Forum - View topicWhy do seinen dubs sound better than shonen/shoujo dubs?
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mgree0032
Posts: 246 |
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I just realized something: when people talk about the best English dubs, most of the dubs they bring up are seinen anime like Cowboy Bebop, while the worst dubs are ones that are mostly shonen/shoujo anime like Yu-Gi-Oh and Sailor Moon. I proposed a theory that seinen dubs have a far more positive view than shounen and shoujo dubs. So why are seinen dubs sound better than shonen/shoujo dubs?
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InfiniteJest
 Posts: 136 |
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Haven’t stopped to compare it though now I’ll be thinking about it.
Is it possibly because they use different voice actors? seinen tends to be more adult focused so a bit more focus on dialogue and attention to who’s cast and how they deliver the lines vs younger more action oriented fare? |
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AsleepBySunset
Posts: 209 |
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I haven't watched dubs in a long time, but to my knowledge most dubs simply try to faithfully imitate the original vocals, eg, if the shounen mc has a bit of a "yell" when he fights they copy it in the dub, I watched the Death Note dub a lot as a kid and switching to the JP audio isn't really difficult because it's pretty much a near copy. Whatever difference you hear is likely just a reflection of the difference between Japanese voice acting for shounen battle anime and seinen action thrillers or whatever you like to watch.
And in regards to the sailor moon/yugioh remark, while they might be shounen/shoujo for the japanese release, the dub is aimed for the children's/8-12 demographic, it's totally different to dubs which aim for the adult otaku demographic like isekai. |
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Chiibi
 Posts: 4829 |
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Oh, that is easy. The first dubs of Yu-Gi-Oh and Sailor Moon were produced by kiddie companies who did not care about the original source at all. It was simply "Hey, we need a show for the network time-slot, Pokemon was very successful so please make these other Japanese cartoons suitable for babies to watch so we can make money off them". The dub of Bebop was produced by a company that CARED ABOUT ANIME VERY MUCH, respected it, treated it as art...and was marketed to adult viewers. |
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louis6578
 Posts: 1866 |
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This was definitely truer in the 90s and early 2000s than it is today. Adult Swim was allowed to have uncut dubs for adults while other networks were forced to dumb down the material for babies.
That said, Yu Yu Hakusho had one of the best dubs of all time and it's a Shonen from roughly that period. I think this is really a case by case basis. Madoka is technically a seinen but it's dub was just kinda average. |
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InfiniteJest
Posts: 136 |
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Plowing through a bunch of lists to sorta catch up and seems to me that there was a big jump in English dub quality around 2010. The whole Texas group of voice actors seem to have raised the quality of a lot of subs. To the point where they get their own threads and followers. And perhaps to the point they are over used so you always hear their specific voice over and over even if you think they are great (My only issue with Jad Sexton and Natalie Rial).
I’m sure others here like Blood or Tony know about this way better than me. This is just what I seemed to notice in my last week of binging titles from this period. |
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mgree0032
Posts: 246 |
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90s Sailor Moon anime thankfully got a proper and respectful uncensored redub by VIZ (Studiopolis) with better voice actors and better voice direction. |
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Chiibi
Posts: 4829 |
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I know, sir. I got them on Bluray.
 That's why I said "the first dub".
BUT IT DID TAKE THEM WAAAAAAAY TOO LONG.  wtf 20 years
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mgree0032
Posts: 246 |
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Madoka is what I would call a dark mahou shoujo genre type anime. |
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LiamEvans210
Posts: 3 |
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Comedy focused anime needs actual voice talent, not people who just read lines off a script in their normal speaking voice.
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louis6578
Posts: 1866 |
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Yep. And a seinen. Hopefully you understand that seinen just refers to the demographic and not the genre. Madoka, Azumanga Daioh, and K-On are all seinen, believe it or not. |
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gsilver
Posts: 618 |
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Maybe you're thinking more "natural" dialog instead of exaggerated anime voices, but even then, seinen doesn't really change it.
A lot of "otaku-bait" titles are technically seinen but are extremely likely to have grating "anime" voices. Then something like Chainsaw Man has more natural speech, and it's a Shounen Jump title. And of course, the move to simul-dubs means that most of them are produced (cheaply) on a thin timeline, which isn't going to help their quality. Shounen/seinen is irrelevant here. |
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