Watching anime with English subtitles versus English dubbing has been a longstanding debate between anime fans. Those who love subtitles argue that since it was made in Japan, that it is meant to be in Japanese. Also, a lot can get lost in subtitle translation. However, those who love dub versions love them because that is what they are used to. It may feel strange to suddenly jump to another language, and having to read the subtitles while also watching what the characters are doing.
The truth is that whether the dub is good or not depends on the show. Here are five anime with fantastic dubs, as well as five that you should watch with subtitles because the dub is really bad.
10 (English) Ghost Stories
Dubbed anime cannot be talked about without bringing up Ghost Stories. This anime is very unique, as the dub version plays itself like a total comedy instead of what the original went for. The voice actors for the dub just winged it and said whatever they wanted the characters to say. They got away with this because the show was expected to be a total flop. Due to their rumor and creativity though, the dub version is a cult classic.
There is a lot to laugh about in the dub version. The voice actors drop F-bombs, rip into the shows' animation, and give all the characters politically incorrect personalities. It is something you got to see to believe.
9 (Japanese) Rurouni Kenshin
Rurouni Kenshin had decent voice acting for its time, but it has aged poorly. As anime has gotten more popular, dubs have been getting better, and looking back on this shows' dub is a big wake up call to that fact. A lot of characters either sound bored or completely overact. It gets a little better as the voice actors get more comfortable in their roles, but the first couple of episodes are a little hard to watch.
Some fans still prefer the dub though because they are uncomfortable with Kenshin being voice acted by a woman, but that is actually very common with men in anime.
8 (English) Hetalia
Choosing between the dub and the sub for Hetalia boils down to one important question: Do you want to hear a lot of different accents or not?
Every character in this comedy is a country, and there is a lot of fast-paced humor. That can be a little difficult with subtitles to keep up with. The accents add a lot to the show, the characters seem more diverse, and the jokes actually come off quite more offensive when you can actually hear them in English. It is obvious that a lot of effort went into the dub when it came to every characters' unique voice and way of speaking.
7 (Japanese) One Piece
With how popular One Piece is, hatred for its dub version gets talked about a lot by its fandom. There are actually multiple dubbed versions, but the one that is hated the most is the first version that was made by 4Kids Dub. Certain voices rubbed fans the wrong way such as Sanji's and Robin's. The worst part, though, was the edits and censorship. Guns were replaced by weird objects, Sanji's cigarette was replaced with a lolipop, and Smokers cigars were completely cut out.
They also cut out very important plot points. So whatever you do, avoid the 4Kids Dub version for this show.
6 (English) Hellsing Ultimate
A lot of anime fans place this show as one of the best English dubs there is. Even those who prefer subtitles has admitted watching this show in English. Basically, if you are not watching this show in dub, then you are not watching it right.
This is because the voice acting is amazing, especially for the characters Seras and Alucard. Also, the story takes place in England. So, having them speak English does make a little more sense.
5 (Japanese) Sailor Moon
Sailor Moon sits next to One Piece in terms of being both popular and having a highly censored dubbed version. The most offensive censor the dub has it changing lesbian characters into cousins. That was not only offensive, but it also made their affection for each other seem very awkward.
Other changes include the amount of violence. In the two-part finale of the first season, all the characters die and get resurrected. However, in the dub, death is never mentioned. Also, Zoisite was turned from a gay man to a straight woman in the dub. Yikes.
4 (English) Yu Yu Hakusho
This is another anime that is known to have one of the best dubs out there. It is not only great on its own, but it has proven itself better than the subtitled version for several reasons. The Japanese version is a little dry, but the English voice actors made it way more fun. It was not like Ghost Stories, though, as they did stick to the characters' personalities and source material. They also do not censor anything like One Piece and Sailor Moon.
3 (Japanese) Fushigi Yuugi
The one word to describe this anime dub would be "annoying." All the characters have annoying voices. Tamahome's voice does not feel right, and that may be partly due to the fact that his dubbed voice is also Leonardo from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. There are also accents that make no sense for being in feudal China like Tasuki sounds Texan and Kouji has a Brooklyn accent. Besides those facts is that the voice actors typically sound more like they are reading from a script than putting effort into the act.
2 (English) Inuyasha
Inuyasha is far more in the gray area in terms of people's opinions than most of the shows on this list. A lot of fans would agree that both the Japanese and English versions have different strengths and weaknesses. A lot prefer English but admit that it is because the English version is nostalgic from when they first watched the anime on Cartoon Network. Those who usually prefer subtitles actually enjoy the English version as well.
Basically, there are a lot of anime out there with bad dubs. This one simply is good, and that can be rare so give it a try!
1 (Japanese) Puella Magi Madoka Magica
This classic definitely should be seen in Japanese if possible. Firstly, constantly hearing the word "magical girl" thrown at you in English feels uncanny. Certain scenes are hard to take seriously anymore, for example, Sayaka is having a mental breakdown on a train in episode 8 with two guys whose voices are trying way too hard to sound "gangsta."
A lot of the voices just sound off. Homera sounds like she's in her 30s, and Madoka sounded less scared by everything going on.