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Do japanese like listening to anime with foreign dubs as much as we do?

Ferr986

Member
No because the Japanese can voice act.

More like over-act. Can't stand japanese dubs in games (I odn't watch anime so dunno about that).

But considering how obssessed Japaneses are about their VAs (like if they were film stars) I doubt much people there would watch anime dubbed in foreign languages.
 

RoadHazard

Gold Member
What?

People just like to watch stuff in the original language.

Yeah. I hate watching anything dubbed to Swedish. Original language with subs all day every day. Thankfully dubbing only happens with kids stuff here, and even that you can generally choose to get subtitled instead (except for morning cartoons on TV).
 

Xe4

Banned
As an English speaker my opinion is this: if it's live action, always subbed. Always. It's practically impossible to get a good lip sync with live action, and I don't know why studio's even try.

If it's animated, I just go with whatever sounds and feels better to me. Sometimes that's the english dub, and sometimes it's the language it originally came in. Very occasionally it's some third language it was dubbed into that I don't speak, but sounds better either way.

I suspect many people around the world feel similarly.

But yes, in Japan people listen to English animated movies dubbed into Japanese. I can't imagine something like Frozen getting so large in Japan any other way. I know Titanic was also huge over there. Was it dubbed? I truly hope not.
 

kmax

Member
Generally speaking - no.

Of course, there are always people that want to understand English better, so there's probably a tiny group that incorporates that into their anime. Even then, I think they go with English subs over dubs since it's more accessible over the internet.
 

JCG

Member
I suppose it depends on how much they want the original experience. I bet there are some Japanese viewers who do switch to English when watching foreign movies.

As for the dub debate in general...the quality of a dub depends not only on that of the original dialogue, but also the quality of translation, the skill/experience of the actors, and whether there is good voice direction. Even a great voice actress can have a very disappointing performance if voice direction wasn't a priority for the project.
 

KonradLaw

Member
are you actually, without irony, suggesting that the Japanese have a monopoly on good voice acting?
Maybe their industry is just big enough to get top talent, while in america anime is so niche they can't afford it. Because the quality of voice acting in english dubs of anime is usually pretty dreadful not only compared to japanese originals, but also to what you can hear in american videogames and american cartoons
 

Wild Card

Member
Maybe their industry is just big enough to get top talent, while in america anime is so niche they can't afford it. Because the quality of voice acting in english dubs of anime is usually pretty dreadful not only compared to japanese originals, but also to what you can hear in american videogames and american cartoons

Seiyuu are absolutely treated with more respect and valued in Japan than their American counterparts. Hell, Troy Baker uses to do anime dubs before he graduated to video game dubs.
 

knkng

Member
I always love how people are instantly attacked for watching something with subtitles. Like surely we must be aggressive, Japan-obsessed lunatics, and insulted accordingly. (Even though it always seems that most of the aggression comes from the dub fans.) I just enjoy things in their original language in general. To me Mayumi Tanaka is the definitive voice of Luffy, in the same way that Mike Judge is the definitive voice of Hank Hill. These people were cast as these characters for a reason (er, well, Mike Judge wasn't "cast", but you get my meaning), and I wish to experience the content as envisioned, for lack of a better term.

Watching something with subtitles is not some kind of fucking political statement.

Like, if a Japanese person watches Fellini movies in Italian, do we call them a guinea? The fuck is wrong with some of you people?
 

woopWOOP

Member
I bought some 3 in 1 one War Film collection DVD and was about to watch a Russian film about soldiers in Afghanistan, but the only voice track was a shitty dubbed English track where all the tense soldiers sounded bored and sleepy

Fuck dubs
 

_Ryo_

Member
I dont know. I do know for the Shenmue video game, Japan liked the English voices so much that they released a special English dub of the game there with Japanese subtitles named "USA Shenmue."

I dont recall anything like that happening with anime tho, but it does show that Japanese people liking an English dub more than their original language is possible.


As for me, I like the Japanese dubs of a lot of Disney movies more than the English version.
 

Xe4

Banned
Maybe their industry is just big enough to get top talent, while in america anime is so niche they can't afford it. Because the quality of voice acting in english dubs of anime is usually pretty dreadful not only compared to japanese originals, but also to what you can hear in american videogames and american cartoons
It depends on the dub honestly. Many dubs, especially lower profile or older ones are pretty bad. Many are perfectly acceptable, and more than worth watching so as not have to pay as much attention to the subtitles. Some are better, ala Cowboy Bebop, Black Lagoon, Baccano! etc.
I always love how people are instantly attacked for watching something with subtitles. Like surely we must be aggressive, Japan-obsessed lunatics, and insulted accordingly. (Even though it always seems that most of the aggression comes from the dub fans.) I just enjoy things in their original language in general. To me Mayumi Tanaka is the definitive voice of Luffy, in the same way that Mike Judge is the definitive voice of Hank Hill. These people were cast as these characters for a reason (er, well, Mike Judge wasn't "cast", but you get my meaning), and I wish to experience the content as envisioned, for lack of a better term.

Watching something with subtitles is not some kind of fucking political statement.

Like, if a Japanese person watches Fellini movies in Italian, do we call them a guinea? The fuck is wrong with some of you people?
Probably because people like you get so damn defensive of it. Like damn dude, if people are "making fun of" sub purists, it's because they act like there's something wrong with not listening to the subtitled version and they act superior about it. People who just prefer the sub are generally cool in most people's book.

And yeah, people in other countries who act high and mighty because they watch cartoons in their original language are probably made fun of too. Anime ain't fucking Fellini movies, that's a silly comparison on multiple fronts.

Just watch what you want to watch, let others watch what theh want to watch, and leave it at that.
 
As an English speaker my opinion is this: if it's live action, always subbed. Always. It's practically impossible to get a good lip sync with live action, and I don't know why studio's even try.

Some people just prefer to listen to the dialog and understand it rather than read subtitles. Dubs are also far more friendly to slow readers and children. Thus, they widen the potential audience.
 
The only dub I heard recently that was decent was Boku no Hero Academia's, most of the recent stuff still either lacks in either the script writing or the actual vocalization.

For me it's either listen to anime in Japanese, or listen to anime in English, they're both foreign languages that I can understand so I'd rather listen to the original.

I feel like a lot of native English speakers here don't appreciate how much consuming media in a foreign language can assist in learning that language, that's basically how I ended up learning English when I was a kid.
 
One reason I prefer dubs is I very rarely just watch a show. My attention span isn't that great so often I'll play on my phone or some handheld game while watching tv.

But if it's subbed I can't do that. I have to fully concentrate on the show and as weird as it sounds makes it harder for me to marathon a show I like because it makes me tired of it quicker.

Probably not a common occurrence but that's one reason I personally rather dubs.
 

knkng

Member
Probably because people like you get so damn defensive of it. Like damn dude, if people are "making fun of" sub purists, it's because they act like there's something wrong with not listening to the subtitled version and they act superior about it. People who just prefer the sub are generally cool in most people's book.

And yeah, people in other countries who act high and mighty because they watch cartoons in their original language are probably made fun of too. Anime ain't fucking Fellini movies, that's a silly comparison on multiple fronts.

Just watch what you want to watch, let others watch what theh want to watch, and leave it at that.

Well, that's exactly what I do. I've never gone around criticizing people for watching an English dub. Yet every single thread, "The only reason people watch subs is because they're ______", and then a slew of people just nod in agreement.

Honestly, I kind of stopped watching anime around 2010 with a few exceptions (usually just big movies). But why does watching Japanese media in Japanese make you a Japanophile weeb, but not Italian media in Italian (regardless of quality)? If I watch Princess Mononoke in Japanese is that acceptable? Is that considered a "real" movie?

Sorry if I'm defensive, this isn't even really my battle, I just find it incredible obnoxious.
 

Aizo

Banned
In Japan, which is more dominant; foreign movies with subs or foreign movies with dubs?
I'm honestly not sure. I typically see both options available, but I'd guess subbed is more common just because some movies don't have the budget for a dub internationally.
 

Khrno

Member
Like how many foreigners love the normal japanese voices in anime, maybe because it's foreign to us and sounds cool. How do japanese think of it compared to english/spanish dubs?

I just hate the phony Englush dubs or simbly voice acting of American cartoons, I can't deal with that shit.

I'm from South America and I enjoy latin Spanish dubs, I make the distinction since I hate dubs from Spain.

So since the amount of anime and the time it takes to reach TV channels, and also since it is not the 80s and 90s anymore, I don't know why I would even contemplate the idea of waiting to watch something dubbed in this day and age.
 

Zubz

Banned
No because the Japanese can voice act.

I'd like to disagree; you can still tell when the wrong emotion/inflection is used for a scene. I'd say we see bad Japanese VA's all the time. It's just that we don't notice as much because they're speaking another language, whereas a bad English VA is far more noticeable to an English speaker.

Plus, if you think anime dubs are bad, that's a thing any dub faces. The issue there is trying to match lip-syncing in a language that may make a line longer/shorter to say by adding/rushing content.
 

Erigu

Member
But you're not going to really see that product because you don't speak their language and understand all of the little nuances.
Not sure how a dub fixes that. If you're going to rely on a translation anyway, you might as well go with subs to hear the original performance.
(... Of course, some will then argue that you can't actually enjoy an actor's performance if it's in a foreign language. Because... human behavior just radically changes from one country to another one, apparently? "Those foreigners might as well be extraterrestrials!")


Cowboy Bebop disagrees with you.
... The fuck? How is the original not well-acted?
(it's also better than the English dub, you Philistines)
 

wandering

Banned
Not sure how a dub fixes that. If you're going to rely on a translation anyway, you might as well go with subs to hear the original performance.
(... Of course, some will then argue that you can't actually enjoy an actor's performance if it's in a foreign language. Because... human behavior just radically changes from one country to another one, apparently? "Those foreigners might as well be extraterrestrials!")



... The fuck? How is the original not well-acted?
(it's also better than the English dub, you Philistines)

Didn’t Watanabe say that he considered the English dub of Bebop the definitive version?
 

Merc_

Member
... The fuck? How is the original not well-acted?
(it's also better than the English dub, you Philistines)

Nah, it's one of the very few anime series where it's generally agreed upon in the community that the english dub is the superior version. You might not feel that way, but that's how it's seen overall.
 

Xe4

Banned
Some people just prefer to listen to the dialog and understand it rather than read subtitles. Dubs are also far more friendly to slow readers and children. Thus, they widen the potential audience.
That's true. I suppose I didn't think about that. I wonder how much dubbing stuff like Jackie Chan films helped them grow an audience. Probably quite a lot, though it always gives them a completely comedic feel because it's pretty much impossible to do a good live action dub.
Well, that's exactly what I do. I've never gone around criticizing people for watching an English dub. Yet every single thread, "The only reason people watch subs is because they're ______", and then a slew of people just nod in agreement.

Honestly, I kind of stopped watching anime around 2010 with a few exceptions (usually just big movies). But why does watching Japanese media in Japanese make you a Japanophile weeb, but not Italian media in Italian (regardless of quality)? If I watch Princess Mononoke in Japanese is that acceptable? Is that considered a "real" movie?

Sorry if I'm defensive, this isn't even really my battle, I just find it incredible obnoxious.
No watching a how in Japanese doesn't make you a weeb. If you act all high and mighty about it and act as if it makes you understand Japanese culture somehow better than your a weeb.

And yes, some people are idiots who just don't like people watching subs. The best thing to do if it bugs you is to ignore it, because those idiots are always going to be around.
 

ISOM

Member
... The fuck? How is the original not well-acted?
(it's also better than the English dub, you Philistines)

My post doesn't say that the original is not well acted. Just that the English Dub is certainly a well acted Dub.
 

HotHamBoy

Member
I don't watch with subs because it sounds "cool" so much as because the translation is generally better and I can't tell if the acting is bad or not.
 

foxuzamaki

Doesn't read OPs, especially not his own
Maybe their industry is just big enough to get top talent, while in america anime is so niche they can't afford it. Because the quality of voice acting in english dubs of anime is usually pretty dreadful not only compared to japanese originals, but also to what you can hear in american videogames and american cartoons

This isnt the 90s anymore
 

Erigu

Member
Nah, it's one of the very few anime series where it's generally agreed upon in the community that the english dub is the superior version. You might not feel that way, but that's how it's seen overall.
I know, and yeah, I completely disagree.
 
Plus, if you think anime dubs are bad, that's a thing any dub faces. The issue there is trying to match lip-syncing in a language that may make a line longer/shorter to say by adding/rushing content.

This is such a lame excuse when even cheap fan dubs (see Team Four Star) can reanimate some lip flaps to dub something properly.
 

Maedhros

Member
I just like to watch the media on it's original form.

I don't give a shit if most people prefer dubs, I'll always watch things subbed.

Also, I appreciate Japanese VA, much more than my country's or US VAs. Some exceptions due only to nostalgia.
 

Compsiox

Banned
I like to hear how the characters were originally intended to sound. Whether the subs are accurate, that's another story.
 
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