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"Dubbies"
vs. "Subbies" and My Views On It
by Kevin
"Aberu" Coleman
Originally
Posted: 1 March 2003
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I have
never really kept up with the community of Dragon Ball Z
since my favorite site, Daizenshuu EX, went down. And even
then, I stopped going when its music collection first went
down. Anyways, this is my intro as to show you how I am
not the greatest expert on the community of Dragon Ball
Z in America, but am a distant watcher with his own opinions.
I hope them to be listened to by you, the readers, and to
be considered in a mature and respectful way.
To begin,
I’ll start with Dubbies. Subbies consider them "12
year old hyperactive children" with no reason to be
heard. This is a pretty harsh description that I can’t
really agree with. They are the group of people willing
to shell out bucks that go to Akira Toriyama in some way,
and to a company that has worked hard to do what no company
thought possible, make anime popular. Dubbies have defended
themselves on many a level. The fact that they don’t
support illegal bootleggers that make the whole fansubbing
industry look horrible is one of the best reasons brought
forward. Remember that fansubbing started as a way to get
anime that will never be released in the states. That was
back in the days of people subtitling episodes of Lupin
III as a project in college. It has turned into nothing
as innocent and liberating as it once was. It is now just
an excuse to make money off of other person’s hard
work, and to get anime cheaper or for free that is available
in the states. These are all great reasons to become a Dubbie,
personally. Problem is, as Subbies have said before, the
dubs are not able to recreate the original artistic quality
as subtitled versions can show. To them, the magic is gone.
Subbies
are a different matter altogether of course. They like the
high pitched squeal of Gokou when he screams "KamehameHA!"
every time, and the musical talents of Kageyama Hironobu.
They believe that Funimation has butchered a classic and
there should be no forgiveness for what they have done.
Subbies have a well of knowledge about the series that Dubbies
usually cannot be compared with. These characteristics have
dubbed them many insults from Dubbies. They have been called
"elitists", "jerks", and yes "major
jerks." The way some of them have handled themselves
have made this true, but there are others like one of my
best friends, who has seen the entire series in Japanese
that are not this way. He just prefers subs over dubs, and
has never paid anymore money than the price of the tape
to copy the sub onto. I believe he is a great example for
Subbies everywhere. To be fair to the Subbies, Funimation’s
only reason they deserve money in America for Bird Studios’s
work is because they own the license. That being the only
reason still doesn’t give Subbies the right to deliberately
steal money from companies by selling Subs of Dragonball
Z/GT and buying into the thieves’s pockets. I still
have a lot of respect for Subbies though, because they work
hard to see the original work of art, and they have an unparalleled
love for the true side of the series.
What
am I? I’m an advocate of what is right or wrong. Giving
money to thieves to steal more from honest companies is
wrong. Considering all Subbies elitist jerks is wrong. Take
the true Japanese stance and worry about yourself, instead
of flaming others for having a different opinion from that
of your own. Think about your own reasons for being a Dubbie
or Subbie and see if you think they are right. Personally,
if you are a Dubbie because you can watch it on TV for free,
or if you are a Subbie because you can get the episodes
really cheap from bootleggers, you are in your categories
for the wrong reasons. The Dubs from Funimation are here
because they want Americans to invest in their product and
show the world that Anime is for America too. The Subs are
there for the sole reason of bringing the truth to America
or other countries.
Contact:
aberusugi@yahoo.com
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