Just started watching subbed anime instead of dubbed and I actually catch character reactions better

I used to always watch dubbed because I thought reading took away from the action, but after binging Attack on Titan with subs last month I noticed I pick up on voice inflections and pauses way more, has anyone else made that switch and felt like they understood the story deeper?

3 comments

3 Comments

jessej231mo ago

Wait, wait, wait - you saying you actually rewinded a subbed scene THREE TIMES just to catch a whisper? That is some next level dedication right there, I don't think I've ever been that locked in with a show before. @ross.lily mentioned that trick with the pause button and I've been trying it, but I haven't gotten to the point where I'm rewinding multiple times like you did. I gotta say though, that Death Note laugh you mentioned sounds like the kind of detail that would completely wreck how I see the whole show if I caught it too. Maybe I need to go back and actually pay attention to the small stuff instead of just powering through episodes.

blakestone1mo ago

Oh man, you basically described my own embarrassing journey with anime. I was a die-hard dub guy for years, thought I was too cool for subtitles (which is hilarious because I can barely follow my own thoughts). Then I tried watching Death Note subbed after hearing the Japanese voice actor for Light was supposedly incredible, and I caught this tiny little laugh he does in one scene that completely changed how I saw the character. It's like without the dubbing smoothing everything out, you actually have to pay attention, and suddenly all these little emotional beats pop out that you'd normally miss. My wife still makes fun of me for rewinding a subbed scene three times just to catch what someone whispered, but hey, at least I'm not pretending to understand character motivations anymore.

ross.lily1mo ago

Tbh the trick is to watch with subtitles on but your finger hovering over the pause button. That way you can catch those tiny vocal moments without missing the next line. It feels dumb at first but paying attention to the real voice acting changes how you see the whole show.