Tried subbed vs dubbed for a 12-episode anime and sub won by a long shot

I picked subbed for my first full rewatch of Steins;Gate and the emotional impact hit way harder, anyone else find dubbed voices lose that raw feeling?

3 comments

3 Comments

danielowens2d ago

Steins;Gate subbed hits different for sure, the Japanese voice acting just carries that emotion.

the_daniel1d ago

Man that's exactly what I found too. I watched the dub first and it was fine, but when I went back for the sub it was like a completely different show. The way the Japanese VAs deliver those intense emotional scenes, especially near the end, just hits you right in the gut. The dub voices sounded way too clean and polished, like they were reading lines instead of actually feeling them. Subbed Steins;Gate is the only way to go for me now.

david_palmer1d ago

Reading lines instead of actually feeling them" - yeah, that nails it exactly. @danielowens called it too, the Japanese cast really put in the work. I remember the scene where Okabe breaks down after that first D-Mail failure. In the dub he sounded like he was doing a sad grocery list. Sub version had this cracked, desperate rasp that made me feel sick to my stomach.