This is probably none of my business anyway.
Cartoon Network started showing Naruto recently. I remember mentioning it to a friend but he says he isn't interested in seeing it because it's dubbed and he prefers subs. While it's none of my business why a person would or wouldn't watch an anime show, something about that statement kinda irked me.
If you're an anime fan, it's pretty reasonable to assume you like anime, right? Well, if that's the case, why would you not be interested in at least checking out what is hailed as one of Japan's greatest anime? Then again, this rant isn't about Naruto. It's more about how people would dismiss anime on Cartoon Network simply because it's some edited dubbed version. To me, to casually dismiss something sounds kinda judgmental to me, which is probably what really bothers me in the first place.
Keep in mind that when I say subbed, I'm generally referring to dubbed anime, I refer to the commercialized, often edited, American releases like some of the anime you see on Cartoon Network.
Anyway, I don't mind dubbed anime. As much as I prefer subs, I don't have anything against dubs, especially when a dubbed show is the only one available. This brings up a question that has been floating around in my mind for quite a while, what are people's justification for preferring subs over dubs?
Granted, the obvious choice is that dubs sometimes sound like crap when compared to some subbed shows. The voice acting is much better in Japan than in America so you can definitely hear the emotions much better in subs. However, are you sure that's true?
There are people out there that abhor dubs with a vengeance. There are people out there that would look down at an anime SOLELY because it's dubbed even though they never saw the subbed version and, thus, have no basis whatsoever to make such a judgment.
I think some people prefer subtitles simply because they like hearing the anime in Japanese and that's it. It's not like they really care about how professional an anime sounds. How can I tell? Well, how many people like Chobits? Lots of people do. However, the voice actress that does Chi's voice is absolutely atrocious. The voice actress that did the voice of Mitsuki from Full Moon wo Sagashite also has an atrocious voice as well. For two generally cutesy anime, both main female characters have uncute voices. Okay, they're just my opinion and everyone's views differ. Heck, some people will probably dismiss this rant, believing it to be rantings of a madman because I made some nasty comment about their beloved animes. Whatever the case, I'm positive there are anime out there with horrible Japanese voice acting yet people don't seem to even realize they're atrocious simply because they're speaking in Japanese.
I have problems with people who would say stuff like "The voice is perfect for that character". Have you ever listened to an anime without the video to see what you envision when you hear a voice. If the voice you hear and envision matches that of the character, THEN you should confidently claim "The voice is perfect for that character". Unfortunately, since there are so many fans out there that are familiar with Japanese voice actors' voices, the association is already there. For instance, if you hear the voice of, say, Inoue Kikuko, who does the voice of Belldandy (Ah!Megami-Sama) and Kasumi Tendo(Ranma 1/2), you will probably envision those characters simply out of association. Then again, if that's the case, I doubt you would agree that she is the perfect voice for someone like The Boss for Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, which is a character far-removed from that of Belldandy/Kasumi. Granted, perhaps she that great a range in skills in terms of voice acting that she could pull it off, but for someone to claim that a voice is perfect for a character I believe is saying that simply out of fanaticism for a particular anime.
If you ever look for a movie called "Hoshi no Koe", you'll come across two versions, the original and professional version. The former was voiced by the director and his wife, while the latter professional voice actors. If you listen carefully, you'll probably not be able to tell which one is professional. What does that mean? It means that you can't tell what's good or bad because the dialogue is spoken in Japanese which is probably why you like subtitles in the first place. Only because you can understand dub is probably why you seem so critical about it.
It's actually because you can understand what the voice actors are saying that makes you more critical about their voice acting even though you really have no form of reference for good/bad voice acting. Afterall, you can't compare to Japanese voice acting because you can't understand what they're saying.
I noticed indications of bad voice acting when I was at Otakon, an anime convention, not too long ago. I was watching the Gundam Seed Movie where the audience started laughing at how silly the main character sounded when he was basically sobbing his eyes out. I couldn't help but laugh at how horrible the voice actor cried and it brings up a good point. Because the 'language' of someone 'crying' can be understood by anyone, we are suddenly able to see a Japanese voice much like an American voice and criticize, thus, the snickering at the lousy crying. Of course, once the character starts talking, and we can't understand anymore the dialogue, we start admiring the voice work again.
There are some 'dub' voice I wonder why no people complain about. For instance, the voice actress that does Leela in Futurama is Katey Segal. This confuses me, people don't seem to mind listening to the voice of Katey Segal, the actress that played Peggy Bundy on the hit television show, "Married...with children", yet they seem to have problems with someone doing the dubbed voice of some anime. If anything, the voice of Leela should turn you off to Futurama simply because it so reminiscent to the wife of Al Bundy. Granted, Futurama isn't an anime and is originally in English, but it just strikes me as odd that so many people could dislike 'American' voices yet not have a problem with Leela's voice. I guess it's not THAT great an example because for me to dislike Leela's voice because it reminds me of Peggy Bundy would also mean I should dislike Rei Ayanami's voice because it reminds me of female Ranma Saotome.
People complain about how whiny dubbed voices sound. Okay, if that's the case, please explain how you don't mind the voice of Goku/Goten/Gohan of DragonBall Z? For characters that are very manly in every aspect, they sure sound whiny. Granted, I'm sure DBZ fanboys will come outta the woodworks to defend the voice actress doing those characters' voices by saying the voice gives the characters appeal, making them sound more innocent and such. I can understand Goku having such a voice since he is so naïve to the point of stupidity, but Gohan and Goten aren't as naïve as their father. People might say that the sons should have similar voices to their father's but that wouldn't explain how come Trunk's voice is so vastly different from Vegita's.
I can even complain in the opposite direction, a character's voice being too low. If you ever see Kodomo no Omocha, you'll notice that the Hayama's voice is way too low for a child of his age. Simply put, people seem to be biased against dubs while seeing subs as the greatest things despite obvious faults. I think it's the fact that it's spoken in Japanese that we can disregard the fact that the voice seems so wrong for such characters...especially for a MAIN character.
The idea is that, if you complain about dubbed voices being too girly/whiny/nasally/low-toned/high-toned/manly/etc, I'm sure there are plenty examples of that for Japanese voicework. If that's the case, how come people don't seem to notice it? People seem to complain about dubs only because they can understand it. If you don't think you're like that, watch an anime dubbed into a different language that you don't understand and I'm pretty sure you will not harbor nearly as much animosity toward the voice actor than the one whose voice you can understand.
It's kinda like how Kanji works. If I walk around with a Kanji tattoo saying 'Fuck You' people might actually think it looks cool because they don't understand what is written but like it because it's Kanji. However, if I write the exact words in English, then people would complain because now that they can understand it. That's exactly how dubs work and why people would complain. From my point of view, a person has no real form of reference to say whether or not a voice actor is good or bad. A person could say 'The voice seems off' but probably can't give a good reason for such an answer. Why? Because they really have no way of giving a good reason for why they're saying that in the first place. Afterall, if they go into more detail like 'Because his voice sounds too nasally' then that means they should complain about the voice actor that does Tamahome(Fushigi Yuugi) and Heero Yui(Gundam Wing) and Zelgadis(Slayers) because he DEFINITELY has a nasally voice.
Think about it, when was the last to YOU complained about the voice of a character in a subtitled anime? Now, when was the last time YOU complained about the voice of a character in a dubbed anime? There's clearly some form of bias here against dubs, and that all due in part to you not being able to understand what's being said in Japanese.
Is this a good explanation for the dislike of dubbed voices over subbed voices? Perhaps. Then again, perhaps there are other reasons for not liking dubbed anime, like the fact that some dubbed anime are 'edited' in some way or another.
A lot of people don't like dubbed anime because the translations might not be true to the Japanese counterpart and it might be edited to an American audience. But here is what has me confused, if you never saw the subbed version, and therefore have no idea what has been changed, then why are you complaining? Seriously. If you have NOTHING to compare what you're watching with, then why complain?
Gee, I wonder how many of these people go on the Internet to read up on the changes so they have something to complain about against the dubbed edited version. A betcha there are plenty of people that hear about an anime being shown on Cartoon Network, go to forums or webpages to read about other people complaining about the changes made, and use what they read as ammunition to dislike the dub all the more, all the while never having seen the Japanese subtitled version.
There are people out there that seem to like subs for the sake of subs. Actually, it's probably more along the lines that people like subs ONLY because it isn't a dub.
I think I know what really irks me when someone automatically judges an anime without watching. As an anime fan, I want people to enjoy anime, so when I see people casually dismiss an anime I like because it's dubbed instead of subbed, it is ABSOLUTELY no differently than someone dismissing an anime because it's subbed instead of dubbed. It's much like seeing Democrats and Republican constantly dismissing one another solely because they are Democrats and Republicans and nothing else. I guess it's understandable since it's much easier to make a choice based on preconceived prejudice and bigotry than to go through the tedious task of finding out answers on your own before deciding a course of action. If I were quick to judge like some of these people, I probably wouldn'tve ever seen gems like "Hikaru no Go", an anime centered around a kid learning to play Go. PLAYING GO!
Sure, you people might say that there is a difference, that dubs are usually edited and dumb-ed down and censored for American audiences and such. However, most people fail to realize that they probably have nothing to compare the dubbed version to since they never saw the subbed version. There are people that complain about the dubbed version of Sailor Moon and all the changes made to it, yet never saw the Japanese version of said series. If someone were to complain about something, they should be specific about their complaints. It's too bad that these people complain with general complaints. You'll never hear them say stuff like "Man, it sucks they edited the shower scene in the Street Fighter movie because Chun Li looked really hot and I loved the way her tits looked and how she looked with her hair wet and hanging down over he back instead of in that bun she usually keeps it in". They'll just say something like "I dislike the fact that they edited the shower scene in the Street Fighter movie" to which I can ask "Do you know exactly what was edited out and explain it in detail?" and they will be unable to reply because they only read about the edit but never actual saw what was changed in the first place.
From my point of view, you saying you don't like an anime because it's dubbed while never having seen the subbed version has as much weight as you saying the PS2 is better than the Xbox/Gamecube while never having played the Xbox/Gamecube.
The funny thing is that the people that probably complain about the changes to the Sailor Moon series are probably the people that read about the differences to the series online while never having seen the actual Japanese series. The thing is is that those that hate dubs probably aren't big-time anime fans and are probably more along the lines of casual fans that want you to believe they're hardcore fans. Shit, most of the hard-core fans are probably not even exposed to the dubs to hate dubs since there's a good chance they'll have seen subs long before the series were commercialized for American release.
Lots of things have been edited in Voltron, Robotech and Transformers for American release. Did anyone care that there were missing parts? No, because everyone watching it weren't even aware that there were missing parts. Well, how's watching dubbed anime now any different from watching Voltron, Robotech, or Transforms from back then? Everyone was young then and enjoyed the show because it was a show to be enjoyed, not a show to be watched and nitpicked like people seem to want to do nowadays. I guess life was simpler then, when people cared more about what they were watching instead of what they were watching that had been changed from the original. I guess I shouldn't really talk more in detail about that since it would indicate how much of a hypocrite I am since I prefer to be in the know than not so enjoying a show while not being aware that it was edited is not something I particularly privy to.
I think it bothers me when people are complaining about 'edited' things when they've never actually seen what was edited out in the first place. How can someone complain about something like that? How can you complain about something being 'edited' when you've never seen the original?
To me, it seems hypocritical. A person dislikes an 'edited' version of an anime, yet would happily see an 'edited' version of a movie. It's actually stupid if you think about it. Some dubbed anime are 'edited' to be more appropriate to audiences, while some movies are 'edited' to SAVE TIME!!! Which one has stupider edits? Hm, maybe some people might not complain if I say the 'panty shots' in the dubbed version of Sailor Moon were edited out to save time just like many scenes were deleted from movies to save time as well.
Anyway, why a person dislikes dubs is none of my business.