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[Putnam]

an english-speaking newbie is far more likely to watch it on, y'know, television, where it's showing and being called "attack on titan" exclusively

[i2amroy]

Unless they are actually, you know, Canadian, or European, or one of the many other countries that don't necessarily have that same show available on tv, and are thus watching it over the internet instead.

Or if they aren't an absolute newbie, but are instead just a newcomer that has only seen a handful of shows. I know tons more people who watch all their anime over the internet than on a real tv. And because often animes get added to internet sites before they ever get an official english title (due to them only having subbed versions while being released), many sites put the japanese one in the "main" slot with the english ones in the "secondary" slot instead of vice-versa.

[Andres]

Unless they are actually, you know, Canadian, or European, or one of the many other countries that don't necessarily have that same show available on tv, and are thus watching it over the internet instead.

Yes but this is an almost entirely English-speaking forum. If they're speaking on this forum then that means they can understand English a lot more than Japanese. Since they understand English more than Japanese, they're far more likely to watch English versions of shows than Japanese.

[Flying Dice]

Unless they are actually, you know, Canadian, or European, or one of the many other countries that don't necessarily have that same show available on tv, and are thus watching it over the internet instead.

Yes but this is an almost entirely English-speaking forum. If they're speaking on this forum then that means they can understand English a lot more than Japanese. Since they understand English more than Japanese, they're far more likely to watch English versions of shows than Japanese.

I'm a native English speaker. I'd guesstimate that ~85-90% of the shows I've watched have been subs. I know for a fact that that doesn't affect how they're labeled; it's as has been said repeatedly already: the naming is not a single rule. Some shows are known by the original name, some by the source name, and some equally by both. You're most likely to find what you're looking for if you search for the commonly used name, not by demanding that everyone adhere to your arbitrary standard. For that matter, a complete newcomer (in this day and age who still  only watches anime on cable TV) who isn't also a complete numbskull is about five seconds away from their search result for "[show name] Japanese title"

[i2amroy]

Exactly. I'm not saying that they don't include both titles (as I mentioned before, in most sites searching either title will pull you to the same page), I'm just pointing out that in the handful of those sites that designate one title as a "main" one and the others as "secondary" ones, the common trend I see is to put the japanese title in the "main" slot.

So searching either title will still get you to the show, it's just that, for example, searching "attack on titan" on many sites will redirect you to a page that looks something like this:

Title: Shingeki no Kyojin
Alternate Titles: Attack on Titan
Genres: ....
Description: ...

Not that it necessarily means you should be forced to use either one, as noted before that comes down to personal preference. I'm just noting a general trend I often see on internet-based anime sites.

[Spehss _]

Unless they are actually, you know, Canadian, or European, or one of the many other countries that don't necessarily have that same show available on tv, and are thus watching it over the internet instead.

Yes but this is an almost entirely English-speaking forum. If they're speaking on this forum then that means they can understand English a lot more than Japanese. Since they understand English more than Japanese, they're far more likely to watch English versions of shows than Japanese.

Nah, I mostly watch subs, not dubs. Japanese vocals, not english vocals. Can barely speak a lick of japanese. That being said, I use the english names for shows 90% of the time, unless it's an easy to remember japanese name, like Yuru Yuri or Nichijou, or abbreviation of a longass name, like Watamote or Oreimo.

[Trapezohedron]

There are times when English titles don't accurately reflect the source title (see: Sakamichi no Apollon, lit. Apollon on the slope, ENG: Kids on the Slope). Using the English name exclusively would severely hamper that person's attempt to find that anime name, and vice versa.

There is no right way to approach this of course. Just use the dang title together with its JP name at least once per post. Romaji titles are nowhere near as correct as they are also in English; just merely preferences people keep in mind, since not everyone can read Kanji.

[Orange Wizard]

Can't we cut the crap by referring to things by whatever name and assume people can Google it to find both names? Assuming ignorance is pointless, much like this argument.

[Trapezohedron]

Can't we cut the crap by referring to things by whatever name and assume people can Google it to find both names? Assuming ignorance is pointless, much like this argument.

IDK how this started; but I agree people are not idiots they will use Google on anime they're interested in, and figure out its alternate title in no time flat.

[Reelya]

Sub preference seems to be about 55% - 60% of the English speaking anime-watcher population. Seems consistent across the first three polls I came across:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.372783-Poll-Sub-or-Dub-Anime-Survey?page=3
^ 56% state preference for subs in general, and it's a non-anime site, so sample of general online population

http://myanimelist.net/forum/?topicid=670637&pollresults=1
^ 56% state preference for subs (but in reference to the specific anime Yugioh). Myanimelist is an anime-specific site, so that could bias things. But it being a very mainstream series probably unbiases things. An ultra-popular shonen series like Yugioh is probably a good barometer of "Joe blow" anime-watcher.

http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/676844-naruto-shippuden-ultimate-ninja-storm-3/65583799
^ of the people professing a specific preference, 30 went with Japanese audio, 20 with English audio. For another ultra popular series, Naruto.

Hell if dub watchers can't even pull 50% of Naruto and Yugioh fans, then I doubt they make up a majority of viewers of the less-well-known series in general. I'd say that's only true of a few specific series that are known for having great dubs.

More polls:
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/bbs/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=160185
^61% Subs, though it's from anime new network

http://myanimelist.net/forum/?topicid=691643&pollresults=1
43 for subs vs 28 for dubs (not counting "I like both"). Which is 60% for subs again.

[UXLZ]

I would have placed it around 70%, but I'm quite biased.

A large amount of Subs-only people such as me are scarred by the 4kids dub of One Piece, is my guess, so I guess it'll balance out over time, maybe?

[i2amroy]

A large amount of Subs-only people such as me are scarred by the 4kids dub of One Piece, is my guess, so I guess it'll balance out over time, maybe?

Eh, honestly I watch subs not because of any "scare", but rather because of a few simple reasons:
1) With the exception of the very rarely simulcast shows, it's impossible to watch shows as they come out in the dubbed version. As such if you want to watch a brand new show as its airing you have to watch subs, because dubs don't exist.
2) Many times dubs don't capture the same feeling that subs do, or suffer from problems due to translations or even speech times making lines uncomfortable (such as where the same line takes much longer in Japanese than in English meaning that phrases... sound very... strange when they... say them).
3) There's plenty of humor and other aspects of Japanese culture that just don't translate into English that well due to not having equivalents. A basic example is a lot of stuff involving different levels of formality in certain words. For example in often the form of the word "you" with a level of politeness equal to "you horrible bastard" and the one with a level of politeness for "my glorious king" both just get translated to the same old English word "you" in the dubs, losing that gradient of information.

[Arcvasti]

* Arcvasti shrugs

I have no real preference on subs vs dubs. I mostly choose based on which one the main character's voice sounds whinier in and then avoid that one.

[Orange Wizard]

I don't like dubs because they always seem to get the pronunciations wrong. Also, a lot of Japanese language things (like senpai or onee-chan) translate hilariously badly into English and then I get distracted.

[Spehss _]

* Arcvasti shrugs

I have no real preference on subs vs dubs. I mostly choose based on which one the main character's voice sounds whinier in and then avoid that one.

*cough*DBZ japanese femgoku*cough*