TIL that one guy at the anime convention actually changed how I watch dubs

Was waiting in line for a panel at Anime Expo last year and this guy behind me started talking about how he always watches subs because dubs 'ruin the emotion'. I told him I mostly watch dubs cause I like to look at the animation without reading. He just looked at me and said 'have you ever watched one where the voice actor actually matches the character's breathing?' Then he named a specific scene from Cowboy Bebop where the dub actor pauses at the exact same moments as the character's chest movement. I went home and checked it and he was right. Made me realize some people just hate on dubs without actually paying attention. Has anyone else had a random convo like that change how you watch something?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_parker23d ago

That Cowboy Bebop thing is wild, I actually remember checking that same detail after someone pointed it out. The thing that got me was this one clip of Steve Blum recording Spike where you can see him matching his breaths to the animation on the screen. After that I started noticing the same thing in shows like Death Note or Fullmetal Alchemist. The dub actors in the good dubs are literally syncing up to the visual performance, not just reading lines.

riley_schmidt23d ago

@the_parker the breath syncing thing is the real secret honestly... once you start looking for it you see it everywhere in the good dubs. Vic Mignogna's Edward Elric rant in Brotherhood is a good example, you can literally hear his voice cracking at the same frames the animation shows Ed's teeth gritting. Same with Crispin Freeman in Hellsing Ultimate, there's this one scene where Alucard is laughing and you can hear his breath catch right when the animation has him stop mid-laugh. Best way to spot it is to watch a dub clip with the audio off first, then again with sound... the really good ones line up like music with the movement.

jenniferw8221d ago

Wow, that's actually fascinating, @riley_schmidt you were totally right about the breath thing being the key. I remember watching the English dub of Spirited Away for the first time and noticing how the voice actors would pause at the same exact moments the characters looked away or took a step, it was like they were dancing with the animation. It's honestly crazy how much attention to detail goes into the stuff that sounds the most natural.