A quick Aside - Subs or Dubs?

Something that I've been thinking about mentioning for a while now...


When I review an Anime, in fact, when I even just watch one, for a very long time now I've been sticking with purely the subtitled versions.

I have two main reasons for this, but they basically boil down to one thing. the perception of the publishing companies of the "American market"

My first reason is simply because with the recent exceptions of mega-budget high-end animations (including 3D ones like you get from Pixar) 90% of the dubbed voices are simply terrible. Voices that mis-match the characters, emotional stresses that are WAAAAAY over the top, like a pantomime performance or cheaply produced 80's saturday morning cartoons and really poor translations of subtle jokes/cultural referances.

I'm guessing the reason for this is simply because the majority of the western audience see "cartoons" as being for little kids, and as such voice-acting isnt taken as seriously over here for the most part, this has been getting better in recent years as the anime industry is taking off, but its still cringe-worthy far more than it isnt, there's also that a lot of the time its done quickly and/or cheaply so the american publishers can get it out quicker.

(i make one exception to this rule, and thats dragonball, because i first saw this on TV, dubbed, I grew used to the american voice for Goku, and when i heard the original i found it grating and irritating... this is the only exception however!)

the second reason is editing.three great examples of this are:

• Macross/Robotech - a HUGE reworking of the original macross series, in fact the robotech saga after the first season isnt even taken from macross but two completely unrelated animes that happened to feature transforming machines and aliens
• G-force/Battle of the planets - I watched these shows growing up, and while i recognised the robots/vehicles and characters across the two, I never really got why one of them spoke only in noises in one of the shows, but normally in another.. 

At this point you're probably thinking "aah but those are really old shows, before people realises the fact that anime was poplular in the west! they dont do that now..." which brings me to number 3..

• One Piece - Not one i've watched or followed but its re-editing is exceptionally well know and mocked, such as here http://www.vgcats.com/comics/?strip_id=145 

its also present to a degree in other shows, to a lesser degree, with shots being altered, changed, skipped or re-written because "they dont make sense in the west" or because "western censoship is stricter" because the shows are seen as "for children, maybe teens" and frankly, i find it annoying to say the least.

So when I talk about an anime, i'm talking about how it was released in Japan, not a westernised version. I'll also not review how fan-subbing is, because in my experience to see a whole series, by download or by stream, you are likely to come across several different fan-sub version, all of which will be slightly different. some will use tiny fonts, some will insist upon using a different colour font for every person who speaks, leading to words being lost into background colours, some will use FRIGGING GIANT FONTS THAT COVER UP THE ENTIRE SCREEN IF MORE THAN THREE WORDS ARE SAID.. and as i dont link to specific episodes, and the version you watch may be from a different fan-sub group, there's little point in me commenting on the subs themselves.

(I will go over the download/stream debate another time, because thats a whole other kettle of fish)

I know some folks dislike having to read subtitles, saying it distracts them from the events happening on-screen, and I respect that, no point watching something if you cant follow the action because you're trying to make sense of the plot.. but growing up on jackie chan films and stuff like that i'm fine with subs, and having seen the difference between western voice actors and Japanese Seiyu, not only in respect but devotion to the art and training, and just how much that comes across when you watch a show in both languages, i'd prefer to watch the original language version, with its emotional impact intact. 

oh.. and if you're wondering why i'm bringing this up? i'm following a few anime, possibly for review, that feature the vocal talents of one Mamiko Noto, most likely well known for the voices of Fiona from "Allison & Lillia", Ai Enma, the hellgirl from "Hellgirl" for all three seasons and for Sawako in "Kimi ni Todoke". there's a certain quality in her voice that really allows the feeling, or in Ai's case, a lack of, to come through so naturally. 

here's a subtitled collection of hellgirl's "signature line" from various episodes, but watch the first one most http://youtu.be/jj6_E7tgZyI

this is the same scene as the first scene in the above video, from the english dub.. can YOU feel the difference in emotion between the two? http://youtu.be/FXD7GN0EJ2I

End of the day, its personal preferance, but please be aware that as I review the Japanese versions, I may comment on things that have been cut/altered/mutilated in the conversion to an english language dub...