Got called out for my anime hot takes and it actually helped

I was in a thread last week about the new season's shows and I posted my usual thing about how I only watch dubs. Someone replied, 'You're missing half the performance, the original voice acting is a huge part of the art.' I kinda brushed it off at first, but it stuck with me. So I tried watching the first episode of 'Frieren' in Japanese with subtitles, just to see. I had to slow down and really pay attention, but you know what? The emotion in the voices was totally different, way more subtle. I still like dubs for some action stuff, but now I'm giving subs a real shot for dramas. Has anyone else had a viewing habit they changed after some pushback?

3 comments

3 Comments

danielb438d ago

So what was the biggest difference you noticed in the voice acting... was it just the emotion or something else?

rileyellis8d ago

Remember watching that old cartoon dub where the voice sounded totally flat, like someone reading a phone book? That's the difference, danielb43. It's not just about yelling or crying, it's the tiny pauses and breaths that make it feel real, like the character is actually thinking. A good performance lets you forget it's even a voice actor and just get lost in the story. Bad voice work feels like someone in a booth, good stuff feels like a person right next to you.

robin_bennett785d ago

Totally get what you mean about the breathing and pauses. I rewatched an old show recently and the main character sounded like a robot reading lines. The best voice actors make you believe the character is alive in there, just thinking things through. It's all in those little human details.