Ask John: Is Dubbing Good or Bad?

Question:
Do you believe that all anime dubs are bad or good to some extent? Such series that come to mind are Twelve Kingdoms, or the new shows such as Mai HiMe and Eureka 7. Wondered if you yourself watch anime both in dubbed and subbed fashion.

Answer:
I have a personal preference for watching film in its original language. Regardless of whether it’s animation or live action; Japanese, Chinese, French, Russian, etc. I only watch film in its original language. I’ve personally never heard a dub that I preferred, or which I believed sounded more natural and believable than the native dialogue. To cite some examples, I own the extended version of John Woo’s movie Hardboiled, but I can’t bear to watch it because it’s only available dubbed in Mandarin, not with its original Cantonese dialogue. I couldn’t stand to watch my first imported DVD of Jet Li’s Fist of Legend because it was dubbed in Korean when its original dialogue is Cantonese and Japanese. I’ve watched the second Vampire Hunter D movie in both its original English language and its “Original Japanese Version” dub, and I find the Japanese language version far more serious, atmospheric, and gothic than the original English language version. Although the Japanese language version may be considered a dub, it’s the native language of the film’s production.

I personally believe that dubbing is a compromise of a film’s artistic integrity. Unlike subtitles, which do not remove anything from the original film, dubbing removes the original spoken dialogue, replacing it with dialogue performed by actors not directly associated with the original production, and supervised by someone other than the work’s original director. Even in the case of foreign language dubs supervised or directed by the original director, naturally a director won’t be as competent when directing through a translator or working in an unfamiliar language. However, the fact that I believe foreign language dubs sound stilted and unnatural, and believe that the practice of dubbing is a commercial compromise of artistic integrity does not exclude anyone else from having a differing opinion, or preferring dubbing. Countless times I’ve heard proponents identify English language anime dubs that they consider superior to the original Japanese language voices. I vehemently believe that it’s logical and appropriate to watch Japanese film in Japanese, but I don’t discriminate against viewers who believe otherwise.

The quality of dubbing may be good or bad depending on personal perspective, and it goes without verbose explanation that the talent and skill of actors and directors contribute heavily to the quality of a dub. Considering “good” and “bad” in terms of effect, instead of quality, results in equally divided results. It’s impossible to deny that dubbing has made anime more popular and successful worldwide. But viewers who watch dubbed anime aren’t watching the exact same program that the native target audience watched; they’re watching an altered version which has been modified to be easier for them to consume. The argument that it’s been translated (translation invariably involves some loss or distancing from the original source) is irrelevant because a translation alone does not change the physical constitution of a film. Dubbing must be credited with making international cinema more accessible, which serves the financial interests of artists and allows them to continue making art. But dubbing creates an additional layer of separation between the viewer and the artist’s original, unaltered work. Translation helps bridge the gap between audience and artist, and dubbing may help create a connection between the viewer and the altered work, but the dubbed film is not the same as the original film that the artist personally created or envisioned.

So dubbing has a simultaneous good and bad impact on film, and particular dubs may be classified as “good” or “bad” depending on their unique characteristics. For me, personally, dubbing creates more separation between myself and a film than it creates immersion. I also consider voice replacement a crude and obtrusive compromise forced onto film for the sake of maximizing profit. My opinions are polarized and individual, and I’m aware that they don’t apply to everyone. I also don’t insist that anyone share or agree with my opinions. I share them only in hope of encouraging open-mindedness and debate.