why japanese subs over english dubs for in anmie? many english dubs are very well done...?

Question

...and actually match their respective characters better. The animes hellsing, Trigun, Evangelion, Love Hina, and recently Ergo Proxy are great examples, (i know a lot more, just can't think of them right now) in hellsing, most of the good guys all have english accents (theres Pip and Alucard who are exceptions), which makes sense as the story is based in london. in trigun, vash has a mush lighter voice, which i find more enjoyable than the typical deep voiced main guys found in many anime. i have not seen a lot of new anime, but in Ergo Proxy, Re-l's voice is much more her..well, style. hints of sarcasm, a slightly "darker" sounding voice, and the simple fact that it is in english (Re'l's skin is very light white, clearly not asian, possibly european) changes volumes in how the anime is enjoyed.

i have to agree with you that a terrible amount of anime has bad english dubbing, but there are many that are great in english. the problem i have is, so many of my friends watch all their anime in japanese w/eng subs. there were a few i got to admit that certian animes were better in english (for english speaking ppl , anyways) than in japanese, but most refuse to admit so. it has quickly become a stereotype.

in japanese, everyone sounds, well, japanese! but in english, you can have ppl of all sorts of nationalities join in, with accents. its also easier to catch character's mannerisms (ie: sarcasm, or subtle emotions) when its in a language you understand.
the japanese have an actual school for voice actors, whereas the america doesnt. but that doesnt stop some great voice-overs from surfacing. like crispin freeman, my fave VA. he is a very popular anime voice actor, and does some very good work. in hellsing, for example, many of my friends agree he is better than the japanese actor for Alucard.

my point being, like in the last detail, is yes, a lot of english VAs do suck, but the ones that are good, really are good.

cherie n, i beg to differ. your answer leads me to think you didnt even read any of this.

Answer 1

Well, I usually prefer subs over dubs because the translation is usually more accurate. Often times the English dub is 'tweaked' a bit in order to more closely match the lip flaps or mouth movements. Also, sometimes words may have to be added or removed because it takes a different length of time to say something in English than it did in the original Japanese and there is more timing flexibility with subtitles (though sometime they also have to be shortened). And with the Japanese, you get the original emotional delivery as was intended by the Japanese voice director. Overall, watching it with the original Japanese soundtrack and English subtitles is the closest you can get to what the original creators intended artistically, without learning Japanese.

On the other hand, I will watch the dub if I don't feel like paying that close of attention to the anime, for example if I am using the show as 'background' for another activity. Also, if I want to see the artwork without it being obscured by subtitles, I will watch it dubbed into English. Also, if I am watching an anime series or movie on cable, I usually have to watch it in English, very little anime is shown subbed on cable.

Ultimately, it boils down to personal preference, if you prefer watching movies letter-boxed so that you see the original version of the movie as intended by the director, you probably should watch subtitled anime for the same reason. Sometimes, though pan and scan movies are more convenient, and so is dubbed anime.

Answer 2

Well, it all really depends on which kind you have watched first...Like I first watched a lot of series in Japanese with English subs, and when I saw the English dubbed version I thought the voices were horrible, but it also worked the other way around, When I started watching an anime that was English dubbed I watched the same one in Japanese and I hated the voices.

But...I have to be honest, even though I hate reading the subtitles, some of the English dubbed anime have chosen horrible voice actors.

Answer 3

I think that the answer is very much a matter of taste. I usually prefer the Japanese voices because I think they fit better, are more original, and (probably because I am not a native speaker of Japanese) seem to have better acting. I know a Japanese Exchange student who prefers Anime in english for the same exact reasons. To each his own, eh?

Answer 4

This due that many English dubs were done by inexperience sound studios with inexperience voice actors. Plus Japanese girlish voices need to be done by girls who are really girlish, not ones who acted girlish.

Things can be done in English though, that's why many English dubs are imported back to Japan. However, it could be just a mere money laundering technique.


However, it's not like that things will significantly improved if Patrick Stewart was hired.

Answer 5

This probably isn't much of an answer. I find it irritating when they have a good anime and put awful american voices over it. at the same time I hate crappy english subtitles. Both these tend to ruin the original coversation . I noticed this from reading original Manga from DB , DBZ , Ranma 1/2 and English subs with their made up dialogue reduces the rating and enjoyment quality .

Answer 6

there's quite a lot of reasons for that let me list them down

1. voices of the girls sounds cute
2. it the way of the "otaku"
3. it can help learn the language

as for hellsing i got to have to agree with you on that one because of were the story was set... i wouldnt make sense of all of them speaking japanese in an english country

Answer 7

well i just think that the japanese is more original...plus the voice the japanese picked was how they wanted them to sound.

Answer 8

the japanese version sounds better, its more origina, especially in Naruto (mad funny)

Answer 9

it's just more fun to watch..