Among anime fans, there is an ongoing debate about whether the works should be consumed in the original Japanese with subtitles or dubbed. If anyone should know, it would be the legendary director Hayao Miyazaki.
Who is it about? Hayao Miyazaki is the co-founder of the legendary Japanese animation studio Ghibli. His films like Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away are considered absolute masterpieces and earned the director titles like “the Japanese answer to Walt Disney,” “Godfather of Animation,” or simply the “God of Anime” (via BBC).
With his latest film The Boy and the Heron, Miyazaki even accomplished something that no anime has achieved before. However, the director is also known to be very critical and does not shy away from expressing his opinions. He criticized a trend in anime 20 years ago during an interview with the Guardian.
Is the dubbing better than its reputation?
What was the director’s concern? When Miyazaki spoke about the English cast of his then-film Howl’s Moving Castle, he praised Lauren Bacall, the voice of the “Witch of the Waste.” She was a “fabulous woman.”
At the same time, he expressed concern about a trend among Japanese female voice actors. He felt that all the local actresses have voices that are very flirtatious and want to attract men’s attention. This is exactly what they didn’t want for this film, according to Miyazaki.
Howl’s Moving Castle was offered at that time, like other Ghibli films before it, in two versions: once in the original Japanese with subtitles and once with an English dub.
The debate over whether to enjoy anime in the original version or dubbed is a never-ending topic in the community. Many consider the subtitled version to be more authentic and criticize the quality of dubbing.
However, the legendary anime director held a very different opinion in the interview: “If you watch the subtitled version, you probably miss just as much. There are layers and nuances that you simply do not understand. Films cross so many boundaries these days. Of course, they get distorted.” (via The Guardian)
It shows that native speakers perceive the dubbing in anime quite differently than purists here, who find the German dub to be utterly terrible. Why this might be the case is explained by MeinMMO demon Cortyn: Why German dubs in anime are so bad
