Friend swore dub over sub was better for Cowboy Bebop

I watched the dub after years of only subbed anime. Now I can't go back, it just hits different. Anyone else have a show where the dub actually wins?

2 comments

2 Comments

charlesanderson1d ago

My father-in-law is 74 and he got me into the original 1970s "Star Blazers" dub a few years back. He swore up and down that the cheesy English voices were the only way to watch it, because that's what he grew up with. I finally sat down and binged the whole series with him, and you know what, he was right for that show. The over-the-top delivery and the corny music actually made it more fun than the more polished Japanese version. So I get where your friend is coming from, sometimes the first version you see just sticks with you no matter what.

the_julia1d ago

Oh man, that's such a cool story! I actually just read this piece online about how dubbing in the 70s and 80s was basically a wild west situation - no rules, just vibes. Like, the voice actors would just go in and ham it up because nobody cared about accuracy, they just wanted to sell the show to kids. So that cheesy delivery kind of became part of the show's soul, you know? I wonder if your father-in-law would have liked it as much if it had been this super serious, faithful translation from the start. It's funny how those limitations of the time ended up giving it this unique personality that the original never had.

-1