dubbing or subtitles?

[reorith]

do you prefer dubbed works or those with subtitles? i feel dubbing debases a films integrity while subtitles distort the fluidity and both methods detract in the way that connotations and nuance may not translate well and distort the dialogue.

pretty much if a film is in english, german or spanish, i'm watching it in its original language
films in korean, japanese, or russian are watched with subtitles
and anything else is dubbed.

also, any particular reason for your preference?

[Innis Cabal]

Subs not dubs.

[Tengu_temp]

Subs - I like when characters speak in their original voices, and, in case of Japanese games and anime, I'm more familiar with Japanese seiyuu than American voice actors, and I like playing the "who's that voice?" game. I won't scoff at a good dub, but I prefer subs.

[FdL]

Subs, all the way.

[Seraph]

Dubs.

Translating a proper dub isn't nearly as hard on the original meaning as people like to think.

[comicshorse]

Subtitles, I prefer to hear the emotions the original actors put into the lines ( though it can be annoying when the Subtitles blend into the background. I remember watching 'AUDITION' a film drenched in white and the subtitles were in white too !. Practically unreadable most of the time)

[Mando Knight]

Dubs.

Translating a proper dub isn't nearly as hard on the original meaning as people like to think.

And then there's the surprisingly good dubs (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/SugarWiki/SuperlativeDubbing), like Disney's dubs of Studio Ghibli films.

I usually watch the dubs because I won't always be bothered to read the subtitles, even though I often have subtitles on when watching movies. Suzumiya, however, I watched subtitled. I like Aya Hirano (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AyaHirano)'s voice. :smallredface:

[Joran]

I find dubtitles to be the most annoying. They're subtitles based off of the dub, and are often times confusing.

I prefer subtitles when I'm awake and dubs when I'm tired, but mostly, I prefer subtitles.

[Mauve Shirt]

Subtitles, definitely. I like hearing the actual voices of the actors.

[TheSummoner]

Both have their charms... personally I prefer subtitles because it feels more authentic. However, my girlfriend prefers dubbing simply because very often you have to pause the it to be able to read everything and that can get annoying.

[Zeful]

I don't really care either way. I read fast enough to make subtitles a non-issue, but they can interfere with the scene if their badly placed. My big problem with subs is that they tend to use a whole color for the text rather than outlined letters, making it infuriatingly hard to read at all. As for dubs I prefer a idiomatic translation over a literal translation, simply because jokes don't tend to translate well otherwise.

[doliest]

Dubs, I don't get any feeling of emotion from foreign voice actors, particularly when it comes to the japanese;Infact my friend and I have a joke where we say there's maybe two voice actors in all of japan. As for why, well I like to do two things at once which I can't do with subs and he hates to read so that hurts his opinion of subs.

[13_CBS]

I vastly prefer subs, though I understand why others prefer dubs. I can read subs quickly enough (or at least skim the text) to mostly understand what's going on, so that's not really a problem for me, and I rather like listening to Japanese.

But my primary reason for liking subs is that, to me, the quality of voice acting in the dubs...just doesn't cut it for some reason. I almost always have to cringe whenever I hear a dubbed voice while watching an anime. I guess it's just not my cup of tea.

[Cúchulainn]

I don't mind either. I'll watch a dub if I've heard it's good but generally I'll go for subs by default. I've never run into a dub I just couldn't stand to hear though like some people.

[Lord Seth]

Live action films should be subtitled because it's nearly impossible to do a dub without looking absolutely ridiculous. Cartoons, on the other hand, I'll take a dub almost any day.

Typing without using capital letters also makes you look incredibly lazy. Still better than writing entirely in capitals though, which makes you look outright obnoxious.

[Serpentine]

Subtitles subtitles subtitles subtitles oh good lord subtitles.

There may be, and no doubt are, good dubs. In such a case, I probably won't even notice. But, while average subtitles are generally pretty fine, average dubs are just plain awful.
That said, the particular subtitles can depend. I know SBS TV are pretty respected for their translations, but I've also heard of a controversy (around Let The Right One In) in which the subtitlers were accused of dumbing the dialogue down. Unless they were talking about the dubbing... In which case, see the above paragraph.

[Fawkes]

Live action films should be subtitled because it's nearly impossible to do a dub without looking absolutely ridiculous. Cartoons, on the other hand, I'll take a dub almost any day.

This. I watched Infernal Affairs dubbed. Huge mistake. I'm never watching another live action dub. I want what I see and what I hear to match up.

With animation, though, a dub doesn't rip you away from the action (unless it's really poorly done, but that's another thing altogether). The more fast-paced and action-based an anime is, the harder it is to read along. People on the internet told me to watch Gurenn Lagann subbed because the VAs were better. I'm not watching Lagann for the voice acting. I'm watching it for the visuals. I don't want to watch the bottom of the screen during the big robot battle. It's just distracting, and rips the focus away from where the director wants it.

I don't watch a lot of anime, but when I do watch, 9 times out of 10 I'll take a dub.

[Lord Seth]

People on the internet told me to watch Gurenn Lagann subbed because the VAs were better.I have no idea what they're talking about. The English VAs were awesome; as I saw someone else write, "they really made the last episodes worth watching." (or they wrote something to that effect)

Okay, okay, I'll be the first to admit that Kamina had a very lame voice in the first episode, but it definitely improves in the second.

EDIT: Another reason live action dubs are bad is because you're juxtaposing an actor with someone else's voice. In a cartoon, the VAs have nothing to do with what the characters look like or what they're doing, they just do the voices. That is, you're replacing one disembodied voice with another disembodied voice. In a live action movie, not only do you have the sync problems I mentioned before, you're also giving someone else a different voice. So you have one guy on the screen, and another guy doing the voice. That does not mesh correctly at all. For it to work you'd have to replace both the body AND the voice so that it's the same person doing the actions and doing the voice, and that's not exactly feasible.

[Ravens_cry]

Subtitles, definitely. I love the sound of other languages, they flow in ways English doesn't, and I just really enjoy that. That's my excuse for anime anyway. For live action, it allows the full experience of the actors emotional efforts to noticed. Even if you can't understand the words, their acting flows not just with gestures but with the variations on tone of voice as well.
That being said, I will watch the dub afterwards if it is available, as a well done dub will have extra information that the subtitles just can't fit, little tidbits that add to the story.

[Lord Herman]

For something in a language other than Dutch or English, I prefer subtitles. It just feels more authentic to hear the actual actors speak.

For things in English, I don't want any translation. I can understand spoken English just fine, so the subtitles are just distracting.

[Mx.Silver]

Subtitles. If you're going to watch something, you might as well try to watch it closer to how it was orginally made. Plus live-action dubbing just looks blatantly ridiculous.

[zyphyr]

When done properly dubs, but I'll take subs over a bad dub any day.

[Opeth_Freak]

No subs or dubs, if it's possible. I'm from Poland, and while we have there several really good translators, there are also guys who fails at their work, and while watching something with their subtitles, I'm catching myself on 'Hey, this guy translated it wrong!' If there is no choice (sadly, I don't speak Japanese very well :smallfrown:), I prefer subs. Definitely. Everyone who heard, for example, Polish Naruto (or even English Naruto... It's not as bad as Polish, but it's still really bad), will agree with me. Of course there are some really good dubs, when the voice actors match the character, but it's a rare thing.

[Erts]

Subs, in anime at least.
It just seems like they have to water things down in dubs.
"Oh darnit, this guy is about to kill me! Where the heck does he get this crazy power!"
Of course, dubs gave us this: http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZlIcJbbm08


My forum wizardry is bad, so I hope it doesn't break any rules.

[Athaniar]

Subtitles all the way. Can't stand dubbing.

[Rogue 7]

No subs or dubs, if it's possible. I'm from Poland, and while we have there several really good translators, there are also guys who fails at their work, and while watching something with their subtitles, I'm catching myself on 'Hey, this guy translated it wrong!' If there is no choice (sadly, I don't speak Japanese very well :smallfrown:), I prefer subs. Definitely. Everyone who heard, for example, Polish Naruto (or even English Naruto... It's not as bad as Polish, but it's still really bad), will agree with me. Of course there are some really good dubs, when the voice actors match the character, but it's a rare thing.

I'll disagree with you on the quality of the English Naruto dub. I haven't heard it in a while, and I do prefer the Japanese, but it was quite good.

And I find I tend to prefer dubs for the most part, though I'll watch subs without any problems. Depends on the show, really.

[Terraoblivion]

I pretty much only watch subs. There is a rather simple explanation for that. In Denmark where i live nothing is dubbed unless it is aimed at kids below ten, not only that the few actors who do dub things here are atrociously bad actors who universally overact, though the last part is more or less universal to Danish actors. Having grown used to subtitles since i was a kid it feels as natural to me as hearing people talk. Hearing things in languages i don't understand also makes it harder for me to notice bad acting, so even though i know good dubs exists they provide nothing extra for me except for work figuring out which dubs are good and which aren't.

[Arlion]

i prefer subtitles.usually when a film is dubbed it feels...false,like if something was wrong.
I actually use subtitles even if the film is in spanish ,english or italian (the 3 languages that i speak) just to see the differences between what is written in the subs and what they are actually saying :smalltongue:

[Mando Knight]

Subs, in anime at least.
It just seems like they have to water things down in dubs.
"Oh darnit, this guy is about to kill me! Where the heck does he get this crazy power!"
Of course, dubs gave us this: http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZlIcJbbm08

Are you thinking of dubbing, or 4K!ds (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/FourKidsEntertainment) Entertainment? There's a big difference. Quality dubs generally come from other companies.

[Ganurath]

Subs, with the exception of Blue Submarine #6. That has enough subs already, and I was raised on the dub.

[Drascin]

I pretty much only watch subs. There is a rather simple explanation for that. In Denmark where i live nothing is dubbed unless it is aimed at kids below ten, not only that the few actors who do dub things here are atrociously bad actors who universally overact

Substitute "Denmark" for "Spain" and "overact" for "underact", and you have exactly what I was going to say. Seriously, most of the dudes dubbing here can make it seem like getting shot by the biggest BFG ever or falling down The Abyss of Absolute Oblivion is only a mild inconvenience, for all the emotion they put into it.

[charl]

Subtitles.

Sweden only dubs childrens' shows. All else is subtitled, and I can't stand those when I'm watching English stuff. I prefer English without either.

[Narmoth]

Subs for movies, dubbing or original language for animation.

[Pronounceable]

Subs forever, for reasons already explained.

[The Rose Dragon]

Subtitles. In English.

Which may sound like a small deal, but my native language is, in fact, Turkish. And I choose English subtitles even if there is a choice of Turkish subtitles.

Most often the subtitles are only in case I miss the dialogue.

[Mordar]

Hi all -

I think there's plenty of good dubbing work out there, and plenty of...odd... subtitles, so I don't think one format is automatically superior to the other. Unlike some of the previous posters with a similar opinion, though, I don't decide based on the original language, the format or the genre of the work. For me, my "rule" is based in the content of the work.

If the movie/episode/whatever features high amounts of action or exceptional scenery/sets/cinematography, I don't want to be distracted from the important visual elements. So, for these sorts of things it's dubbing all the way. Now, there have been some bad voice mismatches, but I generally feel that unless its insanely bad, I don't want to sacrifice the attention.

If the work is less visually-focused, less attractively rendered or otherwise not as "pretty", I'm more inclined to read subtitles and listen to original voices.

- M

[Prime32]

Here's the same scene with a bunch of different dubs (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psCXsn_i_Rg&fmt=18).

This is the best. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbi9jmK83_o&fmt=18) :smalltongue: Followed closely by this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jic4iF69SVw&fmt=18).


Yeah, I usually stick to subs unless the dub is very good (like FMA or Code Geass)

[averagejoe]

Both have their good points. I tend to prefer subtitles, but that's because television tends to be very boring for me, and reading subtitles gives me something to do while I'm watching. But that doesn't say anything about either one being inherently better.

[13_CBS]

This is the best. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbi9jmK83_o&fmt=18) :smalltongue: Followed closely by this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jic4iF69SVw&fmt=18).


MY EARS! THEY BLEED! :smalleek:

[Oregano]

It depends on the medium. In Live Action I perfer subtitles as dubs just look weird but when it's animation I don't mind. In fact I agree with Miyazaki of Studio Ghibli. We should be able to appreciate it in our own language. Of course when meaning is lost in the process of dubbing it's bad but otherwise I prefer it.

[KIDS]

Subtitles all the way! Dubbing is a crime against language and art. My country is very nationalistic but small, so it only dubs some movies (mostly Pixar's) that there is weak interest for. I couldn't imagine how it would be to live in a big country like Italy or Spain where absolutely everything is synchronized (dubbed) in an attempt to "win over english language". I've been there briefly and it freaked me out.
I can't believe that they think that huge amount of culture and adaptiveness lost through dubbing is worth the illusion of "preserving the native language".

El Signori dei Anelli anyone? La Venganza de los Sith, sounds good? :(

[Green Bean]

For the most part, I watch whichever is available. That being said, whenever I have a choice, it's dubs all the way. It may be much easier to detect VA problems in a language you're fluent in, but so much information is conveyed in how you say something that I couldn't imagine giving up even bad dubs.

[Lord Seth]

Subtitles all the way! Dubbing is a crime against language and art.You know, I can understand preferring subtitles, but come on, you're just getting ridiculous.


I can't believe that they think that huge amount of culture and adaptiveness lost through dubbing is worth the illusion of "preserving the native language".How is culture/adaptiveness somehow lost by a dub versus a sub? Both are translations, the only difference is whether you're reading it or hearing it.

I mean, if you think it's really important to hear the original voice actors, fine, but how does that somehow lose culture to hear it with different voices? And since when was dubbing ever to "preserve the native language"? People, simply put, often prefer to hear things in their native language rather than just reading it off the screen. Of course, the quality of the individual dub is rather important, which is why I often find "dubbing versus subbing" to be far too simplistic. Look at the Cowboy Bebop dub and the 4Kids' One Piece dub for dubs on the opposite end of the spectrums. So much depends on the individual dub that making a blanket statement either way is ridiculous. You also have to consider the quality of the original voice actors, as in some cases it's arguable that the dub voices are superior to the originals. (see the aforementioned Cowboy Bebop)

[Prime32]

How is culture/adaptiveness somehow lost by a dub versus a sub? Both are translations, the only difference is whether you're reading it or hearing it.
Dubs have to match the lip-flaps. Subs don't.

[Tyracus]

I've always taken a middle road on dubs vs. subs.

There are some shows, mainly the Ah My Goddess franchise, where I just can't watch the English dub anymore because I saw the two TV seasons in Japanese and English just sounds weird to me. The Negima! dub is the same way (nice to hear Chidori as Asuna but Negi makes me wince). Shuffle dub is passable but I still do subs if I'm not just playing it as background.

Then again there are others (FMP, Evangelion, FMA, Fate/Stay Night, and some of the more recent funimation stuff) that I can watch and enjoy Dubbed. FMP and FMA are particularly well done in my opinion. There are also a few that have a following the the Japanese about the English dub (Code Geass, I watched it dubbed and it's just great all around. Lelouch is MUCH better and it's got Spike Spencer as Rolo in R2 which amused me.)

Then you get shows that have some good Voice actors and some bad ones. Claymore has good dubbing for the Claymores themselves but Raki was better in the Japanese (the manga is superior to the anime though but I enjoy both).

Part of it for me is whichever I hear first. I tend to stick to whichever medium I listened to first (Barring a few exceptions) because I'm really a pretty passive guy about this. Really if something was dubbed in the past decade it's likely to be decent but anything older I'm going to jump straight to subs (Tenchi Universe lasted maybe 1/4 of the first ep before I switched it).

One thing that does bug the hell out of me though is dubbing songs. They rarely have as good singers doing them, they force the melodies and lyrics, and it just doesn't work with maybe a few exceptions (MAYBE the Haruhi dub of God Knows, Japanese was better but the dub was good). I had to listen through Tenchi Universe's dub theme once for an idea of the lyrics but it was just horrible. Trigun's dub of Rem Saverem's favorite song was bad, Priss' songs in Bubble Gum Crisis 2040 were better in Japanese (I heard the dub first so it's still how I listen).

[TengYt]

Dubs, without a doubt.

[Sneak]

Subtitles, because dubs are almost universally abysmal.

They do make for some funny viewing, though, albeit unintentionally.

[charl]

Subs are more "educational." If you watch something in a foreign language a lot and you have subs you eventually start learning some of that language.

[Eldan]

Subs all the way. Even for english movies, as I have found I don't understand pretty much half of all movie actors when they talk fast.

Random addendum: a few weeks ago, I watched a movie with Bruce Willis, in english. Two things occured to me: a) I've only ever watched german dubs with him in it and b) for some reason his english voice seemed a lot less cool to me.

[Kane]

Funny.

I was trying to get my brother to start watching Firefly, which he kind of wants to do, since he's heard half a thousand people recommend it. (Naturally.:smallbiggrin:)
However, he's very reluctant to do so unless he can get it dubbed into Japanese (which he doesn't understand, but he watches a decent amount of anime) and subtitled in English. (Which he does understand.)


I thought it was sheer WTF-ery at first, but he has a fairly reasonable explanation. Like me, or rather, I'm like him, in that we both read a lot. We like it. There's also a decidedly different mental process when you hear something said, as opposed to when you read something said. He prefers to read it, effectively turning a TV show into a 'super-graphic' novel.


Personally, I like to have subtitles on anything I watch, partially for the reason mentioned above, and partially for 'just in case I didn't hear something'. It's more likely than you'd think.

[Fawkes]

Subtitles. If you're going to watch something, you might as well try to watch it closer to how it was orginally made.

I'd argue that watching it in your own language is closer to how it was originally made. Subtitles distract from the intended focus of the movie. You won't be looking at what the director wants you to see.


Dubbing is a crime against language and art.


I fail to see how appropriating art so that it can be experienced by a wider audience is a crime.


Subtitles, because dubs are almost universally abysmal.

Cowboy Bebop, Gurren Lagann, Disney's Miyazaki dubs...


There's also a decidedly different mental process when you hear something said, as opposed to when you read something said. He prefers to read it, effectively turning a TV show into a 'super-graphic' novel.

Okay, this is definitely going against the creator's intent. I have nothing against reading, but film and television are meant to experienced with your eyes and ears.

[D_Lord]

Both are ok, but I like dubes more, maybe so I don't have to split my foces more. Sub can be helpful but most of them are in bad places, you can read or watch at times. And I get the whole only like 2 people in different languages a boy and a girl and thats it. So not so fun for me.

[Terraoblivion]

If you are used to reading subtitles, like everyone in Scandinavia, then they don't really distract you at all. Of course they are different than hearing things said, but it is not a very great difference unless you rarely see things subtitled. That is where the major difference in opinions lie, for most people living in the smaller European countries subtitles are the norm, with dubs being reserved for entertainment that is given a low priority, so the dubs are pretty much universally horrible. That is the association people from these places have with dubs, as bad voice acting that sounds off and intrudes on a perfectly good show.

[Rutskarn]

I easily prefer subtitles.

Why? Well, it boils down to this. When I watch foreign translations of American movies, they're always dubbed, and I find myself irritated with the fact that the voices are so far from the originals. The character, the depth of emotion that the actor had poured into it, is completely gone.

I don't want that watered-down product. I want the original voices.

Plus, it yanks me out of it when the accent is flagrantly American.

(Note: I don't watch Anime, so this is taken entirely from my experience with movies like Pan's Labyrinth.)

[Aystra]

Subs helps you learn the language as well as provide entertainment.

[Thormag]

Subs helps you learn the language as well as provide entertainment.

This.

I learned English thanks to movies and videogames. Movies that were subtitled.
I think subs are better simply because they let you feel the emotions and the acting of the actors behind the characters. I don't know, it feels a lot more personal. Dubbing, though good in some cases (I wouldn't even think of taking my little brother to a subtitled movie, since he can't even read), takes that part of the experience away. I prefer subs and I've always prefered them, to the point where I can read them quickly enough as to not lose sight of whatever is happening onscreen.

[BlueWizard]

Is there a question?

SUBTITLES all the way.

Voice-over actors they get sometimes are horrible.

[bosssmiley]

Subtitles for movies. That way you can have Rostand's poetry and Burgess' wit when watching "Cyrano de Bergerac". Of course, if you understand French it can really screw you head up parsing two divergent scripts at once. But that's all part of the fun. :smallamused:

Dubbing for cartoons: no exceptions. I tried to watch subbed "Totoro" the other week. The nasal whining of the jabbering moonspeak was like fingers down a blackboard and ruined my enjoyment of the film.

Yeah, yeah. "Shakespeare in the original Russian/Klingon..." problem rears its ugly head. Suffice it to say Japanese is an unmusical language. It's fine for grunting threats and epigrams if you're Toshiro Mifune...

[Dienekes]

Subtittles, unless I'm reliving my youth and watching Godzilla. Half the fun is making fun of how their mouths move.

[Lord Iames Osari]

With me it depends on which I hear first. Once I've associated a voice with a character, any other voice just sounds wrong. For example, I can't watch Gundam Wing with English subtitles and Japanese voices, and I doubt I'd be able to stand Cowboy Bebop or Lupin III subbed. I know I can't watch the new FMA series because the voices sound too different from the English dub.

On the other hand, I have to watch the Oh My Goddess! anime (the OAVs, the movie, and the TV seasons) in Japanese, because I first watched them subtitled. Kikuko Inoue is the One True Voice of Belldandy.

Same situation for the Gundam 00 subs v. dubs. I started watching the fansubs as the episodes came out in Japan (before anyone knew it was going to be dubbed), and the English voices are just plain wrong.

[DeafnotDumb]

Subtitles.

Guess why.:smallamused:

[Ravens_cry]

Subtitles.

Guess why.:smallamused:

Because you're afraid the the dubbing goblins will jump you out of the television set and drag you soul and body to Dubbing Heck?:smallannoyed:
There's a thousand and one reasons why you may prefer subtitles. We are not mind readers. Well, some of us are, but we are not telling you that.:smallbiggrin:

[DeafnotDumb]

Because you're afraid the the dubbing goblins will jump you out of the television set and drag you soul and body to Dubbing Heck?:smallannoyed:
There's a thousand and one reasons why you may prefer subtitles. We are not mind readers. Well, some of us are, but we are not telling you that.:smallbiggrin:

Was that sarcasm? Because if so, then I apologize for mistaking it. If it wasn't, I direct you towards my username.

It's almost as hard to lipread animated characters as it is Darth Vader.

[Nerd-o-rama]

While there are more than a few well-made dubs out there, when in doubt, I go with subs. Goes for anime and foreign film in general.

[Manga Shoggoth]

As a collector of Anime I tend to go for subs, very much for the reasons posted.

That said, a good dub is a joy to behold, and I have one or two items in my collection where I consider the dub to be a vast improvement on the original.

My main problems with dubs are:

* Uninterested Actor Syndrome: The voice actor reads the lines in little better than a montone.

* Screechy Female Syndrome: The people playing the female voices (especially the younger parts) insist on speaking in a screeching, high-pitched voice, rather than a normal one.

[Ravens_cry]

Was that sarcasm? Because if so, then I apologize for mistaking it. If it wasn't, I direct you towards my username.

It's almost as hard to lipread animated characters as it is Darth Vader.
Doh!:smalleek:
Maybe I should change mine to, DumbnotDeaf, eh?:smallwink:

[DeafnotDumb]

Doh!:smalleek:
Maybe I should change mine to, DumbnotDeaf, eh?:smallwink:
Eh, no worries. I think we should stop derailing the thread now, no?

On topic, if I will watch good dubs over subtitles if they have good dubtitles(rare).

[KIDS]

I realize that "dubbing is a crime" might sound ridiculous as a few people pointed out, but I also have to say something else about its context. Where I lived, there was actually a law that made dubbing mandatory for all cartoons, movies, etc. You wouldn't believe the amount of much more ridiculous things that emerged from that era and are still used only as comic relief. People actually went to jail for disobeying this. The justification for it was "protecting the language from foreign influence" and the law collapsed with the state shortly afterwards. The law didn't make it over but the legacy remains even today.

So when I see Eddie Murphy massacred in the latest dub of Shrek (which is, mind you, not avoidable by going to a different theatre), it makes for a horrible experience. I've never seen any movie that was improved by dubbing because the idea of dubbing (at least in my area) did not originate with the idea of improving art as it should have. Even with the best intentions, the original context is impossible to reproduce and ends up hilariously wrong. Of course there might be exceptions, but the starting intent spells doom for most of them.

[Mando Knight]

There's a thousand and one reasons why you may prefer subtitles. We are not mind readers. Well, some of us are, but we are not telling you that.:smallbiggrin:

Dammit, Ravens! I'm a Playgrounder, not a mind reader! :smalltongue:

[hanzo66]

I like to check out both just to see. I'll admit that there are times when Dubs are not at all impressive. Then again I'm pretty accepting of these things and I'll try and watch it if it's actually interesting.

[tribble]

Subs all the way, If only because they somehow managed to make Chiyo-chan, of all people, annoying in the english dub.

[DamnedIrishman]

And then there's the surprisingly good dubs (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/SugarWiki/SuperlativeDubbing), like Disney's dubs of Studio Ghibli films.



I prefer subtitles in anything live-acted. But animation (read: Studio Ghibli) is fine with dubbing because the mouths never quite match up with the words anyway so it doesn't bother me so much.

That said, cheesy early chinese and japanese martial arts films are funnier with bad dubbing to match their special effects and plotlines.

[SDF]

I prefer dubs. As I type this I'm watching a subtitled movie. >_>

[Lord Seth]

Query: Does anyone prefer a dub in live action?

I'm just wondering. Cartoons are an entirely different ball game, but I'm wondering if anyone prefers live action dubs. I don't, for reasons I've already mentioned: It's much harder to sync it up with the lips and it's a juxtaposition of one person acting and another person talking, which doesn't work very well (something that isn't true for animation). And this is coming from someone who will almost always take a cartoon dub over a sub.

[Mr. Scaly]

Dubs for anime and cartoons. Partially because watching words run across the bottom of the screen when much more interesting things are going on above, and partially because I think I can identify the emotions of North American (I live in Canada) voice actors better, but there's also a personal reason.

One of my friends downloads the latest episodes of everything just as they're coming out, so naturally they're subbed. Then he feels the need to talk to me about how the original voice actors are so superior, no matter what show or movie we're watching...as we're watching it. I swear, here's one conversation we had.

My Friend: Ah geez, I really don't like the Naruto dub. Naruto sounds like an annoying kid!

Me: ...Ah...Naruto IS an annoying kid.

My Friend: Yeah, but the Japanese voice actor does it better.

[Bouregard]

For english movies/episodes =subs.

For japanese/chinese/french - english or german dub if available. Or if not subs.

[Serpentine]

Subtitles.

Guess why.:smallamused:I thought you were funny :smalltongue:

[bosssmiley]

That said, cheesy early chinese and japanese martial arts films are funnier with bad dubbing to match their special effects and plotlines.

"You must die! I alone am best!" :smallbiggrin:

[Eldan]

Query: Does anyone prefer a dub in live action?


A quick query amongst my colleagues at the university revealed that out of 17, 14 prefer german dubs, even though all of them speak at least passable english.

[Dispozition]

I prefer subs most of the time, although I will always try the dubs as well. Most of the time they're horrible (Evangelion, Negima, ect.) sometimes, they're awesome (GitS, Samurai Champloo, Bebop).

I find that subs become less intrusive the more you use them. That may be because I'm a fast reader, so I can read the subs on screen, look at the pretty pictures, then still have spare time until the next lot of subs come up.

[Salt_Crow]

Because you're afraid the the dubbing goblins will jump you out of the television set and drag you soul and body to Dubbing Heck?:smallannoyed:

So it was TRUE!!! :smalleek: I knew it! Subtitles all the way!


Seriously, I just like sub just because some dubbings are just... horrible.

[doliest]

Generally a decent dub, in my opinion, is better in animation, particularly when someone halfway decent got the dub job...which is only either when a major corporation gets it or when it's an anime that relies on quality over quantity.

[Lord Seth]

I prefer subs most of the time, although I will always try the dubs as well. Most of the time they're horrible (Evangelion, Negima, ect.) sometimes, they're awesome (GitS, Samurai Champloo, Bebop).What was wrong with Evangelion's dub? I liked it.

[Faulty]

I prefer subs, because I want to hear what the creators first had in mind for the audio. Like, after the creation, exactly what they wanted to have the characters sound like.

[valadil]

Good dubs are too hard to find. I didn't mind the dub of Princess Mononoke, but all others that come to mind were terrible. I don't know why, but there are a lot of lines that sound serious and important in japanese but hokey and dumb in english. So I stick to japanese when watching anime.

[Nerd-o-rama]

What was wrong with Evangelion's dub? I liked it.The characters are really annoying and whiny.

Oh wait, that's intentional.

But seriously, I refuse to watch any episode with Kensuke in it dubbed. The other major sources of complaints (Asuka and Shinji) are annoying, but not as bad as that kid, and it fits their characters.

[Kris Strife]

I much preferred the DVD version dubbing of TTGL to the Subtitled, mainly because I don't want to have to focus my attention on the bottom of the screen for that particular anime, or any other high action ones.

TV dubbing sucked massively though.

[Dispozition]

What was wrong with Evangelion's dub? I liked it.

I think that compared to the original japanese voices, pretty much all the characters are just too whiny. I may try and watch it again, but last time I tried I couldn't even finish the first episode :<

[thubby]

there are plenty of good dubs, and even a few dubs i prefer to the subs, but by and large I prefer subs.

it's not that there is something fundamentally wrong with dubbing, it's that few are done right.

subs have it a little easier (they dont have to sync with the video nearly as well), and are done by people who usually don't just want to make money off of it.

[Canadian]

Subs all the way.

Unless it's 70's to early 90's Kung Fu. Then it's dubs for the V/O comedy.

[Lord Starlight]

If it's content originally created in Swedish, English or German I would usually rather watch it without subs or dubs these days. Or well, German I sometimes want subtitles for because my vocabulary still needs improving (or refreshing even, it's been over a decade since I last took a German class).

Other languages, subtitles are definitely preferred. Growing up in Sweden and watching English-language shows on TV with Swedish subtitles taught me a lot of English as a kid AND, even more importantly, how to pronounce English correctly. This is where many countries that dub imported shows fail, they might know English but their pronunciation is usually not that good because they haven't heard the words spoken out loud by a native speaker. The same can be applied to any language really.

[Avilan the Grey]

Subs! Except for movies made for very young kids.
Of course since Sweden almost never dubs anything, Subtitle-reading is a skill quickly learned.