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The mass market has already responded that they want dubbed anime. It doesn't make sense to invest into subtitles. Maybe it's time to accept that you are not th

The mass market has already responded that they want dubbed anime. It doesn't make sense to invest into subtitles. Maybe it's time to accept that you are not the target audience anymore of western anime distributors.

johnny22 1y ago
you still need to subtitle the japanese text in signs, chat messages and other places that appear on the screen.
- charcircuit 1y ago
  I am saying that they can get away with lower quality subtitles in such places because the average user does not care that much about it. The target audience is not the same as when they first started doing subtitles and it doesn't make business sense anymore. Anime is not special. If the rest of the video streaming industry can get away with simpler subtitles, then Crunchyroll can too.
  - PaulHoule 1y ago
    People that are into anime are into anime because it is special. JoJo's Bizzare Adventure is cool when Marvel movies aren't because JoJo was made by one mangaka and a Marvel movie is made by a committee of committees.
    - deleted 1y ago
      [deleted]
Daiz 1y ago
Quality typesetting is just as important for dubs as it is for subs, actually! All that on-screen text will be there regardless of which audio track you are using.
cosmic_cheese 1y ago
That number varies depending on who you ask, with CR being one of the sources that claims a heavier share of dub watchers, but half their business is now dubbing/localization (by way of Funimation merger) so it may not be the most objective source. Either way it’s bad business to throw some of your most loyal customers under the bus, regardless of how big of a portion they represent. Dub viewers tend to be more casual and fickle and will largely evaporate once the zeitgeist of popular media moves from anime onto something else.
meowface 1y ago
It baffles me how this is a thing. Not just regarding anime but any non-English language show or film. I've never come across a dub that wasn't at least five times worse in every way.
- jamesgeck0 1y ago
  Dubs can be good in shows where there's a lot of fast dialog; it's hard for subtitles to keep up. The loquacious protagonist of Steins;Gate benefits _significantly_ from a dub, for example. I watched the show twice when I realized the subs had skipped half his dialog. Period accents are another place dubs can have an advantage, particularly in shows like Baccano! where the characters are ostensibly speaking English to start with. It can also vary by localization studio. I didn't care for the English Spy x Family dub, but to my ear the Chinese dub is just as good as the original Japanese. For some reason the actors in many English dubs seem to have a hard time "really going for it" when a scene requires an over-the-top outburst of emotions.
  - meowface 1y ago
    Apologies if this seems snarky or rude but I would be very, very, very surprised if any part of the dub for Steins;Gate sounds better than any part of the original audio.
- voidUpdate 1y ago
  I like watching anime, as opposed to reading anime, and I don't know Japanese. Every dub I've watched has been fine for me, I haven't noticed it being bad. Sure, if I knew Japanese well enough to keep up with the dialog, and watched both versions, I'd probably notice a difference, but for me, it comes down to whether I want to listen to an anime in English, or read an anime in English. I also sometimes want to do something while watching anime that means I can't devote my entire time to looking at the screen, and I don't want to have to keep rewinding so I can read what I missed. With an English or dubbed show, I can do things like put it on a second monitor while I'm playing a game, but that doesn't work with a subbed show. Yes, I know the solution is just to learn Japanese, but I've always struggled with learning languages and I barely have time to watch anime these days, let alone learn another language
redwall_hp 1y ago
Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle just set records for western anime distribution, and 55% watched it subtitled. https://deadline.com/2025/09/box-office-demon-slayer-infinity-castle-conjuring-long-walk-1236529652/ https://deadline.com/2025/09/box-office-demon-slayer-infinit... The market has spoken, indeed.
rs186 1y ago
Those who only want dubbed anime will be limited to a smaller catalog of shows. Their loss.

johnny22 1y ago

you still need to subtitle the japanese text in signs, chat messages and other places that appear on the screen.

charcircuit 1y ago
I am saying that they can get away with lower quality subtitles in such places because the average user does not care that much about it. The target audience is not the same as when they first started doing subtitles and it doesn't make business sense anymore. Anime is not special. If the rest of the video streaming industry can get away with simpler subtitles, then Crunchyroll can too.
- PaulHoule 1y ago
  People that are into anime are into anime because it is special. JoJo's Bizzare Adventure is cool when Marvel movies aren't because JoJo was made by one mangaka and a Marvel movie is made by a committee of committees.
  - deleted 1y ago
    [deleted]

Daiz 1y ago

Quality typesetting is just as important for dubs as it is for subs, actually! All that on-screen text will be there regardless of which audio track you are using.

cosmic_cheese 1y ago

That number varies depending on who you ask, with CR being one of the sources that claims a heavier share of dub watchers, but half their business is now dubbing/localization (by way of Funimation merger) so it may not be the most objective source. Either way it’s bad business to throw some of your most loyal customers under the bus, regardless of how big of a portion they represent. Dub viewers tend to be more casual and fickle and will largely evaporate once the zeitgeist of popular media moves from anime onto something else.

meowface 1y ago

It baffles me how this is a thing. Not just regarding anime but any non-English language show or film. I've never come across a dub that wasn't at least five times worse in every way.

jamesgeck0 1y ago
Dubs can be good in shows where there's a lot of fast dialog; it's hard for subtitles to keep up. The loquacious protagonist of Steins;Gate benefits _significantly_ from a dub, for example. I watched the show twice when I realized the subs had skipped half his dialog. Period accents are another place dubs can have an advantage, particularly in shows like Baccano! where the characters are ostensibly speaking English to start with. It can also vary by localization studio. I didn't care for the English Spy x Family dub, but to my ear the Chinese dub is just as good as the original Japanese. For some reason the actors in many English dubs seem to have a hard time "really going for it" when a scene requires an over-the-top outburst of emotions.
- meowface 1y ago
  Apologies if this seems snarky or rude but I would be very, very, very surprised if any part of the dub for Steins;Gate sounds better than any part of the original audio.
voidUpdate 1y ago
I like watching anime, as opposed to reading anime, and I don't know Japanese. Every dub I've watched has been fine for me, I haven't noticed it being bad. Sure, if I knew Japanese well enough to keep up with the dialog, and watched both versions, I'd probably notice a difference, but for me, it comes down to whether I want to listen to an anime in English, or read an anime in English. I also sometimes want to do something while watching anime that means I can't devote my entire time to looking at the screen, and I don't want to have to keep rewinding so I can read what I missed. With an English or dubbed show, I can do things like put it on a second monitor while I'm playing a game, but that doesn't work with a subbed show. Yes, I know the solution is just to learn Japanese, but I've always struggled with learning languages and I barely have time to watch anime these days, let alone learn another language

redwall_hp 1y ago

Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle just set records for western anime distribution, and 55% watched it subtitled. https://deadline.com/2025/09/box-office-demon-slayer-infinity-castle-conjuring-long-walk-1236529652/ https://deadline.com/2025/09/box-office-demon-slayer-infinit... The market has spoken, indeed.

rs186 1y ago

Those who only want dubbed anime will be limited to a smaller catalog of shows. Their loss.