Dub vs Sub

When a English-speaker wants to watch anime, which is in Japanese, they often must make a decision; do they want to watch it with English voice-overs, known as dubbed, or subbed, where the original Japanese voices are kept and there are English subtitles?

For some people, affectionately called 'sub-purists', subbed is the only way they will watch anime; they consider the other way to not be 'pure', often criticizing the English actors' voices. They prefer the originally intended voices for the characters. On the flip side, there are some who will only watch anime if it is dubbed. Most people who like dub better prefer it because they can understand it better and because it feels less like anime.

If I were to pick just one way to watch anime, I would probably pick dubbed. I know that a lot of anime lovers don't agree with me, but I prefer paying attention to the action and animation, not the subtitles. I find the subtitles slightly distracting, and at times it is hard to keep the voices straight. Also, I feel that I can connect with the characters better if they are speaking my native language.

However, I would recommend, as would most, to pick dub or sub based on the anime. Some anime have amazing dubs, like Cowboy Bebop or anything from Funimation; in fact, for Cowboy Bebop, the dub is considered to be superior to the sub. Others have absolutely awful dubs. Also, not every anime has a dub. To determine what you personally like for each series, either look up which way people watch that series most frequently and why, or watch the first couple episodes both ways, then pick which one you like better.

For those of you that will only watch anime a certain way, try to expand your taste. Watch a series in the other method, just to try it out.