Monday, December 1, 2003

Subbed vs Dubbed - What's the Deal?
Well, I've just been writing in my proper blog and I thought I'd chuck it in here as well ^_^;;

Dubs and subs. What's the difference, and what's the deal?
Well, Dubs are language tracks other than the original. Since they were "dubbed" over. So, in anime it's usually the English tracks that are refered to as the "dubs" because those are the non-native tracks. However, the same anime can be dubbed into French, German, Spanish, Cantonese, Hawaiin, whatever - and they'd still all be dubs. Dubs are just translating the audio into a different language to be enjoyed by people who are not Japanese.
Subbed, is a shorter ways of saying "subtitled" and it keeps the original audio track but supplies text along the bottom of the screen to translate what's being said. Many people argue that this keeps the anime, or show, or whatever, in the same context as the creator intended it to be. The same voice acting that he/she approved persoanlly. You shouldn't try to fix it if it's not broken. And this is all very well and good. Lots of people prefer one type or the other, and that's fine. Watch exactly what you will in whatever medium suits you best.

However, the rivalry starts when people with different preferences clash. People who prefer subs see themselves as truely watching the show "how it was meant to be" - people who prefer dubs see the sub-prefering people as elite and totally close minded. Personally I don't care - anime is anime. And I have a tendancy to warm to the language I saw it in first. Granted, there are a few expections, but that's the case on the whole. Because, I think, if you get to link a voice to a character (in whatever language) then it sticks with you. It's like making a new friend and then his voice breaks. You know it's happened - you can hear it. But if it's the same person it doesn't really make a difference - though his voice may grate on your nerves from time-to-time. ^_~

I was going to make a brief list of subbed/dubbed anime I just can't stand... but out of the animes I like I could only find two that I felt strongly about. For example, Outlaw Star is the only one I can think of that they mushed up really badly. Saiyuki and Gunsmith Cats, however, I prefer to hear them dubbed. It all depends on the individual anime I suppose.

I'm looking forward to seeing Matantei Loki Ragnarok and Gravitation dubbed though... it should be interesting ^_^
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