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Airing Subbed Anime on Toonami

Draymorath

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Awhile back, Toonami aired the hit music video Shelter with English subtitles. I was pretty happy about that, since I like the video and all, but I saw a lot of reactions from people that were simply "Finally they're airing something subbed! Hopefully they'll air more subtitled anime from now on."

I was shocked. I think that airing subbed anime on American television would be a pretty dumb move on Toonami's part (small specials like Shelter are an exception because they wouldn't take up a full block and are a one-time deal anyway). I mean, I guess it would mean they could air a lot of newer stuff, but what these people don't seem to realize is that the vast majority of Toonami viewers like watching shows in their own language.

So I was curious about you guys' thoughts on the matter were. Do you think Toonami should start airing anime in Japanese with English subtitles? If so why do you think that they should?
Or else do you agree that they should stick to English in order to appeal to an English-speaking audience?
 

Bowsette Plus-Ultra

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I'd rather they don't.

I've never been able to enjoy subtitled anime as much as anime redubbed in English. It means a whole lot of reading and a whole lot of people insisting that the voice acting in the original is better (in spite of it being in a language they do not speak).
 

Djinn

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I've watched hours of subbed things already, outside of just anime. And El Rey plays subbed kung fu all the time. I don't see why they cannot air subbed anime as well. It's not like the anime viewing audience is new to it and it would improve the turnaround in episodes.

That and it would be nice to see something other than the same 5 or so voices that are in EVERYTHING....
 

Mido

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I can sort of see both sides to the argument, but I ultimately concur that Toonami should stick with its current formula. However, I think Djinn brings up an interesting point:

That and it would be nice to see something other than the same 5 or so voices that are in EVERYTHING....

I was thinking about this when I caught this portion of your post. Following Funimation lately via Facebook, it does seem that a few dubs are shaking it up in terms of casting, especially in the front of main characters from a few I've seen. The usual hands are also on board, too, but it's nice to see some sort of variety even if it's not necessarily consistent.
 
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I think when the quality of most current English dubs is as god-awful as it is, subbed would be the preferable way to watch most any show. That said, it's really easy to find pretty much any anime subbed almost anywhere on the internet these days, so if they wanted to be a spot just for dubs I don't think that's really a problem. I also think it's really cool when Adult Swim does dubbed simulcasts of currently airing anime, like they did with Space Dandy. That's a tradition I'd like to see continue. I just wish that the overall dub quality would improve. About the only major licensing company doing dubs that are remotely decent is Funi. Maybe giving English dubbed anime a wider TV platform will help get more VA talent into anime dubbing? If that does end up resulting from Toonami's existence, then I'd say it's worth it. That said, I don't think that means they shouldn't throw on subbed programs here and there, if it's something that fits in really well with their programming block and doesn't have a dub/has a really terrible dub.

I also want to say that the people watching that horrendously poor dub of JoJo that Toonami is airing should prepare themselves to be absolutely reviled by the JoJo fanbase any time that they say anything about the show, because the version that they know about is WRONG and BAD.
 

Draymorath

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Probably in my room.
I also want to say that the people watching that horrendously poor dub of JoJo that Toonami is airing should prepare themselves to be absolutely reviled by the JoJo fanbase any time that they say anything about the show, because the version that they know about is WRONG and BAD.

Um.
Well it's entirely subjective I guess, but having been to a JoJo related thread I saw mostly positive or neutral views on the dub, and certainly nothing that would suggest revulsion toward those who watch it dubbed. Granted, it was just one thread. In any case if somebody is going to revile someone else just for preferring a Japanese cartoon in a different language than them then that's their problem.

My thoughts on the dub are fairly positive overall. I liked Phantom Blood quite a bit with the exception of some of the poor script changes and Battle Tendency is mostly okay, with the exceptions of a couple particular castings. It's not the best dub in the world, but it's certainly not unwatchable.


It's not like the anime viewing audience is new to it and it would improve the turnaround in episodes.

But the thing is that a lot of casual fans who don't watch anime subbed and probably would not enjoy doing so also watch Toonami, hence the dilemma.
 

Jamie

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Why are you watching Toonami for anime if you're into it enough to watch it subbed? Just watch it on the internet lol
 

Draymorath

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Why are you watching Toonami for anime if you're into it enough to watch it subbed? Just watch it on the internet lol
I like Toonami and like to support it. It's a nice, clean, legal way of watching anime. I also have a limited data plan that makes streaming a no-go and prefer dubs anyway.
 

Djinn

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Any airing of anime on Cartoon Network is a loss leader anyway, it does not get very good ratings nor does it very cost effective for them to air it. It is only really a mix of old tradition and fan outrage at the very concept of removing and replacing it that keeps it on. There has been a problem of many execs wanting to just drop the block, but people get pissed off and voice their outrage at it, but they still do not view the channel in any large numbers when it is on at the same time.

There are a few series that help out reputation like airing Dragonball, just having it gets them a bit more of a following than the actual times it is on. But this is why they show it at 8pm as well, that gets better ratings than the 11:30 timeslot.

A few at Adult Swim are huge fans and are still interested in keeping the anime going. However Lazzo really hates it and has wanted to drop the whole block for a long time now.
 

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