America Should stop dubbing?

Dubbing live-action movies is an abomination. I grew up with subtitles, even in cartoons - fansubs really aren't a good comparison, since they're mostly made by people who have no clue about AV translation or translation in general. Plus, especially anime fansubs are apparently made by Japanophile morons who feel the need to inform people of their superior knowledge of Japanese culture at every turn.

 

Don't get me wrong, Netflix is great for just about anything except anime. Most other foreign movies are subbed, and I have a feeling anime eventually will be as well. That's just how it is at the moment.

 

The Ghibli dubs are usually very good. I've seen the films either way and I can do both, but I don't mind their dubs at all.

It's quite obvious that the subtitle option is for the benefit of the deaf and hard of hearing, as in English text of an English programme. It is not meant as a translation service, which is why they don't provide the original Japanese soundtrack.

Aren't you about as old as me? Did you not watch any of these cartoons?

Ulysses 31
Around the World with Willy Fog
The Mysterious Cities of Gold
Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds
Ovide Video
Herge's Adventures of Tintin
Once Upon a Time... Life
The World of David the Gnome

I remember watching all of these, and the Asterix films, as a kid. They were great cartoons. Sure, you could tell that their mouths weren't working in time with what they were saying, but we were kids - we didn't care!

Yes, dubbing in live-action movies is annoying and I'd much rather have subtitles. However, cartoons are by and large made for children (yes, even some anime is for children) - and children don't care whether the mouths are in perfect sync with the voices as long as the story is good.

Should we start being dictatorial about what happens to our media when licensed to other countries? Which of the following works best:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTYM6YC4tbY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ib5NwqmmFZQ

Sure, the dub sounds odd to us, but Spanish children aren't going to want to watch a cartoon in English with subtitles. Disney films are sold dubbed, too:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bi3Lw71ipgY

Cartoons are mostly for children, so this seems a pretty pointless argument. Yes, there's adult anime - but it's usually available on DVD with a choice of sountrack and / or subtitles, so I don't see why people keep moaning about this.

 

For me it has to be subs all he way if the option presents itself irrespective of film genre or whether or not it's animated or live action. For as many years as I can remember I've been a huge fan of Euro sleaze and sexploitation/exploitation movies and the dubbing for your average 70's or 80's Spanish, German or Italian schlocker is fucking pitiful. Any fan of Fulci, D'Amato, Mattei or Franco will know exactly what I'm on about.

On the other hand though, there's something to be said for watching some old Golden Harvest or Shaw Bros. movie with fuck awful dubbing. In this instance for me the ludicrous and over earnest voice overs add to the experience greatly.

 

I think I need to repost my opinion about dubbing vs. subtitles again.

If you ask me, then I would rather watch films in English with Danish subtitles. If I would have any subtitles, cause some times the people who makes the subtitles can NOT write Danish worth a damn at all. And that is even worse , and my teeth grinds at the same time because of it. I have had quite a few bad experiences with bad subtitling, and I have really some times hoped some body took the old subtitles (from VHS and what not) and put them on. And this is not only cartoons, but also a load of films with Danish subtitles that has just been too horrible to read. But then again there are other times where I really enjoy the Danish dubbing. But then it really has to be a good dubbing . But some older Danish Disney dubbings were great. But I actually despise synchronisation. Except in German porn films, since then it has a laugh factor.

Anyway the original posting was in a GoH thread about Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

 

The kids that go outside are fucking rough round here. I try not to go outside unless I absolutely have to. I go out and socialise sometimes but to be honest I wouldn't rather sit in a park like some of my friends do all day and get started on.

 

Dubs are horrendous, almost always - but Mexican Spanish dubs are much better than English dubs.

I watch everything subbed. It's something cultural - in English speaking countries, subs are less common because almost almost everything in the cinema and music and whatnot is spoken in English (Also, perhaps, there is lots of functionally illiterate people everywhere, lately). In most Spanish speaking countries**, most of everything used to be subbed - so subs are almost invisible, common sense.

Now that people here are also very, very functionally illiterate, there are lots of horrendous dubs too.


** The exception being Spain, where everything, because of some content law, had to be available dubbed to Spanish. And Spanish dubs from Spain are horrendous, most of the time.


That being said, when I do watch dubbed anime, it brings me a great, delicious nostalgia - from back when the only thing you could get were VHS tapes and sometimes they'd be dubbed. The auditive texture of the voices, the shrill but sweet tones, the awkward lines, and the over-the-top expressions, just bring you to a different time.

Just like those Working Designs dubs (Lunar, for example). Those were so fun!

 

I dont like dubs but I cant stand subs either.

I can read plenty fast (so, dont try and blame that) but if there are subs on the screen I have to read them, which means I miss whats actually happening.

 

I know I am going to be extremely generalising right now with this comment, but I know it does hold true to some extend in both series and films. So please do not go totally apeshit on me.



Well, I most admit if America can not get a dub on a series, and it is an "awesome" series from the "home country" , then they will make a remake (horrible ones I must add) such as "The Killing" (Forbrydelsen in Danish which means The Crime) or the Swedish and fucking awesome series of films based on books written by Stieg Larson named The Millennium series . Again USA is remaking that series of films into American. I as a citizen of the world, can take it in strolls, even if I can not understand the language or read the subtitles. In a film, since then I take the artistic way of things. But I think things that are worse than that is when the original film has no real original audio, and you have to choose between either Mandarin , Cantonese or English. Here I am of course thinking about Bruce Lee Films. But seriously give me the original audio and with Danish subtitles (or English dub if they are manga), without subtitles. But maybe it is because I am used to so-called shitty English dubs on some of my few manga films, that I can forgive it. Since Danish dub now a days are far worse, than Akira and so forth on VHS, yes I am one of those who has Akira on VHS. But hey I have around 20 or so animes with both so-called good and bad English dub. Hell I would not say Fist of The Northstar in English is really that bad unless, I am missing something.

 

hate to break it to you, but not everyone hates dubbing, and subtitles take away from the action and get all over my screen.

also i think the dubs are excellent. :thumbsup:

 

Jesus, calm down. The point is that subs + the original audio track should always be available, beyond that I don't give a shit whether you're listening to whatever foreign dub instead. If a dub is present then hey, that's great for those that like it.

Another factor that I don't think anyone's mentioned yet: a dub is also a necessity if you've got young kids around. You can't sit a 4-year-old down in front of Spirited Away and expect them to keep up with it subbed.

Like I said, we live in enlightened times, where dub and sub co-exist peacefully and don't mandate a physically separate VHS tape like they used to, so everyone's happy - I don't think there's an argument here in the first place, really.
edit: I guess there is, if you listen to fudgexx, so instead let's... not listen to fudgexx? Works for me.

(You mentioned kid's cartoons, and how nobody cares. I think that kind of answers itself.)

 

I have atleast one movie on DVD that only have the french dub, I had to buy it on VHS to see the original version...
I once bought a legit anime DVD from Asia, the english subtitles were terrible.

 

To be fair, to a none American, the Canadian and America accent sounds pretty much the same.

Actually, with anime in the 90's one thing that really pissed me off was the conversion from 16:9 to 4:3. I own the so called enhanced Project A-Ko DVD and the bloody converted it to 4:3 saying it was a vast improvement over the original!! How? They've messed up the colours, chopped half the picture and added a shitty TV like filter to it. Thankfully the Japanese Special Edition is 16:9.

They used to do that a lot to anime in the 90s for the western market.

Yakumo

 

As someone who grew up watching Godzilla VHS tapes, I actually tend to prefer dubs.

Though in the grand scheme of things it really depends on what I'm watching, and in general it really depends on how I originally saw whatever it is in question. I saw Pan's Labyrinth in theaters where it was subbed, so now I can only watch the movie subbed. Likewise, I originally saw Godzilla Final Wars subbed, so it is now the one and only Godzilla film that I watch subbed. All others must be dubbed for extra cheesy effect.

Other examples would be Cowboy Bebop, Akira, the Vampire Hunter D movies, Trigun, FLCL, Berserk, and Twilight of the Dark Master; I saw all of them dubbed originally, so, I only watch them dubbed.

That said, the elitist attitude of some of those who prefer subs is a bit ridiculous. This isn't a matter of competence, it's a matter of preference. I tend to prefer dubs, I have also read Tolkien's The Silmarillion in two sittings as well as a few Stephen King novels in one sitting, so I can assure you I can read just fine (in fact, probably better than most who are elitist about watching subtitles to frickin' anime).

 

Eeerhm somebody does not have the balls to keep his post ? Or am I missing something, cause I did point out I was extremely generalising as a precaution, but fuck it. Also the last Canadian I spoke with had the most beautiful British English like dialect/accent. That I actually thought she was British, so the old accent is still present. The scary/weird part. Was that she reminded me a LOT of Lynette whom was from Australia , who sadly died of Ovarian cancer, before she became 45. And I realised that she reminded me of that beautiful woman, just right after I parted with the Canadian lady I had a conversation with. So talking about spooky shit.

jp.: I know it is not me who is an elitist, but some times a dub is a shitty thing, other times the subbing is a shitty deal. Hell the Bloodsport DVD I have has horrible Danish subtitles. They were so bad, that I had to see who the person was who made those God forsaken, and horrible Danish subs. And it was some bitch(named Elisabeth), who could not spell or make a good translation of that film. Cause when I think of the old VHS tape I have of that film, which even today I praise. When it comes to making a good translation in subtitles. Sometimes I just don't get why the fuck. They do not take and rip the old subtitles (which are great) from certain VHS tapes, and puts them on the DVD, instead of some low paid bitch fucks a truly cult film with or without subtitles. Another gripe of mine is the special edition DVD I have of The Abyss , and either twice or thrice, there the Danish subtitle maker. Just fuck up the Danish, and makes a Danglish subtitle. Which is laughable, cause all and all. That DVD is not the worst, the Bloodsport DVD is the worst, and Frank Dux is renamed (on the back cover) into Frank Cocks. But it would have fun, if he had been renamed into Frank Dusk, where Dusk (pronounced doosk in a quick way) means pussy hair .

 

My wife watches many western shows on Japanese TV dubbed until I come in and change the audio channel. The Japanese dubs of western TV shows is bloody awful and in every show every person has the same style voice. In other word, nothing like the characters face and bloody awful. The argument on Japanese anime dubbed in to English is only a small point. Any program / movie dubbed in to any language has a very high chance of being ruined. Only a small handful are done well and none of that handful are live action simple due to the lip sync.

Yakumo

 

As I have mentioned before, then Danes has been praised by Disney by doing a magnificent on their older dubs of their animated films(and that includes the translation of the songs in the films), and cartoon series . Now I think Disney basically sucks, and the last Disney film I saw in the cinema that was okay in dubbing but fucking beautiful in drawing was Mulan.

 

Fuck dubbing...
I remember when I was a child, and I started to get interested in more "adult" movies...

My only chance was to LEARN how to read subs... And I am thankful for that. Not only I can read a lot faster than a person who's not used to reading subs, but it also helped me with my english... Dubbing is stupid. I mean, I get it when you're talking about cartoons for small children, but otherwise it's just lazy.

 

As someone who has experienced both sides of the coin, dubs usually don't work from one language to the other. The dubbing comes from a script, the voices miss-match, and all sorts of other caveats. Watching shit like the Simpsons dubbed into Japanese is just painful, for the EXACT same reasons. The cultures just collide.

And on that note, this is awesome:
Matrix in Japanglish

 

In uni I spent a lot of time watching the Simpsons with foreigners, so naturally comparisons were constantly being made to the different dubs in their home countries. I'm pretty sure at least a couple were favourable, probably European languages where the cultural gap isn't so wide.

I know it's wrong, but: that is fucking hilarious.