Used to think dubbing was for lazy people, then I binged 3 seasons of Demon Slayer dubbed in one weekend

I always swore by subs. Thought dubs ruined the voice acting and felt wrong. But last Friday my eyes were so tired from staring at screens all week for work, I figured what the heck. Put on the first episode of Demon Slayer with the English dub just to test it. Ended up watching like 15 episodes that night. The voice actor for Tanjiro actually nailed the emotional scenes way better than I expected. I still prefer subs for some shows, but now I don't judge people for watching dubs anymore. Has anyone else had a specific show that flipped your opinion on dubbing?

3 comments

3 Comments

james_kim1mo ago

Yeah that "felt wrong" part really hit me because I had the exact same mental block. It's like your brain tells you the original Japanese is the only "real" version so dubs must be inferior. But Demon Slayer specifically is such a great example because the English cast actually brings something different to the table. Like I noticed the humor lands way better in English for me personally, just the way the jokes are delivered feels more natural to my ears. The main thing that changed my mind was realizing voice acting in dubs is just as skilled as sub VA work, it's just a different interpretation of the same character. Now I honestly mix it up depending on my mood and how much attention I want to pay to the screen. Some shows I still watch subbed because the original voice is just too iconic, but I stopped acting like there's a right and wrong way to watch anime.

ryan_ellis1mo ago

Oh man that's a good point about the humor specifically. I never thought about it that way. Do you find yourself rewatching old favorites in dub now just to see how different the jokes and delivery hit the second time around?

david_rivera44d ago

Wait, didn't James Kim also mention he mixes it up depending on mood? I think he was pretty clear that he's got an open mind about it now.