(CLOSED) Would you read VNs with English VA if every current and future VN was translated expertly?

[Pedeadstrian]

Since my previous topic got, um... derailed, I figured I'd start this one and ask y'all if you would read VNs with English VN, and if not, why. I would exclusively read the English ones, but that's just me.

[Oxidian]

as I prefer english dub in JRPGs I'd prefer it in VNs too, even with less lines voiced.

I only prefer english because I can listen and read the game at the same time, if I knew japanese I would probably like more the original version.

[Steve]

I started anime with dub for like first 4 but then I switched to sub+JP sound and never want to go back

Many of the words sound really weird in English or don't even have English counterpart and then it ends up like Mei in Clannad where instead of "oniichan" it was "bro".

And that was last one I watched with dub, after that only JP.

I always preferred original whether it is EN over CZ sound in English TV series, movies and games or JP in Japanese anime and games.

And you learn the language that way - I learned English basically only from movies, series and games.

[Pedeadstrian]

I started anime with dub for like first 4 but then I switched to sub+JP sound and never want to go back :)/>

Many of the words sound really weird in English or don't even have English counterpart and then it ends up like Mei in Clannad where instead of "oniichan" it was "bro".

And that was last one I watched with dub, after that only JP.

I always preferred original whether it is EN over CZ sound in English TV series, movies and games or JP in Japanese anime and games.

And you learn the language that way - I learned English basically only from movies, series and games.

Well, it doesn't have to be 100% translated into English. Certain words like that could be left there, and by context, the reader could learn Japanese. There's a lot of -chans, -sans, -sempais, -senseis, and -kuns in anime, games, and the like, even in English translations, and I'm fine with it.

[Steve]

Well, it doesn't have to be 100% translated into English. Certain words like that could be left there, and by context, the reader could learn Japanese. There's a lot of -chans, -sans, -sempais, -senseis, and -kuns in anime, games, and the like, even in English translations, and I'm fine with it.

Well it still doesn't work that greatly in anime.

And another problem is that in lot of JP ani/vn related stuff the characters use Engrish, how would that be dubbed? For example in Rewrite or Little Busters, lot of the funny scenes were including Engrish (from Kotori and Kud).

Saigusa-san is a raki ga-ru, ok~ nano desuka! - Kud

Suiiiiiiiiiiito poteeeeeto - Kotori

And that brings another point that you should never skip voices in VNs because the text can't express these "jokes" fully, in LB and RW the translators made effort to express these Engrish things, but since there is no Nayhoongo or how would you called Englishized Japanese.

I already miss lot of jokes thanks to not understanding Japanese, especially those with Kanji etc but those are the hardest to get. The Engrish jokes are really easy for non-JP speakers after a while, you can easily recognize what is and isn't Japanese even on my skill level.

So why deprive yourself off even more context than you already are not fully understanding.

[Wahfuu]

Inputting another language over the original is going to be a deconstruction either way, it's only a matter of how minor you can make the damage. Maybe if it was originally made in english and the VA's were acceptable I could see myself doing it, but dubbing over one would be a colossal disaster.

[sanahtlig]

As a tool for asking a question and receiving an objective answer, the poll has a few flaws.

1) Ambiguous question: "If all current/future VNs were voiced in English expertly, would you read those?" Just glancing at this, it's hard to pinpoint what you're trying to assess. Are you asking whether I'd refuse to play a VN that had English dub only? Are you asking whether, given a choice, I'd prefer an English dub over the original Japanese VA? I should be able to form an answer in my head before even looking at the choices.

2) Inconsistent or biased choices: "Yes, I'd exclusively read English VNs." You forgot to distinguish English VA from English-language text. "No, I'd prefer Japanese VA because my Japanese is better than my English." This is a nonsense answer, since if the person's Japanese was better than their English, they wouldn't be reading the VN in English in the first place. "No, I refuse to, because..." You use the word "refuse" in only this answer. In addition, this word has a negative connotation and will tend to bias the voter to other choices.

That said, I chose the last choice. I got into subs originally due to a perception that Japanese voice acting was better suited to anime than English voice acting (some of this is due to cultural gaps embedded in language); in addition, the English dubs I'd seen just weren't very good. Since then, I've learned some of the language and Japanese audio is a large part of what makes anime "anime" to me. Just as hair color often denotes personality in anime, so too is voice part of the characterization. For eroge, the problem is even more acute, as now the additional issue of vocal attractiveness and H-scene audio comes into play. I think a lot of people get into eroge in part because they reject the tropes in Western pornography, and they might find the Japanese voice acting itself arousing. For those into lolicon or "school life", there's the additional problem of unwanted reminders of "real-life" children/teens, which are easy to dismiss when the voice is in an exaggerated foreign tongue (enforcing the "otherwordliness" of it).

The "I'm just used to it" answer doesn't really apply to me, as my first exposure to Japanese media was through English dubs. I expect this is the case for most people. Anecdotally, I've exposed people who started on popular dubbed anime to subbed anime (sometimes of the same show). These casual anime watchers emphatically agreed that subbed anime was better than dubbed, though they had no knowledge of Japanese at all.

[Pedeadstrian]

As a tool for asking a question and receiving an objective answer, the poll has a few flaws.

1) Ambiguous question: "If all current/future VNs were voiced in English expertly, would you read those?" Just glancing at this, it's hard to pinpoint what you're trying to assess. Are you asking whether I'd refuse to play a VN that had English dub only? Are you asking whether, given a choice, I'd prefer an English dub over the original Japanese VA? I should be able to form an answer in my head before even looking at the choices.

2) Inconsistent or biased choices: "Yes, I'd exclusively read English VNs." You forgot to distinguish English VA from English-language text. "No, I'd prefer Japanese VA because my Japanese is better than my English." This is a nonsense answer, since if the person's Japanese was better than their English, they wouldn't be reading the VN in English in the first place. "No, I refuse to, because..." You use the word "refuse" in only this answer. In addition, this word has a negative connotation and will tend to bias the voter to other choices.

That said, I chose the last choice. I got into subs originally due to a perception that Japanese voice acting was better suited to anime than English voice acting (some of this is due to cultural gaps embedded in language); in addition, the English dubs I'd seen just weren't very good. Since then, I've learned some of the language and Japanese audio is a large part of what makes anime "anime" to me. Just as hair color often denotes personality in anime, so too is voice part of the characterization. For eroge, the problem is even more acute, as now the additional issue of vocal attractiveness and H-scene audio comes into play. I think a lot of people get into eroge in part because they reject the tropes in Western pornography, and they might find the Japanese voice acting itself arousing. For those into lolicon or "school life", there's the additional problem of unwanted reminders of "real-life" children/teens, which are easy to dismiss when the voice is in an exaggerated foreign tongue (enforcing the "otherwordliness" of it).

The "I'm just used to it" answer doesn't really apply to me, as my first exposure to Japanese media was through English dubs. I expect this is the case for most people. Anecdotally, I've exposed people who started on popular dubbed anime to subbed anime (sometimes of the same show). These casual anime watchers emphatically agreed that the subbed anime was better, though they had no knowledge of Japanese at all.

1) The title of this topic says "translated," meaning that the VN in its original, Japanese form already existed, or if the VN hasn't been released yet, if it were, it'd be released in both languages.

2A) It should be obvious that English VN means it's all in English, just how you would assume that a Japanese VN has both Japanese voice and text, unless otherwise stated.

2B) The part about people with better Japanese than English might be understood from my response to question 1.

2C) I couldn't think of any reason to not read English VNs other than the reasons, but that's a good point, so I added another unbiased choice. And there have been a ton of people in this thread/my previous one/other forums/etc. that absolutely refuse to watch EngDub Anime, so I included it as an option. The bias, as you call it, isn't to lead someone into answering a certain way. It's not like I wrote "Yes, I will exclusively read English VNs because I hate anything that isn't 'murican." or "No, I refuse to because I'm an asshole, and here's why:..."

[sanahtlig]

Honestly, your response leaves me even more perplexed as to what you're trying to address with this poll. You need to simplify if you want any sort of coherent answer.

Poll 1: In general, would you prefer Japanese or English voice acting in localized visual novels originating from Japan (assuming quality of the voice acting isn't an issue)?

1) Japanese

2) English

3) Depends on the visual novel

4) No preference

Poll 2: If you'd prefer Japanese voice acting, why? (you may select more than one choice)

1) I'm a Japanese culture aficionado

2) I'm studying Japanese

3) I prefer localizations that are as close to the original as possible, and I believe a dub is a step further from this ideal than a text translation

4) Dubbed ero content would bother me

5) Other

Poll 3: Would language of the voice acting be a significant factor affecting your decision to play a localized visual novel originating in Japan (assuming quality of the voice acting wasn't an issue, and dubbed / dual audio versions were widely available)?

1) Yes, I'd significantly favor titles with original Japanese voice acting over those that didn't.

2) Yes, I'd significantly favor titles with an English dub over those that didn't.

3) No, the language of the voice acting would not be particularly important to me.

[Pedeadstrian]

Done. I changed it a bit, but I think for the better. Did it before you made your third question, though~

[Kaguya]

I'd read them with the japanese VA mainly because I'm not from any english-speaking country, and though I can speak it, english sounds very alien to me. You have a bunch of sounds we don't have in my language, like "y" and the way you speak the vocals is just weird. Japanese sounds more natural to me, so I can feel emotion from the character I wouldn't be able to in english.

[RusAnon]

Last option, because you cannot just substitute superior 声優 with random gaijin and expect anything good. Dubbers voices sound too "out of place" and irritate me beyond my threshold of tolerance, so there's not even a single anime/vn title I've finished with dub.

[Snowtsuku]

Why close? Would definitely try one.

[sanahtlig]

Let this thread die. Respond in this thread instead: