Actually in my case, it is due to the average quality of subs in my native language being poor. Also, I am more practiced in reading English than my native language due to the number of novels that I read.

Random Note: It's interesting that you say you hate English voices, because I know a lot of native English speakers who think German doesn't sound good. I guess our languages just don't sound good to each other.

I think the obvious choice is subs. If you can't understand the language, then I don't really understand why you would watch it in the original language. Maybe if you're trying to learn the language, but if you don't have much knowledge of the language you're not going to be able to follow anything that's happening.

Also, it's rare for movies, at least the foreign ones I've watched, to have dubs. And I would still prefer subs over dubs, because the acting of the original actors is better than the voice actors.

I concur here.

It would be nice to have it changed like that.

Subs in my native language can differ a lot between dialects or they are less reliable.

Sometimes I see foreign movies with the subs in that language too. (French movies with french subtitles, english with english subtitles, german with german subtibles, etc.)

Last edited by ebisu at 6:29 am, Sep 21 2013

Sentences and words in English are short, other languages are far more verbose - and for subs it makes a huge difference: the shorter the text, the less it covers the picture and the less time you need to read it. That means less distracting from the action on screen. That's also why you should never use honorifics in subs.

Me too.
I always choose to watch any movie in their original dub with English subtitle even though English is not my native language.
Coz it is easier to find English sub than my native language sub

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ꉂꉂ(ᵔᗜᵔ*)笑

I'd suggest three options to replace it:
* Subs in your native language
* Subs in English (if it isn't your native language)
* Subs in whatever language you know.

Here in Italy the quality of dubs is really high, therefore the dub of my native language is my first choice. However, it's more difficult to find shows and movies dubbed in Italian on the web; if that's the case, I watch them with the original dub if it's English, only because I understand it; if not, I watch them with English subs, because English fansubs are generally better in terms of quality, and also easier to be found.

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My current top 3:
Fullmetal Alchemist
Pandora Hearts
3-gatsu no Lion

Original language with subs, of course... not in my native language though. I prefer my subs in english, even when they are availiable in my own language. Don't really know why...

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~4400 manga completed
~1700 ongoing...

If it's live action, I will always go with the original language with subs. I just can't handle the incongruity between the sounds being made and the movements of the actor's/actress's mouths. I tried to watch the dub of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon because my hubby doesn't like subs, but gosh, I just couldn't do it.

But as far as anime, I am perfectly fine with dubs, depending on the quality of the voice actors. I find that, IMHO, English voice actors are much improved on what they used to be. For example, I loved the dub of FMA:B, but I can't stand the dub of Rurouni Kenshin that's on hulu right now.

if it's either spanish or english then I'll watch it without subtitles but if it's in a language I do not understand then with subs.

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朝露の少女。

“The longer we live, the more weight we carry in our hearts.”

Never dubs. I hate them with a passion.
When I was little, most foreign films we got were dubbed by a single person... >_>;
And it was the same guy in so many films... I liked his voice, but it was too sleepy and toneless.
The other kind was the one male and one female for the whole cast.
Then we moved to Israel, and most cartoons I watched had Hebrew dubbing.
Those were by far more professional and interested, and I even liked them and seldom thought of them was dubs.
After a while, when I started watching films (mostly in English), I started appreciating the language itself and the original material. By then I already knew some English and could understand what was going on with the help of subs.

Nowadays, I never watch dubbed films regardless of the language. If I stream or download, it's easiest to find subtitles in English, but I don't care if it's English/Hebrew/Russian.
Even when I watch something in a language I understand, I prefer to have subs in case they're whispering or smt. And I'm just really used to having them dance on the bottom of the screen by now...

So, basically, subs in any language I can understand...


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Hrodulf and Bjornolfr, you will not be forgotten.

And if the world were black and white,
you would be my rainbow in shades of grey.

Click 'n Play!

If I had a fantasy self, it'd be a tentacle monster.

well, English is foreign for most of people, so...

I'm watching always the original audio. Even if I don't understand the language at all. Everything is better in original. Look for example at anime in English. eew. English movies, I started to watch without the subtitles, but if I don't understand, I use English subtitles. I understand English, so it's annoying to read subtitles in my language and hear something else. Other movies, (jap., korean., spanish...) I watch with subtitles. Either in my language, but if I can't find any, English subtitles are good enough.

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if there is an option between "to do" and "not to do", I will always choose the latter.

"what kind of crazy, twisted conclusion is that...?" - banana bread no puding

...
I still can't vote for any of the options.
Also: "another language"?
Not to mention "foreign (non-English)". For most of us, English IS a foreign language.

I agree with Nyajinsky. When I'm watching anime/movies I'd go for original dub + english subtitles. Not only the original audio is usually better, but also when I'm watching japanese/german films I can learn the language that way. As for the subs - I'm polish, so english is a foreign language for me, but english subtlitles are not only more common, but also easier to read. Because they are .. shorter.
I once tried watching a japanese movie with german subs... and I failed miserably..

There is no option "original audio with a lector" ~. When I still watched TV I remember that all foreign movies were dubbed by one person, reading in monotone from the script OVERLAPPING the original audio. It was really bad... An example here start at 2:00...

I know exactly what you mean. I'm Slovak, and I actually started watching anime (Dragonball) on rtl7. I kind of learned polish, and you can get used to it, but it was really strange for me (that it was dubbed by one person. All of the anime I watched there were dubbed by him only). Anyway, if I remember correctly, it even was over spanish dubbed version. Takes me back.


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if there is an option between "to do" and "not to do", I will always choose the latter.

"what kind of crazy, twisted conclusion is that...?" - banana bread no puding