Anime culture and D&D

[mhacdebhandia]

What I'm asking is: if the dialogue is all gibberish to me, how am I expected to enjoy the cartoon?

Well, anime fans distinguish between dubbed shows and subtitled shows.

Historically, a lot of dubbed anime titles have been dubbed really poorly, often at odds with the actual plot of the series. This can happen with subtitled shows too, of course, but generally speaking people want subtitled versions for accuracy's sake, so it's less common.

Personally, I won't watch a dubbed film or television show for any reason, if I can possibly get hold of a subtitled version. I prefer listening to the performance of the original dialogue, even if I don't understand it.

(At the moment, my fiancee and I are watching Battlestar Galactica with the subtitles on, because she finds it hard to understand the dialogue sometimes. It's irritating, because it spoils the rhythm of the writing for me, but I do it because I love her. )

I'm curious - do or would you watch the dubbed version of Hero or Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon?

 

[hexgrid]

What I'm asking is: if the dialogue is all gibberish to me, how am I expected to enjoy the cartoon?

I mean really, "the artistic integrity of cartoonists" tends to take a backseat to "my enjoyment (and hell, comprehension) of the cartoon" in the grand scheme of my free time.

Subtitles.

 

[Teflon Billy]

Well, anime fans distinguish between dubbed shows and subtitled shows.

Historically, a lot of dubbed anime titles have been dubbed really poorly, often at odds with the actual plot of the series. This can happen with subtitled shows too, of course, but generally speaking people want subtitled versions for accuracy's sake, so it's less common.

Personally, I won't watch a dubbed film or television show for any reason, if I can possibly get hold of a subtitled version. I prefer listening to the performance of the original dialogue, even if I don't understand it.

I'm curious - do or would you watch the dubbed version of Hero or Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon?

No no, I get it now.

Previous to this no one had mentioned Subtitles...just that they disliked dubbing.

I thought that meant they were simply watching it in the original Japanese.

 

[mhacdebhandia]

Hehe. Braver men than I!

 

[Seeten]

Well, if you consider GI JOE & Transformers Anime, then yes, I've watched anime in both cases, although I would never have considered them so. Also, I had forgotten, but I did watch an anime cartoon as a child (Star Blazers), so I stand corrected, sorry! I think that is the extent of my anime experience IIRC.

I LOVED Star Blazers.

 

[Ranger REG]

I'm curious - do or would you watch the dubbed version of Hero or Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon?

I prefer to watch them in their original language and read the English subtitles.

Can't say the same for French artsy-fartsy films, though. *blech!*

 

[Desdichado]

I'm curious - do or would you watch the dubbed version of Hero or Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon?

For me, dubbed. Unless it's a really bad dub job, I normally prefer dubbed versions.

*sigh* But again--showing how freakish I am compared the rest of the community--I didn't really like Crouching Tiger all that much anyway. Dubbed or subbed.

 

[D.Shaffer]

Usually, when it comes to the Sub or Dub issue, I like the version I hear first. After that point, I have a set way I EXPECT to hear it, and anything after that doesnt sound right.

If it's something I've never watched before and I have a choice in the matter, I flip between the two and find the one I like best. It's not always the same. Some might find it odd, but I often like to watch it with both the English dub AND the subtitles going on at the same time. It's interesting to see what gets changed in the process of localization. That said, a lot of subtitle purists are a bit to elitist for me. Dubbing has gotten a LOT better, and a lot of the issues they take up are more of a complaint against localization as opposed to accuracy. Heck, I dont understand Japanese in any case, so it's not like I'm getting any of the 'artistic effect' to begin with.

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

I mean really, "the artistic integrity of cartoonists" tends to take a backseat to "my enjoyment (and hell, comprehension) of the cartoon" in the grand scheme of my free time.

I've often found that my ability to watch dubbed anime vs. subbed anime rests on two pillars:

1. The actual quality of the dubbing, yes, but primarily
2. Whether the first time I watched a particular show was dubbed or subbed

For instance, I like the dubbed versions of Cowboy Bebop and Slayers, because not only is the dubbing usually pretty good, but because I first watched them dubbed. The characters sound right to me in their dubbed voices. Lina Inverse should sound like ... Lisa Ortiz ... (IIRC).

Ranma 1/2, on the other hand, I have to watch subbed. I have no idea whether the dubbing job is good overall because the voices just sound so repellant to me. Ranma should sound like the original Japanese voice actor.

 

[BroccoliRage]

*looks up to see his DVD shelves where his Duel to the Death is sandwiched between Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and HERO*

And?

I never said you have to agree with me. I just think Duel to the Death is awful. I also have a very low opinion of Hero. I blame Hero's lack of resonance with me is my distaste for nigh-unbeatable heroes. The writing was interesting, but the fights were too...well..perfect for me. I really disliked the fight choreography in the Matrix because of the. I like the idea that tough Heroes are still human and can be hurt, which was well communicated in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, as well as House of Flying Daggers (another fantastic movie, though very little wuxia actually occured.)

I loved Fearless, though. I tend to lump Kung Fu flicks together with wuxia flicks at times (which isn't very fair of me). I could compile a list of D&D-esque movies/shows I like, and a good chunk of old school kung fu and wuxia flicks would be on there, as well as some of the better samurai epics.