Am I the only one who thinks subbed is better than dubbed for certain shows?

I was at a panel at Anime Expo 2022 in LA where they played the same scene from Attack on Titan season 4 in both subbed and dubbed. The subbed version had way more raw emotion in the voice acting, especially Eren's outbursts. But my friend says dubbed lets him follow the action without reading. Do you pick one over the other based on the show type or just stick to one?

2 comments

2 Comments

haydenburns13d ago

You ever watch a show in dubbed and then realize later the main character is supposed to sound completely different? I once watched an entire season of a show dubbed before switching to subbed and felt like I was watching a totally different anime. I'll usually go subbed for anything with intense emotional scenes, but I won't lie, sometimes my old eyes just need a break from reading.

caseywest12d ago

Man, @haydenburns you nailed it with "felt like I was watching a totally different anime." I had the same thing happen with Cowboy Bebop. Watched the whole dang dubbed version first because everyone said it was good. Then I caught a subbed episode and Spike's voice was way grittier, more worn down. Totally changed how I saw the guy. Now I do subbed for anything with heavy action or drama, like your Attack on Titan example. But I'll flip to dubbed for comedies or slice-of-life shows where I don't need the emotional punch. My eyes get tired too, so I get the break thing.