The expansive anime universe offers many different tales with compelling characters, engaging plots, and epic moments. While some anime come and go, many deliver outstanding and memorable experiences. While many people praise shows for their animation and clever writing, others like to commend the voice actors and actresses for their solid attempts at portraying the characters.
For our ongoing series of articles depicting the best anime, we’d like to highlight the anime with the best English Dubs. From Dragon Ball to Ghost Stories, there are many shows you should consider watching in the English language alongside other options.
Of course, if we’ve missed any of your favorites, feel free to comment below and we’ll add them when we can!
Dragon Ball
Dragon Ball is cherished by many fans from across the world. It has excellent characters, a rich world, and is brimming with many iconic moments that enthrall fans. While the English Dub hasn’t always been the same throughout its entire lifespan, all the actors and actresses involved gave their best to bring the characters to life.
Actors like Sean Sch are especially iconic and are often imitated by fans. Furthermore, the anime’s English Dub team tries to stay true to the original Japanese script and often includes key phrases from the Japanese Dub that’d be tough to translate into English. The anime’s also been praised for its effective storytelling.
The series is wonderfully-paced and never drags. The English Dub’s known for adding context and exposition where necessary to help viewers understand the character’s relationships and intricate portions of its plot. In addition to serving as a gateway for Western audiences to watch Dragon Ball in the 90s, its English Dub will be cherished for years to come.
Cowboy Bebop
Cowboy Bebop is a great space-western anime with a popular English Dub. The voice actors from Wendee Lee to Jason Blum give their best to make our characters feel realistic and lively. Furthermore, the English Dub works well with Yoko Kanno’s jazzy-inspired music for the show. The voices capture the anime’s groovy atmosphere and complement the music beautifully.
The scriptwriting is superb too. It retains the same wit, humor, and sobriety of the original Japanese dialogue while making things accessible for an English-speaking crowd. The lip-synching is great and will make some fans think that the anime was meant to be watched with an English Dub. While you can watch the anime in the native Japanese language, you can smoothly enjoy the show with its English Dub too.
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
Slayers
Slayers is an entertaining show from the 90s. It may not have maintained a following as large as Sailor Moon or Dragon Ball, but it had enough fun fantasy, comedy, and action elements to hold people over for its time. Furthermore, this is another retro series with a great English Dub. Lisa Ortiz, the voice for Lina Inverse, does a fabulous job at bringing Lina to life.
The anime’s high-quality script is worth praising too. The team translated the original Japanese dialogue with precision and made sure that all the jokes and references were easy to understand. The English Dub maintains the unique charm and humor found in the original Japanese release, allowing audiences to appreciate the wit and comedy that the anime offers.
The music blends well with the dialogue and sound effects. It contributes to the anime’s lively and fun atmosphere, making for an enjoyable viewing experience for everyone. If not for the English Dub, Slayers wouldn’t have the following it has currently.
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is hailed as one of the best shonen anime today. It features two brothers embarking on a quest full of hardship, discovery, and hope for a better future. This is another anime that should be watched in multiple languages, including its unforgettable English Dub. The actors and actresses bring the characters to life through their energetic and emotive performances.
The English Dub’s adherence to the source material is another defining aspect. After watching it through the English Dub, you’ll realize how much effort when into making sure the dialogue remained true to the original Japanese script. This allows viewers to experience the story without feeling like they missed out on something incredible from the Japanese Dub.
Some Fullmetal Alchemist fans would argue the English Dub exceeds the original due to the actors giving the characters more emotional depth to the characters. Nevertheless, if you’re new to anime and don’t want to read subtitles on your screen, I’d recommend giving this anime’s English Dub a shot.
Yu Yu Hakusho
Yu Yu Hakusho is an iconic shonen series with a great English Dub. Each actor brings their character to life in a unique and dynamic way and the dialogue sounds natural and adds to the story’s charm. The jokes and puns uttered by our actors and actresses are clever and well-timed, adding to viewers’ enjoyment. The cast members nail their interpretations of the characters’ emotional moments too.
You’ll sense the raw emotion oozing out of Yusuke and his comrades’ voices when they feel defeated or have conquered a difficult trial. Even when the characters are mocking each other, you’ll feel like the actors and actresses had a fabulous time recording their lines for this cast. Overall, Yu Yu Hakusho’s English Dub is a great example of how a well-done dub can enhance the original story and give English-speaking audience’s a memorable experience.
You can read our interview with one of the Yu Yu Hakusho Live-Action SFX artists here!
Clannad
Clannad is known for being one of the best romance and drama series of all time. It has relatable and likable characters, charming story beats, and many emotional moments. The English Dub is phenomenal, with each actor and actress bringing characters like Nagisa and Tomoya to life in unique ways. The dialogue’s nuances are captured phenomenally and will draw viewers into the story.
The English Dub team did an excellent job of portraying the characters’ emotions in an exceptional manner. The scenes that resonated with folks the most in the original Japanese release will hit folks just as hard in the anime’s English Dub.
Besides the emotional moments, the English Dub staff manage to capture the anime’s trademark humor and lighthearted sections well. They all deliver their jokes in a timely manner and give them the right amount of emphasis. Although some older romance anime don’t always have the best English Dubbing, Clannad’s one of the rare ones that’s great with either option.
Golden Boy
Golden Boy is comedy gold. Its English Dub is a hilarious, raunchy masterpiece. The voice acting is superb, with each character feeling lively and entertaining to watch on screen. Doug Smith, the person responsible for voicing the show’s protagonist Kintaro, gives it his all to bring Kintaro’s raunchy and inspiring qualities to life in this work.
The English Dub adds many layers of humor that rival the original Japanese release. From its inappropriate jokes to the weird noises most of its characters make, you’ll find it hard not to laugh at the anime’s hysterical situations. Everything is delivered in a timely manner, making the show feel cleverly written and downright amusing. Therefore, Golden Boy’s English Dub is a must-watch for all anime fans regardless if you’re a diehard fan of watching shows with the original Japanese audio.
Hellsing Ultimate
Hellsing Ultimate’s English Dub is remarkable and somewhat funny. Alucard’s played by the same person who voices Zelgadis from Slayers and Kyon in The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Crispin Freeman. Freeman gives Alucard a sinister voice to capture the vampire’s complexity and intensity. As stated earlier, the English Dub adds a layer of comedy to the story.
The voice actors and actress’s ability to deliver sarcastic, witty one-liners adds a welcome amount of levity to this dark and intense series. Seras’s voice actress Katie Grey gives her character a bubbly voice throughout most of the work but knows how to make her sound just as sinister as Freeman’s Alucard during Seras’s epic bouts.
Overall, Hellsing Ultimate’s English Dub is a great example of how the English release can enhance the original material and create something that’s enjoyable for a newer audience.
Ghost Stories
Ghost Stories is notorious for having one of the most bizarre yet amusing English Dubs of all time. Instead of following the original Japanese script, the team went all-out to create an anime that’d leave an impact unlike the original. For example, the English Dub staff incorporated many of their own jokes and pop culture references into Ghost Stories to make it feel unique.
Every line is delivered with great comedic timing, leading to many memorable jokes and interactions. Some jokes can be a tad controversial since many include jabs at Japanese culture. Nonetheless, there’s a variety of gags inserted into this version of the anime that should entertain you.
Overall, Ghost Stories’ English Dub is a must-watch for those who grew up with abridged anime on YouTube or for viewers who like parodic humor.
So, there we have it, our picks for the best anime with English Dubs through the years!
What do you think of our picks? Do you agree? Are there any notable omissions? Let us know in the comments below!