Summary
Animedubs can either be a hit or a miss. In many cases, watching a show in its native language is the best way to get the most accurate experience. However, not everyone wants to read subtitles the whole time, especially anime fans who love to multitask. This is where dubs come in to make life a little easier.
So which dubs hit the landing just right and which ones manage to become cultural icons due to the unique ways they present the show to a Western audience? Whether you’re a 90s kid or started watching anime due to the hype, these are the ten best anime dubs of all time.
10Pokemon
Gotta Catch Them All
Pokemon’s most iconic dub will always be the first season following Ash through the Indigo League. For starters, the opening theme song has ingrained itself into almost every ’90s kid and the Pokerap is an instantly quotable masterpiece.
Even the Americanization of rice balls into jelly donuts is still an iconic moment to joke about today. Regardless, if you got into Pokemon as a child, there’s a high chance that you started with the English dub of the anime.
9Golden Boy
Prepare To Study, Study, Study!
Golden Boy only has six episodes, but in that short duration, the dub manages to completely capture the absurdity and antics of the miniseries. The story follows Kintaro as he navigates his way through life, studies, and the women he encounters along the way.
The dub is just as iconic as the original Japanese audio, giving Kentaro the perfect voice between bright-eyed and depraved yet always being enjoyable to watch. His adventures eventually come full circle before he rides off into the sunset on his bike.
8Space Dandy
Eccentric Space Missions
Space Dandy is an episodic series about the bounty hunter, Dandy, and his adventures in space. That’s all you really need to know, as continuity doesn’t really matter as Dandy faces off against zombies, alien duplicates, and even other dimensions.
The dub manages to translate Dandy’s carefree and suave lifestyle as he poorly navigates his way through life and even ends up dead sometimes. However, the show can also pull off a one-off serious moment quite well that might actually leave you crying until the next episode restores the status quo.
7Hellsing Ultimate
A Bloody Good Time
One ofthe bloodiest horror animesof all time takes you deep into the mysterious organization known as Hellsing. While many fans may be familiar with the original Hellsing anime, Hellsing Ultimate raises the stakes with fresh content that deviates from the manga.
From Alucard to Alexander Anderson, every major power in the dub feels rightfully intimidating and bloodthirsty. From accents that make characters instantly memorable to long speeches, every voice is capable of sending chills down your spine, leaving you hungry for more.
6Soul Eater
The Perfect October Anime
Soul Eater is one of those animes that needs a reboot in order to capture the true content of the manga. However, the dub for the show is still among the best. Maka and her partner, Soul, are on the hunt for 99 evil humans and a witch’s soul in order to achieve the status of a Death Scythe.
Soul Eater is a very expressive anime with plenty of comedy andserious emotional moments. Luckily, the dub does not fumble the bag when portraying these scenarios, whether it be trying to get through an exam or trying to save a close friend.
5Baccano!
1930s Mobster Mayhem
Baccano! gets all the accents right. Taking place in 1930s America, most of the characters have the perfect voice actors to portray each personality as accurately as possible. After all, portraying gangsters, sadistic murderers, and eccentric thieves works best when you put your all into it.
This is one of those rare occasions where the dub might actually be better than the original Japanese. So put on your gangster voice as you explore the secrets of immortality and the strange misadventures that all converge together.
4Death Note
The Ultimate Mystery
One of the most suspenseful animes of its time is Death Note. The dub captures the back-and-forth schemes of the self-righteous Light Yagami and the reclusive detective L perfectly. As each one evades the other, seeing how Light gets out of being outed as the killer is a treat.
From Light’s first declaration of becoming the new god of justice to his final maniacal laughter during his capture, the Death Note dub captures the seriousness of the police investigations, and the eccentrics of the Shinigami that watch over these events.
3Dragon Ball Z Funimation
Prepare To Go Super
One of the greatest stories of all time also has one of the best dubs. While other dubs have existed for Akira Toriyama’s legendary fighting manga, Funimation’s version is the closest to being a classic while also maintaining the spirit of the original.
With Dragon Ball Z you want to focus on every moment of watching the action unfold andnew forms unlocked. Moments such as Vegeta’s first arrival on Earth to the legendary confrontation with Frieza are best experienced when you don’t have to glance at the subtitles every few moments.
2Cowboy Bebop
Smooth Jazz And Bounties
For 26 episodes of peak, look no further than Cowboy Bebop. Cowboy Bebop follows the story of Spike Spiegel, a former bounty hunter, and his crew as they get into all sorts of mishaps. It also focuses on his friendship turned rivalry with the criminal, Vicious.
The voices in the dub have just the right amount of pep and suavenness to them to really elevate the fight scenes, confrontations, and personalities that each individual encounter has to offer. Mix that in with a bit of Jazz in the background, and you have a masterpiece.
1Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood
The Perfect Voices For A Perfect Anime
One of the most definitive anime dubs is the English version of Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood. The anime adaptation more closely resembles the manga without the bitter ending of the first series but one that will have you cheering in triumph.
The dub of Full Metal Alchemist goes all out. From its main cast down to its most minor characters, everyone feels properly cast. Like many other animes that take place in more Western settings, this time a Europe-inspired country, it gets a boost to how organic the voice acting comes off.
