DUB DEFENSE!



Not everyone is a fan of dubbed anime, such as Sailor Moon. I, for one, am not. However, before we take a negative stance against it and begin to bash the dub, we must look at the reasons behind it, and its good characteristics.

To begin with, dubs are very important due to language barriers between countries. It is unrealistic to imagine a show on television in Japanese with English subtitles. Very few people will sit down to watch such a show unless it is already popular. Stations will not air shows with only subtitles for this reason. We see all manner of international shows dubbed. An example of this is Iron Chef, a Japanese competitive cooking show that is entirely dubbed and shown on The Food Network. This show is fun and enjoyable to Americans, but most people would not watch it if it contained only subtitles. The reading can detract from visual parts of the show, and it is often not enough to stimulate the short attention spans of Americans. The only place where subtitled anime is a possibility is on international channels, which are usually entirely in other languages, and only available by subscription.

Airing of anime in uncut Japanese is also unrealistic. Very few Americans speak any Japanese, and even less are fluent enough to watch an uncut anime and understand it entirely. Most people would simply change the channel if something came on in a language completely unfamiliar to them. Because the majority of people would not watch something in uncut Japanese on television, it is unrealistic to believe that uncut Sailor Moon will ever be aired on American television.

Representation of anime in languages familiar to the viewing audience (such as in English in North America) is important. Most of the population will not watch a show that is entirely in uncut Japanese, which they do not understand. Majority rules. Further, these representations in familiar languages attract a larger viewing audience. My first experience with Sailor Moon was of the North American dub, and I doubt that I would have known about it at all if not for the fact that it was dubbed in English in the United States. I researched it on the internet, and became fascinated with it, particularly the Japanese original. Now, I am thoroughly taken by the Japanese original, but I do acknowledge that I may have never been introduced to it if not for the vastly inferior (in my opinion) North American dub. Dubs bring anime into areas to which it would otherwise be unknown.

One of the biggest problems many people have with dubs is that they have differences and changes from the original. While it is important to keep things the way they are and not make ridiculous cuts for totally extreme reasons, some cuts or changes are important. Sailor Moon has been changed to make it more appropriate for the American viewing audience. While this may seem unfair to older viewers who enjoy Sailor Moon, we must understand that the majority of Americans who enjoy Sailor Moon are small children. Violence, views of underwear, and homosexuality are things that are simply not acceptable for children's television programming in the United States. Although many open-minded people may feel that these things are fine for children to see, and note that children in Japan see this in anime, we must realize that these things are simply not yet socially acceptable in American culture.

American marketing to children is also not appreciated by fans of the Japanese original. This is another place in which we must acknowledge cultural differences between ourselves and the Japanese. It is important to realize that in the United States, 'cartoons' - including anime - are meant to be viewed by children. It is very difficult to market cartoons to adults and teenagers, unless they have more adult themes (such as Beavis and Butthead or King of the Hill). Sailor Moon has a plot which is similar to children's shows - superheroine saves the world. It would be near impossible to market Sailor Moon to American teenagers and adults, aside from the minority that already enjoys the show.

Dubs are not perfect. I am not suggesting that everyone hold dubs in extremely high regard, but do give them more credit. They are not evil, they are simply a way of bringing anime into areas in which it would not be seen without dubbing. If you do not enjoy the dubs, you do not have to watch them - you can purchase uncut Japanese episodes online, or even download them. But do not insist that they are done away with entirely, as they serve an important function, and bring anime into the lives of many people to whom it would otherwise be unknown.