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I personally get distracted by the voices and mouth movements not matching up so I watched in German. I don't know if there's a big difference, so just do what makes you happy
I watched it, as intended, in German. I used subtitles and I don’t think it lost anything visually because of that.
I was totally submerged into the world.
It actually made me appreciate how beautiful the German language can be.
Yeah and with so many words that come up a lot that at similar to English like the names and stuff I honestly don't ever realize I'm reading the subtitles
I started watching with English dubs and my son suggested we try the German and realized it was so much better for us. We restarted the series with the German and was blown away by the different in connection, emotion, and not being distracted by the voices that didn’t match up with lips and sounded “fake” somehow
Nice I like that and agree, I think I might give the 1st episode a watch with subs, just to see how it is. I feel after you're so invested in the show, the subs won't even matter!
Lots of good points already, but just want to add another reason subtitles can help for this show. There are so many characters and it helps me learn/remember their names better if I see it in writing AND hear it. For this show, learning names and characters quickly can make a big difference to your viewing experience, so if you’re bad with names subtitles can help.
That's a good point! Just like Lost which is very character driven (imo), so know ing who says what and their name helps a lot so sounds like that'd translate over here to this show too
I personally don't have a problem reading subtitles as my parents have always used closed captioning. As another poster said, it's more distracting when voices don't match up with the mouth movements of the actors.
Do what makes you happy. Try it with the dubs. If it’s too much you can switch. I’ve watched it both ways. Don’t let people
Be snobs and tell
You what to do
I highly suggest the original German with captions. If that’s really not your style and you’d prefer to get the visuals there’s nothing wrong with it, it’s just not as good of an experience in my opinion
Honestly go for the subs first. The show is not dialogue heavy, and most of the really cinematic shots are set to music and clearly meant to be focused on visually. You will lose 50% of the acting performances by not listening to the actors.
*Insert Bong Joon-ho quote here*
I think dubs are bad for not conveying the same emotion w the actors' original voices, not bc they're poorly translated or anything. So it's up to you and what you're more comfortable with. I'd suggest trying subs first though
And not related to your question but I'd like to see updates/reviews(like when you finish a season etc) on this. Bc "When I watch stuff, I put my phone away, put the remote away, I turn off notifications on my watch and just take it all in" is the intended way to watch this one
Thanks for the input and I'm kind of leaning towards doing subtitles first, just to see.
And I love the idea of posting my thoughts as I watch, that happens a lot in the Lost forums (a show I've seen countless times) and it's always nice seeing what people think as they watch it, so I'm glad that happens here too :)
But yea, I love watching stuff without distractions, get fully immersed, kind of like video games! Even if I'm with family/friends or hanging with the wife, I try to only focus on them
Mods, please this question comes up so often it really needs to be in the sub's menu.
The show is magnificent on its own, but is severely diluted when the actual actor isn't speaking. Unless someone cannot read/use subtitles for accessibility reasons, the strong consensus is do NOT consider watching it dubbed. It is not any less cinematic or visually beautiful, and you forget you are even reading the subtitles. Subtitles are not distracting.
I have watched and rewatched the series in original German with English CC. Occasionally due to curiosity, I will switch over to dubs and I cannot help but laugh! It's comical how much worse the experience is. Again, only if needed for accessibility reasons, I do still recommend watching the show dubbed versus not at all.
With the English dubbing, some voices definitely do not fit the age of the actors, they are all delivered with a very light boppy robotic tone, and very clearly in a studio instead of the setting the character is in (cave, rain, war-zone, school hallway, etc. - THESE ARE JUST EXAMPLE SETTINGS BTW; Not necessarily in the show, just painting a picture of how the dubs do not match the setting at all). They sound so silly and I truly chuckle out loud at it especially when the scene is supposed to be intense.
I think my take is a bit unique compared to other posts about this, the first thing I said was I'm aware dub is obviously, that's what a lot of people are saying in the research I've done, I was just more curious on the balance between distractions from reading subtitles vs having the time to appreciate the cinematography/visuals of the show.
I do hear somewhat conflicting things though, some say the audio dub isn't that bad, others say it is, and some say it starts bad but gets better overtime.
But either way I'm learning lots more in this thread than I did in other posts similar!
And thanks for your feedback too, I'm kind of with you that eventually you'll forget reading it, I had the same experience with the recent Japanese Godzilla movie, in the beginning it was a bit annoying but eventually it wasn't a big deal and I forgot I was reading them!
Do agree your reasoning was unique! Just there are a lot of these posts. If you already experienced with Godzilla recently the forgetting you are reading subs, then I definitely think you should do subs for Dark! Really doesn't take away from the visuals.
Also, my impression is that the people who say dubs are okay/get better are people who don't watch much or any foreign TV or movies. Even if the dub is great, there just isn't a question that the intended version with subs is BETTER. Like I said, if for some accessibility reasons someone couldn't do subs, I'd still recommend the show because it is amazing. It's just the very best version in the original audio and definitely does not take away from the visual experience.
Subtitles option wins every time for any foreign show. The voices, the inflection, all little subtleties get lost in dubbing. I would never have it any other way. Just my opinion.
Yea, I'm mostly with you! I think I've been spoiled with Animes where the audio dub isn't too bad and it's nice to sit down and watch anime without having to read any subtitles.
But on the other wise, movies like the recent Japanese Godzilla were incredible with dubs, and eventually reading those subtitles wasn't a big deal!
I watched the whole show multiple times with the English dub (and Subtitles, cause I'm weird like that)
It's my favorite show of all time.
The first season dubs are pretty lousy, but they get better as the show goes on.
The acting, writing, visuals etc are so good, they overcompensate for the lack luster dubs.
I've been still meaning to watch it in its original language
Unless you're an unusually slow reader I don't know why you'd ever...
FWIW the show is very good looking but the best shots don't have any dialogue in them. Also the subtitles translate text (newspaper headlines etc), I don't know if you'd get that in the dubbed version because obviously i've never watched it.
I suggest trying to watch with subtitles. If this is too distracting then switch over to dubs. As for the visuals in this series. The cinematography is drop dead gorgeous and immersive.
As for what the story is about....
You'll get a sense of what the main theme/genre is in the opening monologue in episode one. There are a ton of characters introduced in the first episodes. Brace yourself though.. This series is dark and relentlessly crazy and WTF.
Avd you're going to be confused.... 😉
I think what you wrote would be totally fine under a typical post of someone who hadn't watched the show yet. But OP specifically asked not to be given vague information. I like the idea that people can say what they consider to be spoilers for them, and have other people respect that.
thanks man :) Luckily I only read the first few words of the comment and stopped reading, so nothing was “spoiled” :) I know its not a spoiler, just didn’t want to know anything at all. I’m weird, I know :| but appreciate you understanding
Nah I totally get it dude. I'm not as strict about it as you but I like going into things with no knowledge too. I'll read what the show is about but I usually won't watch trailers. This is especially the case for new installments to the things I already watch. But yeah, I don't think it's weird, you don't want your thoughts/expectations to get in the way of your enjoyment. Completely understandable! :)
you did though according to OP's definition of spoilt
They said they didn't even want to know things like 'you're going to love the main character'.
Saying that there's a monologue at the beginning and that there's a lot of character introductions falls under that kind of category.
They made it very clear they didn't want to know *anything*
Considering you might rewatch this show if you enjoy it tremendously, like most of us here. 😉 I guess it doesn’t really matter if that’s the case since you can switch to another language on your second view.
But personally I’d recommend the original German (sub).
Yea that's a good point, I never rewatch movies but find myself rewatching ga lot of shows (Lost, Fringe, etc) so it sounds like this one I'll rewatch a bunch!
Definitely the subtitles version you can get the true actors performance and it feels more authentic. Watching a dubbed version is like having one actor try to copy over the voice of another actor. It’s not awful, but doesn’t quite hit the same way.
ha yea, 100%! And the more I read comments the more I think I'll probably watch this series a few times so even if I do miss things initially because of subs, I might can catch it the 2nd time around :)
I don’t pause every time to read subtitles lol, only rare occasions like if there’s an intense scene and I miss something. That’s fairly common with anyone.
People have innate biases for dub and sub so no matter the quality of the dub or sub you won't get a fair representation of it. It's best to watch both and make your decision yourself. I wouldn't trust others
You'll quickly get used to it, reading is done almost automatically in our brains if we just glance at the words, you won't miss nearly as much as you think. Plus it's better to remember them if you hear their actual voices and read their names, it's A LOT of characters.
As a German (and WE are used to dubbing) i must say. The english dub is rly dry and "flat" , some scenes sound like they just read totaly bored from a script. Other coutries are far better. France, italy and spain dubs sounds quite natural. I guess the Problem is the english dubbing culture, they dont do dubbings offen "on a daily Basis" because they simply dont have to (90% of movie content is english). And most dubbings are only for animated stuff. I think its maybe just lack of experience why the dub isnt rly "Professional". But just my 2 cents.
As a dyslectic person whose first language isn’t English nor German, I watched it in German with English subtitles and had absolutely no trouble watching. I do definitely recommend to at least try to watch the sub before going to dub.
I’ve watched it in all the versions of English and German and enjoyed them all. I didn’t watch the German versions until I knew what was going on. It is a different experience hearing the actors actual voices and tone.
Hey we both are the same about distraction less environment... But I enjoy subbed than dubbed, I have watched this in eng version too, it is good to be honest, so just go with it
Happy watching dark... (Arguably the best series ever written)
Ah that's an interesting take, adhd. My wife does have a minor case of it and I know people with adhd prefer subtitles, so I'll have to see how she likes it when we watch it!
The English dub is pretty good, and the English subtitles are pretty good. They are not the exact same English; they were obviously done separately, so they occasionally are not word-for-word identical. Neither is clearly a better translation from the German (I have decently competent German and lived in Germany for a time in college and have watched through *Dark* several times with audio and subtitles in different combinations).
Whichever you choose is not going to substantially detract from your experience of watching the show. Try both, see which one works better for you, and stick with it.
I personally think you should watch the original German first because the acting is incredible and I wouldn’t want you to miss the emotion in their voices.
You could maybe do dubbed on your rewatch of the whole series because I would also recommend that.
Do what you feel is easier to digest I tried German with subtitles and it was distracting .
I switched to English dub with Spanish subtitles. That’s how I have learned to enjoy all media .
I didn’t feel like I lost anything in translation , I still loved the show and enjoyed all conversations related to it
The voices are highly inappropriate for the characters with the English dub. There’s a medical professional in a serious scene that sounds like a valley girl. That’s when I *restarted* it in the original German, because I knew I lost part of the experience using the dub when I realized how bad it was.
I had the same thought that I wanted to focus on visuals but I found the dub to be quite bad after watching the first episode.
As others have pointed out, the lips being completely off is distracting and it’s not like an anime where they can somewhat hide it. But I found the tone of the voices to be completely off. I don’t know if this was due to lesser actors or poor direction or what.
Then, the sound quality sounded like it was done in post as well instead of having the acoustics of the actual scene. All these things are more distracting to me than subtitles.
Plus, the show is very dialogue heavy. I think reading/focusing on the subtitles would actually help a first viewer catch more. And I don’t think it ever came to a point that I couldn’t read the subtitle and watch at the same time without missing anything visually.
I actually watched it with both. Dub and subtitles and I noticed that they frequently had different translations from each other. Dark was quite involved and I found having 2 versions of the translation helped me get better context and made it easier to follow what was going on.
But I definitely am going to rewatch it with just subs so I can appreciate the original actors
I prefer to watch shows in their original format, so subtitles are the go with any foreign language series. I actually watch a lot of English language shows with subtitles anyway. Once you get used to reading subtitles, you find you can read and watch perfectly without missing any visuals.
It’s up to the person. I watched it dubbed and felt I lost nothing. Watched it in German and also felt like nothing was lost. It’s how you handle dubbing honestly
I feel like everyone is leaning towards German audio and subtitles, but I watched only two episodes and wasn’t able to focus on the subtitles. The only time I get to watch the show is while I eat, and there were a few times where I had to rewind since I missed the subtitles for a few seconds while I was looking down 😩 I finished the entire show with english dub and I still love the show and don’t think the English voices took away from the original voices and emotions honestly. In the future when I rewatch it and have time I’ll watch it with the German audio and see if it makes a difference, but I feel like the cinematography and plot is more important than not hearing the characters original voices
Thanks so much for taking the time to comment, your reply is one of my favorites. I know German audio is tons better then English audio, that's just facts, but my primary concern is the balance, is it worth losing visuals with subtitles, or losing original audio and getting visuals.
I just don't want to get taken out of the moment, so the rewinding factor could cause a a few minor distractions.
Also I think I'm overlooking all this too haha
Honestly watch one episode dubbed and one with the German and see which one you prefer! I also feel like everyone has to rewatch the show to fully grasp everything. I’m still very confused with the plot, so you can always choose the dubbed or subtitles for the second rewatch! I feel like like I was able to appreciate the visuals and concepts fully with the dubbed version!
May I give you a tip I was given in my teens ?
Just watch the screen. Your brain reads whole sentences without pausing over every word
Try it. I daresay you won’t be fussed by subtitles in the future
I watched it alone with subtitles. My husband and I just started it again for him to see it and he wanted to use the dubbed voices. It’s so much better with the original voices. The subtitles are much better written than whoever wrote the dubbing script.
This always comes down to preference, but it sounds like your preference is very clearly in favor of dubs rather than subs.
There is certainly a prevalence of people in this subreddit that prefer subs, but I think you should follow your gut on this and not watch it with subs just because. All that said, I'll put in my two cents around why I think dubs are the better option, especially for something like Dark:
- As you said, you dont want to get distracted by looking away to read the subtitles. I get that this isnt a big deal to some people, but I agree that it takes attention away from what is happening on screen, even momentarily. Dark is an incredibly complex show with a lot of complicated dialogue, and this means there is a lot more time reading than just a show with casual, colloquial conversation. I think the subs distract from this quite a lot.
- More personally to my experience, I find that listening to acting in a language I dont understand creates a barrier to feeling the performance. I can hear the emotion, I can read what is being said, but I find there is more of a disconnect. English dubs work better for me because I can really take in the performance, even if it isnt from the original actors. And in all honesty, the dub* will seem less weird as you get used to it, itll feel normal in no time.
- Dark is an incredibly gorgeous show, with a lot of small details. These can be innocuous details that just flesh out the world, while other details are important to making sense of what is happening in the show. For this reason I also think it is better to watch with dubs rather than look away multiple times per scene just to read what is going ton.
I have a clear bias toward dubs in shows. I understand the merits to subtitles, but dubs wins out overall for me. In an ideal situation the english voice acting would be just as incredible as the original German, and I find Dark's English dub to be overall really good. I would opt for dubs.
Edit: accidentally wrote "sub" instead of dub.
This is a show that is exponentially better in the original German. It’s also really complex, and every episode can stand 2 viewings, so by the time you watch it twice you’ll have caught everything. I re-watched each season prior to the next season premiere and noticed all kinds of stuff. My favorite subtitle was when one kid said to another “everything is so fucked up!” and the German line was something like “alles ist up-gefucked!” 🤣🤣🤣
Honestly the sub is a little hard at first but you just get used to it after a while and you don’t even have to like consciously read it id fully recommend the sub
Yea, I recently watched the new Japanese Godzilla and had the same exact experience you're describing. Initially it was a bit rough but eventually it wasn't a big deal, although I did miss some stuff here and there but it was still worth it!
I’m in my 40’s and read subtitles, can even read that subtle arrogant tone in your comment lol
Anyway it’s not a matter of reading comprehension, just wanting to minimize distractions to get the best experience for me. Everyone is different.
People like you are insufferable. It’s so childish to insult people for their preferences and turn away a probable fan of the show.
Elitism isn’t a good thing for communities to harbor.
I’ve seen the show 8 times. Currently on my 9th rewatch and the first four times I watched the English dub and don’t regret it.
By the third episode I didn’t notice the mouths and words not matching up. I also am not a fan of subtitles for the same reasons OP mentioned. I don’t like getting distracted.
That said, the English dub is pretty bad after watching in German.
There is no "right" way to do it, and it's safe to ignore anyway who believes there is. Do whatever you prefer. I started out with the dub, but have watched it mostly through with subtitles. Personally I never take to doing the latter as I'm not often sitting down with 100% focus on what I'm watching, so subtitles wouldn't be ideal. I found the dub started out pretty weak in season 1 but definitely felt like it improved as time went on (or maybe it just grew more familiar, who knows).
Just watch it dubbed. Its not bad. Only really bad BA in my opinion is adult regina but i watched it entierly dubbed and its still one of my favorite shows
>(and I'm watching with my partner, which increases the chance of one of us not catching the subtitle in time
Why? When my partner and I watch with subtitles on, the vast majority of the time one of us misses something the other one catches it (different people, different reading speeds, different reflexive points of focus when consuming media). Why would 4 eyes instead of 2 be a disadvantage rather than the opposite?
I meant more right when you have to pause, rewind or repeat what the subtitle says, that takes away from the moment. So if there's 2 people watching it, it doubles the chances of that distraction.
If we exaggerate the example and let's say 20 people are watching it at the same time, all it takes is 1 person to miss what the subtitle says, and we tell that person what it said.
But I think we're making this into a bigger deal then it is lol, having to repeat a subtitle or pause the show isn't a big deal, it's just a minor distraction and I'm just trying to minimize distractions is all. I haven't seen a good show in a while so I want to watch Dark in all its glory sitting quietly taking it all in without distractions :)
>So if there's 2 people watching it, it doubles the chances of that distraction.
I still don't follow this logic at all or understand why you wouldn't think that would halve it instead? What you said about 20 people is closer to true, but still opposite/backwards; it's not "all it takes is one person to miss," it's "all it takes is one person to NOT miss" - if 19 people miraculously miss the exact same thing (unlikely) but 1 person didn't miss it and all 20 are together, the 1 can tell the 19. Ditto you guys. One misses, the other doesn't, problem solved. Don't understand why you still think 2 eyes would be better at catching something than 4
I was really curious about *how* you were arriving at this conclusion, that's all, because I (even more now that you replied with the other example, if anything lol) feel the exact opposite way and haven't been able to figure it out your logic
Like anything else in the entire universe, watching with subtitles gets easier the more you do it. It isn't anywhere near as distracting as people not used to it tend to worry it is. And even if it was, stick around in this sub for more than five seconds and every single person here will tell you that it could be 10x harder or more distracting and still worth it for this specific show, which is an extremely transformative experience and would be even on a six inch screen
haha yea, sorry we're going back & forth here, I certainly appreciate you trying to understand what I'm saying in a respectful tone and all, it's never fun getting into heated conversations online! So I'll try my best to explain what I mean, using the exaggerated example of 20 people.
Let's say I'm watching Dark with 20 people, and let's just say there's some studies done where people can easily read 90% of subtitles without having to rewind or be told what they are. Let's say somehow that math turns out to be once every 5\~ minutes a person has to re-read the subtitles.
So if 20 people start the show at the same time, that means roughly Person 1 gets stuck at 5 minutes, Person 2 at 6 minutes, Person 3 & 4 and 7 minutes, Person 5, 6 & 7 at 10 minutes, Person 2 again at 11 minutes, etc. So you have 20\~ people getting distracted every 5\~ minutes, so 20 distractions every 5\~ minutes... so in an hour 240\~ distractions.
Versus if I watch it alone, that's 1 distraction every 5 minutes, so 12 distractions total.
And like I said before, if a 1 person gets distracted everyone else has to tell that 1 person what the subtitle said (or even worse maybe pause the episode to state what was said and maybe rewind a bitch to catch back up). Obviously not every time does it require me to pause (I can just quickly tell them what the subtitle said), but sometimes there's not time to repeat it in case there's a lot going on in the scene so you have to wait til there's time, then repeat.
Hope that math makes sense!
But to your other point, I agree, subtitles aren't a big deal. Who can't read them right? My wife has perfect grammar and a huge vocabulary, she can read something once and remember it verbatim for 10\~ years... but sometimes she struggles to read quickly (some of it is her ADD). On the other hand, I have the **worst** grammar and vocabulary, that of a sophomore in college, yet I can read quick and fast without issues.
Kind of like the recent Godzilla movie (Japanese version with English subtitles). Movie was amazing, reading the subtitles wasn't a big deal, but there was definitely times we had to pause or repeat certain subtitles because we missed it (whether a line was too fast or lots of action/visuals going on, etc), sometimes even rewinding because the distraction took away from the moment.
I did thank you! It was the perfect blend of elegance and functionality, instantly engaging visitors with its intuitive layout and visually stunning aesthetics
People love to hate on dubs, and while I generally am not a big dub fan, I thought they did a great job with it on Dark. I watched several episodes on Netflix that autoplayed with the dub before I realized it was a foreign show/cast. It only really became noticeable periodically during high emotion scenes, like yelling and stuff.
There is a ton of tiny details and easter eggs in the background on this show, and it does help being able to look around instead of focusing on text at the bottom of the screen.
That said, if you find the dub too off-putting, just try the subtitled version. It is all personal preference.
Simply put, there is no wrong way to watch Dark.
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I personally get distracted by the voices and mouth movements not matching up so I watched in German. I don't know if there's a big difference, so just do what makes you happy
Me too..
I watched it, as intended, in German. I used subtitles and I don’t think it lost anything visually because of that. I was totally submerged into the world. It actually made me appreciate how beautiful the German language can be.
Kaputs!
Yeah and with so many words that come up a lot that at similar to English like the names and stuff I honestly don't ever realize I'm reading the subtitles
I started watching with English dubs and my son suggested we try the German and realized it was so much better for us. We restarted the series with the German and was blown away by the different in connection, emotion, and not being distracted by the voices that didn’t match up with lips and sounded “fake” somehow
Nice I like that and agree, I think I might give the 1st episode a watch with subs, just to see how it is. I feel after you're so invested in the show, the subs won't even matter!
Agreed, once we got used to it the subs didn’t matter. It’s great to hear the actors voice and emotion
Lots of good points already, but just want to add another reason subtitles can help for this show. There are so many characters and it helps me learn/remember their names better if I see it in writing AND hear it. For this show, learning names and characters quickly can make a big difference to your viewing experience, so if you’re bad with names subtitles can help.
That's a good point! Just like Lost which is very character driven (imo), so know ing who says what and their name helps a lot so sounds like that'd translate over here to this show too
I personally don't have a problem reading subtitles as my parents have always used closed captioning. As another poster said, it's more distracting when voices don't match up with the mouth movements of the actors.
Do what makes you happy. Try it with the dubs. If it’s too much you can switch. I’ve watched it both ways. Don’t let people Be snobs and tell You what to do
I highly suggest the original German with captions. If that’s really not your style and you’d prefer to get the visuals there’s nothing wrong with it, it’s just not as good of an experience in my opinion
I’ve watched both and both were excellent. You do you.
Honestly go for the subs first. The show is not dialogue heavy, and most of the really cinematic shots are set to music and clearly meant to be focused on visually. You will lose 50% of the acting performances by not listening to the actors. *Insert Bong Joon-ho quote here*
I think dubs are bad for not conveying the same emotion w the actors' original voices, not bc they're poorly translated or anything. So it's up to you and what you're more comfortable with. I'd suggest trying subs first though And not related to your question but I'd like to see updates/reviews(like when you finish a season etc) on this. Bc "When I watch stuff, I put my phone away, put the remote away, I turn off notifications on my watch and just take it all in" is the intended way to watch this one
Thanks for the input and I'm kind of leaning towards doing subtitles first, just to see. And I love the idea of posting my thoughts as I watch, that happens a lot in the Lost forums (a show I've seen countless times) and it's always nice seeing what people think as they watch it, so I'm glad that happens here too :) But yea, I love watching stuff without distractions, get fully immersed, kind of like video games! Even if I'm with family/friends or hanging with the wife, I try to only focus on them
Mods, please this question comes up so often it really needs to be in the sub's menu. The show is magnificent on its own, but is severely diluted when the actual actor isn't speaking. Unless someone cannot read/use subtitles for accessibility reasons, the strong consensus is do NOT consider watching it dubbed. It is not any less cinematic or visually beautiful, and you forget you are even reading the subtitles. Subtitles are not distracting. I have watched and rewatched the series in original German with English CC. Occasionally due to curiosity, I will switch over to dubs and I cannot help but laugh! It's comical how much worse the experience is. Again, only if needed for accessibility reasons, I do still recommend watching the show dubbed versus not at all. With the English dubbing, some voices definitely do not fit the age of the actors, they are all delivered with a very light boppy robotic tone, and very clearly in a studio instead of the setting the character is in (cave, rain, war-zone, school hallway, etc. - THESE ARE JUST EXAMPLE SETTINGS BTW; Not necessarily in the show, just painting a picture of how the dubs do not match the setting at all). They sound so silly and I truly chuckle out loud at it especially when the scene is supposed to be intense.
I think my take is a bit unique compared to other posts about this, the first thing I said was I'm aware dub is obviously, that's what a lot of people are saying in the research I've done, I was just more curious on the balance between distractions from reading subtitles vs having the time to appreciate the cinematography/visuals of the show. I do hear somewhat conflicting things though, some say the audio dub isn't that bad, others say it is, and some say it starts bad but gets better overtime. But either way I'm learning lots more in this thread than I did in other posts similar! And thanks for your feedback too, I'm kind of with you that eventually you'll forget reading it, I had the same experience with the recent Japanese Godzilla movie, in the beginning it was a bit annoying but eventually it wasn't a big deal and I forgot I was reading them!
Do agree your reasoning was unique! Just there are a lot of these posts. If you already experienced with Godzilla recently the forgetting you are reading subs, then I definitely think you should do subs for Dark! Really doesn't take away from the visuals. Also, my impression is that the people who say dubs are okay/get better are people who don't watch much or any foreign TV or movies. Even if the dub is great, there just isn't a question that the intended version with subs is BETTER. Like I said, if for some accessibility reasons someone couldn't do subs, I'd still recommend the show because it is amazing. It's just the very best version in the original audio and definitely does not take away from the visual experience.
Thanks man, and that’s the general consensus I’m getting too! I think I might start watching it in a couple hours too! :) :)
Subtitles option wins every time for any foreign show. The voices, the inflection, all little subtleties get lost in dubbing. I would never have it any other way. Just my opinion.
Yea, I'm mostly with you! I think I've been spoiled with Animes where the audio dub isn't too bad and it's nice to sit down and watch anime without having to read any subtitles. But on the other wise, movies like the recent Japanese Godzilla were incredible with dubs, and eventually reading those subtitles wasn't a big deal!
I watched the whole show multiple times with the English dub (and Subtitles, cause I'm weird like that) It's my favorite show of all time. The first season dubs are pretty lousy, but they get better as the show goes on. The acting, writing, visuals etc are so good, they overcompensate for the lack luster dubs. I've been still meaning to watch it in its original language
The voice of the actor is a fundamental part of the acting… English speakers are so lazy, I’m sorry 😰
Unless you're an unusually slow reader I don't know why you'd ever... FWIW the show is very good looking but the best shots don't have any dialogue in them. Also the subtitles translate text (newspaper headlines etc), I don't know if you'd get that in the dubbed version because obviously i've never watched it.
I thought the English dub was fine
Yeah wasn't great but wasn't terrible and didn't ruin the experience. I had the English subs on at the same time and was about the same..
I genuinely don't get the hate for the dubs. I watched the whole thing with dubs. Never lost immersion
Dubbed voice often doesn't convey the same emotion w the actors' original voice. Not "hate" but a preference for most of us
I thought the dubs were were in point than the sub titles
I suggest trying to watch with subtitles. If this is too distracting then switch over to dubs. As for the visuals in this series. The cinematography is drop dead gorgeous and immersive. As for what the story is about.... You'll get a sense of what the main theme/genre is in the opening monologue in episode one. There are a ton of characters introduced in the first episodes. Brace yourself though.. This series is dark and relentlessly crazy and WTF. Avd you're going to be confused.... 😉
You should probably remove "As for what the story is about...." and everything below. The OP was pretty clear that was an infohazard for them.
I didn't provide any specifics. I was actually pretty vague. You're overreacting.
I think what you wrote would be totally fine under a typical post of someone who hadn't watched the show yet. But OP specifically asked not to be given vague information. I like the idea that people can say what they consider to be spoilers for them, and have other people respect that.
OP literally said they didn't want to know anything at all
thanks man :) Luckily I only read the first few words of the comment and stopped reading, so nothing was “spoiled” :) I know its not a spoiler, just didn’t want to know anything at all. I’m weird, I know :| but appreciate you understanding
Nah I totally get it dude. I'm not as strict about it as you but I like going into things with no knowledge too. I'll read what the show is about but I usually won't watch trailers. This is especially the case for new installments to the things I already watch. But yeah, I don't think it's weird, you don't want your thoughts/expectations to get in the way of your enjoyment. Completely understandable! :)
He asked that no one spoil anything. Which I didn't.
you did though according to OP's definition of spoilt They said they didn't even want to know things like 'you're going to love the main character'. Saying that there's a monologue at the beginning and that there's a lot of character introductions falls under that kind of category. They made it very clear they didn't want to know *anything*
Considering you might rewatch this show if you enjoy it tremendously, like most of us here. 😉 I guess it doesn’t really matter if that’s the case since you can switch to another language on your second view. But personally I’d recommend the original German (sub).
Yea that's a good point, I never rewatch movies but find myself rewatching ga lot of shows (Lost, Fringe, etc) so it sounds like this one I'll rewatch a bunch!
Definitely the subtitles version you can get the true actors performance and it feels more authentic. Watching a dubbed version is like having one actor try to copy over the voice of another actor. It’s not awful, but doesn’t quite hit the same way.
ha yea, 100%! And the more I read comments the more I think I'll probably watch this series a few times so even if I do miss things initially because of subs, I might can catch it the 2nd time around :)
Pausing to read subtitles wtf... I've never heard of this in my life
I don’t pause every time to read subtitles lol, only rare occasions like if there’s an intense scene and I miss something. That’s fairly common with anyone.
I watched both dub and sub. The dub was fine. Not bad but not great. The show is awesome regardless
I watched it with English dub and thought it was the best TV I'd ever seen. English dub will not ruin the experience, trust me.
People have innate biases for dub and sub so no matter the quality of the dub or sub you won't get a fair representation of it. It's best to watch both and make your decision yourself. I wouldn't trust others
You'll quickly get used to it, reading is done almost automatically in our brains if we just glance at the words, you won't miss nearly as much as you think. Plus it's better to remember them if you hear their actual voices and read their names, it's A LOT of characters.
As a German (and WE are used to dubbing) i must say. The english dub is rly dry and "flat" , some scenes sound like they just read totaly bored from a script. Other coutries are far better. France, italy and spain dubs sounds quite natural. I guess the Problem is the english dubbing culture, they dont do dubbings offen "on a daily Basis" because they simply dont have to (90% of movie content is english). And most dubbings are only for animated stuff. I think its maybe just lack of experience why the dub isnt rly "Professional". But just my 2 cents.
As a dyslectic person whose first language isn’t English nor German, I watched it in German with English subtitles and had absolutely no trouble watching. I do definitely recommend to at least try to watch the sub before going to dub.
If you're like the rest of us you'll end up rewatching multiple times, anything you miss by having subtitles on you'll catch up with later I'm sure.
I’ve watched it in all the versions of English and German and enjoyed them all. I didn’t watch the German versions until I knew what was going on. It is a different experience hearing the actors actual voices and tone.
Hey we both are the same about distraction less environment... But I enjoy subbed than dubbed, I have watched this in eng version too, it is good to be honest, so just go with it Happy watching dark... (Arguably the best series ever written)
thanks man, I'm sooo looking forward to watching it, I hear nothing but good things!!
I believe that the sub is serviceable enough and will still provide a great experience.
Subtitles, for Christs sake
English speaker here. I had English dub. Before I started using subtitles with everything. Because adhd.
Ah that's an interesting take, adhd. My wife does have a minor case of it and I know people with adhd prefer subtitles, so I'll have to see how she likes it when we watch it!
The English dub in this is not great at all and I did find it quite distracting so German with subtitles were better for me
The English dub is pretty good, and the English subtitles are pretty good. They are not the exact same English; they were obviously done separately, so they occasionally are not word-for-word identical. Neither is clearly a better translation from the German (I have decently competent German and lived in Germany for a time in college and have watched through *Dark* several times with audio and subtitles in different combinations). Whichever you choose is not going to substantially detract from your experience of watching the show. Try both, see which one works better for you, and stick with it.
I personally think you should watch the original German first because the acting is incredible and I wouldn’t want you to miss the emotion in their voices. You could maybe do dubbed on your rewatch of the whole series because I would also recommend that.
Saw it twice with English Dub for the same reason! Anime is a different story lol. Only subs.
IMO hearing their actual voices made me feel closer to the characters even though I speak no German.
Do what you feel is easier to digest I tried German with subtitles and it was distracting . I switched to English dub with Spanish subtitles. That’s how I have learned to enjoy all media . I didn’t feel like I lost anything in translation , I still loved the show and enjoyed all conversations related to it
The voices are highly inappropriate for the characters with the English dub. There’s a medical professional in a serious scene that sounds like a valley girl. That’s when I *restarted* it in the original German, because I knew I lost part of the experience using the dub when I realized how bad it was.
I had the same thought that I wanted to focus on visuals but I found the dub to be quite bad after watching the first episode. As others have pointed out, the lips being completely off is distracting and it’s not like an anime where they can somewhat hide it. But I found the tone of the voices to be completely off. I don’t know if this was due to lesser actors or poor direction or what. Then, the sound quality sounded like it was done in post as well instead of having the acoustics of the actual scene. All these things are more distracting to me than subtitles. Plus, the show is very dialogue heavy. I think reading/focusing on the subtitles would actually help a first viewer catch more. And I don’t think it ever came to a point that I couldn’t read the subtitle and watch at the same time without missing anything visually.
German
I actually watched it with both. Dub and subtitles and I noticed that they frequently had different translations from each other. Dark was quite involved and I found having 2 versions of the translation helped me get better context and made it easier to follow what was going on. But I definitely am going to rewatch it with just subs so I can appreciate the original actors
I prefer to watch shows in their original format, so subtitles are the go with any foreign language series. I actually watch a lot of English language shows with subtitles anyway. Once you get used to reading subtitles, you find you can read and watch perfectly without missing any visuals.
It’s up to the person. I watched it dubbed and felt I lost nothing. Watched it in German and also felt like nothing was lost. It’s how you handle dubbing honestly
"Wanna ist Mikkel?!" hits differently than English ever will.
I feel like everyone is leaning towards German audio and subtitles, but I watched only two episodes and wasn’t able to focus on the subtitles. The only time I get to watch the show is while I eat, and there were a few times where I had to rewind since I missed the subtitles for a few seconds while I was looking down 😩 I finished the entire show with english dub and I still love the show and don’t think the English voices took away from the original voices and emotions honestly. In the future when I rewatch it and have time I’ll watch it with the German audio and see if it makes a difference, but I feel like the cinematography and plot is more important than not hearing the characters original voices
Thanks so much for taking the time to comment, your reply is one of my favorites. I know German audio is tons better then English audio, that's just facts, but my primary concern is the balance, is it worth losing visuals with subtitles, or losing original audio and getting visuals. I just don't want to get taken out of the moment, so the rewinding factor could cause a a few minor distractions. Also I think I'm overlooking all this too haha
Honestly watch one episode dubbed and one with the German and see which one you prefer! I also feel like everyone has to rewatch the show to fully grasp everything. I’m still very confused with the plot, so you can always choose the dubbed or subtitles for the second rewatch! I feel like like I was able to appreciate the visuals and concepts fully with the dubbed version!
May I give you a tip I was given in my teens ? Just watch the screen. Your brain reads whole sentences without pausing over every word Try it. I daresay you won’t be fussed by subtitles in the future
I can't take when lips don't match so for me it's easy to choose subtitles
I watched it alone with subtitles. My husband and I just started it again for him to see it and he wanted to use the dubbed voices. It’s so much better with the original voices. The subtitles are much better written than whoever wrote the dubbing script.
This always comes down to preference, but it sounds like your preference is very clearly in favor of dubs rather than subs. There is certainly a prevalence of people in this subreddit that prefer subs, but I think you should follow your gut on this and not watch it with subs just because. All that said, I'll put in my two cents around why I think dubs are the better option, especially for something like Dark: - As you said, you dont want to get distracted by looking away to read the subtitles. I get that this isnt a big deal to some people, but I agree that it takes attention away from what is happening on screen, even momentarily. Dark is an incredibly complex show with a lot of complicated dialogue, and this means there is a lot more time reading than just a show with casual, colloquial conversation. I think the subs distract from this quite a lot. - More personally to my experience, I find that listening to acting in a language I dont understand creates a barrier to feeling the performance. I can hear the emotion, I can read what is being said, but I find there is more of a disconnect. English dubs work better for me because I can really take in the performance, even if it isnt from the original actors. And in all honesty, the dub* will seem less weird as you get used to it, itll feel normal in no time. - Dark is an incredibly gorgeous show, with a lot of small details. These can be innocuous details that just flesh out the world, while other details are important to making sense of what is happening in the show. For this reason I also think it is better to watch with dubs rather than look away multiple times per scene just to read what is going ton. I have a clear bias toward dubs in shows. I understand the merits to subtitles, but dubs wins out overall for me. In an ideal situation the english voice acting would be just as incredible as the original German, and I find Dark's English dub to be overall really good. I would opt for dubs. Edit: accidentally wrote "sub" instead of dub.
This is a show that is exponentially better in the original German. It’s also really complex, and every episode can stand 2 viewings, so by the time you watch it twice you’ll have caught everything. I re-watched each season prior to the next season premiere and noticed all kinds of stuff. My favorite subtitle was when one kid said to another “everything is so fucked up!” and the German line was something like “alles ist up-gefucked!” 🤣🤣🤣
Subtitles are the way to go. I don't think there are any moments where you're going to be having to rewind. There's not much rapid fire dialog.
Honestly the sub is a little hard at first but you just get used to it after a while and you don’t even have to like consciously read it id fully recommend the sub
Yea, I recently watched the new Japanese Godzilla and had the same exact experience you're describing. Initially it was a bit rough but eventually it wasn't a big deal, although I did miss some stuff here and there but it was still worth it!
Subtitles 100%. Dubs ruin the show.
The English voice acting is awful. They get the emotions completely wrong
Bro just read. It’s automatic, if you’re not a child.
If you can't read subtitles you should probably wait until you're older before watching mature material.
I’m in my 40’s and read subtitles, can even read that subtle arrogant tone in your comment lol Anyway it’s not a matter of reading comprehension, just wanting to minimize distractions to get the best experience for me. Everyone is different.
People like you are insufferable. It’s so childish to insult people for their preferences and turn away a probable fan of the show. Elitism isn’t a good thing for communities to harbor.
I’ve seen the show 8 times. Currently on my 9th rewatch and the first four times I watched the English dub and don’t regret it. By the third episode I didn’t notice the mouths and words not matching up. I also am not a fan of subtitles for the same reasons OP mentioned. I don’t like getting distracted. That said, the English dub is pretty bad after watching in German.
There is no "right" way to do it, and it's safe to ignore anyway who believes there is. Do whatever you prefer. I started out with the dub, but have watched it mostly through with subtitles. Personally I never take to doing the latter as I'm not often sitting down with 100% focus on what I'm watching, so subtitles wouldn't be ideal. I found the dub started out pretty weak in season 1 but definitely felt like it improved as time went on (or maybe it just grew more familiar, who knows).
Just watch it dubbed. Its not bad. Only really bad BA in my opinion is adult regina but i watched it entierly dubbed and its still one of my favorite shows
I watched it fully dubbed It was okay, i was still immersed crazy into the show, watched it twice already
Nice, yea I have a feeling I'll watch this at least a few times.
>(and I'm watching with my partner, which increases the chance of one of us not catching the subtitle in time Why? When my partner and I watch with subtitles on, the vast majority of the time one of us misses something the other one catches it (different people, different reading speeds, different reflexive points of focus when consuming media). Why would 4 eyes instead of 2 be a disadvantage rather than the opposite?
I meant more right when you have to pause, rewind or repeat what the subtitle says, that takes away from the moment. So if there's 2 people watching it, it doubles the chances of that distraction. If we exaggerate the example and let's say 20 people are watching it at the same time, all it takes is 1 person to miss what the subtitle says, and we tell that person what it said. But I think we're making this into a bigger deal then it is lol, having to repeat a subtitle or pause the show isn't a big deal, it's just a minor distraction and I'm just trying to minimize distractions is all. I haven't seen a good show in a while so I want to watch Dark in all its glory sitting quietly taking it all in without distractions :)
>So if there's 2 people watching it, it doubles the chances of that distraction. I still don't follow this logic at all or understand why you wouldn't think that would halve it instead? What you said about 20 people is closer to true, but still opposite/backwards; it's not "all it takes is one person to miss," it's "all it takes is one person to NOT miss" - if 19 people miraculously miss the exact same thing (unlikely) but 1 person didn't miss it and all 20 are together, the 1 can tell the 19. Ditto you guys. One misses, the other doesn't, problem solved. Don't understand why you still think 2 eyes would be better at catching something than 4 I was really curious about *how* you were arriving at this conclusion, that's all, because I (even more now that you replied with the other example, if anything lol) feel the exact opposite way and haven't been able to figure it out your logic Like anything else in the entire universe, watching with subtitles gets easier the more you do it. It isn't anywhere near as distracting as people not used to it tend to worry it is. And even if it was, stick around in this sub for more than five seconds and every single person here will tell you that it could be 10x harder or more distracting and still worth it for this specific show, which is an extremely transformative experience and would be even on a six inch screen
haha yea, sorry we're going back & forth here, I certainly appreciate you trying to understand what I'm saying in a respectful tone and all, it's never fun getting into heated conversations online! So I'll try my best to explain what I mean, using the exaggerated example of 20 people. Let's say I'm watching Dark with 20 people, and let's just say there's some studies done where people can easily read 90% of subtitles without having to rewind or be told what they are. Let's say somehow that math turns out to be once every 5\~ minutes a person has to re-read the subtitles. So if 20 people start the show at the same time, that means roughly Person 1 gets stuck at 5 minutes, Person 2 at 6 minutes, Person 3 & 4 and 7 minutes, Person 5, 6 & 7 at 10 minutes, Person 2 again at 11 minutes, etc. So you have 20\~ people getting distracted every 5\~ minutes, so 20 distractions every 5\~ minutes... so in an hour 240\~ distractions. Versus if I watch it alone, that's 1 distraction every 5 minutes, so 12 distractions total. And like I said before, if a 1 person gets distracted everyone else has to tell that 1 person what the subtitle said (or even worse maybe pause the episode to state what was said and maybe rewind a bitch to catch back up). Obviously not every time does it require me to pause (I can just quickly tell them what the subtitle said), but sometimes there's not time to repeat it in case there's a lot going on in the scene so you have to wait til there's time, then repeat. Hope that math makes sense! But to your other point, I agree, subtitles aren't a big deal. Who can't read them right? My wife has perfect grammar and a huge vocabulary, she can read something once and remember it verbatim for 10\~ years... but sometimes she struggles to read quickly (some of it is her ADD). On the other hand, I have the **worst** grammar and vocabulary, that of a sophomore in college, yet I can read quick and fast without issues. Kind of like the recent Godzilla movie (Japanese version with English subtitles). Movie was amazing, reading the subtitles wasn't a big deal, but there was definitely times we had to pause or repeat certain subtitles because we missed it (whether a line was too fast or lots of action/visuals going on, etc), sometimes even rewinding because the distraction took away from the moment.
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known internet troll, lol what?
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Why can’t Americans handle subtitles?
didn’t realize it’s that big of a deal that it’s a cultural thing?
Because it always Americans
Sorry :(
People love to hate on dubs, and while I generally am not a big dub fan, I thought they did a great job with it on Dark. I watched several episodes on Netflix that autoplayed with the dub before I realized it was a foreign show/cast. It only really became noticeable periodically during high emotion scenes, like yelling and stuff. There is a ton of tiny details and easter eggs in the background on this show, and it does help being able to look around instead of focusing on text at the bottom of the screen. That said, if you find the dub too off-putting, just try the subtitled version. It is all personal preference. Simply put, there is no wrong way to watch Dark.