Question about Dubs

[stanky105]

I was just wondering, do most anime dubs now that are on DVD have the japanese and english dubs both right on it, and you can just switch between the two? And what do I look for on the box to find out?

Yes, this is a random and probably stupid question, but I figure most of you have experience with this. I just want to make sure I do things right.  

[Spanner]

Yes, all but a handful of licensed releases of anime in America have the option of English or Japanese voices, and with or without subtitles. So much so, that it's typically a shock when an anime company does not include all of these options. Even so, it always says on the box when there are both English and Japanese versions available. If you're dealing with bootleg anime, though, there are no guarantees that these options will be there, or that the box will be properly labeled.

Switching between them is usually easy - you can do it from the built-in DVD menus, or, alternatively, most DVD players include buttons for switching between languages and subtitle options right on the remote control. That works as well.

[Saucer]

The only DVD that comes to mind, sans dub track is Miyuki-chan in Wonderland.

Though I haven't seen any lately, you used to see every so often the odd DVD (or even an entire series) with a Japanese language track and no subtitles or craptastic "dubtitles" (which is practically the same thing). Moldiver, Babel II (the OVA, not the TV series) and Candidate for the Goddess come to mind.

If I remember correctly, Odin: Space Sailor Starlight had a dud/sub version of the film on the DVD plus the extended version un-subbed/dubbed. But they've apparently since re-released (and renamed) it so I don't know any more.

[stanky105]

Thanks for the info.

I was also wondering where you guys buy your anime. I am willing to pay the full price of the anime because I want to support the people who created it (once I get my new job that is....) and I also know that there are lots of pirated copies that turn up when you think your actually getting an official one.

If you have a good website, go ahead and post it, but I would rather get non-internet stuff because of certain things happening in my area, I would rather not attempt to order things online.

I would imagine that the comic/anime/card style of store would for the most part have good copies, but I am just wondering what you guys have to say.

[Spanner]

You can find anime ALL OVER the place, now. Suncoast, Best Buy, Media Play - all of these stores have full-blown anime sections to them, and I'm sure there are many stores that I have not named here that carry a lot of anime as well.

If you can't find any such stores near you, there are many trustworthy online stores, as well. The Right Stuf International is one of my favorites, but Anime Nation is another good one. And, of course, you can always order from the online stores for Suncoast, Media Play, and Best Buy, as well.

I remember the days when online stores were pretty much the ONLY way to find anime reliably. Now, it's a whole heckuva lot easier to find...

[stanky105]

You can find anime ALL OVER the place, now. Suncoast, Best Buy, Media Play - all of these stores have full-blown anime sections to them, and I'm sure there are many stores that I have not named here that carry a lot of anime as well.

Holy crap! I've been in those stores lots of times and never bothered to look for anime because I didn't think they had them. Cool, now all I need is some money...  

[nirvana]

Holy crap! I've been in those stores lots of times and never bothered to look for anime because I didn't think they had them. Cool, now all I need is some money...  

...I can't believe you didn't know that those stores carried anime... I would know...I"m a frequent customer of Suncoast and Best Buy.   While on the subject, there are no more El Hazard related DVDs in those stores anymore...The best thing I can do know is E-bay...and most of the time they're bootlegs... Such a sad shame...

[Spanner]

For older, but not-necessarily out-of-print anime, it really is best to shop online. Real stores have a limited amount of space for stocking anime, and so they usually only stock the newest and most popular titles.

Although... Stanky, you should ask Suncoast or Best Buy if they can special-order El-Hazard for you, if you're looking to buy it. Many stores, though they won't stock such titles, WILL order them for you on request if buying online just isn't an option for you.

E-bay - definitely not good. E-bay is pretty much Mecca for bootleg dealers.

[smkviper]

I tend to shop at Anime Castle for things I can't find in my local stores. They carry pretty much everything you could ever want related to anime. And here is their El-Hazard section (well, the DVDs anyway, the books and cds and such are in a different section) with all of the El-Hazard DVDs made (including the box sets)

[tuffy]

Just be aware that all of Anime Castle's El-Hazard OSTs are by SonMay (as are many of their other anime soundtracks).  And for those that don't know, SonMay is a known bootlegging company.

Unfortunately, since Geneon isn't about to release them domestically after all this time, acquiring the genuine OSTs requires a bit of hunting on auction sites.  But I've had good luck finding them at the usual rates for import CDs - or less.

[js_morris]

Just as a very late note, both Haunted Junction and the last collection of Saint Tail eps were released without dub tracks.

JSM

[dooky]

The same goes for the ADV box sets of Sailor Moon (although these have been unavailable for a while now).

With regards to Son May bootlegs: They're all you're going to get now. The originals have long since been deleted, so Son May aren't really taking profits from anyone. Have a look at the Soundtracks section of the site for a bit more about this.

[tuffy]

Sorry to drag the thread off-topic.  

But if you're looking for the original OSTs, they're still fairly common on Yahoo Japan.  That's where I tracked down a copy of the big 6 CD boxset.  Though SonMay isn't hurting anybody by releasing OOP CDs, just the thought of them getting my money makes me feel a bit dirty.

[Spanner]

Magical Project S is another title that was released undubbed. A tragedy, that - I consider it just as much a part of the Tenchi Muyo franchise as anything else, and to see it so... incomplete tugs at my heartstrings.

Then again, given how phenominally bad the Dub voice actress they chose for Misao/Pixy Misa in the original Pretty Sammy OAV was, perhaps I should count my blessings.

As for SonMay being the only source for certain soundtracks - feh. I think I'd rather go without, than reward a bootlegging company for their "work", whether or not they're currently competing with a legitimate company. The fact remains that they took someone else's work without permission, and are selling it as their own product. I'd hate to reward that kind of chicanery.

[Saucer]

I used to buy all my anime from AnimeNation. But I got tired of stuff being on backorder for 6 months at a time, so I switched to Amazon.com. They get the job 99 times out of 100, and the free shipping is sweet. On the rare occasion that they don't carry something for some reason (*COUGH*maisonikkokubox#4*COUGH*) I'll buy it directly from the vendor (*COUGH*viz*COUGH*).

....

Usually though, I just download stuff though. *DRUMFILL*