[Do You Prefer Subs or Dubs?] I personally enjoy subs because I’ve been speaking English most of my life and many of the things that come out of the mouths of anime characters in dub feel very awkward. In other words, that’s not the way people speak! I’m sure if I knew Japanese, I would probably feel the same way. Furthermore, Japanese voice actors are in most cases better than American voice actors that do dubs for anime. This is due to many reasons such as the anime dubs voice actors don’t get paid very well and not many people take on the profession while on the other hand voice actors in Japan are more competitive. Lastly, there are many forms of subs as there is an abundance of fan subbers at our disposal. This means that if you don’t like one of the subs, you can simply switch to another sub. On the other hand, most anime are never dubbed, especially the comedy ones due to the word play and references. If an anime happens to get dubbed, there would usually be only one dubbed form in most cases. Now, these “foreign” voice actors might interpret the characters a little differently than the initial voice actors and thus create a whole different feel to the show itself for better or for worse. Therefore, it is best for those who watch anime to start taking a liking to subs. However, this does not mean that they should also start disliking dubs. After all, more languages mean a bigger fan base and that means more revenue for the anime companies which will eventually result in more and better quality anime.
[How Do you feel about the Rankings on MAL?] Some things are overrated while a vast majority of anime is underrated due to the ratings of the MAL community. This fact is apparent every anime season. An anime will rise to the top 50 overnight due to hype and fanboyism. Many other anime and especially movies will then be pushed aside and forgotten. As for manga, it may be contained a bit better on this website but you should keep in mind that this is not the only site for anime and manga and these are not the only manga out there. Manga is much wider than anime in terms of numbers and variety. When more people view one anime and rate it, it automatically becomes better than a less known anime but still ranked high. Although MAL’s system tries to prevent this from happening, more people will watch anime that others have watched around them and rate high because of others around them did so, by nature. It is only when someone gets a more refined taste for anime and manga and is able to express their reasons as to why they rated a certain thing what they rated can their opinions and ratings really be considered legit. It is also important to know the type of person that is rating the anime, their personal tastes and whether or not they are able to understand the anime in its entirety. Therefore, one should not solely depend on the “top anime” or “top manga” lists on MAL and ignore other possibilities. It is better to read, not the reviews that are best rated (Because they are usually the highest or lowest rated), but, reviews by those who have similar tastes to yours. Furthermore, one should not rate something high just because it’s rated overall high by the people around them.
[What do you think of completionists?] I would agree that there are some anime out there that cannot be judged until the very last few episodes. However, this case is rare as you will understand what you’ve gotten yourself into by the first 3 episodes for most anime. As for manga, it might take a volume or two to really get a feel for it. There are just so many anime and manga out there that I don’t think being a completionist is worth it. I don’t think one should have to compromise with their entertainment when they are watching or reading for fun. If they keep watching something that’s not appealing to them just to finish it, then the entertainment becomes a chore or a drag. You finish it for the sake of finishing it, which defeats the purpose of entertainment. If you keep searching, you will no doubt find something that appeals to you greatly. Give each show a fair chance but never settle for anything mediocre.
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