Do you prefer dubbed or subtitled anime? Why?

mostly sub, but if the story is set in a western setting and has a good dub I'll go for the dub (like FMAB, Monster or Baccano)

I like both. Why limit myself to one option? This whole sub vs dub debate is stupid.

When I watch shows, I need to be able to do something else. I cannot do that with subs, so I generally only watch dubs.

I do almost exclusively dub

Sub, but if I'm doing something and not looking at the screen I'll change to dub.

I prefer sub's because that's what was available back in the days of the early internet and no real access to anime outside of what fans recorded off TV and then subtitled on their own to release outside of Japan.

I'm just used to it now.

If I'm gonna be watching with undivided attention, I'll watch subbed, but if I'm planning to use a show as second monitor content, I'll watch it dubbed. I can't speak for Spanish, but in English I think dubs have gotten pretty darn close in quality to subs so it's not a meaningful difference like it was 20 years ago.

Dubbed.  Because I paid my dues in the aughts and now I'm a grown ass man that wants to watch anime but often can't without also needing to take care of cooking/cleaning/exercise/choring. 

I understand why ppl like dubbed, and despite some really talented English VAs, more often than not I'm blown away by Japanese VAs and their passion and intensity, so I prefer subbed

Always sub. Put dub only due to convenience occasionally if I want a show to play in the background while I do something else as well.

I prefer subbed because I don't really like how most English voice acting sounds in the context of anime.

Mostly dubbed.

Brazilian voice actors are usually amazing. In the rare cases that they drop the ball, I'll watch sub.

Subbed, just feels authentic in my opinion

Sub, for sure. As I've said in similar threads, JA dub just provides more depth and intention than can be conveyed by text or appropriate translation. An example is Yu-Sibu. In the JA dub, Fino refers to herself with "ore-sama", meaning "the great masculine me/I". You can't put that in translation so it got left out entirely in the EN dub and sub.

Japanese dub with English sub, or English dub with Japanese sub.


I'm a purist who believes that not everything can be fully translated into English without losing the original context.

Subbed with native language vocals - so Korean for shows in Korea, Japanese for shows in Japan, etc. So a show taking place in Italy should have Italian voice actors.

For fantasy or non-localized shows whatever the native language of the source material or animation house is fine.

But subtitles are on 100% of the time - even for shows in my native language.

i prefer the dub.


i am german and the german dubs improved over the years

There are a few English dubs that I prefer (Cowboy Bebop and Cromartie Highschool) but I usually like subtitles to ensure I am focused on the show.

almost always sub unless its something I originally watched dubbed like OG Pokemon

I personally liked dubbed because a lot of times when I’m watching anime I am doing something else, so I can’t be looking at subtitles. Also because I just like it

Always sub. Japanese VAs are far superior since they are actually in a huge market and man they really destroy some dialogues in dubs because they try to localize the phrases or wording

Dubbed. Like others have alluded to. Being able to multitask is great. And I love not having to pause or rewind just cause I had to take 10 to 30 seconds checking and maybe responding to a message, do something on my monitor, wanting to fix a bowl of food while anime plays on my phone and I need to watch the stove a bit more than my phone. Etc.


EDIT: Downvote me all y'all want bruh sorry I got shit to do and people who need me 😭

It varies. I appreciate dubbed because I don't need to be reading the whole time. I can take in the action or eat something while watching and not worry about missing things. However the VA pool for dubs is a lot smaller and it's sometimes jarring to hear voices you strongly attach to a particular character suddenly being a different character. Also the average quality of Japanese VAs is higher so shows that don't have larger budgets can have mediocre dubs.

I don’t have a preference for one over the other I watch both, sometimes just to try it out, sometimes the setting suits a English dub voice better for something specific like a mafia themed show for example.

Sometimes comedy also just works really well but is show dependant, ones that rely on Japanese culture type comedy work better in a sub, and comedy that is more universal the dub works fantastic.

Those are just small examples, but I see no reason to have to stand on either side of the sub/dub line.

Dubbed. Absolutely love the dub VAs and I really just enjoy shows more in my native language. For shows I’m not paying 100% attention to, dubs are also better.

I don't care for English dubs, I don't like most voices to the characters and they almost always have the same voice type for main and side roles. Quite frankly I've yet to really be impressed by any English voice actor

I like either but if I start watching dubebed I want to stick with dubbed same with subtitles.

Mostly sub, with a few exceptions here and there. I don't usually have an issue starting with dub for a new show, but hearing dubs for shows I love makes me cringe hard for whatever reason. I don't think it's a quality issue kind of thing, just feels different to the core and my brain straight out rejects it.

Subs. While dubs and corresponding VA’s have gotten so much better over the years, I feel that dubs sanitize the hell out of the culture implied through the native language. 

Specifically with anime in japanese there are honorifics (how you address your seniors and juniors), words that have the same meaning but can change in gravity depending on how they’re spoken, accents and tones that represent a certain locale, etc. English dubs are designed to be digestible by the greatest number of people possible. Much of the above gets watered down in that process. I often don’t feel that english dubs hit the same emotional depth as their JP counterparts. 

I watch the real version always. There no point of benefit to watch dub.

Subbed. I don’t speak Japanese so I can’t when tell the voice acting is bad. Dubs generally make me cringe.

Depends if I’m busy or not lol. If I can afford to sit and read subs, I’ll do subs. If I’m busy and just want to listen in, it’s dubs.

only original voices. In every possible case, not matter if we talk about anime, donghua or regular tv shows.

Subbed because that's just what I'm used used to.


Also, many times anime dialogues can be quite corny if you think about it. Hearing it in Japanese with subs it doesn't register as much as it does if being said out in a language I properly understand.

It depends. There are a lot of talented English VA's but talent aside, like any performer, some of their performances are better than others. I like sub too and I feel like the talent pool is larger for Japanese VA's. Sometimes the difference for me is as small as non-verbal's coming across much better in Japanese but other times it's really, really hard to get into a show that is super dialogue heavy/ action intense when I feel like I can't watch the show.

Stayin on top of what to read and where to read it can be a challenge made worse when some shows do a poor job at indicating who's speaking or even worse, give spoilers like mentioning the name of a character who's speaking when the viewer hasn't been given the name yet.

I do either mostly depending on VA talent, how well it was cast and how fast paced the dialogue or action is. YMMV.

Honestly it really depends on the situation.

If the dub is exceptional, I would watch the dub, but normally would prefer watching it at the original language.

The original version tend to have jokes, references or changes that usually doesn't translate into the other language. Like similar to English, there are many different dialects and wordplay in Asian countries as well.

* Scissor Seven switch from Mandarin and Cantonese
* Golden Kamuy has a lot of cultural words regarding Ainu

Then we have anime that was created for the western audience which works better in the english dub like Space Dandy.

Subbed all the way.
While there have been some really good dubs in my country, Mexico, I feel like that was like ages ago.
I can't pinpoint exactly what I think is missing from the newer dubs, but they just can't connect with me. Started happening around the time Animax replaced Locomotion (for those in the know!)
I've never really liked English dubs, tho. They feel too overdramatic and fake.

When I started watching anime dubbed anime was crap because the voice acting was crap. People seemed to think because it was animated it didn't need to be taken seriously as a role, so many characters were played with stupidly high pitched / squeaky voices, it was just abysmal.

So I grew up knowing that subs were better because they just were.

Then I started reviewing anime and I had to watch both ways so I could review both formats. For a good long while it was clear that subs were still better, but also for some shows the stories were changed somewhat between the subs and the dubs.

About fifteen years ago I moved to a new country and stopped reviewing anime and mostly went back to watching it subbed. Then a few years back I was asked by a friend to do a review for them again of an anime I had previously reviewed and loved but said the dubbing was shockingly bad. I watched it in both formats and they had found people to do the new dub who were actually voice acting properly, giving it the sort of effort it deserved, and that was amazing for me. Obviously Pixar and Disney and others had shown that animation could be made for adults and be taken seriously and that was coming through into the anime scene too...

Anyway, in recent years I have started watching more dubbed anime because people have started taking the acting for those parts seriously and they are being well acted and well edited. There are still some I will watch subbed, some never make it to being dubbed by the time I'm watching them, for example, and some I'll just prefer the Japanese voice acting, but it's no longer a guarantee that subs will automatically be better.

I don't prefer either, I pick and choose depending on what is available and what seems best to me for each show / movie.

Edit: and also what I'm doing at the time, sometimes I just have stuff to do which means I can't be reading subs whilst watching 🤷‍♀️

I worked and study a lot which at times I don't feel like watching a show in subtitles.

I can't really pay attention at times when I occupy in something else.

I prefer dubbed because I usually put a show on while working on something else. Dubbed lets me watch and work on another task (thanks ADHD!).

Always subbed. Whether it's anime, movies, TV shows, documentaries, whatever. If I watch it I'm going to watch it in the original language. Because whoever made the decisions for the voice actors when creating the show had some reason to cast that specific voice actor for that specific role, and I feel like a lot of that gets lost in translation.

I have nothing against dubs, but I just don't ever feel like watching them myself.

I prefer sub, there aren't many dub in italian and dub in english all the characters sound the same to me i can't distinguish who is talking

I’m one of those people who watches with subtitles on either way so usually subbed. But dub is only getting better as time goes on. There’s just a few exceptions for shows that are way too cheesy/corny/cringey in English. There’s also a few things that just don’t translate well like honorifics (Chan, San, tan, etc.) and people still saying certain words like “aniki” in English that I’m not a fan of.

Kinda depends. If in the sub the VA's are talking more formally, and there are pauses between the dialogue, i'll switch to the dub to make it less cringy.

There are some classics where I pref the dub like cautious hero, lucky star, haruhi suzumiya, dragon ball, but theh are odd rarities

I prefer sub'd. I got started with anime in the 90s watching fan subs, and that's the only way I can enjoy it now. I've actually learned enough Japanese from watching this way that I can catch some parts without reading. The english dubs are just jarring at this point. I don't have any animosity towards dubs though

I only watch it subbed and I personally refuse to watch dubbed because it sounds so incongruent and distracting to me, so even in cases where something is only available dubbed and not subbed (some may be unaware of this phenomenon, but it does in fact happen), I just avoid watching the thing until such a potential future time if/when it becomes available in its native language subbed.

That's my view and my stance as a native English speaker, who has seen and loved countless live action and cartoon TV series and films, acted/voice acted in English, which are native English language productions. But finds English dubbed acting slapped on foreign works usually stilted, unnatural, cheesy, fake-sounding, and just obnoxious.

But it has nothing to do with anime or the Japanese language specifically. I simply prefer to watch everything in its native language, including Chinese anime (donghua) rather than any foreign dub, including that of English. Doesn't matter if it's animated or live action, Japanese or Serbian or Nepali or Icelandic or Portuguese.

Dubs for the following reasons:

1. Allows me to appreciate the imagery as the the creator intended.
2. Easier to follow fast action.
3. I can at least listen along while I'm cooking.
4. Though rare, sometimes the Japanese voice actor and the English voice actor are the same actor.

First of all, I primarily prefer subbed. More specifically, fansubs and/or actual subs. If a release is only going to provide me *dubtitles* (e.g. the VARYG dual audio release of The Fable from disney+), then might as well watch the English dub.


Sometimes I just don't feel like reading subs, but I eventually rewatch the subbed. Or if a legendary English VA dubbed a major character. But if I finish the manga first, then it doesn't matter.

I strongly prefer dubs but I also keep the English subtitles on often and it’s fascinating to see the difference.

Despite what otaku purists will tell you, the written English subtitles often lack so much nuance and character, it’s wild. Dubs often bring way more interesting accessible modern interpretations of some of the lines even if they aren’t necessarily conveying exact word for word translations.

Really depends on the anime. Most of the time, subs are the better option. But some anime like High School DXD and My Hero Cademia have dubs that are just as good, and even better in dome aspects.

I prefer original Japanse, it just sounds the way it needs to sound (specially if it was comedy) But when I am bored and have nothing to watch, I watch the same anime but then English spoken.

I prefer sub. I think any media should be watched in the language it was made in because those were the voice actors the original creators chose

I have to watch dubbed my ADHD doesn't allow me to watch and read subtitles at the same time ruins it for me.

Subbed.

I just generally find Japanese VA's to sound more believable in their performances. perhaps because not knowing the language hides how corny it may actually sound.

I tend to gravitate towards sub, but that's mostly because of availability. We get subs faster than we get dubs, at least except for special situations. And there are titles I'm interested in that wouldn't get a dub in the first place. Plus I'm used to reading while also taking in the entire screen. I might go dub for a rewatch, such as what I did with The Wrong Way To Use Healing Magic, but rarely for a first watch.

I think the last dub I did for a first watch was with Space Dandy. And that was at least in part because it was first aired on Cartoon Network. We turned the discussion thread into a livechat for that first half hour, and it was amazing.

I choose to watch in the original language.

Japanese is superior as its the original intended language. I do not like localizations and there are small things that you lose with English dubs like honorifics and name changes. English voice actors just sound wrong. if no subs are available, I still watch it in Japanese

I watched about 4 anime dubbed then for some reason I can't remember now ended up watching something subbed and never watched dubbed again. Even when I couldn't understand a word of Japanese, the sheer richness of Japanese voice acting talent was so apparent that I couldn't go back. There are some great voice actors in the west too, but anime dubbing doesn't attract them for some reason, while the ones anime does get are simultaneously unable to replicate the original quality and unwilling to develop their own style. And even then the greats don't compare positively for the west. Eg John DiMaggio is great but he's not exactly a Hanazawa Kana.

By myself, always subbed. They're working with the original director to give the best emotion to the scene.

I have some friends I watch with, and they prefer dubs. So I'll watch dubbed with them. But I can never quite get over the slightly unnatural cadence of the line deliveries when they're having to match the mouth movements of the animation.

That's a loaded question because I speak Japanese.

Subbed 100% there are some really good dubs but sub will always be better imo. Especially for one piece I seriously can’t stand that dub

I prefer subtitles.
Most of the voices in the English dubs are horrible. Either toneless and conveying no emotion, or just shouting. In none of them do I feel like the voice "fits" the character.

Subbed.


When I first started watching anime (2015, I think), I only watched dubs and refused to watch anything that didn't have a dub because I wasn't interested in reading. Even during that time, I always felt dub voice acting sounded... off. Stilted. After switching to subbed somewhere between my first and second year of watching anime, it made dubs go from something I tolerated to something I actively disliked. Now, instead of just sounding stilted, they sounded straight-up bad.


This isn't me taking shots at dub enjoyers. I've never cared about the debate between the two; just watch whichever you enjoy more and damn what anyone else thinks. But me personally? I'm not one of them.

If it's an English dub that they actually cared to cast and direct well, then I generally prefer dubbed because it makes it easier for me to enjoy the animation too. Newer shows have definitely gotten better about this too since anime's popularity has grown in English speaking countries. The only recent disappointment was they censored the cursing in Rock is a Lady's Modesty in the English dub for some reason.

Dubs are mostly fine now

Japanese with or without English Subs.