It is very common in anime circles to prefer subs over dubs, but some dubs, like the one of Howl's Moving Castle, are worth experiencing.
Dubs involve the translation of the anime to a different language, in our case, English, with English voice actors used instead of the original voice acting. It has some obvious benefits; you are not distracted from what you see on the screen by subs while watching a dubbed anime, and for all intents and purposes, dubbing is a form of art on its own, which is worth appreciating.
Of course, there is the limitation of extra costs due to the casting of new voice actors, but it is a problem mostly for the studio; viewers barely notice it. And, naturally, some liberties can be taken by the translators, which can cause some figures of speech to get lost in translation. To be fair, for that latter problem, even subs have no real solution. Sometimes they explain the slang, jokes, or whatever it is that is difficult to translate, and you have to pause and read the explanation, which takes away from the experience. The point here is that translators are awesome and have a difficult job; respect them and give them love when you can.
There is a lot of speculation going on among the redditors as to which dubs are worth experiencing. One example of such a great dub is the almost universally loved Howl's Moving Castle. Not only is Howl played by Batman (Christian Bale), which fits the character especially well when he is transforming; Pete Docter from Pixar was in charge of the production. That sounds just about right: one studio, which specializes in whimsical, heartfelt magic, is being dubbed by another studio, which specializes in whimsical, heartfelt magic.
And what about Sophie, dubbed by Emily Mortimer and Jean Simmons for, respectively, her younger and older version? The voice actors are great at conveying the character’s kind and somewhat fragile nature, which becomes much more assertive as she turns into an old woman due to the curse she suffers. The decision to cast two voice actors for the dub is different from the anime keeping the actress (Chieko Baisho) for both Sophies, but both options manage to pull it off and make the character believable and beloved.
There are some longer reviews of the Howl’s dub available online if you are interested, too! And note that some of the fans might go further and claim that most Studio Ghibli movies have great dubs. Which is just another reason to re-watch these wonderful pieces of art while paying attention to all the good work that was put in the dubs.
It is very common in anime circles to prefer subs over dubs, but some dubs, like the one of Howl's Moving Castle, are worth experiencing.
Dubs involve the translation of the anime to a different language, in our case, English, with English voice actors used instead of the original voice acting. It has some obvious benefits; you are not distracted from what you see on the screen by subs while watching a dubbed anime, and for all intents and purposes, dubbing is a form of art on its own, which is worth appreciating.
Of course, there is the limitation of extra costs due to the casting of new voice actors, but it is a problem mostly for the studio; viewers barely notice it. And, naturally, some liberties can be taken by the translators, which can cause some figures of speech to get lost in translation. To be fair, for that latter problem, even subs have no real solution. Sometimes they explain the slang, jokes, or whatever it is that is difficult to translate, and you have to pause and read the explanation, which takes away from the experience. The point here is that translators are awesome and have a difficult job; respect them and give them love when you can.
There is a lot of speculation going on among the redditors as to which dubs are worth experiencing. One example of such a great dub is the almost universally loved Howl's Moving Castle. Not only is Howl played by Batman (Christian Bale), which fits the character especially well when he is transforming; Pete Docter from Pixar was in charge of the production. That sounds just about right: one studio, which specializes in whimsical, heartfelt magic, is being dubbed by another studio, which specializes in whimsical, heartfelt magic.
And what about Sophie, dubbed by Emily Mortimer and Jean Simmons for, respectively, her younger and older version? The voice actors are great at conveying the character’s kind and somewhat fragile nature, which becomes much more assertive as she turns into an old woman due to the curse she suffers. The decision to cast two voice actors for the dub is different from the anime keeping the actress (Chieko Baisho) for both Sophies, but both options manage to pull it off and make the character believable and beloved.
There are some longer reviews of the Howl’s dub available online if you are interested, too! And note that some of the fans might go further and claim that most Studio Ghibli movies have great dubs. Which is just another reason to re-watch these wonderful pieces of art while paying attention to all the good work that was put in the dubs.
