People ( foreign language(exept Japanese) speakers) who learnt Japanese to watch anime , how was your experience when you learnt Japanese and watched anime without subs and dubs.

11 comments

1. I didn’t learn Japanese specifically for this purpose but I have watched untranslated anime shows. But I don’t really understand your question.

2. I think by the time you learn Japanese to the level to understand anime, you may not be interested in anime anymore 😀

3. I’ve been learning Japanese for almost a year. Anime is what inspired me to start, but having a genuine overall love for Japanese culture, people and media is what keeps me going. I think to succeed in learning a language, you need more than one reason, you need a love for it in its entirety.

   I’m still learning a LOT about Japanese but learning a language isn’t dissimilar from learning something like an instrument— there is no end. It is a constant. You don’t suddenly reach a point of fluency and decide to stop. Learning a language is a never ending process and experience.

   Watching anime when you understand how the Japanese language and culture works is a whole other form of appreciation. You feel more connected to what you are watching and you understand the context more. In languages, translation can sometimes only go so far. Languages, before getting translated, have their own meaning for things, especially in Japanese, that can mean something different in English.

   Imagine a Japanese(or any non English speaking) person watching something English in a Japanese dub. You understand it all, it’s fine, but it’s not like being able to actually understand English and how the west side of the world handles things compared to Asia.

4. Culture differences are always going to play a part in what you enjoy, for example, I have watched Yu Yu Hakusho in Japanese and in English, and the Japanese version IS NOT a comedy whereas the English dub will have you laughing your ass off.
   But at the same time, being able to understand language nuances (ie: absence of pronoun usage, or indirectness in expressing oneself, or romance speech) can totally change the vibe of some important scenes. For example, a powerful phrase in English such as “He’ll kick your ass so watch out!” will become a bit more lighthearted and suggestion-like in Japanese “やめといた方がいいですよ”

   So that’s interesting.

5. I find it repetitive. There’s only so many “sugoi!!!!!!!!”s I can take.

6. It’s awesome to understand it, but keep in mind learning Japanese is a several year long effort, and yes you have to learn to read it, and yes you have to learn Kanji.

7. I started learning Japanese over 20 years ago. And actually, I now watch more anime than ever and most of it is not subtitled (or dubbed). I’m only between JLPT N3 and N2 level with understanding (and my speaking is worse, as I don’t practice it much). I still can’t understand all of what the characters say (and it depends on the individual show. Sometimes, I understand almost all of what is said, and sometimes, I understand very little).

   I think that generally, dubbing is trash and destroys the entire feel in most cases (except for Dragon Ball Z and such that I grew up with, but for shows without that familiarity, no way would I choose dubbing). Subtitles also often skew the feeling somewhat (but less so than dubbing).

   While it may be fine to just read subtitles if you have no interest in Japan or Japanese besides anime, I also think it might be hard to not care about Japan or Japanese at all if you are totally into anime, as anime carries Japanese culture along with it.

   If you like the language, anime is an incredibly fun way to get some immersion (after learning the fundamentals). Learning, at whatever pace, can go on and on just by doing what you like. But if you really don’t care about the language or culture, then learning Japanese just for anime might not be worth it. Learning Japanese is a long process, and you may never get to a fluent level, which can be frustrating. So ultimately, I think it depends on whether you can enjoy the learning process or not. If so, study Japanese and have fun. If not, it might be better to stick to subtitles.

8. I learned that anime’s Japanese is super weird. No one talks like real people, everything is over exaggerated and after talking to real Japanese people I just can’t watch anime again, it’s like so weird idk how to explain it (obviously there are some exceptions) but yeah it ruined my experience hahaha

9. Don’t solely rely on Anime to learn Japanese. You’ll sound weird when you talk.

10. Even though I am not that far into japanese yet but I can understand the most of what is being said if it’s an anime with easy japanese. I don’t understand much of anime with too much high level and specific vocab, so I have to rely on subtitles a lot. But for the anime in which I can understand, I swear it makes the experience so much better. Even though I still watch them with subtitles, there is way too much difference between watching anime and learning japanese and watching anime with no knowledge about japanese. I think it’s 100% worth it for me, and I want to reach to an even higher level.

11. What’s funny is that I don’t hear the Japanese. I hear my native language.
    My brain does this weird thing where it says, “ah they are saying such and such,” and that realization is in my native tongue.
    Same with manga. It’s in Japanese but I read it in my native tongue.
    Make sense?