Why does 90% of anime lovers hate english dubs?

I've heard it all. It seems every-time I'm talking to someone about anime, whether it be real life or on the internet, whenever I bring up dubs I usually get scolded for loving dubbed anime. Whenever someone has a poll on Facebook or some other anime website asking whether they like subs or dubs, 90% of them will all chose subs and say stuff like, "every dub in the world sucks," "true otaku only watch subbed anime," "dub lovers should burn in hell." (Yes I have heard people say that.)

The most common complaints about English dubs I hear are:
-It's not natural for a Japanese show.
-The English voice actors show no emotion.
-They don't use honorifics like san, kun, and sama.

Alright, first of all, there are plenty of anime that don't take place in Japan, such as Baccano, Hellsing, Fullmetal Alchemist, Berserk, and that' just a few. Even if it doesn't sound natural, who cares as long as the voice acting is good, and you can follow the story, it doesn't matter, it's not like anime, or even TV in general had much logic to being with. Second of all, did any of them watch the dubs of Angel Beats, Ef - A Tale of Memories, or Death Note? The voice acting had enough emotion to make me feel the character's emotion and make me cry with them. Last of all, not using honorifics is a stupid complaint. Sure, it's nice to learn more about Japan but there are non-otaku who will watch it and have no idea what the hell they're talking about, and when they don't use honorifics, it not like it affects the story in any way. (Yes, non-otaku watch anime, believe it or not).

Another thing I should mention is, that everyone who says the dubs suck are all people who can't speak Japanese, for all they know the original version could be even WORSE than the English dub. It's like they think just because it's the original language of the show, they think the voice acting for it is a flawless gift sent from God. Let me tell you, there are plenty of games made in America with horrible English voice acting. Don't believe me? Just watch this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mHw5g55oC4

However this doesn't mean there aren't bad English dubs either, nor does it mean that I won't watch an anime if there is no dub. Hell, the one I am watching right now has no dub. But, a while back I downloaded a Japanese VN for my iPod, My Neighbor Girl, turned the voice acting to English, and it was HORRENDOUS, I had to change it back to Japanese to prevent myself from getting a headache.

Anyway, I think that English dubs don't get proper justice just because they're not the original language, or because of some bad dubs like the one I mentioned or 4kids. What do you guys think of these haters?

 

I know the feeling, most of my friends that watch anime call me an idiot,or baka, for watching dubbed because they say its stupid and is not nearly as good. It is a lot argueing with someone who thinks anime is for kids, there is no getting the point through because they are so bent on themselves being right that they wont listen to you. I can see where they are coming from, but they often blow it out of proportion.

 

It's really not reasonable to say that just because one show was dubbed poorly, all the rest are. It sounds like they were more interested in impressing their point of view and winning the argument than looking at facts. In any case, one things I've noticed is that subbed anime is good for more emotional shows and scenes whereas it lacks when there's action or great excitement. In no way am I saying this is a rule, but in some cases I really preferred the dub because in that intense action scene, it better portrayed the feeling the character had. Gurren Lagann comes to mind. I prefer the dub over the sub for just that reason, altough the sub was still pretty good. I guess when it comes right down to it though, to each his own.

It would be nice if people didn't become so rigid about things like that, to the point they ridicule someone over it. There's no need; just watch it the way you want and let everyone else enjoy their way.

Oh yeah, one other point. I like to watch things dubbed when I'm eating, so I don't miss my mouth trying to read subs. lol

 

I've been scolded myself about preferring to watch anime dubbed. The sub lovers are purest saying things like its from Japan so it needs to be watched in Japanese.

 

They are sheep, that is why.

 

Over the years I've found that the reason most Sub-fans have given me was basically boiled down to the fact that its what they were introduced to first. First impressions make a huge impact on these kinds of things. Most of the just watched their very first anime subbed and so they stuck with that.

 

Haters gonna hate...
It doesn't matter to me whether they hate it or not. Everyone has their own opinion and they're gonna stick to it. I love dubbed animes - while other say that subbed ones are better. People will ask me why I'm watching cartoon all day long and I will say that's not cartoon that's anime. I won't say that dubbed animes are better than subbed ones, but they're definitely more convenient for people who can't understand Japanese ;D

 

Well I enjoy both subbed and dubbed anime, As for the reason why people say subs are better than dubs is mainly because some dubs are done with really bad voice actors. There are other reasons of course, sometimes in translation and conversion some very small aspects of speech are lost. subs voice actors do tend to be better at showing emotion/ portraying the character. But that being said does not mean dubs are inferior to subs in any way. Just as with dubs having bad voice actors, bad translations with subs can kill a series. For example i was watching aria of the scarlet ammo subbed but the translation was so poor it was practically not watchable, But luckily I found a dub to watch. Even if voice actor are bad the viewer can still understand the plot and whats going on. Dubs is my opinion, shine because they can easily portray the meaning onto the audience. Overall I have to say both dubs and subs have their strong point, whichever you want to watch is up to you, but if a series doesn't come in a dub or has a very bad sub you shouldn't feel discouraged to watch the other.

 

The most common complaints about English dubs I hear are:
-It’s not natural for a Japanese show.
-The English voice actors show no emotion.
-They don’t use honorifics like san, kun, and sama.

or 4kids. What do you guys think of these haters?


Haters gonna hate. Really most of the anime I've seen are dubs. If the anime has a dub then 99.9% of the time that's what I will watch. Besides when you have to read the text it's EASY to miss so much of what's going on as well as even little details that could matter and it's not like everyone can watch the raw version cuss they can understand what's being said. I have no problem with watching subs though, I mean I come from Kampfer and to my knowledge that's still sub only and is one of my top 3 anime along with my favs. As for those points here is why I say objection!

1. Ok that's just baka. Does it matter if the setting is in Japan and the characters can speak English? No. Why? Simple. Because the Japanese are good at speaking both Japanese AND English. Heck those Otaku should realize just how advanced/smart the Japanese are. Plus do the characters LOOK like they're Japanese compared to the RL Japanese people? No. So this argument in invalid and pointless imo.

2. As I said I've seen mostly dubbed anime and I like both dub and sub equally. Heck if I could understand what theyre saying without needing to read a sub and have to rewind so much I would probably be more willing to watch subs even if the sub had a dub but back to my point, I have seen SOO many anime that I can honestly say that both the sub's VA's as well as the DUB'S VA's have moved me. They were believable and touched my heart and so on. One such example here is Steins;Gate. I watched that dubbed but when I went to YT to find certain scenes I only found the sub version and 2 out of 3 of those scenes were not as good as the dub's. Best example here is Okabe's mad scientist laugh as well as the sub's VA was no wear near as good as the dub's VA was. In fact, the sub's VA RUINS Okabe imo. I've also heard people say Puella Madoka dub isn't good and it ruined the show but hey now! That happens to be on par with Kampfer and Steings;Gate and yes I also watched the dub of Puella Madoka and all 3 of those anime I gave a rating of 10. I was so moved and touched by the dub of Puella Madoka so for someone to say the dub ruins the sub is hard to believe. Now I admit, I've not seen the sub but I did see the sub trailer for the first 2 movies and imo it is equal to the dub for the VA's that were used, actually they sound similar imo but then again it has been a while since I saw that trailer so I could be mistaken. Either way this point they made here is over ruled too.

 

sorry it's giving me trouble posting the other half. I've sent an email in hopes of being able to post the other half and no it's not cuss I hit a character limit since I ruled that out already.
EDIT: And why it let me post this but not post the other is beyond me. I even tried just posting a little of the 2nd half and it still wouldn't let me but this post, just doesn't make sense.

 

I honestly dont care.
I felt like the anime I watched as a kid was dubbed fine, but that was when I was young.
I dont really care anymore.

 

Subs > Dubs


Why are you on this website then?

 

Dubs are sometimes very good. It all depends on the genre and the voice acting in my opinion. There are some dubs I just can't stand because it just doesn't seem right to me. But in general, dubs can be of very high quality when done correctly. But personally I prefer subs just because I like the way japanese voice actors sound. It's not that their necessarily better, I just feel it's more pleasant to my ear. But when it comes to certain genres [*cough cough cough*] you'd be hard pressed to find an english dub that's even [fan]serviceable quality. I don't hate dubs, and I would gladly give any dub a shot if I felt like it, I just feel subs are more pleasing to me.

 

But when it comes to certain genres [*cough cough cough*] you’d be hard pressed to find an english dub that’s even [fan]serviceable quality.


Are you talking about THAT genre? The one that starts with an H? Even the Japanese voice actors for that don't do a very good job.

 

Are you talking about THAT genre? The one that starts with an H? Even the Japanese voice actors for that don’t do a very good job.


It only takes 5 seconds of an H English dub to realize that the viewer has made a horrible, horrible mistake...

They may not be good in your opinion, but I enjoy them very much. They may not be the best, but i'm sure anyone would take "better" over "ugh..."

 

so, now that the thread is going down THAT path...lets get back on track

i watch dubs exclusively, not becasue i have to read, not becasue i prefer english over japanese, but becasue i cant even cut my freaking nails and watch it at the same time, or, get up and make toast while listening to it. its a damn pain in the butt unless you have a maid.

to that extent, i DO watch some subs, but only for shows that iv already seen part of, and theres not to much, for example, the only thing holding me back from watching D-grey man season 2, is its 50eps subbed...thats alot
on the other hand, iv watched all of season 2 of Familiar of Zero. and all the Oh my goddess OVA's (subbed)

like everyone else said, its almost as bad as arguing with someone about religion, they are so deadset that they are right and everyone else is wrong, they get mad about it. whats the point of being so set in stone about something if you made angry about the topic you love so frequently? if a ton of people are telling you your wrong, even if a larger group is telling you your right, perhaps you need to stop and think for a moment, maybe that smaller, yet large group has a point

 

Personally I think it's because 90% of them THINK they know Japanese; also they figure that because it's in the native tongue it's got to be better... which is completely wrong! For example my friend who knows quite a bit of Japanese (and is half Japanese I might add) like both subs and dubs but has good reasons for either one. He love Baccono's dub, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Fullmetal Alchemist, Cowboy Bebeop and Black Lagoon to name a few but he watches a lot of subed anime. Form what I see of people who say subs are better then dubs, they can't grasp the respect or even the knowledge of how Japanese acting is considered good or bad...

this my opinion, don't get offensive of it.

 

Some people prefer subs quite simply because they have a harder time distinguishing bland, samey or out right bad voice acting from good voice acting in Japanese than compared to English. Anyone who tells you there aren't boring, bland, repetitive, frankly horrible voice acting jobs in Japanese are talking out their arse. There definitely are and lower budget anime have it by the spade full. You just don't really notice it as much because it isn't your native language.

Another HUGE reason for people "preferring" subs is that you don't have to wait 2-3 years after initial airing in the hope that Funimation or Sentai actually release a friggin dub. By the time the dub is out you've probably already seen the show in Japanese and became accustomed to the characters sounding a certain way. When you hear the English voice it doesn't seem the same after watching the Japanese. The reverse of this can also happen. I'm sure we've all at least one anime we've seen back when we first started watching it that was in English that you can't bear to watch in Japanese for exactly this reason. This is also the reason many dub haters come out with lines like "it's not all dubs I dislike, just new ones". Those old, "better" dubs were the anime they started with and are now how they remember those characters.

What it really comes down to is personal taste. Some may try to justify one being better than the other for what ever reason but long story short it is their opinion, nothing more, nothing less. Some seem to believe it is indisputable fact one is better than the other but when aren't their people who misinterpret their personal likes and dislikes as gospel?
My personal preference is dub if there is one, sub if there isn't. That is unless there are VAs I take a particular dislike to. I've dropped dubs for subs and even dropped subs completely because I dislike a VA. Perfect example being Aya Hirano. I can't stand her in most of her roles and have dropped shows simply because she was in them and my brain was about to explode from listening to her.