The impression I get from reading around is that the dub cast does a good job so I would enjoy watching the characters speak in English more but that the original sub has a better soundtrack, including licensed songs. So what's your recommendation?
Learn Japanese
>dub cast does a good jobIf I had a dollar for every time I heard that and it was the same shit as always.
ALWAYS SUB
spoken English is ugly regardless of talentDavid Attenborough is the only person who should be allowed to speak it
>>283663954How significant do you rate the differences in the music changes? I have a small spoiler that 'Over the Rainbow' plays in the sub and I can imagine a song like that playing in a show that is dark will be great moment but hearing it's not in the dub among other music changes makes me conflicted on which one to commit to. I already did a bit of comparisons for episode 1 and noticed some stuff like the absence of music of Tenma and his fiance in sub vs. music in dub
>>283664015Well English is native language, so count that as a bias I have. I go for sub if dub is abhorent but otherwise dub if they're good, albeit have had some nitpicks, i.e. Alphonse and Armin have annoying dub voices in FMA:B and AoT (Hange dub the worst offender of all). Kind of funny though that they're Al and Armin are both these blonde Germanic-coded teens with A-beginning names
>>283663353sub because apparently in the dub version the ending doesn't have any singing
>>283663353The soundtrack in both versions mostly uses the same music but for whatever reason it occurs in different places within the episode. It's really strange, like you'll be hearing the same music overall but when comparing side by side you'll see it's used in different places.I don't know if it's somehow something the English dub specifically did or if the anime itself has like an "international" soundtrack used for the foreign dubs that differs from the Japanese original, since that happens sometimes. These posts>>283664022>>283664300make me think maybe they took out certain tracks to avoid paying royalties or something.
>>283665101How significantly do the soundtrack alterations hamper the experience in the dub?
Dubs are only worth watching when they significantly change the dialogue or add a lot of profanity.
Its more immersive if you understand the vocal
>>283665274I watched in Japanese but did also check out parts of the dub out of curiosity, like to see how the moments I liked got dubbed. I'd say if you only watched the dub you probably wouldn't notice anything's weird about the soundtrack; like it is still the same instrumental music overall and it's only by comparing the two that the differences in how the music gets used become clear.The "Over the Rainbow" part you mention is honestly an extremely minor part of an episode. Like it is a relevant plot detail, but there are way bigger twists/revelations than that in this series and so I wouldn't say it's a super important story moment that the soundtrack makes or breaks. I watched the show for the first time a few years ago, and until it was pointed out in this thread now I didn't even remember that song was used.That said I do agree with the anon who says the ending theme is really weakened in the dub. This is because they take out the vocal track (possibly for both EDs?) and so you just hear the instrumentals. They're not bad instrumentals or anything, but the song/lyrics really do a lot to help set the tone/mood of the show and in some ways make the ending sequence feel a little deeper or more meaningful or something as you learn more of the story. This is a show where if you haven't read the manga, it's cool to check the ED out because it evolves over time and hints about a future plot point. Definitely check out the first ED song to get an idea of what I mean.Other than that it's really up to you, like if you're more comfortable watching in dub it's not one of those that censors lines or content.
>>283665101>make me think maybe they took out certain tracks to avoid paying royalties or something.The one I know for sure was removed is "Be My Baby" by the Ronettes because they didn't want to pay a bazillion burgers for the licensing. Which is unfortunate but understandable because this series sold so poorly I don't think the second half even got a disc release.
Just watch the ending in youtube, it's not even an OC anime only song.
>>283665679Thank you for the very in-depth response. I have also made a start on the manga as well. This is a story I'm going into with quite a bit of hype that I don't have any spoilers on outside of the premise and possibly a small thing relating to Johan's history. Still gonna have to deliberate a bit on it further.
