Some anime English dubs are incredible, but these dubs are part of the reason that dubs—in general—tend to have a bad reputation. Of course, the general quality of English dubs has gone up considerably over the years, especially as the popularity of anime has risen. However, there are some series from the past that might end up being remembered purely because of their dub, and for some of those series, the dub being bad can be the best reason to watch it in the first place. Whether intentional or not, these English dubs ended up being a far cry from the original content’s quality.
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An English dub can end up being bad for several reasons. Sometimes the voice actors are given roles that don’t suit them, or the voice direction might not match the feeling of the show’s content. In other cases, the issue can be the way the localization is done, which can end up changing the show in fundamental ways in an effort to either censor the content, or to try making it more appealing for the English-speaking audience based on the studio’s assumption of what’s popular, which has changed a lot over the decades, thankfully.
1) Ghost Stories
Ghost Stories is unique in that its English dub is so bad that it’s become one of the best English dubs to watch. The voice actors involved must have had a great time recording for this anime, because there’s really not a script being used for the English dub. While this makes the English dub for Ghost Stories one of the most entertaining and humorous anime to watch, it also means that you aren’t going to get the anime’s intended story from this dub. So, in terms of telling the story of the original form of the anime, this English dub doesn’t do its job, but in the best way.
2) Cipher
Cipher is an interesting entry because the way that its English dub was created reveals why the phrasing used for the voice lines doesn’t sound right to native speakers. The script for Cipher didn’t have the input of translators the way you’d expect modern dubs to have, and it was instead written by bilingual Japanese and English speakers and then recorded by bilingual speakers, which is impressive when you consider how difficult both of these languages are to learn. While that explains why the English dub doesn’t sound natural, it’s also a testament to dedication.
3) Cardcaptors (Cardcaptor Sakura)
Cardcaptors feels like a completely different anime from Cardcaptor Sakura, and the reason is that this English dub reordered episodes, removed entire episodes completely, and was heavily censored. Basically, the people in charge of handling the English dub felt like the show needed to be changed to be more action-oriented, which resulted in Syaoran, called Li in the English dub, having a bigger role through episodes that focused only on Sakura being cut from the dub. The result is a confusing anime with a lot of missing context that doesn’t do the source material justice.
4) One Piece (4Kids)
Like Cardcaptors, the version of the One Piece anime that was dubbed to air on 4Kids suffered greatly from censorship. You have the awkward ways that elements like cigarettes are censored and replaced with lollipops, but also the omission of entire episodes and plotlines. As a result, you end up missing a lot of context and arcs that are rather important if you want to understand the whole story and the dynamics between characters. Instead, you get confusion and cringe in the way lines are phrased and delivered. Luckily, the more modern English dubs are much better and worth watching if you want to experience One Piece without reading subtitles.
5) Garzey’s Wing
When you watch Garzey’s Wing, it’s no wonder that the anime didn’t last very long, covering only a small amount of content from the source material. The English dub, in particular, is difficult to watch, or rather, it’s difficult to listen to. It feels like there wasn’t a lot of direction happening for the voice actors, and the result is that it sounds like they’re reading directly off the script without context or emotions. On top of that, you can hear parts where it seems like the voice actors are cut off before they even finish their lines. Overall, it’s unfortunate that the voice actors seem to have been put in an environment that meant that creating a decent dub was basically impossible.
6) Angel Cop
Angel Cop has a lot of action, and the English dub is generous with its use of cursing and unusual phrases. It has the usual quality of a dub created in the 1980s, and there are multiple characters that sound incredibly similar. However, there’s also a lack of emotion in many lines when they’re delivered, which doesn’t always match the action-heavy situations or anger that you see displayed through the behaviors of each character. In the middle of this questionable dub, you get to hear the amazing line of “If this is justice, then I’m a banana,” which is an incredibly strange choice of phrasing, and hilarious because of it.
7) Lum the Invader Girl (Urusei Yatsura)
This is a dub of Urusei Yatsura that was actually done by the BBC, which resulted in an English dub that’s a lot of fun to watch, but not because it’s well-done. It’s fun to watch because it’s hilarious. Lum’s voice is a bit grating with how high-pitched it is as she speaks, and then there are times when it’s difficult to understand what the characters are saying with their strange phrases. There are so many weird lines in this dub, such as “This’ll be like taking sushi from a baby,” and a part where a pilot describes his goggles as being a jellybean on his head. It’s a wild ride to watch the English dub from the BBC, and they should frankly do more anime dubs.
8) Devilman
Devilman has a similar feeling to the Ghost Stories English dub, but it does almost stick to the original plot of the anime, so you still get some idea of what’s actually meant to be happening in this story. It’s difficult to tell if most lines are part of the script or if they’re being ad-libbed by the actors. Then, you have lines with long pauses and phrasing and tones that don’t always feel like they fit the current situation. Devilman shows its age in both animation style and English dub quality, but it can be fun to watch this version simply for the bad dub.
9) Elfen Lied
Elfen Lied is an interesting English dub because the voice of Lucy does an incredible job, but the cast around her often feels lackluster at best. It’s almost unfair to the rest of the cast because Lucy makes even decent voice acting pale in comparison, which doesn’t help the overall dub of the show. Then, you have the dated nature of the anime, which usually doesn’t help older dubs when you compare them to more modern ones. Beyond the dub issues, you have to see the anime as a counterpart to the manga, as they’re quite different, but the anime clears up some elements of the series that are confusing in the manga.
10) Higurashi: When They Cry
For the sake of clarity, this refers to the English dub of Higurashi: When They Cry from 2006, which didn’t dub all the seasons of the anime that were available at that time. Comments here don’t reflect the newer English dubs. However, the original English dub has some similar issues to Elfen Lied, where you have some voice actors who nailed their roles, and others who didn’t sound like a fit for the characters they were voicing, or even like they were given directions to voice characters in a way that didn’t fit. When you have such a mix of voice acting like that, it can be jarring to hear the differences between characters.
English dubs have changed a lot over the years, and the general improvement in quality becomes obvious if you look back at older anime dubs. However, there are quite a few older dubs that are worth going back to watch just because they’re so ridiculous, especially ones like Ghost Stories and Devilman. There’s no need to remake the English dubs for some shows, the old versions are already perfect.
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