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Old 2011-11-27, 08:39   Link #108
Echoes
Senior Member
 
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: In line to confess his sins.
Age: 36
As a general rule, I don't watch dubs of anything if I can help it.

That doesn't just go for anime, but for anything. As close to the original intent as you can get for an authentic experience; that's how I enjoy things. Of course, I don't understand Japanese to any significant extent, so I have to rely on subtitles to get me through anything I watch, and that in itself takes away some of the authenticity. It no doubt makes me miss out of subtleties from time to time, but it's still a whole lot closer than voice-overs in a different language.

Growing up in a small country with a language spoken essentially nowhere else, dubbing is not something I ever got used to (or learned to rely on) either. Around these parts, only children's programming gets dubbed. In general, movies and shows with a target audience for anyone over 12 rarely receives a dub. I wouldn't want to see American and British movies dubbed into my native language any more than I would like to see anime dubbed in English. (And that includes animated favorites of mine like Fantasia and (Disney's) Alice in Wonderland, just so we're not unfairly squaring off exclusively live-action dubs against animated ones.)

That being said, I think anime specifically makes a special case against dubbing that goes beyond my general preference for authenticity. Anime voice-acting is something unique, at least that's what I think. The voices and characters brought fourth can be unlike anything found elsewhere, and I often find that in addition to being unnecessary for me to enjoy the series, dubbing takes away a lot of the quality. It simply doesn't hold up from my experience. To use an example that has become increasingly relevant in the recent years, I don't think English can do moe justice. It's a phenomenon that is so intrinsically linked to the Japanese language and often, specific seiyuu's performances, that it simply doesn't translate well. That is merely my opinion, of course, and if you've seen dubs of moe shows that you enjoy, more power to you. I'll readily admit that I don't have that much experience watching dubs in the first place, because as mentioned, even if English voice-acting had no shortcomings at all, I would still pick the original presentation over it.

When it comes to exceptions, a lot of people have already brought up the obvious examples. In addition to being a great dub, the Cowboy Bebop setting lends itself very well to the English language. It's a Western-ish one, after all. The same can be said for Hellsing, which actually takes place in England and has characters from different parts of Europe. (I have only heard snippets of this dub, but I actually quite liked what I heard.) Including games, the renowned dub of Metal Gear Solid is something I vastly prefer to the Japanese original, largely due to the marvelous performance by David Hayter. Ending it on a controversial note, I love the dubbing of Final Fantasy X. Despite a few flaws here and there, I find the cast incredibly compelling and engaging, so much so that I have no desire to go out and hunt down the Japanese original.
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