We had this for awhile now and I to bring it back. I shall start us off with possibly the greatest article ever made:ANN Article: English dubs, not inferior.
Any thoughts ?

I remember this article, and it's a very good read. I'm actually both a sub and dub viewer. I tend to lean more towards the dub side, though there are some VAs in Japanese who I'm a fan of including Yui Horie.

It mainly is a matter of personal preference of how you watch your anime. Lately, I've been more interested in the technical aspects of what goes into production and recording for dubs and the US DVD release in general. It would definitely be a lot of fun to be a VA, but it is a lot of work as I've found out from some of the actors I've talked to.

I always enjoy trying out new series via fansubs and later when it gets released in the US, I immediately pick it up on DVD, and especially if it's a series I really like, it's exciting that I get to watch it again, this time in English. It does give you a different viewing experience, and the US companies for the most part do a good job.

If I ever had a complaint about US anime companies, it would be in the case where scenes are cut/edited out, which we usually find in TV broadcast versions of certain series. Some edits I can understand, but others because of things such as Japanese text, cultural references, using the word Magic, etc. That's just ridiculous. I don't see the harm in letting kids see some of these things. Hey, it's cultural exposure and they may learn a few new facts.

Anyways, I've heard so many times these arguments abou how dubs suck and subs are better. Again, it's a matter of personal preference. To me, I like hearing the English dialogue for many reasons. One of them is that there have been lines where I end up laughing really hard because of the scene in general and how the lines come out unexpectedly.

A recent example is UFO Ultramaiden (Princess) Valkyrie. There is a line by Ms. Sanada (Christine Auten) where she pulls out multiple guns and the last thing I expected was a line from Scarface, which was just hilarious and so perfect for the insanity of that particular scene.

Meh, i just dont like it when names are prounced wrong. I understand that things are different in English, but in Sister Princess, when Mamoru is pronounced Mameru (with a short a sound) then i really dont want to watch it.

And i hate the texas accent, so any foreigner or any Osakan dialect or whatever is done in a texas accent, and my personal dislike of it is wht i dont like dubs.

Add in the fact that im obsessed with Japanese VA's like Nana Mizuki, Yui Horie, Yukari Tamura, Sakura Nogawa, Mamiko Noto, etc.

Imagine: Shana gets dubbed in english, Yuji bothers her, and she goes like

*STOP BOTHERING ME!!!* or *ANNOYING!!!* instead of *URUSAI*

That is the gayest thing I can imagine. Seriously.

>.>

Personally, I watch subs with fansubs and dubs with DVD. I know that's a bit simplistic, but it works for me.

On the issue of editting scenes or making shows less culturally related to Japan, it's a bit complicated. A lot of us otaku entered anime after watching a dubbed show, things like pokemon, dbz, or even older 80's anime. But, by removing content that would be confusing to the average american kid/teen/adult, it becomes FAR more accessible. I'm not typically in favor of editting, but it is probably one of the more significant factors when it comes to making anime for a broad audience. It allows more people to get past the mainstream anime to find their own genre niche.

The first anime that I ever watched continously would be Sailor Moon. After that, I had my "dbz" years with some other on and off animes, then got caught up into Gravitation (which I wouldn't recommend as your first non-mainstream anime), a few others, then Comic Party. At that point I was an otaku, and found Episode 1 of Sister Princess being played ondemand with Comcast. After that, I entered these forums, and voila. (When did this turn into a "Zap's Anime Experience" lecture?)

MY POINT BEING, that many of the early shows I watched had some editting or dialogue changes, which probably helped me get into them. Shows like One Piece, Naruto, and Yugioh, all serve a purpose: Otaku Recruitment. Not to say these dubs are bad, they are just very popular and some are editted.

Most of the time dubs and subtitles don't concern me, but the one thing I can't stand is horrible voice acting. It's the main reason I'd prefer subtitles on most anime, it's especially bad with One Piece, Luffy's Voice is terrible it makes me want to punch those jokers in their dub company.