Dub vs Sub drama is still raging but I think one side has a clear edge now

Honestly, I've been watching anime for like 8 years now and I used to be a die hard sub only person. But last month I watched Cyberpunk Edgerunners in dub and it honestly blew my mind. The VA in English actually matched the lip flaps better than the Japanese track in some scenes. On the other hand, older shows like Naruto or One Piece still sound super goofy in English to me. So is it just a case of newer dubs being way better produced or do people just pick based on what they watched first? I feel like the whole 'sub is always better' crowd hasn't actually tried a good dub in the last 5 years. What's your take on this - are you sticking with one side or do you switch based on the show?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_tara1mo ago

Yeah I was totally in the sub only camp for years until I watched Cowboy Bebop in English on a whim last summer. I figured I'd hate it but Spike's voice actor just nailed the character so much better than the Japanese one. It really made me rethink everything. Now I check out the dub first on newer shows because they put way more effort into casting and direction. But I still can't do old school stuff like Dragon Ball Z in English, that's just too goofy for me. End of the day it depends on the show and how much care they put into the localization.

thomas.parker1mo ago

My buddy Dave was diehard subs only for like a decade. Then he accidentally watched Space Dandy dubbed at a party because he was half asleep and now he swears by it for anything with a similar vibe.

casey_harris17d ago

Wait, did you actually think Spike Spiegel's Japanese voice actor was worse? I gotta push back on that one. Koichi Yamadera is a legend, man. He voices like every cool anime character ever. But I get what you mean about the dub being good. The english cast for Bebop was stacked too, no doubt. It's one of those rare shows where both versions are legit.