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Hot take: subbed vs dubbed isn't even a debate once you compare the same scene back to back
I was rewatching Attack on Titan S3 with a buddy last weekend and he insisted on dubbed. So we flipped between the two for the episode where Eren gets the Coordinate moment. The subbed version had way more punch in the voice acting. Like the raw emotion from the Japanese VA just hit different. The English one felt like they were reading lines in a booth. Has anyone else done a direct A/B test like that and changed their whole stance?
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leehall1mo ago
Wait, did you check if your buddy had the volume balanced the same on both? I used to swear by subbed too until I watched Cowboy Bebop dubbed and realized sometimes the English cast just fits the characters better, like Steve Blum as Spike is iconic. Plus if you're trying to follow the action and read subtitles at the same time you're probably missing half the visual storytelling anyway.
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jamesf291mo ago
Nah man, hard disagree. You're not missing visual storytelling if you're used to subs. Your brain can handle reading and watching at the same time. It's like a skill you build. Once you're fluent at it you don't miss a thing. The real problem is dubbed shows lose all the original voice acting emotion. The Japanese cast for most anime put way more into their performances.
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aaron7401mo ago
Haha @jamesf29, you're just trying to justify your anime addiction to your wife.
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