Debate: Should dubs fix cultural references or keep them as is?

I was at Anime Weekend Atlanta back in 2018 and heard both sides argue this during a panel. One guy said dubs should change jokes to make sense for English speakers, like swapping a rice ball for a sandwich. Another fan got mad and said that ruins the whole point of learning about Japanese culture. Where do you all land on this?

2 comments

2 Comments

jana_henderson5218d ago

Going to a panel at AWA myself back in the day, someone brought up a point about honorifics (like -san or -kun) that really stuck with me. Leaving those in can feel really awkward in English dialogue, especially in casual conversation. But taking them out completely also kills a subtle layer of meaning about how characters relate to each other, you know? Maybe the fix is to keep the spirit of the relationship dynamic without literally translating the word - like having a character use a formal tone versus a friendly one instead of saying "-sama" out loud. That way the cultural meaning isn't lost, it's just translated in a way that makes sense for how we actually talk.

nathan_webb17d ago

Yeah a buddy of mine had that same take @jana_henderson52, he just rewrote the dialogue flow instead.