Cartoon Network started showing Naruto recently. I remember mentioning it to a friend but he says he isn't interested in seeing it because it's dubbed and he prefers subs. While it's none of my business why a person would or wouldn't watch an anime show, something about that statement kinda irked me.
If you're an anime fan, it's pretty reasonable to assume you like anime, right? Well, if that's the case, why would you not be interested in at least checking out what is hailed as one of Japan's greatest anime? Then again, this rant isn't about Naruto. It's more about how people would dismiss anime on Cartoon Network simply because it's some edited dubbed version. To me, to casually dismiss something sounds kinda judgmental to me, which is probably what really bothers me in the first place.
Keep in mind that when I say subbed, I'm generally referring to dubbed anime, I refer to the commercialized, often edited, American releases like some of the anime you see on Cartoon Network.
Anyway, I don't mind dubbed anime. As much as I prefer subs, I don't have anything against dubs, especially when a dubbed show is the only one available. This brings up a question that has been floating around in my mind for quite a while, what are people's justification for preferring subs over dubs?
Granted, the obvious choice is that dubs sometimes sound like crap when compared to some subbed shows. The voice acting is much better in Japan than in America so you can definitely hear the emotions much better in subs. However, are you sure that's true?
There are people out there that abhor dubs with a vengeance. There are people out there that would look down at an anime SOLELY because it's dubbed even though they never saw the subbed version and, thus, have no basis whatsoever to make such a judgment.
I think some people prefer subtitles simply because they like hearing the anime in Japanese and that's it. It's not like they really care about how professional an anime sounds. How can I tell? Well, how many people like Chobits? Lots of people do. However, the voice actress that does Chi's voice is absolutely atrocious. The voice actress that did the voice of Mitsuki from Full Moon wo Sagashite also has an atrocious voice as well. For two generally cutesy anime, both main female characters have uncute voices. Okay, they're just my opinion and everyone's views differ. Heck, some people will probably dismiss this rant, believing it to be rantings of a madman because I made some nasty comment about their beloved animes. Whatever the case, I'm positive there are anime out there with horrible Japanese voice acting yet people don't seem to even realize they're atrocious simply because they're speaking in Japanese.
This is not to say that dubbed Anime is inherently bad. As Stuart Levy recognized, all animation is originally dubbed, regardless of what language it is in. However, there is a noticeable disparity in the QUALITY of English and Japanese dubs. The major reason for this disproportion is of course the economic situations of American animation versus Japanese animation. In Japan, animation is their main entertainment market. Anime is basically the Hollywood of Japan.
I've watched both the sub and dub of Excel Saga and I enjoyed both. It was really like getting two shows for the price of one. Excel's voice is a little hard to take in English, but I loved the English voice of Hyatt.
As for the whole sub/dub debate, I think it's a ridiculous debate. It kind of annoys me that people automatically assume that Japanese voice actors are all great. They only seem great to us because most anime fans are not fluent in speaking Japanese. There are definitely anime with poorly acted Japanese versions but we'd never know it because we can easily tell if the English version is crap. I try to watch both versions whenever I can (although I tend to watch the subbed first). There are even some dubs that I like a whole lot better than the original. I only watch Cowboy Bebop in English.
One trend that is both interesting and disturbing is ADV's "original" dubs where they take a show and completely rewrite it. They did this with The Super Milk-Chan Show (although the true-to-the-Japanese dub is what was aired on Adult Swim) and they will be doing this to another show as well. I kind of like the idea of taking a mediocre anime and turning into something good...but at the same time, the anime fan in me is reeling.
Although my anime experience is fairly limited, I prefer to watch it once with the dub-- if one available-- then go back and do the subtitles.
As for the whole sub/dub debate, I think it's a ridiculous debate. Why are people still saying Dub sucks? It kind of annoys me that people automatically assume that Japanese voice actors are all great. They only seem great to us because most anime fans are not fluent in speaking Japanese. There are definitely anime with poorly acted Japanese versions but we'd never know it because we can easily tell if the English version is crap. I try to watch both versions whenever I can (although I tend to watch the subbed first). There are even some dubs that I like a whole lot better than the original.
To me, it seems hypocritical. A person dislikes an 'edited' version of an anime, yet would happily see an 'edited' version of a movie. It's actually stupid if you think about it. Some dubbed anime are 'edited' to be more appropriate to audiences, while some movies are 'edited' to SAVE TIME!!! Which one has stupider edits? Hm, maybe some people might not complain if I say the 'panty shots' in the dubbed version of Sailor Moon were edited out to save time just like many scenes were deleted from movies to save time as well.
__________________ The worst feeling is not Death,
it is knowing that you aren't needed,
that you are alone in this world,
and that you no longer have a reason to live.
To me, it seems hypocritical. A person dislikes an 'edited' version of an anime, yet would happily see an 'edited' version of a movie. It's actually stupid if you think about it. Some dubbed anime are 'edited' to be more appropriate to audiences, while some movies are 'edited' to SAVE TIME!!! Which one has stupider edits? Hm, maybe some people might not complain if I say the 'panty shots' in the dubbed version of Sailor Moon were edited out to save time just like many scenes were deleted from movies to save time as well.
movies have heavy emphasis on the actors ability to do VISIBLE acting, the voice acting can be easily replaced. In the case of anime the only true acting that can be done is in the voices. That and the voice is being recorded first and then the animation added, so the animation is fine tuned to THAT voice, not another one in a different language.
Also in Japan anime voice acting is a HUGE industry with EXTREMELY high standards.
So of course dubs are going to pale in comparison to the original.
--Of course I could have turned this into a rant about how much better japanese voice actors are compared to the american ones, but depending on people's reply to this I might have to.... so be prepared
--I can't find a reason to use my staple double PSing, but it was kinda pointless from the start,
so I guess no one will notice the degration in quality(?)
--EDIT: oh god, I think you already pointed out some of the things I say, as long as some of my posts are I never feel like reading the long ones....
movies have heavy emphasis on the actors ability to do VISIBLE acting, the voice acting can be easily replaced. In the case of anime the only true acting that can be done is in the voices. That and the voice is being recorded first and then the animation added, so the animation is fine tuned to THAT voice, not another one in a different language.
Also in Japan anime voice acting is a HUGE industry with EXTREMELY high standards.
So of course dubs are going to pale in comparison to the original.
--Of course I could have turned this into a rant about how much better japanese voice actors are compared to the american ones, but depending on people's reply to this I might have to.... so be prepared
--I can't find a reason to use my staple double PSing, but it was kinda pointless from the start,
so I guess no one will notice the degration in quality(?)
--EDIT: oh god, I think you already pointed out some of the things I say, as long as some of my posts are I never feel like reading the long ones....
What I meant with 'Dude, wtf' was
I didn't read any of that BATSHIT CRAZY text man..
Spoiler
__________________ The worst feeling is not Death,
it is knowing that you aren't needed,
that you are alone in this world,
and that you no longer have a reason to live.
As much as I would like to dissect this whole post(article, with this much) I have to get only the ultra-stupid points instead of ridiculing the whole thing.
Quote:
This is not to say that dubbed Anime is inherently bad. As Stuart Levy recognized, all animation is originally dubbed, regardless of what language it is in. However, there is a noticeable disparity in the QUALITY of English and Japanese dubs. The major reason for this disproportion is of course the economic situations of American animation versus Japanese animation. In Japan, animation is their main entertainment market. Anime is basically the Hollywood of Japan.
Stewart Levy is.... wow.... a retard.... I can't find a better sounding word for that, seriously. Anime is not dubbed originally? wanna know why? Because a dub is when you RECORD OVER ANOTHER VOICE. In the original form, the VOICE IS RECORDED FIRST, and THEN ANIMATION IS ADDED. NOT A DUB, NOT A DUB. Honestly, don't quote such a retard, and get enough brains to figure out that the person you're quoting is a retard you're self.
Keep in mind that when I say subbed, I'm generally referring to dubbed anime, I refer to the commercialized, often edited, American releases like some of the anime you see on Cartoon Network.
followed by:
Quote:
Granted, the obvious choice is that dubs sometimes sound like crap when compared to some subbed shows. The voice acting is much better in Japan than in America so you can definitely hear the emotions much better in subs. However, are you sure that's true?
Was I supposed to understand that? I don't know, but it seems to be the result of some last minute edits that weren't double checked at all.
--still laughing at most every aspect of this article, I'll have to compile all of my posts regarding its flaws into a unified publification as a sort of shame of all dub lovers
Having both Dubbed and Subbed versions would be great!
Some people just like to watch dubs rather than subs and vis versa.
But it will require a lot of work for the Zomg staff to get all the episodes and stuff.
So all and all its up to them.
__________________ Thanks, Kaiizu. Currently watching: D.Gray-Man and Ouran High School Host Club.
There are people out there that abhor dubs with a vengeance. There are people out there that would look down at an anime SOLELY because it's dubbed even though they never saw the subbed version and, thus, have no basis whatsoever to make such a judgment.
I hate dubs with a burning passion but why would I have anything against a show just because its been dubbed? All that means is that it was such a success and appealing to so many people that it aws possible to internationalize. Dubs are recognitions of an anime's success, although the prize is well....
Think like you've won a.. an art contest.
And as recongition you recieve a "parody of you're artwork by a proffesional artist" and you recieve shit. Like you'res was a masterpiece but the one you recieve was put together in around 5 seconds, behind the podium you were recieving the prize on. But you look around and see that all of the other contestants have amazing pieces themselves. So it must have been a prize enough to win the contest, the real prize didn't matter at all.
Now say theres a fan of you, that would be me. I am offended by the fact that all that said artist got was that piece of shit. I'm happy about him/she winning the contest but still offfeded that he recieved such a shitty prize for his efforts, thats what I feel about english dubs, they turned my beloved anime into a piece of shit, and although that means its good enough to be dubbed, as it has to be sufiecientl;y appealing to be so, the dub in question is nothing up to what it should have been
--What I don't like about dubs is the quality they think they can get past with.
--EDIT: replace the "art contest" with "sig contest", and the prize is a sig(crappy), that would make more sense
Alright here is my opinion...
I prefer subbed anime for these reasons:
1.) usually less translation error
2.) voices mostly fit the characters
3.) learn Japanese (duh!)
4.) emotions are properly stressed in voices
But I'm not saying all dubs suck and also I'm not saying the previous reasons are exactly true in all cases, but overall I like subs. Just my opinion. Also some dubs can be extremely better than their Jap counterparts (a widely know example is DBZ)
__________________
latest sig. ^^ (11/6/08)
Want to see my sig work? Click Here! Clubs
Just think of all the blind people that can only understand English you would be helping! They can now visit this site and hear English dubs of anime whenever they want!
If they could somehow manage to get over here..
__________________ Thanks, Kaiizu. Currently watching: D.Gray-Man and Ouran High School Host Club.
