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Had a chat with a kid at GameStop that totally reframed how I watch dubs vs subs
So I was at the GameStop off Route 9 last Saturday picking up a copy of Elden Ring, and this high school kid behind me in line saw my Trigun hoodie. He goes "oh man, you watch dubs? that's kinda old school." At first I got defensive, but he explained how he got into anime through dubbed shows on Toonami at his cousin's house, then switched to subs because his friends made fun of him. It hit different because I realized we're all just trying to enjoy the same stories, and gatekeeping the audio track is dumb. Has anyone else had a random conversation that made you drop a hot take on something you used to be snobby about?
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kimr918d ago
Held back the eye roll so hard when I read "dubs are old school" like okay kid, have fun reading subtitles while I actually watch the fight scenes. But yeah I had this whole thing with my brother about sub vs dub Ghibli movies and we realized we were just mad that the other person's preferred version had a different voice for Totoro. Honestly the gatekeeping is dumb because nobody's out here learning Japanese from anime anyway, we're all just watching cartoons.
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noahwood8d ago
So @kimr91, you're saying the real argument isn't about quality but just nostalgia for a specific voice? Makes me wonder if most of the sub/dub debate is just people defending their childhood memories more than anything technical. Like, is anyone actually switching sides based on logic or are we all just emotionally attached to the first version we heard?
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milesbarnes8d ago
I dunno man, I think subs genuinely give you the original performance intent (which matters more than I used to admit).
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