eric_wright77•13d agoProlific Poster

Subbed vs dubbed rewatch of Frieren, one version clicked way harder

I watched Frieren dubbed first back in March and thought it was fine, good even. Then last week I did a rewatch with subs because a friend in the Discord kept saying the Japanese voice acting carried a scene in episode 7. I mean, she was right. The sub version hit way different, especially the quiet moments with Himmel. The pacing felt slower but also more grounded, and I caught little dialogue details the dub smoothed over. Now I'm wondering if I should go back and sub-rewatch other shows I finished recently, like Apothecary Diaries. Has anyone else had a sub vs dub flip like that, where you liked it one way and then the other version just made more sense?

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campbell.nora13d agoMost Upvoted

Aw man, I totally get this. Same thing happened to me with Apothecary Diaries actually, I watched the dub first and enjoyed it, but then a buddy made me watch the sub for episode 10 and it was like a whole different show. The way Maomao's voice drops in the sub during the poison stuff just carries way more weight. And yeah, the Himmel moments in Frieren are a whole different beast in Japanese, like the pause before he says certain lines just feels more real. I think dubs have to fill every second of silence, but subs let the quiet breathe. Now I'm second guessing everything I watched dubbed last season too.