Subs
Anime fans who ONLY watch subbed anime are "purists" you could say. Now while I don't necessarily agree with all of these, here are some reasons for why subs may be better than dubs.
+ You get an extremely accurate translation with the subs, which might include quirks in the original language that wouldn't be there if it was dubbed.
+ Anime is an art, and changing anything about the original work just damages the quality.
+ Japanese voice actors are much better than English Voice actors
+ Subtitled anime has a much wider potential reach because it is easier to produce and the licensor can turn a much larger profit on the smaller cost.
To counter the positives, here are some negative qualities of subs.
- Having to read the subtitles at all times takes away from actually watching the anime.
- People (not me) like to do other things while they watch anime, and with subs, you can't really look away that long or you'll miss out on important dialogue.
- The subtitles can be changed, or can just be very low quality in terms of proper grammar, text speed/color, etc.
Dubs
Most people who watch anime started out watching it dubbed since it's what we saw on TV. From there, people either branch out into watching anime subbed, or stick with dub. Here are some reasons for why dubs may be better than subs.
+ It's in English, the language you speak, so it's better.
+ You can pay closer attention to detail since you don't have to read all the dialogue. Can appreciate the background art and animation more.
+ Viewers who process spoken word better than written word will like dubs better, as they can comprehend what's going on much better. This is especially true in more complex and dialogue driven anime
+ Hearing the dialogue in our native language makes it easier to immerse ourselves in the anime and feel a sense of familiarity with the story and characters that is much harder to obtain while trying to hear dialogue in a foreign language and simultaneously read subtitles.
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| 4kids does shit like this all the time. |
To counter the positives, here are the negatives of dubs.
- If an English voice actor is bad, it's VERY easy to tell they're bad, and lowers the overall quality.
- The lips don't match with what they're saying. While it may not seem like a big deal, I can understand why it might be very annoying.
- Like I said earlier, there is sometimes translation problems, where the English language just doesn't have a suitable translation for a certain part of the original dialogue, and is then changed due to that fact. (Usually ends up being a bad).
- Studios like 4Kids entertainment censor and change an anime so much that it's almost a completely different anime than the original.
My Thoughts
I used to only watch dubs, as I liked listening to English much more than Japanese. That changed over time, as I began to find some anime I REALLY wanted to watch were only subbed, so I was forced to watch it in Japanese. This made me love subs as well. I hate that anime fans bicker and fight over which one to watch, as both have their merits, and I can understand completely why someone would choose to only watch subs or dubs.The way I watch my anime is simple: Watch 1 episode subbed, and then 1 episode dubbed. Whichever one I like better, I'll watch. Simple. We as anime fans shouldn't try and shun dub watchers, as we should be happy that other people are getting into anime, and dubs are a great way for newbies to start their journey into the world of anime. If dubs didn't exist, anime would be a lot less popular and anime studios would make less money, which means less new anime being released from said studios. So while you can not like dubs, you have to appreciate what they bring to the table.
To sum it all up, who gives a damn how people watch anime? Just enjoy yourself!
