Sub Vs Dub: Is There A Correct Way To Watch Anime?

By Ayomide.

The big debate - English subbed versus English dubbed. For those who may not know, Anime can be watched in either English sub (Japanese voice acting with English subtitles) or English dub (instead of the original Japanese voice acting it's re-scripted in English). Other people may prefer to watch it in their native tongue.

Some anime watchers prefer to watch anime in English sub while others prefer to watch it in English dub. This sub vs dub debate is heavily discussed back and forth between both sides (and sometimes it can even get heated).

Now I'm going to be honest, I'm an English sub watcher and I will always continue to be.

However, I'll be discussing both sides of the debate, weighing out the pros and cons of watching anime in English sub versus English dub.

English Sub

Some people (like myself) prefer to watch anime in its original origin. It's the true source that the Japanese creator intended it to be in (the pure form, which is why sub watchers are often called 'purists'). The Japanese voice actors are carefully chosen in order to reflect the characters personalities as accurately as possible. Additionally, the anime is planned for the Japanese vocals to fit the animation perfectly.

Personally, I just feel like if you watch anime in English sub, you are getting the full experience. You can clearly see the character's mannerisms in hand with the Japanese culture (which I feel like is erased in English dub) and you get to hear the popular phrases such as 'Nani?', 'Onii-chan', 'Moshi moshi' and 'Baka'(my personal favorite).

And don't forget when the Japanese voice actors would occasionally speak in English. You miss out on all of these when you choose to watch anime in dub.

English dub often relies on paraphrasing and editing parts of the sentences in order for the voice acting to match the animation's movements. Additionally, many older anime series were censored in the English dub version. This was because some companies deemed certain scenes 'inappropriate' for their key viewers, which was children at the time. As a result the script of the show would be changed - they would cut out traces of Japanese culture, characters characteristics weren't fully shown and the show wouldn't be portrayed in the way the creator intended it to be. Sailor Moon is a perfect example of this, Sailor Neptune and Sailor Uranus were portrayed as cousins, when in-fact, they were lesbian lovers.

I'll get to the pros of watching anime in dub later, but in all honesty - why limit the great experience of watching anime, by choosing to watch it in English? It's origin is in Japanese, why not watch it that way? If you choose to watch anime in English dub, you might as well be watching ordinary western cartoons.

And just before any dub watchers get mad, this is just my own personal opinion.

Of course Japanese anime is different to western cartoons, but choosing to watch it in English instead of Japanese takes away the uniqueness of it. However, everyone is entitled to their own opinion and at the end of the day, we're all watching anime.

The only downside to watching anime in English sub is that you have to pay close attention to the screen. The audio is in Japanese and unless you're able to fluently understand it, all eyes are on the English subtitles. This can be inconveniencing when you want to watch anime but also do other things simultaneously, like completing an assignment for instance.

For me, this is the only con I can think of in terms of watching anime in sub. Of course I'm biased so other people can probably think of other reasons, but I'm sticking with this point.

English Dub

Now I could finish this whole debate and just say - don't watch anime in English dub, period. But I've come to terms that anime all comes down to personal preference. As much as I love to support the anti-dub agenda, even I can recognize the few pros of watching anime in dub.

The common reason why some anime watchers prefer watching anime in dub is because they can watch anime and multi-task, which is highly beneficial.

Additionally, watching anime in dub allows you to focus on the fight scenes. Instead of straining your eyes trying to read the English subtitles while also simultaneously watching the fight scene, dub allows you to focus on the fight scene alone. This prevents you from missing out on the crucial parts.

However, with that being said I'm not generalizing all sub watchers not being able to enjoy fight scenes properly, it's just a small honesty from my part.

I can't totally slander dub - many anime watchers were introduced to anime this way via television. Popular shows such as Dragon Ball Z, Naruto, Pokemon and Sailor Moon were all broadcasted in English.

So with that being said:

Is there a correct way to watch anime?

I can't speak for everyone in the anime community, but let me just say that it's all down to you - your own personal preference. I believe that anime should just be watched in English sub - it's directly from the original source, no scenes are cut out and it's animated how the creator intends it to be (although I know this isn't always the case - but that's a conversation for another day). Some people prefer to watch anime in dub because they say it's better that way (which I do not agree with), but it's each to their own. It's your own personal experience and I do not want to be that person to tell you how to watch something, it's entirely up to you. As I mentioned before, we're all watching the same anime. That should be enough.

This concludes the end of my post, just a disclaimer - all views are my own. If you have your own views on this post, or just want to say your thoughts, let us know on our twitter and instagram accounts @thejoseis.