In the early days of anime dubbing, it regularly took months or even years for shows and films to get an English dub—and these dubs usually featured the worst voice acting imaginable. Today, many anime series receive multiple language dubs within days of their Japanese airing, and that’s all thanks to the growing popularity of “simuldubs.”
What Are Simuldubs?
Most anime are released exclusively in Japanese with subtitles before they receive any language dubs, and these dubs are only made if there’s enough international interest in the series. Some shows are lucky enough to announce a dub before episodes start airing in Japan, but it can still take months after the subtitled versions premier for these dubs to be released. Streaming services like Netflix, Crunchyroll, and Amazon Prime have made it easier to find subtitled anime, but many anime fans still prefer waiting for the dubs. Thankfully, simuldubs make the wait a lot shorter than it used to be.
Simuldubs are language dubs that premier at the same time or shortly after a show’s Japanese version, usually being released within a few days after an episode airs in Japan. You may have also heard of a similar practice known as simulcasts, which—in the context of anime—refers to any series (dubbed or otherwise) that receives an international release shortly after its Japanese premiere. Simulcasts are standard practice for most modern anime, but simuldubs are far less common.
Anime dubs already take more time and money to produce than subs—requiring translators, audio editors, and a full voice cast—but airing them at the same time as the Japanese version also requires the dubbing company to have a close working relationship with the series’ producers. With simuldub releases, dubbing companies are typically given only a few weeks (or less) to fully localize the script and record new lines before the episode is set to air.
While the term has only recently gained prominence, simuldubs have been around since 2014. That year, streaming provider and anime localizer Funimation kickstarted the practice with its simuldubs for Psycho Pass 2 and Laughing Under the Clouds. Due to the tight schedules required to produce simuldubs, very few other shows airing at the same time received this treatment. However, simuldubs have become a lot more common in recent years, and more dubbing companies are producing their own simuldubs for popular series.
Now, it’s not unusual to see a new anime release with both subtitles and dubs for multiple languages on the day it airs. Series like Gachiakuta, Dan Da Dan, and Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX are just a few notable examples of the numerous recent anime that have received the simuldub treatment.
Simuldubs Are An Important Upgrade for Anime
It’s not just the process of localizing and recording anime dubs that has changed. Simuldubs have also redefined the quality standards of modern anime dubs—mostly for the better.
Although anime dubs have only improved over time, the debate surrounding the differences between subs and dubs is still just as alive and obnoxious as ever. One of the most common criticisms of dubs is that they don’t always perfectly translate the original Japanese scripts.
Whereas subtitled anime provide literal translations of the text—sometimes including footnotes to explain obscure cultural references or language puns—dubs often alter the original meaning of lines for various purposes. Sometimes, a dub will need to translate Japanese idioms or puns by replacing them with similar equivalents from other languages. Other times, a line will be slightly changed to fit the animation’s lip-syncing or ensure the line sounds more natural when spoken in the dubbed language. In almost every case, these minor changes are a necessary part of the localization process.
Even with these essential changes, accuracy is still a priority for any good dub, and simuldubs help ensure different translations adhere to the original script. Due to the tight schedules of simuldub productions, many recent anime dubs have placed the majority of their effort on adapting the Japanese script in ways that effectively communicate its original meaning while still sounding natural in their own language.
That’s not to say that traditional anime dubs are any less accurate than simuldubs, but the limitations of simuldubs are arguably their greatest strength. Series that receive simuldubs often benefit from localizations that heavily prioritize accuracy, allowing them to closely match the tone, writing style, and intent of the original Japanese script. This doesn’t mean simuldubs are 1-to-1 translations of anime—the best ones still make enough changes to fit the nuances and cultural contexts of their respective languages—but they do capture the spirit of their source material better than the often-questionable dubs found in many retro anime.
Simuldubs Aren’t All Perfect
Admittedly, some of the charming quirks that characterized older dubs have been lost with the rise of simuldubs. Compared to simuldubs, traditional anime dubs take longer to produce, but that also gives them more time to take creative liberties with their source material. That wasn’t always a good thing, but in rare cases it allowed dubs to outshine their original scripts.
The English dubs of Baccano! and Hellsing leaned into their historical settings by giving characters accents, dialects, and added slang to reflect their respective time periods. More extreme cases like the dubs of Ghost Stories and Samurai Pizza Cats completely ignored the original Japanese scripts and turned these otherwise bog-standard children’s series into gut-busting parodies of themselves. Even the infamously profanity-laden English dubs of Black Lagoon and Cyber City Oedo 808 have a lot more personality and memorable quotes than the original Japanese versions—largely thanks to their willingness to get creative with their cursing.
The best example of the difference between traditional dubs and modern simuldubs can be seen in the recent English version of Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt. When the English dub for the series’ first season aired all the way back in 2010, it was regarded as one of Funimation’s all-time best localizations.
At the request of the original creators, the series’ raunchy humor and constant absurdity were dialed up to eleven for the English dub. The English script added heaps of new jokes, plenty of extra innuendo, and hundreds of uncensored f-bombs. All these additions gave the series a balance between unapologetic crassness and consistent wittiness that was missing from the comparatively tame Japanese script. Even if you don’t usually watch anime—in which case, I’m not exactly sure why you clicked on this article, but we appreciate the support—the English dub of Panty & Stocking is a must-watch for anyone who enjoys adult comedy.
When the series finally returned for a second season earlier this year—titled New Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt—it premiered with an English simuldub that dropped the original’s vivid vulgarity in favor of staying accurate to the Japanese script. Without the additional jokes and unrestricted writing, the new dub often feels like a downgrade to the original’s clever crudeness. That’s not to say it’s outright bad—New Panty & Stocking is still full of great English performances and hilarious jokes (especially in episodes four and onwards)—but its inability to take as many creative liberties as the first season highlights a common problem for simuldubs.
Many modern anime dubs adhere too closely to their original scripts, placing accuracy over quality in ways that sometimes lead to awkward writing and stilted line deliveries. While the localized scripts for shows like Black Lagoon and the original Panty & Stocking don’t perfectly adapt every line, they still faithfully follow the original stories while preserving their intended tone. In contrast, many simuldubs try to directly adapt their original scripts into English with minimal changes, but this approach can result in subtle details and language-specific nuances getting lost in translation.
However, these problems are becoming increasingly rare in simuldubs. Some of the best anime dubs in recent times have been simuldubs for shows like Chainsaw Man, Kaguya-sama: Love is War, and Dan Da Dan (seriously, watch them if you haven’t already). None of the problems associated with simuldubs appear in any of these series, and without knowing about their release schedules beforehand, you probably wouldn’t realize they had fast-tracked productions thanks to their fantastic voice-acting and equally excellent writing.
Anime Is Better With Simuldubs
Despite the many challenges that come with simuldubs, it’s clear that the talent behind these productions is more than capable of keeping up with their tight schedules. In terms of sheer quality, newer simuldubs are often indistinguishable from the traditional dubbing process, and the problems that sometimes plague these releases are thankfully going extinct as voice actors and localizers adapt to the intense demands of simuldubs.
Of course, the best part of simuldubs is that they’re not only making dubbed anime more accessible, but giving viewers more reasons to watch shows in their preferred language. In the past, the lengthy delay between subs and dubs meant anime fans were forced to rely on subtitles to watch new episodes when they premiered. That’s assuming the subtitles were available in the first place, as some retro anime only received an international release after their dubs completed production. While some shows received fansubs before their international release, most anime didn’t have a dedicated enough following to get unofficial translations.
In the modern internet age, having access to both subs and dubs at the same time is more important than ever, as spoilers regularly appear online as soon as (or sometimes before) new episodes premier. Instead of forcing dub watchers to wait for the show to be localized into their language—and risk encountering spoilers in the meantime—simuldubs give everyone a chance to watch the series at the same time. Whether you want to watch anime in English, Japanese, French, Spanish, Italian, or another language, simuldubs ensure all of these options are available as soon as possible.
Not every show receives a simuldub, but most streaming services offer them for their biggest anime releases. If you’re looking for an anime to watch dubbed or subbed, there are plenty of great choices on Netflix, Hulu, and Crunchyroll.