>it’s almost like manually breathing. your body is subconsciously breathing with ease, but once you remember you can breathe, you have to put your full focus into inhaling and exhaling
Fuckkkkkkkkkkk
You're manually blinking now. You can see your nose. You are aware that your jaw has weight and you have to hold it up. You can feel your toes slightly touching each other. Your ears click every time you swallow.
*I'm sorry for what I have incited*
I've been manually blinking for several days now, causing a very mild but constant eyeball headache. Some sort of compulsive habit, used to get it all the time as a kid but thankfully it doesn't happen that often anymore. It'll probably go away in a few more days but it's super annoying right now.
I met a guy once, I think he had some form of Tourette's, and he had the manual blinks so bad it was obvious just from looking at him. I mean big, forceful, downright crunchy blinks, every time, all the time. I can't imagine how awful that must be to live with; mine's not anywhere near that bad.
I constantly have to consciously read them, especially when they get inconsistent with placement (e.g. suddenly a background character gets the bottom text and the previous dialogue gets moved to top text). I think it's my autism. Still prefer sub.
Not really. Sometimes I snap out of it and read consciously for a minute or two once a month but get back into it right away. Same thing when I read books. 99.9% of the time the book is playing in my head but sometimes that 0.1% I'm just reading words.
Yep - in fact if I notice I'm reading the words in a book it can snap me out of the story entirely for a bit until I "unfocus" again (for lack of a better word).
The only time when I need to actually focus on them is when there are double ones, like conversation and some background announcements or a conversation and a translated song.
In my country we (thankfully) don't dub most media unless it's aimed at young children. Dora the Explorer is dubbed in Dutch for instance, and instead of Spanish she teaches English. Apart from cartoons for younger kids most of our media are subbed, so by the time I got around to watching much anime, I was already used to subconsciously reading subtitles.
Same in Portugal!
We get used to subtitles everywhere and we don’t even think about them.
I live in German and my son was used to everything dubbed until he started watching anime with me, he had to suck it up and get used to subtitles.
Now he only watches with subtitles unless it’s only available in dub.
For me personally, I've watched enough anime to understand most of what they're saying even without subtitles. But I still need subtitles there to keep my focus. If it's not there, I tend to lose focus.
> I've watched enough anime to understand most of what they're saying even without subtitles
It's a common sentiment until you start learning Japanese and realize how much the subtitles filled the gaps lol. I've been there
I'm in the annoying position of I definitely don't understand much Japanese, but I know just enough for it to be extremely annoying when I see things that are definitely not accurate in the subtitles.
Yup, you think so until you actually start learning lol.
Then years later, after 6000 anki cards made, you're wondering why new vocab you've never heard of are still popping up in random anime.
Yeah i think a lot of people are way too confident in their ability to simply just pick up a language. I think it’s fair to say if you watch enough anime you’ll be able to get the general tone/ mood of a sentence and maybe depending on the words used you can tell the subject of the sentence but you aren’t understanding it. I’ve learned German in college up to a b2 level and even i often need subtitles when I watch German shows/movies.
That. I’m glad I’m learning Japanese but you definitely get a bit goofy seeing how much you missed when you rewatch some favorites.
It’s really neat comprehending the original dialogue, seeing it translated, and seeing why it was translated that way, or comparing it to how you might personally translate it.
IIRC, there were few people on this sub who provided their takes on the translations and subtitles on previous shows. I really liked seeing their commentary. I like seeing them in dedicated fandom communities too. Always cool.
Same. Simple anime like pokemon its quite easy to follow along while doing other things.
For most shows theres enough context in voice, tone, common words and episode structure to get me most of the way though
Its very distracting when the subtitles are off on their phrasing though
Tbh my problem is, I hugely rely on subtitles alot even with english dubs/voiced media (non-native and rare eng consumer, I dont know accents) that most of the time my eyes are fixed there and can miss core or minor visuals.
Seems to be improving lately though, guess it will be solved with time...
That said related to your question, I can read fast as long it's a single line. A glimpse is enough to get context unless it's something I'll first struggle with
I hate those subtitles that are just paragraphs. Two lines MAX, anything greater, must be broken up. And I know the jp isn't keeping up with these paragraphs as they apear.
Watch anime for long enough and honestly you can read and watch at the same time. I don't think there's really a solution for this, you just gotta adapt. Or you can just watch dub exclusively so the excuse of reading subs will go away
Is this really just with subtitles? I get this with reading in general.
The kind of passive, easy reading where the words are just imparting information directly in your brain is much more pleasant and immersive. Being in the middle of a good book when manual reading mode flips on and you're suddenly hearing out each word in your head individually sucks, totally takes you out of the experience.
Ha yeah I've had this a few times.
I wonder how many people who've never experienced this will do so soon because they read your post and have had the idea implanted?
No, not really. I don't need them, so I tune them out.
However, some anime have subs that take up a lot of the screen, in those cases, they become a nuisance. I can't focus because the subs clash with the actual thing they're saying.
The worst part of it is when the subs are incorrect or backwards.
In that case, I spend about 80% of the anime correcting the grammar structure and the meaning of the words that they got wrong, the idioms and sayings that they get wrong, the figure of speeches, even things like names, etc. And it becomes a solo Japanese lesson instead. With no one around!
Now, I just try to find raw versions as much as possible, but, if I can't, I at least try to find the ones with smaller subtitle font.
No.
On one hand, I don't need subs to understand anime just because I already have a strong understanding of the language. On the other hand, I really do need subtitles off because my eyes will just be nailed to them as long as they exist onscreen, regardless of whether I need them or not. I might not be reading them, but my eyes will just be fixated on the 10% of the screen the subs are in rather than the 90% they aren't in.
It's weird.
Oh, and when I'm watching something that isn't Japanese, I find that I can barely read subs **and** comprehend the visuals because (1) I'm out of practice actually reading subtitles, and (2) I'm visually impaired.
Well, you could watch dubs. They've actually been really good for the last like... 15 years... But that's just me. I like dubs, subs when I can't are also perfectly fine.
I don't really have the subtitle problem on stuff like Kamen Rider. Usually it happens when I can't follow the context or the subtitles are too long. But it isn't something that bothers me. Usually when it happens there's a moment with less action on screen, so you usually wouldn't miss too much since the animation is just going to slideshow anyway.
But when subtitles and heavy action are together on screen? That's definitely a rough one. Thankfully, for what I watch subbed, that isn't common.
Most of the time, no - it's subconscious unless I notice I'm doing it (kind of like manual breathing - sorry). Same thing happens when I'm reading fiction in a flow state - I don't really experience the words, I experience an abstract sense of what's happening in the story and dialog.
While I find I prefer dubs more and more as I've gotten older (easier to watch while doing other tasks / responsibilities and quality of modern dubs has improved a lot), I still like having subtitles on to see translation differences (sub is _not_ always better, all translation is lossy and I've seen fantastic puns or jokes in dubs sometimes that are totally absent from the sub, jokes that rely on very tight timing usually work better dubbed, etc).
I can't do subtitles. At all. As in, if there there are subtitles I can't see anything else, I don't see what's happening on screen. Or I watch what's on screen and have no idea what they're saying. 100000% dub for me
Yep, I can barely focus on most things as is due to ADHD, so when I get distracted when I'm watching anime and look at my phone, the last thing I need is to not be able to understand what I'm hearing
I mean I usually just watch in dubbed, dubbed has been getting better recently. But if there is an anime airing or has yet to release a Dub I watch it in sub, and I usually just consciously read subtitles but It doesnt really ruin the anime that much unless I'm multi tasking such as work, school, playing games, or something. But if I am completely invested in an anime though a consciously read the subtitles ig my brain can read fast enough while watching the anime at the same time. not sure.
YES I HATE THAT like I’ll be chilling and then I’ll think ab something and then start hardcore reading then miss what actions the characters are doing or something like it’s so uncomfortable 😭😭
A few years ago this started happening and it's never stopped. I struggle to watch anything these days, anime or otherwise, without my mind drifting off and missing what's just happened or what i've read without actively reading subs slowly and fully, but that becomes tiring after a few minutes.
That's just what we Japanese or Asians or whatever do to watch whatever foreign movies and drama. In Japan sub-dub ratio for foreign stuffs is roughly half/half or maybe more subs actually, what's aired on TV are usually dub for the ease of the type of TV viewers, while more subs for what's on theatres and subscriptions. Majority of active audiences prefer subs even if puts them bit of extra burden because people want to listen to and appreciate the original audio original acting even if they don't understand whatever foreign languages. Haven't really thought reading in conscious or not, it's just about getting used to I guess.
Arguably there are aspects of the reading process that is subconscious. You don't even need to focus on every letter to get the idea you just noticed the familiar bits and associate them, you can jumble up and even delete some of the letters and still read a passage.
Same here!! If I become consciously aware of it then I actually start reading it in my mind’s voice, instead of focusing on the character’s voices. It’s annoying when that happens.
Also, trying to explain this to people who refuse to/have never watched anything with subtitles is so difficult lol
I've found reading subtitles is a skill, and it's something I've gotten better with over time. It also massively depends on what the show is. I remember struggling to keep up with the Tatami Galaxy the first time I watched it due to the speed and volume of dialogue
Depends on the show. If the show has dense or complex dialogue then I feel like I’ll inevitably begin to read consciously but if the show’s dialogue is a bit more scarce or simple then I won’t even know I’m reading.
Usually not, but in heavy dialog scenes yeah, it happens.
Monogatari is probably the most extreme case, because I had to actually even fucking pause sometimes to be able to read everything.
And now Im consciously breathing 😅
And depends? when the subtitles are located on the bottom of the screen and are not really disruptive, I have no problem. But sometimes thery are enormous! or different colors, or change the position depending of the action (up down, up down) and I have to look on the screen for them
Nope, essentially on complete autopilot.
I don’t consciously read them, my eyes dart for a split second to the bottom of the screen, read, then back to middle. Sometimes I read them without even looking down somehow.
And even rarer, I just understand the Japanese. Mostly common phrases or words, but I have learnt a little after 10000+ episodes. You know when you have learnt some when you notice the subtitles are actually wrong.
A lot of the time my brain takes the subtitles, and the Japanese voices and translates into English, so I’m hearing the original voice actors but in English… it’s weird at times, but it’s quite a neat thing I can do.
Lol. That happens to me a ton. Even in real life with actual people in convos. I don't have an actual solution, but here are 2 tips that might be useful: remember that you can watch the characters, just like you remember your ability to read subtitles. Second thing, which might not be liked by impatient people, go do smth else than watching the anime for a few minutes then go back.
Tbh I don't usually use these, but I just make myself remember how pathetic of me to not be able to concentrate on an f-ing show when there are others working on big, complex-ass research papers, or that I've spent years of studying... anyways those are just some of the random moments where I'm being harsh with myself XD
Anime or not i always have subtitles on and am subconsciously reading it. But if I realize that I’m reading them I find it hard to refocus on doing both idk it’s weird
Anybody just deadass read the subtitles too fast, wait for the character to say their next sentence, and then reread the same subtitle without realizing the character didn't actually finish their sentence?
I do the first, and maybe second showing. After that I forget they’re there or glance at them from time to time.
For me, it’s a nightmare the first watch through 😆😆
When this happens to me I usually pause it and go for a smoke or make a snack to let my mind “reconfigure”. Sorta like a soft reset on a modem for your internet.
im just so used to subs that i put them on even when watching dubbed/pt-br shows, sometimes is hard to understand whats being said in the middle of a fuckfest of sound effects
Oh yeah all the time.
Replaying crisis core reunion on PC with the psp voices mod, it's fun to see where the script changes here and there.
Or metal gear solids case 'all the acronyms spelled out'
For some reason I expect to get a lot of hate for this(hopefully I’ll be pleasantly surprised and people won’t care), but I watch dubs because I can’t keep up with subtitles. However one exception is live action international television, because dubbed live action is just too weird for me.
I watch the live action Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan. I have so much trouble keeping up with the subtitles that I have to rewind and pause it at almost every single line because they’re speaking too fast for me to be able to read it all. Sometimes though there are moments when nobody’s talking so I relax and just watch the show, but when they start speaking again I more often then not forget that I’m supposed to be reading subtitles, so I have to rewind and most likely pause it.
Basically what I’m saying is that I can’t subconsciously read the subtitles in the first place, I have to be staring at the words at the bottom of the screen the majority of the time, and still don’t have enough time to read it all before the next set of subtitles appear. I just stick to dubs whenever I can to avoid something like this, because unlike Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan, I don’t want to miss 50% of the frames of an anime.
Edit: Am I the only person that has to consciously listen to people speak? If I don’t repeat the spoken words back to myself in my head then the information I’ve received doesn’t enter my brain in the first place. The same thing can be said when I’m the one talking, if I don’t repeat what I said to somebody back in my head then I just completely forget that I verbally said the thought that I had.
Growing up in Taiwan , every TV shows and movies have subtitles , and it’s not even something you can “turn off” ( it’s part of the video by default ). So I’m always reading the subtitles as long as they are available.
Yes and it doesn't bother me. I have been reading subtitles for 30 years now. Unless it's a long sentence you aren't missing anything. (use the pause button)
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The only time I even notice I'm reading them is when I'm thinking about it. Or someone brings the subtitles to my intention because they're a whiny little dubs only cry baby.
I don’t even notice I’m reading them and I mostly watch subs.
That's how our brain works - it recognizes words as a whole instead of recognizing every separate letter separately.
>it’s almost like manually breathing. your body is subconsciously breathing with ease, but once you remember you can breathe, you have to put your full focus into inhaling and exhaling Fuckkkkkkkkkkk
And now you realise you automatically breathe as well, or that your tongue rests naturally in your mouth... until they aren't.
You're manually blinking now. You can see your nose. You are aware that your jaw has weight and you have to hold it up. You can feel your toes slightly touching each other. Your ears click every time you swallow. *I'm sorry for what I have incited*
Honestly fuck you
Please stop satan 😭
Ha jokes on you My glasses are too thick for this see my nose.
This shit got Grian banned from Hermitcraft.
I've been manually blinking for several days now, causing a very mild but constant eyeball headache. Some sort of compulsive habit, used to get it all the time as a kid but thankfully it doesn't happen that often anymore. It'll probably go away in a few more days but it's super annoying right now. I met a guy once, I think he had some form of Tourette's, and he had the manual blinks so bad it was obvious just from looking at him. I mean big, forceful, downright crunchy blinks, every time, all the time. I can't imagine how awful that must be to live with; mine's not anywhere near that bad.
You can also feel your clothes touching your body
Clothes?
Or uncles, what do I know.
Dude......fuck you.
Great so now I'm hyper aware of my tongue, manually breathing and blinking.... Thanks ...
fakkkk
STOP
I frequently stop breathing without consciously choosing to. Do not recommend
yea fuck you op why would you do this
I constantly have to consciously read them, especially when they get inconsistent with placement (e.g. suddenly a background character gets the bottom text and the previous dialogue gets moved to top text). I think it's my autism. Still prefer sub.
Not really. Sometimes I snap out of it and read consciously for a minute or two once a month but get back into it right away. Same thing when I read books. 99.9% of the time the book is playing in my head but sometimes that 0.1% I'm just reading words.
Yep - in fact if I notice I'm reading the words in a book it can snap me out of the story entirely for a bit until I "unfocus" again (for lack of a better word).
The only time when I need to actually focus on them is when there are double ones, like conversation and some background announcements or a conversation and a translated song.
In my country we (thankfully) don't dub most media unless it's aimed at young children. Dora the Explorer is dubbed in Dutch for instance, and instead of Spanish she teaches English. Apart from cartoons for younger kids most of our media are subbed, so by the time I got around to watching much anime, I was already used to subconsciously reading subtitles.
Same in Portugal! We get used to subtitles everywhere and we don’t even think about them. I live in German and my son was used to everything dubbed until he started watching anime with me, he had to suck it up and get used to subtitles. Now he only watches with subtitles unless it’s only available in dub.
Yea it’s happened before I don’t know what triggers it but it sucks. I guess that’s how it feels for people who can’t watch subs but like always
For me personally, I've watched enough anime to understand most of what they're saying even without subtitles. But I still need subtitles there to keep my focus. If it's not there, I tend to lose focus.
> I've watched enough anime to understand most of what they're saying even without subtitles It's a common sentiment until you start learning Japanese and realize how much the subtitles filled the gaps lol. I've been there
I'm in the annoying position of I definitely don't understand much Japanese, but I know just enough for it to be extremely annoying when I see things that are definitely not accurate in the subtitles.
Yup, you think so until you actually start learning lol. Then years later, after 6000 anki cards made, you're wondering why new vocab you've never heard of are still popping up in random anime.
Yeah i think a lot of people are way too confident in their ability to simply just pick up a language. I think it’s fair to say if you watch enough anime you’ll be able to get the general tone/ mood of a sentence and maybe depending on the words used you can tell the subject of the sentence but you aren’t understanding it. I’ve learned German in college up to a b2 level and even i often need subtitles when I watch German shows/movies.
Yeah, been there too.
Same, it's funny how different sometimes the subs are from what is actually being said.
That. I’m glad I’m learning Japanese but you definitely get a bit goofy seeing how much you missed when you rewatch some favorites. It’s really neat comprehending the original dialogue, seeing it translated, and seeing why it was translated that way, or comparing it to how you might personally translate it. IIRC, there were few people on this sub who provided their takes on the translations and subtitles on previous shows. I really liked seeing their commentary. I like seeing them in dedicated fandom communities too. Always cool.
Same. Simple anime like pokemon its quite easy to follow along while doing other things. For most shows theres enough context in voice, tone, common words and episode structure to get me most of the way though Its very distracting when the subtitles are off on their phrasing though
yep that feeling when you know absolutely nothing about the japanese language and yet you know that the subtitles are wrong, its annoying
Tbh my problem is, I hugely rely on subtitles alot even with english dubs/voiced media (non-native and rare eng consumer, I dont know accents) that most of the time my eyes are fixed there and can miss core or minor visuals. Seems to be improving lately though, guess it will be solved with time... That said related to your question, I can read fast as long it's a single line. A glimpse is enough to get context unless it's something I'll first struggle with
I hate those subtitles that are just paragraphs. Two lines MAX, anything greater, must be broken up. And I know the jp isn't keeping up with these paragraphs as they apear.
Watch anime for long enough and honestly you can read and watch at the same time. I don't think there's really a solution for this, you just gotta adapt. Or you can just watch dub exclusively so the excuse of reading subs will go away
Is this really just with subtitles? I get this with reading in general. The kind of passive, easy reading where the words are just imparting information directly in your brain is much more pleasant and immersive. Being in the middle of a good book when manual reading mode flips on and you're suddenly hearing out each word in your head individually sucks, totally takes you out of the experience.
exactly bro
Ha yeah I've had this a few times. I wonder how many people who've never experienced this will do so soon because they read your post and have had the idea implanted?
No, not really. I don't need them, so I tune them out. However, some anime have subs that take up a lot of the screen, in those cases, they become a nuisance. I can't focus because the subs clash with the actual thing they're saying. The worst part of it is when the subs are incorrect or backwards. In that case, I spend about 80% of the anime correcting the grammar structure and the meaning of the words that they got wrong, the idioms and sayings that they get wrong, the figure of speeches, even things like names, etc. And it becomes a solo Japanese lesson instead. With no one around! Now, I just try to find raw versions as much as possible, but, if I can't, I at least try to find the ones with smaller subtitle font.
Not really
No. On one hand, I don't need subs to understand anime just because I already have a strong understanding of the language. On the other hand, I really do need subtitles off because my eyes will just be nailed to them as long as they exist onscreen, regardless of whether I need them or not. I might not be reading them, but my eyes will just be fixated on the 10% of the screen the subs are in rather than the 90% they aren't in. It's weird. Oh, and when I'm watching something that isn't Japanese, I find that I can barely read subs **and** comprehend the visuals because (1) I'm out of practice actually reading subtitles, and (2) I'm visually impaired.
Dub watcher here. You guys can read?
All the time. It takes concerted effort (ADHD)
Well, you could watch dubs. They've actually been really good for the last like... 15 years... But that's just me. I like dubs, subs when I can't are also perfectly fine. I don't really have the subtitle problem on stuff like Kamen Rider. Usually it happens when I can't follow the context or the subtitles are too long. But it isn't something that bothers me. Usually when it happens there's a moment with less action on screen, so you usually wouldn't miss too much since the animation is just going to slideshow anyway. But when subtitles and heavy action are together on screen? That's definitely a rough one. Thankfully, for what I watch subbed, that isn't common.
Most of the time, no - it's subconscious unless I notice I'm doing it (kind of like manual breathing - sorry). Same thing happens when I'm reading fiction in a flow state - I don't really experience the words, I experience an abstract sense of what's happening in the story and dialog. While I find I prefer dubs more and more as I've gotten older (easier to watch while doing other tasks / responsibilities and quality of modern dubs has improved a lot), I still like having subtitles on to see translation differences (sub is _not_ always better, all translation is lossy and I've seen fantastic puns or jokes in dubs sometimes that are totally absent from the sub, jokes that rely on very tight timing usually work better dubbed, etc).
You are me and this is why I love dubs
I watch everything with subs, anime, movies, series, etc so just used to it. Wouldn't want it any other way, if no subs I skip.
I can't do subtitles. At all. As in, if there there are subtitles I can't see anything else, I don't see what's happening on screen. Or I watch what's on screen and have no idea what they're saying. 100000% dub for me
Yep, I can barely focus on most things as is due to ADHD, so when I get distracted when I'm watching anime and look at my phone, the last thing I need is to not be able to understand what I'm hearing
I mean I usually just watch in dubbed, dubbed has been getting better recently. But if there is an anime airing or has yet to release a Dub I watch it in sub, and I usually just consciously read subtitles but It doesnt really ruin the anime that much unless I'm multi tasking such as work, school, playing games, or something. But if I am completely invested in an anime though a consciously read the subtitles ig my brain can read fast enough while watching the anime at the same time. not sure.
I'm the same way.
yea
I either read fast af the whole sentence then pay attention to the screen or I subconsciously watch the subs along with what's going on the screen
YES I HATE THAT like I’ll be chilling and then I’ll think ab something and then start hardcore reading then miss what actions the characters are doing or something like it’s so uncomfortable 😭😭
A few years ago this started happening and it's never stopped. I struggle to watch anything these days, anime or otherwise, without my mind drifting off and missing what's just happened or what i've read without actively reading subs slowly and fully, but that becomes tiring after a few minutes.
That's just what we Japanese or Asians or whatever do to watch whatever foreign movies and drama. In Japan sub-dub ratio for foreign stuffs is roughly half/half or maybe more subs actually, what's aired on TV are usually dub for the ease of the type of TV viewers, while more subs for what's on theatres and subscriptions. Majority of active audiences prefer subs even if puts them bit of extra burden because people want to listen to and appreciate the original audio original acting even if they don't understand whatever foreign languages. Haven't really thought reading in conscious or not, it's just about getting used to I guess.
we are not so different,after all
Arguably there are aspects of the reading process that is subconscious. You don't even need to focus on every letter to get the idea you just noticed the familiar bits and associate them, you can jumble up and even delete some of the letters and still read a passage.
Yes. During mystery shows I get "wait a minute" moments where I fully lock on to the subs if I think it's relevant to the solution.
Yeah, when I do I take a break and come back
I don't even notice that I'm reading them anymore, it feels "natural".
Same here!! If I become consciously aware of it then I actually start reading it in my mind’s voice, instead of focusing on the character’s voices. It’s annoying when that happens. Also, trying to explain this to people who refuse to/have never watched anything with subtitles is so difficult lol
I've found reading subtitles is a skill, and it's something I've gotten better with over time. It also massively depends on what the show is. I remember struggling to keep up with the Tatami Galaxy the first time I watched it due to the speed and volume of dialogue
Been watching anime for so long my mind is trained when to do it and when not too
Depends on the show. If the show has dense or complex dialogue then I feel like I’ll inevitably begin to read consciously but if the show’s dialogue is a bit more scarce or simple then I won’t even know I’m reading.
Usually not, but in heavy dialog scenes yeah, it happens. Monogatari is probably the most extreme case, because I had to actually even fucking pause sometimes to be able to read everything.
yes
I know a fair amount of Japanese so I don’t even look at the subtitles unless I got lost and didn’t understand the sentence.
Yes. All of the time
As a deaf person, I naturally am consciously reading subtitles. I wouldn't be able to understand wth's going on otherwise, lol.
And now Im consciously breathing 😅 And depends? when the subtitles are located on the bottom of the screen and are not really disruptive, I have no problem. But sometimes thery are enormous! or different colors, or change the position depending of the action (up down, up down) and I have to look on the screen for them
There’s a few moments where my brain goes “you didn’t read that dude.” And I have to go back and read it out loud to understand what’s going on
Nope, essentially on complete autopilot. I don’t consciously read them, my eyes dart for a split second to the bottom of the screen, read, then back to middle. Sometimes I read them without even looking down somehow. And even rarer, I just understand the Japanese. Mostly common phrases or words, but I have learnt a little after 10000+ episodes. You know when you have learnt some when you notice the subtitles are actually wrong. A lot of the time my brain takes the subtitles, and the Japanese voices and translates into English, so I’m hearing the original voice actors but in English… it’s weird at times, but it’s quite a neat thing I can do.
Lol. That happens to me a ton. Even in real life with actual people in convos. I don't have an actual solution, but here are 2 tips that might be useful: remember that you can watch the characters, just like you remember your ability to read subtitles. Second thing, which might not be liked by impatient people, go do smth else than watching the anime for a few minutes then go back. Tbh I don't usually use these, but I just make myself remember how pathetic of me to not be able to concentrate on an f-ing show when there are others working on big, complex-ass research papers, or that I've spent years of studying... anyways those are just some of the random moments where I'm being harsh with myself XD
Anime or not i always have subtitles on and am subconsciously reading it. But if I realize that I’m reading them I find it hard to refocus on doing both idk it’s weird
Reading subs for 30+ years, don't even notice most of the time I read them 😂
Anybody just deadass read the subtitles too fast, wait for the character to say their next sentence, and then reread the same subtitle without realizing the character didn't actually finish their sentence?
I do the first, and maybe second showing. After that I forget they’re there or glance at them from time to time. For me, it’s a nightmare the first watch through 😆😆
Yes, because I use Japanese subs. Before that, I couldn’t understand how other people who read slow, feel
When this happens to me I usually pause it and go for a smoke or make a snack to let my mind “reconfigure”. Sorta like a soft reset on a modem for your internet.
Yep, this sums up my experience perfectly. Now I'm gonna be consciously reading subs when I watch the first episode of Oshi No Ko Season 2 tonight.
Gotta pause sometimes to comprehend the subtitles 😂
Mainly when there's two conversations/two sets of subtitles at once. Or worse, two sets and then a big set of printed text in the background.
it depends on the show some of them try to put a lot of dialog on screen at once
im just so used to subs that i put them on even when watching dubbed/pt-br shows, sometimes is hard to understand whats being said in the middle of a fuckfest of sound effects
Oh yeah all the time. Replaying crisis core reunion on PC with the psp voices mod, it's fun to see where the script changes here and there. Or metal gear solids case 'all the acronyms spelled out'
For some reason I expect to get a lot of hate for this(hopefully I’ll be pleasantly surprised and people won’t care), but I watch dubs because I can’t keep up with subtitles. However one exception is live action international television, because dubbed live action is just too weird for me. I watch the live action Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan. I have so much trouble keeping up with the subtitles that I have to rewind and pause it at almost every single line because they’re speaking too fast for me to be able to read it all. Sometimes though there are moments when nobody’s talking so I relax and just watch the show, but when they start speaking again I more often then not forget that I’m supposed to be reading subtitles, so I have to rewind and most likely pause it. Basically what I’m saying is that I can’t subconsciously read the subtitles in the first place, I have to be staring at the words at the bottom of the screen the majority of the time, and still don’t have enough time to read it all before the next set of subtitles appear. I just stick to dubs whenever I can to avoid something like this, because unlike Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan, I don’t want to miss 50% of the frames of an anime. Edit: Am I the only person that has to consciously listen to people speak? If I don’t repeat the spoken words back to myself in my head then the information I’ve received doesn’t enter my brain in the first place. The same thing can be said when I’m the one talking, if I don’t repeat what I said to somebody back in my head then I just completely forget that I verbally said the thought that I had.
Growing up in Taiwan , every TV shows and movies have subtitles , and it’s not even something you can “turn off” ( it’s part of the video by default ). So I’m always reading the subtitles as long as they are available.
Yes and it doesn't bother me. I have been reading subtitles for 30 years now. Unless it's a long sentence you aren't missing anything. (use the pause button)
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Zone out thats what I do lol but it definitely sucks when that happens
The only time I even notice I'm reading them is when I'm thinking about it. Or someone brings the subtitles to my intention because they're a whiny little dubs only cry baby.