Why do you insist in watching movies/series with dubs instead of subs?

[FernandoRocker]

I don't know why some people (no matter the nationality; it happens here in Mexico and it happens in the USA and everywhere else) insists in watching movies/series (not only anime but all media) with dubs instead of subs.

Specially in these days, where we have the opportunity to watch everything in its original languages. For example... Joaquin Phoenix in Joker: part of the acting is also his voice, and people ruin their experience by watching the movie dubbed into Spanish when they could just buy a ticket for the subtitled version.

I also see here in forum watching, for example, anime with dubs, and then complaining about the voice acting. I'm not even an anime enthusiast. I'm just a very casual person who watches only the popular anime like DBZ, One Punch Man, Studio Ghibli films, and now I'm watching Beastars... But even me who is not that into anime, I watch everything in their original language.

Same with Parasite. You won't believe the amount of people I meet who didn't watch the movie because it wasn't dubbed.

 

[Lagamorph]

Why do you insist on watching subs instead of dubs?

Dubs are a much easier watch for some people. If I want to read I'll pick up a book. If I want to watch I don't want to have my attention focused on the bottom quarter of the screen all the time and have to keep rewinding because I missed something as I was too busy reading a subtitle.

 

[Lost Knight]

I'm a subs person, but some people would like to watch thse characters' expressions and body language rather than trying to read. It doesn't bother me personally, but I get why some people are bothered by it.

As long as I have the subs option, I don't really pay much attention to it lol.

 

[Video Games Are Dumb]

I dont really mind watching anime in English only because of how the industry works. The animation is often completely done and then the Japanese cast do their voiceovers. That's not to deny the exceptional work of Japanese voice actors, I play games like Judgement with the original voices. But in the case of anime, the performance did not influence the animation. Unless we're talking about something like Miyazaki film.

But live action? No fucking way I'd watch dub. The actor's voice comes from their movement or lack of movement, it's influenced by their body. It's so damn unnatural to see a different voice come from a real human. Heck, I usually catch ADR lines and it takes me out for a split second. I watch quite a bit of world cinema in theaters, and thankfully it's always subtitled.

 

[FernandoRocker]

Why do you insist on watching subs instead of dubs?

Dubs are a much easier watch for some people. If I want to read I'll pick up a book. If I want to watch I don't want to have my attention focused on the bottom quarter of the screen all the time and have to keep rewinding because I missed something as I was too busy reading a subtitle.

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Maybe you are not used to reading subs, but once you get used to it, you just take a small glimpse at the words and automatically read the whole sentence. You don't miss anything on screen.

 

[5taquitos]

I don't.

You don't know me.

 

[Steeped in a Sea of Games]

I like subs, but I can't grind away in my mobile game and read subs at the same time.

 

[Deleted member 49611]

i think it's just preference. i can't stand dubs because it just completely distracts me when what they're saying doesn't match their lips. the only time i can watch a movie that has been dubbed is if it's animated because of course the mouth/lip movement is just not anywhere near a real human.

plus my hearing isn't that great so kinda need subtitles.

 

[Dysun]

Always subs, for the full weeb experience

 

[Brucey]

I watch some stuff that is sub only so it's not like I'm completely against it. But I prefer dub because I feel I get to appreciate the art and little character nuances easier. Where with subs My eyes are glued more to the bottom third of the screen cause I'm reading.

 

[Kinthey]

I like subs, but I can't grind away in my mobile game and read subs at the same time.

Click to shrink...

 

[SatoAilDarko]

Animation always dubbed if possible. I like to not have my eyes drawn to the bottom. And I can hear things in real-time as oppose to reading ahead.

Live-action always subbed. The disconnect from a different voice coming from someone is too much. Cartoons don't have this issue.

 

[FernandoRocker]

Also, it's not like there's subtitled dialog 100% of the time. You are not watching the bottom of the screen all the time.

 

[Infinite Ukemi]

Most films and series are best in their original language, yes - but not everything is high art. Sometimes you just want something on while doing chores, and other times there's something very special about certain dubs.

 

[Jakenbakin]

Anything animated I'm going to try to see in my own language. I get limited time by myself. I'm a single parent with lots of "free time" but very little time free to do what I want. So I'll probably play a game at the same time as watching an anime, or clean, or exercise, etc and I can not read what I'm watching while multitasking.

Plus I just prefer it. I speak English. The inflections and tone of Japanese media isn't native to me and I've just always ordered preferred knowing the quality of the acting. Most dubs have been very good for close to 20 years now anyway.

Edit: oh also I tend to keep subtitles on, so when comparing sub to dub scripts, the sub scripts almost always seem stilted and lacking in personality.

 

[Wyman Manderly]

I prefer subtitles but there are definitely downsides to it: 1) you can easily miss important actor/actress reactions while reading and 2) it's hard not to read ahead when there's a long line of script and essentially "spoil" what happens before it happens

 

[Bundy]

Why do you insist on watching subs instead of dubs?

Dubs are a much easier watch for some people. If I want to read I'll pick up a book. If I want to watch I don't want to have my attention focused on the bottom quarter of the screen all the time and have to keep rewinding because I missed something as I was too busy reading a subtitle.

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This!

 

[Violence Jack]

Was watching Bubblegum Crisis last night, and I just can't get past the lips not syncing, plus the dialogue sounds so corny with the dub. But I usually prefer the sub 90% of the time anyway.

 

[Old Gimlet Eyes]

I like to watch my movies, not read them.

 

[Kurita]

Live-action dubs are just unbearable to me now. Not because it's poor or anything (tho always hearing the same voice actors gets tiring), it's because it feels unnatural. My brain has a hard time processing the whole thing, thinking "that's not this person's voice!".
Voice actors' line delivery and "real" actors' line delivery are just too different, so the dub lacks "authenticity" (for the lack of a better word). There's a gap between what I see and what I hear, and it takes me out of the movie.

Also the way the sound is mixed make the dub jarring compared to the rest.

For animated stuff I don't care that much, especially when it takes place in fictional settings. If the story takes place in Japan I'd rather have Japanese voices I guess.

 

[Mr.Deadshot]

Because watching and easily understanding stuff is better than watching and reading or have to focus on the spoken language for many people? We also have pretty good voice actors in Germany, so not really a problem here. I still watch most movies/shows in the original language though. Especially when my wife is around because I get a lot of hate when watching with dubs ;)

 

[Deleted member 35631]

I will always watch media in its original language. I hate dubs with passion. There are very few dubs that are decent at most, and they are for animated movies.

However, you wouldn't believe how many people can't read while watching a movie. They can't focus on both things that the same time! Also, in Mexico, it's almost impossible to find a movie targeted for kids -specially animated movies- with subtitles.

 

[hrœrekr]

edit: my apologies

 

[DiceHands]

Why do you insist on watching subs instead of dubs?

Dubs are a much easier watch for some people. If I want to read I'll pick up a book. If I want to watch I don't want to have my attention focused on the bottom quarter of the screen all the time and have to keep rewinding because I missed something as I was too busy reading a subtitle.

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This is where I am with it. I like subs for some things, but sometimes I just want to put something on in the background or if I cant give it 100% of my attention, its nice to be able to hear it and understand it. Sometimes, id rather just pay attention to the action on screen rather than miss something because I was reading.

Dubs are easier for dumb or lazy people.

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It has nothing to do with anyones intelligence. But good try.

 

[PlanetSmasher]

I multitask with pretty much everything I do, I give almost nothing my full undivided attention. Dubs mean I can actually hear dialogue when I'm not looking at the screen.

 

[LinkStrikesBack]

Dubs are easier for dumb or lazy people.

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Interesting. I guess I'm dumb or lazy then. I wonder which it is.

 

[Fevaweva]

I mostly do dubs for anime but sometimes I'll do subs if I hear the dubs aren't great. Like I'm watching JoJo's right now in dubs and having a whale of a time. They are so good.

 

[Tygre]

I watch dubs with subs on, best of both worlds.

 

[Deleted member 437]

Yeah, with subs I have to actively focus on the screen and read constantly.

Sometimes when I'm eating dinner, I just want to relax and not having to worry about looking at the screen all the time.

 

[Huey]

Studio Ghibli films

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I'm a subs man, but it must be said that the english dubs for Ghibli films are always excellent, and worth a viewing in their own right.

 

[sven]

If we're talking anime I prefer dubs for sure. Live action? I don't watch foreign language films. ZSo neither there.

 

[FluxWaveZ]

Why do you care so much? People obsessed with either are so obnoxious.

I just watched Beastars with the English dub instead of the Japanese one. The English cast was excellent. I then watched Cells at Work with English subs and the Japanese dub because that was my preference there.

One does whatever they want. Stop caring so much.

 

[Yata]

It depends for me. I generally agree the optimal experience is subs, but I say let people choose whichever they want.

 

[eKongDiddy]

If I hear the dub first, I can't watch the sub because the voices just feel wrong to me. If I watch it subbed first, everything is good and I enjoy it. Most recent example for me is My Hero Academia. I just enjoy the English dub more.

 

[Rune Walsh]

Always subs. Dubs are like watching a film/show where the first pick for the voice actor didn't show up and they had to grab someone off the street.

 

[entremet]

It's not a binary scenario. Some dubs are really good. And if people prefer dubs, let them be.

 

[hrœrekr]

Interesting. I guess I'm dumb or lazy then. I wonder which it is.

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Let me put it in another way.
Sub requires Multitask. Either you can't do it, or you don't want to do it.

 

[teruterubozu]

Totally depends. Some subs are god awful but the dubs are decent and vice versa. There is no blanket rule for this.

 

[Skade]

Guess it depends. There's shows that i discovered as a kid with dubs and for wich i can't go back to the original voices since the dubs are so engrained in my brain. Stuff like the Simpsons for instance, it's french dubs or nothing, the original english voices are too weird for me. Same for Buffy for instance.

But some stuff that i discovered in french dubs first are clearly better in the original voices, like most animes, or stuff like Farscape or BSG. So those i switched to original voices and subs if needed. And everything new that i watch will be in the original voices, and with subs only it's not in english.

The only exception being probably some stuff in german. For some reason, i can't listen to this language and take anything other than insults or orders seriously. So dubs are what i use in this case.

French dubs are usually of good quality but weirdly, they tend to remove curses (wich is very weird since cursing/swearing is really not something as "bad" in France than in the US) and any accent is either completely removed or set as something extremely racist sounding. So as good as the quality usually is, there's a lot of subtles things lost in the translation. And also a lot of jokes are either completely forgotten or replaced by worse ones, wich doesn't help.

 

[DiipuSurotu]

Fact: If you watch an anime in Japanese, that's still a dub. The Japanese verison is just as much of a dub as the English version is.

 

[TheSkullPrince]

I prefer subs when it comes to live-action films and and dubs when it comes to certain anime (like Hellsing, DBZ, and Yu-Gi-Oh)

 

[Kurita]

please shoot the "if i wanted to read I'd open a book" crowd into the sun

 

[nded]

I usually prefer subtitles, but it's not a big deal.

 

[HotAndTender]

I watched Deathnote with Subs and i enjoyed it but would of prefered dubs. L's voice got really annoying really quickly.

 

[Rampage]

I prefer subs over dubs. I started watch anime back in early 90's, much of it raw from the local Japanese rental store. Original voice actors sound more natural that American voice actors to my ear. Also, subs tend to include more information- where some meaning is lost in dubs due to trying to match the lips. Now days there are dubs that sound decent/good to me, but I still prefer subs.

 

[404Ender]

Let me put it in another way.
Sub requires Multitask. Either you can't do it, or you don't want to do it.

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There's plenty of research out there that suggests nobody can multitask "effectively". The whole is always less than the sum of its parts.

 

[purseowner]

Fact: If you watch an anime in Japanese, that's still a dub. The Japanese verison is just as much of a dub as the English version is.

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Yes, but the Japanese voice casting is tied into the original creative process - foreign dubbing essentially replaces what was part of the original work with something else.

 

[Yasumi]

I'll watch either, depending on my mood. Sub or dub elitists are obnoxious snot rags.

 

[RadzPrower]

Subs can be distracting, especially to someone who already turns off the subtitles even in my native language because I find myself reading it instead of paying attention to what's going on during the action.

It doesn't help when subtitles are so tiny and/or un-readable either. I'm running into that playing PSO2 on the Japanese servers right now...the subtitle font is super tiny.

 

[NekoFever]

I don't mind dubbed animation. It's dubbed either way. It's not like you're putting an alien voice over an actor's physical performance.

Live action, I'll only consider it for shitty cheesy 70s martial arts films where bad dubs are part of the fun.