the_thomas•1mo agoProlific Poster

Unpopular opinion: Sub vs dub is actually a class divide, not a preference thing

I was digging through some Crunchyroll streaming data from 2023 and found out that 68% of viewers under 25 watch dubbed while 72% of viewers over 30 watch subbed. That surprised me because I always assumed it was purely about which sounds better to your ear. But think about it - younger folks grew up with everything on their phones and tablets where reading subtitles on a tiny screen is annoying. Older fans started with fansubs on 13 inch CRT monitors where you practically had to squint anyway so text size wasn't an issue. Does anyone else see a pattern here or am I just reading too much into things based on my own bias as a 34 year old sub watcher?

2 comments

2 Comments

robin_henderson811mo ago

Is it really that deep though?

ray3631mo ago

You're not reading too much into it at all. That data lines up with what I've noticed just talking to people in the community over the years. It definitely feels like there's a cultural and practical divide that goes way deeper than just personal taste.