Über Takes Have a take
Film · How you watch anything foreign · Take No. 024

Sub or dub?

Read the subtitles and hear the real performance, or listen to a dub and actually watch the picture. The oldest argument in anime, now the argument of everyone with a streaming account.

The case for each side, then the verdict. Then the floor is yours.
The case for

Subtitles

The original voices, with text

  • 100%Of the original performance. The actor the director cast, saying the line the director heard.
  • 0Lip-sync compromises. Dubs rewrite lines to fit mouths; subtitles translate what was said.
  • 1Oscar for Best Picture to a subtitled film, Parasite in 2020. The one-inch barrier is lower than ever.
vs
The case for

Dubbing

New voices in your language

  • 100%Of your attention on the picture. Animation and action were made to be looked at, not read.
  • 1Dub, Cowboy Bebop, that many fans say beats the original. Good dubs exist, and they're getting better.
  • KidsAnd anyone with tired eyes or a second screen. Dubs are how most people actually finish a series.

Cast your take

——
The verdict

It's Sub, with a dub exception for anything you're half-watching.

The dub side has a point that subtitle purists wave away: film is a visual medium, and reading pulls your eyes from the frame. For animation especially, that cost is real, and a great dub is a genuine art.

But most dubs aren't great, and even the best replaces the performance the director chose with one he never heard. Subtitles are the closest you can get to watching the film that was made. Sub, and you'll stop noticing you're reading by the second episode.

Disagree? That's what the buttons are for.

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