The Dub vs. Sub Debate Goes On

I suspect the clash between the dub and sub will continue until we either speak the same language or anime ends. I don’t understand the debate. Okay, I understand why the debate rages, which I’ll discuss. But I don’t really see the point. I watch both, and I prefer neither. Dubs are fine as long as the voice actors and scripts are solid. Subs are fine too as long as the same holds true. I’ve heard Japanese and English actors that set my teeth on edge. Subs help me focus a little more than dubs. I’m not much of a television watcher. I’d rather be writing, drawing, researching, gardening, reading, and otherwise doing something else than passively watch a screen. Of course, I enjoy watching anime, but I don’t watch it in large doses. In any case, I struggle to just sit and watch anything. Subs force me to pay attention instead of trying to multitask like I do when watching a dub. However, there are times when my eyes are too strained for subtitles. In this case, I seek a good dubbed anime.

The Sub and Dub Battle Lines

From my experience, the subbers draw the lines of battle. Dub watchers prefer to listen instead of read for various reasons, including valid reasons like dyslexia and sight problems. After all, subtitles are often too small and poorly colored. It’s not unusual for subtitles to fade into the animation. Dubbers want easy access to the stories they enjoy.

Subbers seek the most genuine experience of the story, preferring to listen to the Japanese voice actors. There’s nothing wrong with this, but many in the anime community use this desire to set themselves apart from dub watchers. It comes down to identity. By setting themselves apart as “true” fans, many subbers seek to elevate themselves above everyone else. It’s similar to sports fans who use their knowledge and collected merchandise of a certain team to prove themselves as somehow more of a fan than those who just follow the team. People define themselves by what they are not, which is faulty logic. In the case of the elite subbers–again, not everyone who likes subtitles falls into this problem–they define their identities by seeking a pure experience of the anime. Of course, unless you grew up in Japan, the experience won’t be pure. Anime, though international, still pulls from Japan’s cultural elements that you would understand viscerally if you absorbed them from childhood.

Purity in experiencing media strikes me as odd anyway. Everyone has a different set of experiences that will make them understand the story in their own way. While the subbers are correct sometimes–dubs can be poor and even distort important subtexts–their experience isn’t more genuine than a dub watcher’s. The resonance of the story matters the most.

Many people assert their preference as if its an objective fact and wrap their identity in the preference. Identifying with a preference or opinion as a part of yourself means anyone who challenges the preferences with their own, equally valid preference, challenges you. A simple comment of “I prefer dubs over subs” gives people a chance to feed the ego and assert the supposed superiority of their preference. Now, some preferences can be refuted with facts. The preference for subs cannot be. While some dubs are poor, many more capture the story and emotion for their respective audience. Some Japanese references will fail because of cultural differences, but if an equivalent reference is used to illicit the same emotional response, the story still remains true to form.

The Role of the Ego

The ego doesn’t like to be challenged or otherwise reminded that it’s an illusion. The ego is a construct that can only exist through separation–it defines itself through what it is not. Feelings of superiority come from the ego. It’s that sense of self we identify as the “I,” but when you actually search for the ego, you won’t find it. The sense of “I” changes with how we feel, with how events affect us, and how we think. It doesn’t remain constant. That’s why this sense of a static ego is an illusion. It’s a mistaken view of who you actually are. So when subbers use their preferences to assert they are truer anime fans, this is the ego working. It’s a projection of their feelings and affection for anime onto others and finds them as lacking because they fail to reach the ego’s self-sustaining benchmark. The ego doesn’t attempt to surmise the other’s affection for dubbed anime because doing so would threaten its defined boundary.

Any act or thought of empathy threatens the ego because it shifts the attention away from itself and toward someone else. This explains why so many subbers who force their views on dubbers come off as childish, often falling into name calling and “I’m right, you’re wrong” arguments. Many such arguments I’ve seen online lack nuance. Subbers state all subtitles are superior to dubs. Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo, among others, prove otherwise. Cowboy Bebop’s English dub trounces the original Japanese version in performance. Of course, subbers are correct in many cases too.

People select the most trite things to use as identity markers. Subs vs dubs, tea vs coffee, Steelers vs Patriots, baseball vs football, and so on. However, the triteness means there’s less risk involved to the ego. If the ego wrap itself around, say, Christianity or Islam (and it does), there’s more risk. Christianity and Islam have a vast pool of research and evidence that can be used to burst assumptions. This can make people hug their false views tighter, but the threat to the ego is also greater when those misconceived views finally fall to evidence and logic. Preferences like sub vs dub have less risk of being rebuffed because they really do not matter.

You’ll notice that the ego sets itself up in dichotomy. Subs aren’t opposing dubs. They aren’t in some sort of tension. Rather, they compliment each other. They can cover each other’s limitations. Some subtitles are awkward, but have great dubs. Likewise, bad dubs can have great subtitles. Dubs provide native-language access for those who have reading issues. Subs provide access for those who have hearing problems.

Let me be clear: the majority of people who prefer subs aren’t elitist. However, the elitism that exists is the ego talking. It should be ignored. Challenging the ego feeds its misconceived view of itself as better. Although by writing this article, I am ignoring my own advice! Christianity and Zen speak against the ego–it’s a selfish illusion. No one can live fully apart. Even the most off-the-grid survivalist still uses items made by someone else or uses knowledge taught by someone else. We exist as a part and containing parts of other people. While we are each individuals, we are a part of great humanity with roles to play. The ear is an individual, but it remains a part of the greater body. The ego is an illusion that elevates the ear as superior and separate to the rest of the body–a silly, even dangerous idea.The sub vs. dub dichotomy comes from this silly, but dangerous, separation. While it’s trite, the elitism surrounding the argument reflects a fragile sense of identity that is best cultivated through spiritual, ego-destroying pursuits.