opinions/perspectives on why you like subbed over dubbed or vice versa.

i prefer to watch the show not read it

Dub because German Dubs are great and also I can focus on the visuals. Plus, I feel like Dubs gets more effort put into them compared to subtitles these days.

I'm too impatient to wait for dub most of the time but sometimes if I really like it I'll come back and rewatch in dub.

I can understand the emotion in the VA better if it's in my language. The VA in the show has to meet a minimum level for this obv, and if it doesn't I tend to fallback to subbed.


Also, it gives me more time to process all the art and choices that were made.


Oh and sometimes the sub means that I'll read ahead before things happen, which can be annoying.

I prefer watching all shows in their original language, regardless of what that original language may be. It feels like I’m getting the closest to what the original creators envisioned that way, though I do really respect dub VAs and the art that goes into translating a work into a different language. I don’t dislike dubs. I just like what I like. :)

The voice acting is ALWAYS awful on dubbed animes

Dubbed anime sounds... Wrong to me. If others prefer it it's fine to me but japanese cadence and manner of speaking just doesn't translate well into most scenes for me

Local dubs doesn't exist here, so used to subs. 

I'm an older fan, when I started 90% of the series were fan translated so subs was the way to watch most stuff so I got used to it. I still watched the series on TV dubbed but there were not that many really.

I speak some Japanese so I can understand part of what I am watching in Japanese too so it is fun to check subtitles.

I'm also not a native speaker of English and for some reason i find some of English dubbing to be jarring . The variability in Spanish is lower than in English, so it would leave a lot of series out :(

I have watched some dubbed anime in Spanish lately and I like it but that's probably more to have as background noise than when I really want to watch the series.

Depends on the anime. If it's set in the US (e.g. Baccano!) I like to give the English dub a shot because it might fit better than the Japanese version.

There are a lot of reasons, and I feel like most of them have been brought up ad nauseum in these kinds of conversations, so here's something I don't hear about as often: When I've tried to watch subtitled anime, there's always a mental disconnect between the vocal delivery of the dialogue and the meaning of it. I can appreciate both of them, but they just don't mesh together properly the way a language I'm fluent in can. There's also just the fact that I have more to watch than times to watch it, so even if it were a more minor preference, it could still have an outsized effect on my watching habits. Especially when I'm open to reading manga as well.

I’m indifferent and I believe both sound fine. If I want to watch new shows, I watch subbed because most of them are only in sub/I don’t feel like waiting for dub to drop. If there’s already a dub then I watch that version.

There are also just more Japanese VA's than American VA's so there is a more diverse talent pool. I believe Japan VA's number in the low thousands compared to the lower hundreds for stateside anime VA's.

I watch subs because:

1) I want to watch the newest episode as soon as possible
2) I can tell when there’s bad voice acting in English, but I have a much harder time telling when there’s bad voice acting in Japanese since I don’t speak it

I wouldn't ask this question here. This sub tends to be emotionally charged on this topic for some reason. You're going to get a skewed perspective.

I recommend going to r/AnimeDubs directly to get their take. Then probably r/AskAnime for the sub watches as they tend to be more indifferent on the topic.

I prefer subs, because I can't think of a single reason why I would want to watch a dub. I've been reading subtitles since I learned how to read in the first place so I am very used to just glancing at a line of text and getting the gist of it, and I know enough Japanese by now to not really need translations at all a lot of the time.

Also anime is not dubbed in my first language, and if I'm gonna be watching something in a foreign language anyway, it might as well be the original. That's the way the creators intended it, anyways. I hear enough English already in my day to day.

im just used to subbed, im not all that concerned with the language im watching in.

You will also find a significant bias based on whether the person was first exposed to an anime as a dub or sub. The first exposure correlates strongly to their preference. I for example still swear by the Ranma dub from the 90's while almost all anime afterwards I have been sub only.

I used to prefer only dub as a kid because that's what was on TV.

When I discovered youtube, I forced myself to watch subs because I couldn't wait a week at a time for a single dubbed episode on Toonami/Adult Swim.

As I watched subs more and more, I began to appreciate how good the voice acting actually was; I could hear real deal emotion and acting even though I did not know the language. Whenever the dub caught up, I would find the voice acting to be AWFUL in comparison, but that's becoming less common.

Nowadays, with good dubs/subs for any given series, I actually prefer to watch anime with Western settings with dubs and everything else with subs e.g. I'm going to be watching the Frieren season dubbed but all others seasons in subs.

Some people say they prefer dubs because they like to watch things in the background, but I don't really like to do that. Like to be dedicated in watching something for the most part.

There's also simply more things in sub. Lot of shows don't ever get dubs or a dub make take years to release, so to be able to watch many anime, you'll have to get used to watching with subtitles. Not to mention that a lot of games, OVAs, and other media in a franchise will also not use dub voices at all, even if the anime does have a dub.

That said, many people do alternate and choose on a case-to-case basis. Think that's a lot of work to decide to be honest. Some people justify an English dub if the setting is more western, which I think is kind of strange logic. Western setting =/= English speakers like in Attack on Titan, which has a primarily German culture. I also feel like I'd never watch Disney's Mulan in Cantonese or Mandarin for that reason or Frozen in Norwegian. But to each their own.

I listen to subs, the main reason is because the tone and mannerisms of the voice actor is a closer match to what is written from the mangaka or studio writer.

Anime from the ground up is an auditory and visual experience and a VAs performance can ruin a scene to bring it to a whole other level entirely, or anything in between.

Japanese is a very context based language so the translating to text and getting the message across effectively is hard enough, let alone making sure the dub (English in my case) matches the audio tone a piece of dialogue requires to raise up what is being shown.

There are exceptions that come to mind like code geass or cowboy bebop where the English voice actors perform their roles at the same or better levels than the Japanese ones.

One note is that there is a larger pool of voice actors in Japan whereas for English VAs you can just hear the same VAs in different shows pretty often and it breaks immersion.

Back when I started, I watched subs because that's all that was available for the show that would become my gateway anime, Yorimoi, at the time. I basically watched most of everything subbed because that's how I started out, with the occasional dub I really liked here and there.

Since then my motives kind of shifted as I became someone who just prefers to experience media in as close to its original form as I can and original audio is part of that of course. The same extends to not only anime, but all media not in my languages.

I prefer watching shows in my native language. Dubbing has gotten really good, so there’s just no reason to watch sub. It’s far more enjoyable listening and big hype or emotional moments hit way harder.

I prefer sub, because it's what the original creators had in mind. Some voice actors are even chosen on very specific traits. Characters that actually speak Russian are more voiced by Sumire Uesaka for example. Aoyama Yoshino was chosen for Bocchi because of her scream specifically.

I dislike dub as it has constraints with lip flaps, awkward lines because of it (and still needing to provide a good translation) and if you are very unlucky, agendas being pushed through (Dragon Maid dub episode 12 became infamous for this). Furthermore, the talent pool of dubs is way smaller, sometimes the voices do not match the characters at all (Shamiko's dub voice for example) and the quality is just lower.

But most importantly, dubs feel very awkward to listen to. It just does not feel right.

I just prefer listening to everything in its original language that it was intended to be in. Doesn't matter if it's anime, Western animation/cartoons, live action, music, or anything. Doesn't matter if Japanese, Nepali, Greek, Thai, Belarusian, Mayan K'iche', or any other tongue.

Because to me it feels like a more authentic experience hearing the same voices chosen for the characters by the original director, studio, etc. closest to the heart of the original artistic vision of the project. They *are* those characters as originally cast. Everything else feels incongruent, glaringly superimposed and slapped on after the fact, and ill-fitting.

And as a native English speaker, I love the English language. I consider English language acting and voice acting in native English language productions (in U.S., British, Canadian, Australian, etc. films, series, etc.) often world class. But English dubbing of any foreign work comes off unnatural, stilted, cheesy, phony, and obnoxious-sounding. It totally makes it an unpleasant experience and takes me out of it. I'd rather just not watch the thing.

No translation is 1:1 and with subtitling you're also having creative liberties taken, but I don't care because at least subbed you're *hearing* the original audio fully intact and unblemished in addition to the translation.

I watch a decent amount of both. Sub is more consistent and better more often than not. However English dubs are usually fine and I get the appeal of watching without having to read subtitles. Realistically both will give you a similar experience most of the time.

English dubs I think are better for anime with more Western settings especially if its the US. Japanese VAs typcially aren't good with English or doing different accents. English also works better for swearing or certain slang even if the setting is less Western.

In contrast for shows heavily leaning into Japanese culture English dubs are definitely inferior. Things like honorifics and pronouns don't really translate well which is annoying when they actually matter to the story. Especially weird is if English comes up when the characters are otherwise supposed to be speaking Japanese lol.

> why you prefer subbed/ dubbed or why you dislike one or the other.

I watch EVERYTHING (so not only anime) in original language.

Original voices = original creation, so basically how creators saw the title and how they made it. Dubbing means that show (or movie) is different - for better or worse - and I see no reason to watch something that was changed.

I like watching content as it’s originally intended in its original language. There’s no waiting to see if something gets a dub or not. Japanese sounds better and lines up with the animation better. The voice actors are better and more varied compared to the small talent pool of actually good (English in my case) dub voice actors. I’ve been watching almost exclusively subs for decades now with no regrets. It’s the best way to watch everything without restrictions.

I prefer subtitles for movies and series, but for YouTube I don’t really care about the original audio, so dubbed is fine.

I watch niche and retro anime, so there are just a lot of shows that aren't dubbed, including some of my favorites. In the end, I also think JP VAs are more melodramatic, and there are just a lot more of them, compared to the number of English VAs, so there are less reused voices, though they still are there.

In the end, I think there are good dubs, and frankly I actually kinda find it narrowminded to swear off on all dubs. There are absolutely some that to me are unequivocally better than the sub, such as Cyberpunk Edgerunners, Romeo x Juliet or FMA 03/Brotherhood.

Even for works where I do watch subbed, there are some dubs that I think are still good. I mean honestly I thought the dub for Chainsaw Man was like 1 to 1, and I only still watch it subbed because it's what I am used to. The gap isn't actually as big as some would make it out to be, though it is enough for me to still be a primary sub watcher.

Personally, I like subbed or sometimes even untranslated anime with Japanese subs because I can understand some level of Japanese, and the fact that I am very fast with reading English subs, so for me, dubs are kinda redundant, unless they are doing something unique with the source material like Kaguya-sama.

Sub is the original. That's it. There are some dubs are that good too but original is always better.