June 2004

I've been a bad boy. I haven't updated in so long. But I have just loaded a piece of art for the Themed art section. Check it out here.

All of you, just let it go. Chill out! Erase the hate.

It's sad that you have to take sides about something so unimportant as this. Subbed… dubbed… does it matter? Most, if not all, anime released in the US these days is on DVD. These DVD's almost always have Japanese audio, English audio, and subtitles, which you can choose between with the push of a button. But so often, like seen on this thread, "fans" decide to spit in the faces of the Japanese artistisans who so lovingly craft the anime and other "fans" choose to stomp the toes of the American licensors that toil to bring us a premium grade anime fix.

Whether it was subbed or dubbed it had to be translated. American licensors don't just hire people off the street to translate the anime, instead they have skilled translators and writers that truley understand Japanese. These translators and writers are able to disect an anime to bring out nuances from the Japanese script, find the best way to convey the original to an English audience, and they still manage to keep the anime intact and interesting.

I've read posts where people have said that the dub was way wrong, but unless those people are proficient in Japanese there is no way they can possibly know especially if they were comparing it to a sub which can be just as wrong.

I've also seen comments that imply that subs are direct translations of the Japanese script… wrong! Maybe sometime in the past, but not anymore. Imagine if subs and dubs were direct translations, all implied meaning and play on words would be lost on us. Today subs and dubs are translated using an English equivalent of the instances of word play and implied meaning. What's cool is that some American licensors even go out of their way to make sure they explain what they replaced. TOKYOPOP included a short reference sheet in the DVD's of Great Teacher Onizuka which explained any word play and references in the episodes that us foreigners might not understand.

Still going to play favorites, that's your problem. A real fan shouldn't have any problem watching subs or dubs. But if you always assume that one is supperior to the other, that will be the only way you see it whether or not it really is better.

I have updated more sections of the site. Some of these updates happen to be the three feature articles. I have now added a description and entries to the V.A. Watch section. Fans can report sightings of anime voice actors at conventions and on TV. Though I still have to create it's submittal form. I have also added a new feature to the fanart section called Monthly Themed Art. I will announce a different theme to follow for each month, the theme for June 2004 isSummer.