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Dub vs sub debate had me stuck for years until a specific scene changed my mind
I always said subs were the only way to watch anime because dubs sounded fake and emotionless to me. Then I tried episode 17 of Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood with the English dub on a whim last month and Roy Mustang's voice acting during the fire scene actually gave me chills. Does anyone else have a single character performance that totally flipped their stance on dubs?
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park.riley16d ago
Roy Mustang's voice acting during the fire scene actually gave me chills" - yeah that scene is brutal in the best way lol. I had a similar flip moment but it was with Cowboy Bebop. I always thought Spike's Japanese VA was the only way to go until I caught a random episode dubbed on Adult Swim at like 2am. The English voice for Jet Black during his backstory episode with the watch really hit me hard. Dude sounded like a tired old detective who seen too much, not just a cartoon character yelling. I still prefer subs for most slice of life or comedy anime but action heavy stuff with emotional weight, I've come around on dubs more than I ever thought I would. That Mustang scene is seriously good though, the raw anger in his voice is something else.
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coran6316d ago
The funny thing about dubs for me is how much of a crap shoot it is. I remember watching Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex and thinking the English cast was amazing, but then I tried to watch Steins;Gate dubbed and had to switch back after one episode. The Mustang scene is one of those rare perfect storms where the voice director knew exactly what they were doing. My own weird turning point was probably Trigun, where the English Vash sounded so goofy and charming that it just clicked with the character better in my head than the Japanese version. Your point about action shows vs slice of life makes total sense too, heavy emotional beats need delivery you can feel without reading.
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