Monday, August 10, 2015

Dubbed, Subbed, or both?

Do you ever watch anime? If so, do you prefer to watch it dubbed, or subbed?

Dubs: for when I'm dong mindless things such as choosing
the best flower pictures or extracting images in Photoshop.
On the whole, I tend to prefer the original subtitled versions. For one, the dialogue is usually more accurate. It only takes turning on the subtitles as you watch a dubbed version to realize how far off the dub usually is, as the voice actors try to match the words to the lip movements.

But I admit there are times I don't want to focus on reading as I'm watching. If I'm watching something I've seen before, or that has delved into the realm of trope-tastic or ultra-angsty, I might turn it on as I'm doing tedious hand or craftwork. Decent way to pass time.

Do you have a preference? And if so, are there times you tolerate the other?

2 comments:

  1. I don't watch much anime, but I tend to prefer dubbed. I don't know much about Japanese culture, so the fact that the word changes in the dubbing are also shifted to something a Westerner can better relate rather than the closer-to-straight translations of the subbing is helpful. I also have trouble picking out tones (as in emotions, not as in part of the pronunciation) in voices speaking Japanese since I don't speak it, and the dubbing circumvents that as well. Also, it leaves me free to watch the pictures instead of reading while the characters are relegated to my peripheral.

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    1. The "lost in translation" problem is one reason I really like good fan-subs, which tend to add explanations for culture-related things. But sometimes I miss things going on because I'm reading and not watching the whole screen! So yeah, dub definitely has a plus there.

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