When viewers look for new anime to watch, they generally select a film or show which is dubbed in Japanese and has English subtitles. However, people would wish to watch an anime which is dubbed in English, that is, all the Japanese voices are replaced with English.
Though there are many concerns associated with this such as translation problems, English dubbed anime is far more entertaining to watch, especially when considering western locations.
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Top 10 Best Dubbed Anime
Here is a list of the top ten best dubbed anime ranked from good to the best in terms of quality of the dub as well as the popularity of the anime itself.
10. Cowboy Bebop
This immortal classic is about the year 2071 when people settled in the solar system and with the expansion of humanity into space, there is a need for law and order to adapt to the new place in order to regulate justice in the space. In order to make this possible, the Solar System Police takes help from the bounty hunters called ‘Cowboys’ to treat the fugitives to justice while getting paid. The story begins with cowboys Jet Black and Spike Spiegel and their sheep Bebop searching for high-value targets during their journeys. Along their way, they pick up Faye Valentine, a con-woman and a hacker named Edward.
Everything about this anime is so good and undoubtedly is one of the best-dubbed anime. Right from the characterization to the stories, Cowboy Bebop hits all the right notes. For the fans of jazz music, there is something more exciting here. If you are looking to try anime, this is one of the best choices to start with.
9. Baccano
The dub for the series of Baccano is fantastic and the reason is the regional accents. Popular for the unconventional style of storytelling, Baccano revolves between three story lines set in different times of the Great Depression. The stories come together to make some sense as the series progresses. Moreover, the show is not at all depressing, though the time period is about depression. In fact, the anime comprises of action and sometimes comedy.
It has a large cast of fun characters ranging from immigrants to killers and the English actors make them all lively. Various accents add a nice touch to the English dubbed show and worth trying.
8. Hellsing Ultimate
The story of ‘Hellsing’ is not so much Japanese in itself. It is actually a rework about a world of vampires and one of the most powerful of them, Alucard. The Hellsing Organization struggles to defend Great Britain against the supernatural powers. The head of the force Integra Fairbook Wingates Hellsing spends the rest of her life fighting the enemy. She uses Alucard along with money and arms as her weapons to fight the monsters.
Hellsing Ultimate’s cast consists of characters from various parts of the world including Germany, Great Britain, South America, the Nazis, the Vatican and more. These people with thick English accents cannot be replaced by a Japanese voice cast. This is one of the examples of the supremacy of English dubs. Each character has unique sound and viewers can easily tell their nationality by listening to their talking method and accent. The dubbed version is even better than the original one making it one of the best-dubbed anime.
7. FullMetal Alchemist
If you want to watch just one English dubbed anime, Fullmetal Alchemist has to be the choice. Set in a strange world where powerful scientists called Alchemists bend the laws of Physics, the show introduces Alphonse and Ed who are out in search of ways to repair their bodies lost in pieces when trying to bring back their dead mother. The brothers, while struggling for their main goal of fixing their own bodies, face an unknown enemy set out to rip their world apart.
Fullmetal Alchemist is an outstanding anime which succeeds in delivering everything from heart-filling moments to impressive fight scenes. The playful, cheery tone of the series hid under the old fashion themes and history turned it into an international sensation.
6. Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt
A jock-style humor anime, Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt is about the Anarchy sisters named Panty and Stocking, nasty, foul angels who were driven out of the heaven. They spend their lives in Daten City located in the middle of Earth and Heaven, hunting for naughty ghosts. Stocking is a gothic loli girl having a sweet tooth while Panty is interested in men to sleep with. The two sisters live under the watch of Garterbelt and perform their tasks of turning their lingerie into weapons to destroy the mischievous ghosts and earn coins to buy their way back to Heaven. But Panty and Stocking are continuously distracted by their personal interests in men and sweets.
Stocking is a gothic loli girl having a sweet tooth while Panty is interested in men to sleep with. The two sisters live under the watch of Garterbelt and perform their tasks of turning their lingerie into weapons to destroy the mischievous ghosts and earn coins to buy their way back to Heaven. But Panty and Stocking are continuously distracted by their personal interests in men and sweets.
Being honest, the Japanese version is really interesting. However, the dubbed English words are not so intimidating and are actually funny. The actors of the English dub must have had fun with the script as they delivered disgusting, profane lines which were really funny.
5. Shin-Chan
A pinnacle in the world of manga and anime in Japan, Shin-Chan has existed for more than 20 years with 50 volumes of manga. It is an anime series which still runs and it can be said that Shin-Chan is an iconic cartoon character of Japan, everlasting and immortal. This anime about a little kid as the main character is for both kids and adults alike. It is about the life of a young curious boy who leaves everybody dumbfounded with his profane, unusual language.
The series doesn’t translate well in many other languages. It is quite impossible to translate the jokes in the series. The English dub is created with many liberties and gave new names and personalities to the characters. For more dedicated fans, this is a red flag but the changes are understandable because many Japanese jokes and social commentaries included in the series are not for the English audience. However, Shin-Chan is a funny show with good English voice cast working enough to deliver the humor aspect of the anime.
For more dedicated fans, this is a red flag but the changes are understandable because many Japanese jokes and social commentaries included in the series are not for the English audience. However, Shin-Chan is a funny show with good English voice cast working enough to deliver the humor aspect of the anime.
4. Space Dandy
Space Dandy is a Japanese science fiction comedy anime series about a carefree and eccentric alien hunter, Dandy on his search for rare species of aliens. He takes the assistance of a robot QT and his friend named Meow, a cat-like alien. Looking for unclassified aliens seems easy but something weird always happens along the way like meeting orphans, zombies, mystical ramen chefs, making the plot interesting.
Dandy and his friends roam through the galaxy to search for new alien species to find danger, adventure, romance and other things and no two of the journeys are same.
What is special about Space Dandy is that it is one of the few anime that got dubbed into English simultaneously with the Japanese broadcast. With an amazing english voice cast, this is surely the best-dubbed anime.
3. Summer Wars
Quickly rising to be a modern anime classic, Summer Wars follows a very simple concept. A nerdy boy gets a chance to stay with a girl with whom he has a crush. He gets to handle her big, multi-generational family during the 90th birthday of her great grandmother. At this time, he receives a coded message on his phone from an unknown sender who poses a challenge for him to solve it. Kenji could crack the code but his expertise puts the entire planet in a big danger.
In this exciting collaboration of real and digital worlds, you find strong human connections which have the ultimate day. This film is a lively example of the greatness of anime and serves as a wonderful way to introduce people to the anime wonders. What makes it more impactful is the message about the strength of human connections in a digital world for the modern generation getting deeper into the worlds of social media.
2. Ghost Stories
There are better choices around but what brings this one here is the fact that the english dub managed to rescue an anime which would be hardly watched otherwise. When Ghost Stories, in its original form, came to be licensed for US distribution, they were told to do whatever possible to sell it. And they did that exactly. The original serious script was modified and replaced with a mix of ad libbing and comedy for the dub. The voice actors did their part well to make up a professional version of an immature series.
The story is about Satsuki Miyanoshita who moves to the hometown of her dead mother with her family. On the first day of her school, Satsuki and her friends visit a building near their school and find that it is haunted. The kids also discover that Satsuki’s mother had sealed many ghosts who haunted the building and the town and the urbanization taking place in the area released the ghosts.
1. Death Note
This anime takes the first position in the listing of best-dubbed anime just because of the perfect combination of Light’s voice and performance. It is considered as one of the best anime of all time by many and is about a high school student called Light who finds a magic notebook capable of killing anybody whose name gets written on it.
The story revolves around building a new world by killing everyone he finds unworthy. This gesture attracts the attention of the entire world and the mysterious detective, L who gets into finding the person behind the killings using his task force. Complete with many turns,
Complete with many turns, twists, and shocks, Death Note is the perfect choice for all those who want a thrilling story. Moreover, there is some live action involved too.The anime English dubbed is quite interesting and entertaining to watch. Light’s English voice gives more energy to the lines.
So those were a complete list of the dubbed anime series that will surely entertain and hook the fans.
