My anime journey and Dubs I don’t hear talked often enough (and some that do)

(Note: this ended up way longer than I intended but hopefully I make a coherent point somewhere along the way. This post is probably only interesting to those with kids or really new into watching anime.)

So for a tiny bit of background, I am 34 and watched anime “back in the day” - some DBZ after school in high school, cowboy bebop nonstop, and a friend with disposable income that could somehow afford to buy box sets at Best Buy (Beserk, Vampire Hunter D, etc.). I didn’t watch anime much into after high school.

Fast forward to about a year ago, my teenage daughter revealed she was super into anime and we began to watch shows and movies together trading recommendations. I had her watch my favorite classics when it was my turn to pick and then when her picks came in - oh man, she introduced me to genres I didn’t think the medium could tackle.

“Why is all that relevant” you might ask. Well, it’s not, except that we’ve only every watched dubs. Don’t get me wrong, she watches subs - but as I’ve gotten older, I appreciate a good dub and being able to enjoy some pointless shonen like Fairytail or something while working and doing adult things that I could never do with subs.

I’ve grown to appreciate anime, and a good dub, a lot as a both visually appealing work of art and medium to tell a story not seen elsewhere.

Here is the timeline of my adventure back into the world of anime with my thoughts on the show/film:

• Madoka Magicia - my daughter’s favorite show was initially obnoxious as I thought it was gonna be some cutesy magical girl show and, as most of you probably know, it takes a turn and you get effed up emotionally. 9/10

• Full Metal Alchemist Botherhood - With this one, my daughter aimed for what I would like and JFC did she nail it. Greatest thing I’ve ever seen in my life. Don’t try and change my mind. 10/10

• Disasterous Life of Siaki K - I laughed. A lot. Fuckin great. Dub was great. Everything was great- except that the dub stopped and I want more. Netflix.

• Yuri on Ice - my daughter came out as bi around the same time she selected this show for us to watch. It seemed fair as I had just forced her to watch Akira. I loved it. This show started to break my preconceived notion of what anime could do. English OP never hurts either in my book. 9/10

• A Silent Voice - a movie where I cried. A lot. I like emotion in my entertainment- it can be taxing sometimes, but damn - as someone who was bullied and had bullied in elementary and middle school, this was one powerful film and truly cemented was Yuri on Ice started.

• Attack on Titan, Tokyo Ghoul, & Psycho-Pass - Yup, after all that my next shows were fuckin dude-centric action/psychological roller coasters. Great dubs and story.

So obviously at this point there is nothing surprising here. I was in my “it’s all new, so it’s all great” phase. Then came the shows I never saw mentioned and only happened onto or was pushed to watch by my daughter.

• Shonen Maid - okay, look, I get it, I don’t know why I love this show, but to me it’s the greatest, most wholesome, funny, warm-hearted thing I have ever seen. The dub is great, the characters are great, it makes you feel, it makes you laugh, it inspires hope, etc. I’ll fight you if you dislike this show :)

• Barakomon - see “shonen maid”

• The Devil Is Part-Timer - loved it. Comedy cold. Watch it.

• various films - we went a bit crazy and watched a bunch of films in row. Summer Wars, Your Name, Boy and The Beast, Wolf Children, Girl who lept through time, Patema Inverted.

• Your Lie in April - I’m going to be honest here, this show wrecked me. I used to be a paramedic and had grown fairly numb to illness and death. Now, I know I should’ve seen certain things coming, but I didn’t. I’m not lying when I say this show made me not dead inside anymore. It marvelous and wonderful and traumatic. It’s too brutally real sometimes, but so is life. I’m so happy that something like this show exists, because it’s incredibly human.

• Violet Evergarden - one of the most gorgeous things my eyes have ever experienced was the animation in this show.

After all that, I needed a break from the heavy and emotional and started

• My Hero Academia - the best show that is loved by the 11 year old part of me. The dub really drove home a feeling of connection to the golden age of American comic book superheros in a way the sub doesn’t. That is 100% due to Sabat’s voice acting, but I just needed it to exist at that exact time. It’s basic and childish and idealistic - and that’s why I like it.

Steins Gate - this has to be the gold standard for English dubs for me. Okabe’s voice actor is a brilliant actor that made me feel what the character felt - he conveyed so many things - comedy, anger, despair, ego, hope - in perfect tune with the animation.

If you’ve seen all these and feel I misled you at this point, I apologize. I have used this sub to find recommendations, but I really wish I’d seen more about some of these shows.

So, I recently ventured off on my own to watch series outside the recommendations of a teenager and I’ve some across a number of shows/dubs that I found particularly great but didn’t see on lists when I would try to research what to watch that I wanted to share.

• Girls Und Panzer - I didn’t what “moe” really went before this show. I enjoyed it, I enjoyed the voice acting, I enjoyed the absurdity of high schoolers conducting tank battle battles WITH LOVE AMMUNITION as a sport. It’s on HiDive. Check it out if you’re looking a silly and positive show.

• D-Frag - silly and stupid comedy that I would watch again. Good stuff.

• Terror in Resonance - Man, if this didn’t feel like the indie-film of anime shows, I dunno what does. It’s great and thought provoking and has a great score. Even as a fan of Shinichirō Watanabe, this flew under the radar. Only because of my career in emergency management did the cover strike my interest.

• Haikyu!! - Welp, guess I like volleyball now. Great dub here too.

• megalobox - looked good, was good. Nostalgic AF as it felt like Bebop and champloo wrapped in a dope ass tournament arch. I’ll watch that every day.

• Sakura Quest - Yup, I’m a grown ass man but I thought this show was great. This to me seems like the poster child “slice of life” - the characters and voice acting were great and I just felt like I was along for the ride: no fan service, no super powers, no transportation to an rpg-based fantasy alternate universe- just adults at their jobs trying to learn to be okay with the circumstances of where they are in their individual lives.

I’m so sorry this turned out so long and I debated deleting it after writing it, but this community has been so great and what seems to be the last haven for me being able to say I like a dub without being shit on by a billion people telling me that subs are all that matter. Anime, and specifically dubs, have given a boring old dad a way to connect with his teenager and enjoy stories that deserve to be consumed. Anime being mainstream is cool. It’s a good thing. In the middle of fly over country, I’ve had the opportunity to watch a couple of anime films at the movies this year. That’s nuts and I think a big part of that is dubs.

Dubs are more accessible and less intimidating to new fans. Are they perfect? No, but neither is a sub that is poorly adapted from the manga - it’s a wash. I love that this subreddit exists and thanks to those that put it together so dorks like me could have a safe refuge from those that look to make themselves seem like they are better because they can read a tv show.

All that said - this journey over the last year and half has done something I wasn’t sure was possible - help me maintain a positive relationship with a teenage offspring. A great dub can convey emotion that connects with me in a way reading a subtitle can’t.

Submitted September 07, 2019 at 09:24AM by DGmedic https://ift.tt/2ZOObnf