How Rude...
How about that title though; no actual context to what you just subjected yourself to. Prepare thyself, get ready for the jimmies will be rustled, the jiggles shall be puffed and the salt will run thick.
Long ago there were two nations that lived in harmony; the subbed and dubbed coexisted the otakus were united. Then everything changed when the trolls attacked. Only the indifferent and accepting could stop them but the war continued to rage on tearing the fandom apart. Everyone is entitled to their own preferences and opinions; though that does not give anyone the right to attack someone over their preferred method of enjoying content. The age-old fight over watching anime subbed or dubbed is about archaic as the ideology that one way is better than the other. This revolt on opinions is nothing short of just children bickering with one another; filling the forums and web with hateful jargon and does nothing but tear down the anime community.
There are so many arguments to this stalemate; both sides fight over which method is better. The harsh truth that very few seem to accept is that both are to be created equal despite their differences. These small minute nuances do not dictate whether which rings better over the other. Anime is a production; a group of people all working together to bring a story from print to a fluid flowing visual masterpiece. Hundreds of people pour their heart and souls, spending hours of their life dedicated to their craft only for the fans to fight over a simple difference of the spoken language. Yes; sometimes changes are made to plot, the characters might be different, the jokes might change but you know what. It's still anime, it's still a group of hard-working individuals coming together to deliver a story for entertainment.
The fandom is so much more than the argument of subbed or dubbed; anime is viewed worldwide. Through the years anime has become more widely accepted; overseas anime fans spiking over the past four years bringing in a staggering revenue of ¥767.6 billion. That's absolutely insane; overseas numbers skyrocketing in 2018 deemed the year for English Dubbed with a handful of simuldubbed launching through Funimation. Translating anime not only brings revenue to the industry but it encourages inclusion among all cultures. A point was recently brought up through a conversation I had with an individual "...dubbing anime takes away from the authenticity of the culture in anime." Which I will always disagree strongly, there are so many factors to consider in this statement. Unless someone is watching every series comparing the two (if we're limiting this argument to just Japanese vs English) it's impossible to determine if one method is better than the other since most interpretations of content are subjective. In most situations, subtitles for Japanese anime are translated incorrectly or differ slightly to relay the message in a way that's understandable to the target audience. Translating artwork does not take away from the culture when in anime most of the stories consist of fictitious locations.
Sure nothing can be measured in just black and white, there are few one-off situations where ill intent might be behind the workers for the series where the end product isn't perfect but none the less the world is not without its faults in anything. To make generalized assumptions that all of one thing (in this case dubbed anime) is horrible is close-minded. Nothing is perfect, but it's the imperfections that keep us drawn in. Appreciate the artwork for what it is and remember not every country enjoys the luxury of having their series subbed or dubbed, but despite that fact, a large portion of the fandom feels the need to bicker and subjugate one another on their personal preference. Find happiness in the small nuances, expand your reach to different genres, languages, and experiences. The community is filled with so much love, don't cloud it over a disagreement on something so trivial. Let others enjoy their method of watching content and use those differences to create conversation and friendships. We are the fandom of the future and the leaders of the generation to follow, set a good example and love the world has enough discrimination as it stands already.
There you have it, my thoughts on the whole debacle. What you take from this is to each their own. If you liked it awesome spread the word. If not well that sucks you'll never get those 5 minutes back, try again later or something.
-Ano.Nora
