Do you prefer Anime movies to be dubbed or subtitled?

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I like having both. Sometimes it's nice to put both on (as it is a way of doing a sort of simultaneous comparative translation). It is also nice to be able to toggle between the two. Sometimes, it is great to get the vocal intonations of actors in the original language. Sometimes, it is nice to turn off the subs and listen in English, if the English voice actors are kicking butt.



The Bib-iest of Nickels
It depends. Sometimes the dubbed version is awful. Sometimes it isn't. Sometimes the dub is good, and the voice-actor of your favorite character from your favorite anime is accused of grooming young fans. Sometimes.

I used to have this belief I was disrespecting the original creators. I no longer have that belief. American voice-actors are talented performers as well, and the writing / art style and characters are all retained. I don't feel watching a dub absolutely benefits my immersion and ability to empathize with a character's emotions / better recognize cadence and inflection.



Movie Forums Stage-Hand
Subtitle of course.



I don't actually wear pants.
It has to be subtitled. Everything needs to be watched in its original language. If that means reading the dialogue, so be it. There are hardly any reasons to watch a dub. One reason is that's all that's available. Another is that you have a hard time keeping up. I can't think of any others.
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It has to be subtitled. Everything needs to be watched in its original language. If that means reading the dialogue, so be it. There are hardly any reasons to watch a dub. One reason is that's all that's available. Another is that you have a hard time keeping up. I can't think of any others.
Or maybe it's just your preference to watch an English dub?


Or maybe the English dub happens to have better voice work?


And if you're really serious about needing to consume the film in the original language to truly experience it, then we have no choice but to learn Japanese and experience it as Japanese-speakers, rather than lazily reading subtitles. "You have not experienced Shakespeare until you have read him in the original Klingon."



In general, I prefer to watch foreign films in their original language with subtitles.
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I don't actually wear pants.
Or maybe it's just your preference to watch an English dub?


Or maybe the English dub happens to have better voice work?


And if you're really serious about needing to consume the film in the original language to truly experience it, then we have no choice but to learn Japanese and experience it as Japanese-speakers, rather than lazily reading subtitles. "You have not experienced Shakespeare until you have read him in the original Klingon."
Maybe you "prefer" dubbing out of the original language but so much is lost there's almost no point. Some people have told me Hero, the one with Jet Li, is awful, so we discussed it, and they watched the English dub since they hate subtitles (there were like three others in the discussion with me), so I convinced them to watch Hero in Mandarin with English subtitles, and now it's two of theirs favorite movie with Jet Li. Maybe you do prefer dubbing, but there has never been an instance where dubbing is better than the original language.

Your last paragraph is taking the piss. Why would I need to learn the whole language and immerse myself completely into the culture to like a movie or show? I don't need to learn it; someone already has, and was kind enough to formulate some subtitles so nothing is missed. You can't fit the same length sentence from one language to the next, so the details that complete the dialogue will be missed.

I like how people exaggerate my points to make theirs and then it's really just a horrible fallacy and they right then lose the argument. It happens all of the time.



Maybe you "prefer" dubbing out of the original language but so much is lost there's almost no point.
My preferences vary.

Sometimes I read subs with foreign language audio. Sometimes I listen to the English dub. Sometimes I listen to the English dub along with subtitles (I am often much struck by the disparity between the dub and the subtitles and find that I get a better sense of what is going on by experiencing both).

What is lost or gained has to be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

Either way, we're facing a translation problem. We don't speak Japanese, so we either have to read English or listen to an English dub.
Some people have told me Hero, the one with Jet Li, is awful, so we discussed it, and they watched the English dub since they hate subtitles (there were like three others in the discussion with me), so I convinced them to watch Hero in Mandarin with English subtitles, and now it's two of theirs favorite movie with Jet Li.
At most, this is an anecdote. In this case, if the subs are substantively than the dub, I am all for watching it with subtitles.
Maybe you do prefer dubbing, but there has never been an instance where dubbing is better than the original language.
But we don't get the original language either way! We're either reading a translation or hearing a translation. The only way to experience the original language is to learn Japanese and watch it without either dubs or subs. Thus, my last paragraph is NOT taking the piss.
Your last paragraph is taking the piss. Why would I need to learn the whole language and immerse myself completely into the culture to like a movie or show?
You're the one asserting (quite strongly) that NOTHING "is better than the original language." Newsflash, we never experience it in the original language unless we speak the original language.
I don't need to learn it; someone already has, and was kind enough to formulate some subtitles so nothing is missed. You can't fit the same length sentence from one language to the next, so the details that complete the dialogue will be missed.
It depends on the talents of the translator. There are always trade-offs in translations. There are idioms that do not translate directly. You can't put too many subtitled words on the screen either. Too many words and we can't read all the words before we move on to the next sentence spoken by the next speaker. Too many words and the bottom of the screen gets cluttered. We can't simply and easily conclude that subs are better than dubs in all cases.

You're trapped in the horns of a dilemma. If we take you seriously when you assert that nothing "is better than the original language," then we must learn the original language. On the other hand, if we can trust the competencies of a translator despite the inherent difficulties of translation (difficulties which will emerge for both dubbing and subbing, and some unique difficulties for subbing I have just noted), then we may trust to a translator either give us visual text or spoken words.
I like how people exaggerate my points
You just said that there has never been a case where dubbing is better than subtitles. Your basis of proof was a single example (Hero). A single example used to prove an absolute is not generally regarded as sound inductive policy.
to make theirs and then it's really just a horrible fallacy and they right then lose the argument. It happens all of the time.