dangerousjavi
New member
The reasons stated in favor of subs in this thread are absurd. "subs, they're original", actually no. Most anime series are based on a manga (which is the original) and make minor or major alterations to the story / characters without the manga artist's approval. "subs are true to Japanese culture, I want to hear all the cultural references", that honestly sounds like a "Japanophile" argument. Some anime aren't even set in Japan. Anime such as Cowboy Beebop, Full Metal Alchemist, Trigun and Big O are set in a heavily Western setting with a lot of Western influence. When Alphonse waved those fans with the Rising Sun on them in FMA: Brotherhood, it felt entirely out of place.
I don't know about you but I watch anime for good story/narrative, pretty visuals and a lot of action, not so I can learn about Japanese culture, which I honestly don't care too much about.
Secondly, those in favor of subs mention the most poorly done dubs. Just as there are bad anime and good anime, there are good dubs and bad dubs. Obviously, altering the original narrative is an example of a terrible dub. However, rearranging or changing a few words in a conversation, which ultimately conveys the same message, is entirely irrelevant.
I was shocked to not see Cowboy Beebop mentioned in this thread. The dub of that anime far surpasses the Japanese version for many reasons. One reason being, it is very well done and the voice acting is spot on. Another reason is that the English language fits and complements the Western setting and makes perfect sense in context. That is what makes a good dub.
As far as Japanese voice acting goes, Japanese voices ARE terrible and have a very small range of pitch and tone. You give it a pass simply because it's not your native language. Most Japanese voice actors sound really feminine, really young (squeaky rubber duck) or a pedophile stereotype. I personally, cannot stand the squeaky/girly voices (Naruto). Secondly, Japanese people are very secluded in public society and therefor aren't very keen at expressing emotion. As a result, their Voice Acting sounds highly over exaggerated to the point of absurdity in pitch and tone. They don't speak like this in their daily lives and it comes of as unnatural and awkward. This is actually a where a lot of the extremely cheesy anime conventions (no not Otakon, the other meaning of the word) come from. Things like nosebleeds and goofy renditions of scenes with a Chibi art style. Which are actually poked fun at in some anime like Cromartie High School.
That's not to say there also isn't bad English voice acting because there's plenty but it isn't synonymous with dubs, which brings it back to whether it is a good dub or not. I prefer the English dub of Ghost in the Shell far more than its Japanese counterpart for the very same reasons. Where as Batou sounds a little gut wrenching in the Japanese version, he comes of as being really heart warming in the dub. The Major also comes of sounding far more badass in the English cast.
This leads to the final cause of bad dubs, bad source material. A lot of Narutards are going to flame me for this and yes I am referring to Naruto. The dub is even worse than the Japanese version in which I still cannot stand the main character or his squeaky, girly voice. I don't care if it's "Dattabayo" or "Believe It", it still incredibly annoying and retarded. I suppose that Naruto is also where your Japanese culture argument comes from and I agree that because of the setting of the anime (Japan), Naruto makes a horrific dub.
Once again, I watch anime for good narrative and story, not to learn about Japanese culture, hence why I do not like Naruto (bad story, narrative and character development).
I don't know about you but I watch anime for good story/narrative, pretty visuals and a lot of action, not so I can learn about Japanese culture, which I honestly don't care too much about.
Secondly, those in favor of subs mention the most poorly done dubs. Just as there are bad anime and good anime, there are good dubs and bad dubs. Obviously, altering the original narrative is an example of a terrible dub. However, rearranging or changing a few words in a conversation, which ultimately conveys the same message, is entirely irrelevant.
I was shocked to not see Cowboy Beebop mentioned in this thread. The dub of that anime far surpasses the Japanese version for many reasons. One reason being, it is very well done and the voice acting is spot on. Another reason is that the English language fits and complements the Western setting and makes perfect sense in context. That is what makes a good dub.
As far as Japanese voice acting goes, Japanese voices ARE terrible and have a very small range of pitch and tone. You give it a pass simply because it's not your native language. Most Japanese voice actors sound really feminine, really young (squeaky rubber duck) or a pedophile stereotype. I personally, cannot stand the squeaky/girly voices (Naruto). Secondly, Japanese people are very secluded in public society and therefor aren't very keen at expressing emotion. As a result, their Voice Acting sounds highly over exaggerated to the point of absurdity in pitch and tone. They don't speak like this in their daily lives and it comes of as unnatural and awkward. This is actually a where a lot of the extremely cheesy anime conventions (no not Otakon, the other meaning of the word) come from. Things like nosebleeds and goofy renditions of scenes with a Chibi art style. Which are actually poked fun at in some anime like Cromartie High School.
That's not to say there also isn't bad English voice acting because there's plenty but it isn't synonymous with dubs, which brings it back to whether it is a good dub or not. I prefer the English dub of Ghost in the Shell far more than its Japanese counterpart for the very same reasons. Where as Batou sounds a little gut wrenching in the Japanese version, he comes of as being really heart warming in the dub. The Major also comes of sounding far more badass in the English cast.
This leads to the final cause of bad dubs, bad source material. A lot of Narutards are going to flame me for this and yes I am referring to Naruto. The dub is even worse than the Japanese version in which I still cannot stand the main character or his squeaky, girly voice. I don't care if it's "Dattabayo" or "Believe It", it still incredibly annoying and retarded. I suppose that Naruto is also where your Japanese culture argument comes from and I agree that because of the setting of the anime (Japan), Naruto makes a horrific dub.
Once again, I watch anime for good narrative and story, not to learn about Japanese culture, hence why I do not like Naruto (bad story, narrative and character development).