To each his own. Some prefer the original audio simply because it is foreign, making it easier to mentally dive into a fantasy world. Others get taken out of the immersion by having to read subs and not focusing on the screen all the time.

Isn't it great that nowadays we have a real choice, so everyone can enjoy media how they want?

It’s done well (usually), but it’s still not the original. Something will inevitably be lost in the adaptation anyway, and if you know even a slight bit of Japanese (or whatever the original language is), subs are the better choice for a first view, imo.

Then, if the series/movie was good and I feel like watching it again, I’ll go with the dub when available. Rarely, if ever, I found a Dub that was better than an original version, but a lot have been at the same level so it’s definitely worth it.

I think that's pretty natural? If you weren't getting any of the movie there'd be no points and we'd just read the subs on a kindle or something.

Idk if anyone else has this but i get a weird flow state where i read the subtitles and its like the characters are talking in english but i if think about it, it stops.

As long as you can read fast enough, you don't miss anything. I hate it when video games have subtitles but you can't skip to the next line because I've finished reading what they said way before they're done saying it.

Yeah, we're used to it, it's the only way I've watched movies since I was a kid.

I don't use subs now, maybe English ones cuz sometimes the actors speak way too fast and you have a hard time understanding what they're saying.

I'm actualy losing my hearing so I'm starting to "hear" my shows better than I can my wife

My ADHD means that when there's subs I actually look at the screen instead of being distracted by my phone. Funny how that works out.

During my early teenage weeb days, I used to be a sub purist, disavowing anyone who preferred dub. I'd refuse to watch an anime with someone if they chose dub. However, I've changed a lot since then and now go with whatever sounds better to me. While some dubs are admittedly bad, others put a lot of time and effort into replicating the original Japanese feel, and they do a great job.

I've also noticed that certain anime set in specific countries feel odd in Japanese. For instance, when I watched Steamboy, it was bizarre hearing Japanese voices in the cities of Manchester and London. The Japanese voice actors struggling to pronounce English names and words fluently added to the peculiarity.

I don't buy into sub purists claiming all English dubs sound the same. Truth be told, a lot of Japanese voices also sound similar. There are cliché voices that almost allow you to predict how a character will sound in Japanese just by looking at their design.

These days I'm firmly of the opinion; whatever sounds right to you. I don't see the point of giving someone shit for choosing to watch a series in whatever language they prefer, as long as they're enjoying it.

I generally prefer watching in whatever the original language was (usually subs for me). But if I happen to see a show dubbed first, that becomes my new personal canon haha.

— "Stop enjoy things the wrong way!!!"

— "Don't be ass, man" puts pineapple in pasta

if you don't watch it for the plot then why don't you watch it in Japanese without subtitles?

Because not everything worth watching was created in my country? Why would I need to disrespect the intention/effort of everyone involved, when I can just read?

If you are used to reading subtitles you can read them almost subconsciously. And you don't need to understand the language to get things like emotion out of it. I would even go as far as saying that getting used to reading the emotions of someone that doesn't speak the same language as you is essential to fully develop a sense of empathy.

what are you doing listening to Japanese speaking voices?

I think some anime legitimately sounds better with the Japanese voice acting, but some people take it too far and extrapolate that to mean all anime is better with Japanese voices and any dub is immediately shit. It becomes these weird gate-keeping elitism among losers where you literally can't enjoy 'anime' a certain way or else these people won't think you're 'cool.'

One Punch Man sounds better with the Japanese voices imo. Saitama sounds downright iconic in Japanese, but like a generic wimpy boy in English.

The vast majority of other shows I prefer watching in English. Either the dub is identical in quality to the sub, or the difference is small enough that I don't care since I prefer watching things in my language.

Your statement is correct, but I think people are taking it as an implication that all anime sexualizes kids, which is false. There's lots of really great anime out there.

In my opinion most western voice actors can't really convey the expression of anime character the Japanese VAs can bring to life.

This is caused by a lot of factors not inherently about voice acting performance, but the language differences. A lot of high pitched expressions are simply non-existed in most other languages, for example. Even if you imitated the tone completely, the language itself as a lot of people know and speak will make the aptly toned expression sound very very weird or creepy within the utterance of the target language.

So for most people dub is simply not on point, or a lot of the times even jarring to match the visual expression to the voice. Subs perfectly keep that distinction.

Most of the time people in western culture finding youngsters imitate anime stuff weird because of this distinction, not because they simply heated expressions, which the target language already has but in other tones and forms.

American voice actors definitely get treated like stars and have fans. Source: Ive been to plenty of conventions. Also, another reason Japanese seiyuu are treated with such high praise is because many of them do other media, particularly music.

But seriously, American voice actors have fan groups. Anime and American animation voice actors, and video games actors. There's a lot of overlap there. There are very passionate fandoms.

How exactly tf do you know how good a voice actor is if you can't understand their language, accent, or inflections? Do you reckon maybe American voice actors aren't treated well has more to do with the elitist attitude weebs have regarding them than their skill levels?