that subs are completely unobtrusive. So, I am a subs man, all the way. But I check out the dub whenever I buy a DVD, mostly out of curiosity, and occasionally find it to be enjoyable (or at least tolerable ;). That's an exception, however. In general, I find dubs to be disappointing, or even downright painful.

By the way, doesn't it seem that these threads are always started by someone who prefers dubs? They got something to prove? ;)

strawberry, re: your second post
a: Somewhat. I have studied Japanese before, and I know the sentence structure and enough vocab to understand probably about 1/4 of what's said in most anime without subs. It's enough that I can tell oftentimes when subs are wrong, or fill in information that may have been left out of the subs because it would have translated awkwardly.

b: No. And there's more to the audio than just the meaning of the words. Obviously the music and sound effects are still handled by your ears, not your eyes. And even for the dialogue, your ears are picking up on the tone, volume, and emotion in the speech, as well as the characteristics of the voice itself. After all, how many subs need to tell you which character is speaking? Your ears still have plenty of work to do, don't worry. ;)

c: I guess this doesn't really apply to me.. ^^

d: That's a tough one to answer. It doesn't quite feel like my natural language, or as if the characters' voices sounded the same but were speaking English in my head. It's more like my brain switches gears into Japanese mode, and the subs become a crutch for the Japanese vocab I'm not familiar with.

Also, I'm not one of them, but some people watch raws (anime in Japanese audio with no subtitles) even though they don't understand a word of Japanese. Don't ask me why, but they must get something out of it, or they wouldn't do it. Just food for thought...

[strawberryshortcake]

Originally Posted by MechaTama31

By the way, doesn't it seem that these threads are always started by someone who prefers dubs? They got something to prove? ;)

:) Actually, not with my post. Or at least, I didn't mean to come across that way. It just simply came to me because I was reading the reviews on "Pan's Labrynth" and I notice there was a heavy debate between dubs and subs.

I simply want to get an idea of what's going on in the minds of individuals who choose subs over dubs :)

I also see your point about being exposed to original first and trying to watch the dub version. Maybe that's the bigger issue. The vocal expressions obviously will slightly differ between original versus dubbed.

Personally, I simply like to use both my sense (eyes, ears) simultaneously without favoring one over the other.

[BTime]

I've developed a strong preference for Subbed anime primarily due to the fact that the American studios use the worst voice-overs imaginable (You could say Voice-Talent but that would assume there was some actual talent.].

American voice actors almost never sound age appropriate (think 40 year old guy faking a 15 year old voice), they almost never convey emotional inflections that are discernible in the original source. And lastly, studios like Funimation that butcher translations for their own personal agenda. I'm thinking of One Piece here..

Not that there aren't some decently Dubbed anime out there, it just sadly few and far between.

[Zerosignal]

To tell you the truth, and I know there are probably others like me, I don't really have a specific reason why I vastly prefer subbed over dubbed when it comes to anime, I just do.
In saying that however, I guess it really does come down to how good the voice actors are like some have said. For example, when the original dub of Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind came out, the english voice actors weren't even told what the movie was about, they were simply to read their lines, ie: it was shite. But despite being an avid sub fan, I actually really enjoyed the 2005 re-dub of it as it had a veteran cast including Patrick Stewart and Uma Thurman.

I guess it just has something to do with anime as a whole, the range of emotion and character that Japanese voice actors give anime just does it for me. (Not sexually you perverts )

In answering some of your questions;
(a,b,c,d) I don't fully understand Japanese but am fully comprehending the audio in that i take in what is being said verbally whilst simultaneously combining it with the subtitles which I flash read so as to not lose focus on the picture itself. Yes this seems like a lot of work but really it's not, I frankly don't even think about it. Watching subbed anime and dubbed anime seems exactly the same except I can't stand most english voice actors so I don't bother. (Yes english is my native language)

[ReturnofFruitbasketbob2]

Originally Posted by strawberryshortcake

(A) Are you actually fully "listening" and "comprehending" the Japanese audio whilst reading the subtitles?

(B) Are you simply trying to make sense of the anime ONLY through reading the subtitles while leaving the Japanese audio in the background as "ambient" noise?

(C) For those that don't actually understand Japanese, is the Japanese audio considered to be "ambient" noise while your watching the anime.

A) I'm fully listening while trying to understand the audio. The subtitles help me understand it better.

B)Well I can understand some Japanese after watching so many subbed anime + I'm studying it a little. So it's not just ambient noise. Also even without understanding the language you can pick up a lot of things when you hear the voice actors tone of voice + what's taking place on the screen.
You kind of learn phrases and words here and there.


The number reason is I think most dubbed voice actors sound like 70s' robots. They don't really put much feelings into what they are saying. Not all dubbs are like this though. Japanese voice actors just feels more right becuse they can do all those high pitches.

[ForgottenSon]

Originally Posted by strawberryshortcake

(D) If you are in fact incorporating the audio part into your viewing pleasure, are you able to simultaneously process the Japanese audio AND the subtitles so that they are essentially "one of the same." In other words, when does reading subtitles with the original audio track that you obviously don't understand become an "equivalent" as if say, Japanese, is your first language.

After a while, yeah. I forget I'm reading the subtitles. I never really find the Japanese audio track to be ambient noise, as I get a lot of the emotion out of the voice actors' performaces.

[Fyrex]

For those who prefer to watch anime in subtitled format, I would like to also know what's going on in your mind when you're actually sitting down to watch an episode, an OVA, or an anime movie. The following questions are meant to help me understand where you guys/gals are coming from. I want to see it through your eyes.

(A) Are you actually fully "listening" and "comprehending" the Japanese audio whilst reading the subtitles?


- As far as the listening part goes then yes, comprehending it is another matter, tho I have watched enough subtitled anime to be able be able to understand it somewhat without having to concentrate to much on reading the subs.

(B) Are you simply trying to make sense of the anime ONLY through reading the subtitles while leaving the Japanese audio in the background as "ambient" noise?

- Offcourse not, if I was doing that I wouldn't even need to hear anything and just turn of the sound completly.

(C) For those that don't actually understand Japanese, is the Japanese audio considered to be "ambient" noise while your watching the anime.

- To me that would be a big no, for me the audio is also very important. It brings an anime to live imo, sound effects would give scenes some more power for lack of a better word, and good music helps create a nice mood depending on the scene, and nice voice acting really brings the characters to life

(D) If you are in fact incorporating the audio part into your viewing pleasure, are you able to simultaneously process the Japanese audio AND the subtitles so that they are essentially "one of the same." In other words, when does reading subtitles with the original audio track that you obviously don't understand become an "equivalent" as if say, Japanese, is your first language.

- That would be when I can understand japanese as easely as I do dutch or english

[Neo Blackheart]

IN most if not all of the english dubed anime I have seen it ended up that 95% of the action got taken out of the anime. I sucked that is what got me also I am in college when watching most so I just mute it and watch over it while I read.