It really depends on the anime/show. My best example of this is Hellsing. The Japanese VA talent is fine, but the English, particularly for Alucard is so much better - he has a menacing quality that is perfect for the character. Plus, it’s set in England, so hearing English accents is more immersive.
Also, another instance: in Dark (German TV Series), the English dub is horrible.
I listen to the original voice for the emotion and acting and also trying to decipher another language to compare it to languages I already know I sometimes notice interesting similarities between Japanese and Cantonese, for example. I read the Subtitles to know the meaning. Hearing a voice in your ownlanguage sounding like a boring monologue is just weird and ruins the experience.
The only exception would be news, then I’d just want to hear the meaning of the worfs, instead of reading it.
I am sceptical of how one would be able to decipher Japanese as a European language speaker, it is very foreign. Also, just because in some specific cases the dub is of a low quality does not mean that it is always inferior. In fact, all things being equal I would prefer the language I can understand even if it is not tge original language.
Howewer, I just watched “Mars Express” in french to see if I enjoy it, and it was kind of nice. The subtitles did not always translate what was said exactly from what I could gather, but I rather enjoy how the language sounds. I guess it makes sense to watch it in a specific language for the atmosphere.
But now I feel stupid for not knowing french. Will have to start learning it I guess.
am sceptical of how one would be able to decipher Japanese as a European language speaker, it is very foreign.
?
Chinese language and Japanese language supposedly came from a common ancestor. You can see how Chinese and Kapanese overlaping Chinese characters. In some cases, they are the same characters
I was born in PRC and went to school until second grade, then immigrated to the US. I speak Mandarin (well… like 2nd grade level 😅), Cantonese (if you don’t already know, Cantonese is a “Dialect” of Guangzhou, PRC, where I’m from), and obviously English. I don’t speak Japanese, but Japanese written Language has characters that are just in Chinese:
Examples:
Second World War = 第二次世界大戦 (Japanese) = 第二次世界大戰 (Traditional Chinese)
See its the same characters with slight variations on the last character.
United States of America = アメリカ合衆国 (Japanese) = 美利堅合眾國 (Traditional Chinese).
The last 3 characters is the same. 合眾國/合衆国 means “United States”. Only the USA uses the term “United States” (Well… technically, Mexico is also a “United States” of Mexico, but like nobody uses that) so I can just deduce its 99% about the USA.
For spoken language, similar to the writing, there are just some sounds that you hear and you’re like, wait, that sounds familiar its so similar to words in Cantonese, then you read the subtitles and confirms it.
Not a huge anime fan, so don’t really care as much with regards to animated stuff… But for me it makes a HUGE difference with live action.
If the actors’ mouths don’t line up exactly with the voices, it’s a major distraction for me and I cannot pay attention to literally anything else happening on screen. This is even the case when it’s English, but the audio track is slightly off-sync. Drives me up a wall.
If you pull up original translated subtitles and an English dub on the same video. You’ll often find that meanings and intent can also vary because dubbers have to tweak stuff to make the flow work in a completely different language. I’ve seen several anime episodes where lines of text changed meaning because of this.
Also English VA are just not as good as expressing feelings in tone of voice. Japanese in general seems (from an outsider’s flawed perspective) to have more tonal qualities that impart on me as the listener more obvious tones (excited, angry, what-have-you). Especially with the way the JP VAs play into it more.
So yes, I prefer to watch Anime in the original JP, and I keep English subs on for stuff that I don’t understand. Over time though I seem to understand more and more without reading the direct English translation.
I will admit that I don’t watch a whole lot of other foreign content though. I’d imagine I’d do the same with Polish/German content though as I’ve grown up around both (family) that I could probably glean similar understanding as I do with Anime now. But other languages I probably would just look for an EN dub.
The point is that you can enjoy quality voice acting and it’s usually superior in its original form. That said, there are many dubs that are of equal or even higher quality than some originals. And I’m not talking just about JP vs ENG languages.
Idk man, I’m not really interested in sounds I don’t understand constantly going while I’m reading text and trying to watch the show itself at the same time, if you want to know what is being said you have to be actively looking at the screen. It can be fun sometimes and I have watched whole shows in sub like eyeshield, mob psycho, one punch man, etc and I will admit my wife and I still quote the over the top Japanese voice actors fondly :P but for casual viewing… Dub is simply more convenient and less stressful.
Most of them, yea.
My maiden language isn’t English, so I grew up consuming most content either dubbed or with subtitles, and I learned at some point most of the time my experience is better in the original language, even if I don’t understand it.
It depends. I prefer sub most times, but some like Redline are way superior in English dub. It’s almost like the movie was made with the English dub in mind…
The joke is appreciated, the preference disgusts me.
It really depends on the anime/show. My best example of this is Hellsing. The Japanese VA talent is fine, but the English, particularly for Alucard is so much better - he has a menacing quality that is perfect for the character. Plus, it’s set in England, so hearing English accents is more immersive.
Cowboy Bebop, Fullmetal Alchemist, FLCL. English dub GOATS that I can’t watch in anything other than dub
If you don’t speak Japanese, why would you watch anime in Japanese? Do you watch all films you do not know the original languages of with subtitles?
Maybe this will convince you: https://youtu.be/8d8ZNsSaxPk&t=47 (Possible Squid Game Spoilers)
Also, another instance: in Dark (German TV Series), the English dub is horrible.
I listen to the original voice for the emotion and acting and also trying to decipher another language to compare it to languages I already know I sometimes notice interesting similarities between Japanese and Cantonese, for example. I read the Subtitles to know the meaning. Hearing a voice in your ownlanguage sounding like a boring monologue is just weird and ruins the experience.
The only exception would be news, then I’d just want to hear the meaning of the worfs, instead of reading it.
I am sceptical of how one would be able to decipher Japanese as a European language speaker, it is very foreign. Also, just because in some specific cases the dub is of a low quality does not mean that it is always inferior. In fact, all things being equal I would prefer the language I can understand even if it is not tge original language.
Howewer, I just watched “Mars Express” in french to see if I enjoy it, and it was kind of nice. The subtitles did not always translate what was said exactly from what I could gather, but I rather enjoy how the language sounds. I guess it makes sense to watch it in a specific language for the atmosphere.
But now I feel stupid for not knowing french. Will have to start learning it I guess.
?
Chinese language and Japanese language supposedly came from a common ancestor. You can see how Chinese and Kapanese overlaping Chinese characters. In some cases, they are the same characters
I was born in PRC and went to school until second grade, then immigrated to the US. I speak Mandarin (well… like 2nd grade level 😅), Cantonese (if you don’t already know, Cantonese is a “Dialect” of Guangzhou, PRC, where I’m from), and obviously English. I don’t speak Japanese, but Japanese written Language has characters that are just in Chinese:
Examples:
Second World War = 第二次世界大戦 (Japanese) = 第二次世界大戰 (Traditional Chinese)
See its the same characters with slight variations on the last character.
United States of America = アメリカ合衆国 (Japanese) = 美利堅合眾國 (Traditional Chinese).
The last 3 characters is the same. 合眾國/合衆国 means “United States”. Only the USA uses the term “United States” (Well… technically, Mexico is also a “United States” of Mexico, but like nobody uses that) so I can just deduce its 99% about the USA.
For spoken language, similar to the writing, there are just some sounds that you hear and you’re like, wait, that sounds familiar its so similar to words in Cantonese, then you read the subtitles and confirms it.
Yes. I do prefer to watch films not in English in their original language.
The only exception would be very fast dialogue or multiple people speaking at once. But I can read at the speed of most movie speech.
I prefer to watch stuff in languages I know with subtitles as well.
Not a huge anime fan, so don’t really care as much with regards to animated stuff… But for me it makes a HUGE difference with live action.
If the actors’ mouths don’t line up exactly with the voices, it’s a major distraction for me and I cannot pay attention to literally anything else happening on screen. This is even the case when it’s English, but the audio track is slightly off-sync. Drives me up a wall.
Yes.
If you pull up original translated subtitles and an English dub on the same video. You’ll often find that meanings and intent can also vary because dubbers have to tweak stuff to make the flow work in a completely different language. I’ve seen several anime episodes where lines of text changed meaning because of this.
Also English VA are just not as good as expressing feelings in tone of voice. Japanese in general seems (from an outsider’s flawed perspective) to have more tonal qualities that impart on me as the listener more obvious tones (excited, angry, what-have-you). Especially with the way the JP VAs play into it more.
So yes, I prefer to watch Anime in the original JP, and I keep English subs on for stuff that I don’t understand. Over time though I seem to understand more and more without reading the direct English translation.
I will admit that I don’t watch a whole lot of other foreign content though. I’d imagine I’d do the same with Polish/German content though as I’ve grown up around both (family) that I could probably glean similar understanding as I do with Anime now. But other languages I probably would just look for an EN dub.
You are asking why adults would prefer to watch stuff in their original language lol
I prefer it as well, when I can understand the language.
Why do you need to understand the language, you can just read the subtitles
What’s the point of original audio, if you can’t understand it?
The point is that you can enjoy quality voice acting and it’s usually superior in its original form. That said, there are many dubs that are of equal or even higher quality than some originals. And I’m not talking just about JP vs ENG languages.
Idk man, I’m not really interested in sounds I don’t understand constantly going while I’m reading text and trying to watch the show itself at the same time, if you want to know what is being said you have to be actively looking at the screen. It can be fun sometimes and I have watched whole shows in sub like eyeshield, mob psycho, one punch man, etc and I will admit my wife and I still quote the over the top Japanese voice actors fondly :P but for casual viewing… Dub is simply more convenient and less stressful.
Most of them, yea. My maiden language isn’t English, so I grew up consuming most content either dubbed or with subtitles, and I learned at some point most of the time my experience is better in the original language, even if I don’t understand it.
It depends. I prefer sub most times, but some like Redline are way superior in English dub. It’s almost like the movie was made with the English dub in mind…