Can we talk about dubbing old anime versus subbing it

I tried rewatching Trigun last week with the English dub because I remembered it being great as a kid. By episode 3 I had to switch back to subs because Vash sounded way too goofy and flat compared to the Japanese voice actor who actually sells the sad clown thing. Got me thinking - is the nostalgia for old dubs just rose-tinted glasses or do some of them actually hold up? I learned that newer dubs like Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood are way better produced but the 90s stuff feels phoned in. But then my buddy says the Cowboy Bebop dub is still the definitive way to watch it and I get his point. What's your take - do you stick with subs for older series or do you give the dubs a fair shot?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_faith12d ago

Picked up Trigun for a rewatch a few months back and man, the English dub really is rough now. I got maybe two episodes in and switched over to subs. The way Vash delivers that speech about not killing anyone hit way harder in Japanese. I grew up on the English one too so it was kinda sad realizing it doesn't hold up like I thought.

ray_burns12d ago

The first time I watched Trigun all the way through was back in maybe 2003 on DVD and I was all about the English dub. But @kevinw94 saying Johnny Yong Bosch brings goofy sincerity to it made me pause because I used to think the same thing. Then I gave it another shot last month after reading @the_faith's post and yeah, I gotta admit the subs just feel more natural to me now. The Japanese Vash has this worn-down tiredness in his voice during that no killing speech that the English version just doesn't match. Maybe it's because I'm older now and can pick up on the subtle stuff more, but the English delivery felt a bit too theatrical this time around. I still love Johnny Yong Bosch in other roles though, no hate to him.

kevinw9412d ago

I've actually been thinking about this a lot since I rewatched Trigun last year for the third time. For me personally, the English dub still holds up way better than the Japanese version, especially for Vash's character. Johnny Yong Bosch brings a kind of goofy sincerity to the role that I think fits the lighter tone of the first half perfectly, and that speech about not killing hits just as hard for me in English. I can totally see why you prefer the subs for the emotional weight though, @the_faith, your mileage may definitely vary depending on what you grew up with. The Japanese voice actor is great too, but I guess I'm just too attached to the version I first heard back in the early 2000s.