Switching from dubs to subs

[rokov]

I just started watching Anime TV a couple of weeks ago after getting a Roku player (great timing lol) and the show has really rekindled my interest in anime. I've always watched dubs, due to being somewhat dyslexic, but after seeing Miley go on about how much better subs are in an episode, I just decided to take the plunge and watch the first 30 mins of Space Battleship Yamato in Japanese. (I'm too sleep deprived to go any further right now). Having grown up on Star Blazers I was amazed by what a difference it made. There was nothing cheesy or childish about it, which has always been a problem whenever I've tried to revisit SB as an adult. I think I may just have to search for more subs versions and rewatch my DVDs. Has anyone else recently decided to make the switch?

[telox]

It's painful for me to say, but 90% of the early anime out there was a lot better subbed than dubbed. I say painful, because I am a dub atict. Fotunate for me however dubbing has gotten a LOT better in recent years. Some anime such as Yu Yu Hakusho is just as good if not better dubbed in my opinion. It is unfortunate that such great anime I watched growing up was dumbed down or the content was changed to be better suited to the tv execs definition of what children in america wanted. Thundercats, robotech, and voltron come to mind. I'll probably get heckled for this, but if you watch Sailor Moon in the original Japanease it's a lot less girly, the same can be said about Card Captor Sakura.

I'm no expert or anything though, so I speak by only my opinions.

[rokov]

Up until recently, my anime experience was pretty much limited to the classics, but I never saw anything wrong with any of the more modern dubs that I've watched. I'm just curious too see if they're better subbed. As I watch more it's getting easier to keep up and I even think I'm starting to recognize some Japanese words. If nothing else, getting used to subs will make it a lot easier to watch animes on the Funimation site since, for some reason, most of them are subbed.

[rokov]

Well, I've found one case of the dub being much better than the sub. I started watching Desert Punk on the Funimation site and only the first 4 episodes are dubbed. I got to episode 5 and it was nowhere near as good. The jokes just weren't landing right and I missed the English-speaking actor who voiced DP and did a really great job. Ultimately, I ended up buying the dub on Amazon.

[djsjr]

Originally Posted by rokov

I just started watching Anime TV a couple of weeks ago after getting a Roku player (great timing lol) and the show has really rekindled my interest in anime. I've always watched dubs, due to being somewhat dyslexic, but after seeing Miley go on about how much better subs are in an episode, I just decided to take the plunge and watch the first 30 mins of Space Battleship Yamato in Japanese. (I'm too sleep deprived to go any further right now). Having grown up on Star Blazers I was amazed by what a difference it made. There was nothing cheesy or childish about it, which has always been a problem whenever I've tried to revisit SB as an adult. I think I may just have to search for more subs versions and rewatch my DVDs. Has anyone else recently decided to make the switch?

I've never really watched dubs, I've stayed subbed for a long time, I've been actually trying to dip into english dubs more, but I can't seem to enjoy them as much as subs. There are multiple reasons but I won't get into that.

I guess in my opinion subs are just better. I can get more emotion from the original voice actiors than the english ones.

[angelbunny]

I feel that culturally the Japanese treat people like people regardless what their age is while in American culture children now days have to be sheltered. Because of that there is a divide between child and adult entertainment. How often do you see family entertainment any more (entertainment designed to be enjoyed by both adults and children)?

Because of this most anime that is subbed is much more adult. The actors act like adults and usually their voices are adult. There is also less censorship and far more emotion in fansubs than on the american dvd releases.

Our culture dictates that if it is a cartoon then therefor it has to be childish (or it wouldn't be dubbed over to begin with) and with that childish push the characters are 'dumbed down'. As in, the actors sound more childish. They talk in specifically almost stupid way. Often times background music is changed or altered.. other things too.


Here is an example:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ze69d-VO8bI - dub example
Funimation has been making leaps and strides recently in the dubbing community. The video starts with the current funimation dub then at
2:20 - 4kids, original dub
4:15 - fansub
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMH5fiPpooc - visual example comparison of the changes


Sure, it is only one example but when it comes to dubs most anime can be compared just like that.

Also, I'm dyslexic too. I struggled with fansubs for a while so in highschool I took a couple of japanese classes. It helped me a lot. Also, I learned to hear underlining means in phrases too that is not necessarily there in the sub or the dub. It really adds to the charisma of most characters making the story more emotional.

[animetvroy]

Honestly Dubs and Subs may go on liek this for a long time. The best I can say is that the western dubs try to make things relatable while not alienating the original script. Cant't say I blame you though.