The Eternal Debate
It’s time to open that can of worms. No, not the fansub one, but the other one. Yes, that’s right folks, it’s sub vs. dub time! After all, this is an anime blog, ergo, there should be something concerning sub vs. dub, right? This issue has been played to death and, in all honesty, I know you probably don’t want to hear the same old arguments all over again. However, it’s important for me to get my views out there, and though I do sit on the fence quite a lot, my bottom is sore and I need to stretch my legs a bit before getting back on it.
First off, an admission. I am an anime pirate, and I am ashamed of that fact. I would love to be able to say that my anime fix is satisfied through legitimate channels, but unfortunately this isn’t the case. It’s completely doable, so any excuse I give will be just that - an excuse. The truth is if that we stop spending money, the western anime industry will fall to it’s knees, and we’ll be the ones to blame. I’m aiming for perfection, and the industry, now particularly the UK industry, is certainly doing better than it was before to help me and other fans along the way. Take the latest batch of ADV Films and Manga Entertainment releases (E’s Otherwise, The GITS SAC Trilogy, et al) that shove whole series into relatively affordable boxes at fairly low per-episode prices. I’m reminded of a great video the NYAF put out to bring an answer to the question I’ve set out to answer…
Indeed! Retail DVDs are a brilliant solution to this predicament, but until we sort out the other problem, then there still needs to be some sort of impetus to solve the first one.
To give my own opinion on the conundrum, I am a firm believer in dubs. This isn’t to say that I don’t support subs, but it is to say that if the English dub of a show is available, I will always go for the dubbed version over the subtitled one. “Sacrilege!” say the completely unscientific polls of some anime websites that I’ve just googled. But there’s a reason here.
English dubs have recently, as in the past few years, become much more professional and well made. In the current crop of anime that’s doing the rounds, there aren’t many dubs you could call truly terrible. The production values have shot up and the finished products are becoming better because of it. Problems arise when the producers and fans have a different definition of “better,” where an American studio wants to change a show to suit American tastes, while a fans would prefer every little nuance of the original version translated directly. The thing is, usually American studios would prefer things that way too, but need to think about other issues, like target audience, sales, and crafting it so that it actually makes sense in English.
Anime fans who don’t like subs are sometimes criticised for not being able to read and watch at the same time. But the thing is, having to read subtitles while watching an anime dilutes the essential experience. There’s nothing that can pull you out of a moment like a huge line of text across the bottom of the screen, or fancy karaoke graphics jumping about the top of the screen vying for our attention. Subtitles, and especially some fansub groups’ subtitles can ruin the suspension of disbelief required for the majority of anime shows. It may not occur on an actual level, but on a subconscious level it is pushing us out of the story, out of the frame of mind the original producers wanted to put us in. This is why I think dubs can be superior - we understand the speech the way it was meant to be understood and we aren’t distracted by anything else, creating a perfect environment to be moved, shocked or creeped out by anime.
Here’s another argument against dubs - “the voices don’t match the character.” This can be true in many cases; sometimes voices don’t “match” the persona of a particular character. The only flaw in this argument is the person giving the opinion. A more accurate description of their argument would be that the voices don’t match my particular view of the character. The problem (or the beauty, depending on how you look at it) of people’s opinions are that they are never going to be completely subjective. Our view of a particular character is instantly coloured as soon as we hear the voice actor or actress, whether in English or in Japanese. This happened to me with Lucky☆Star. When I first heard Wendee Lee as Konata and Kari Wahlgren as Kagami, I wasn’t as ecstatic about them as I am now, clearly because I was too used to the original voice actors playing the characters I loved so much.
So to sum up, just like the NYAF bods deduced, the answer to sub vs. dub is clearly DVD. But lacking the third option, the choice is a little more hazy. While I do prefer dubs, that isn’t to say I disown subs. Both bring something special to the party. I just think that anime fans should think a little more before completely throwing out dubs. Luckily, most anime fans are mature enough to know that dubs now offer a legitimate choice, in both senses of the word.