Is the sub more accurate than viz?

[superfunk]

Is the sub of the Japanese series more accurate dialogue wise than viz's translation of the manga? iv heard than the sub is more accurate but i can't really test it myself against the original manga. does anyone know more?

[MCDaveG]

But you can't compare subs of anime series, that is adaptation of manga thus different then the original manga. These are two interpretations of the story.
It's like comparing the Dark Knight Returns movies with the comic book.

[CaBrPi]

I'd say that the subtitles of the anime are more accurate to the original anime than Viz's translation of the manga is to the original manga.

[Fizzer]

The manga and anime had different scripts to begin with, but people generally seem to give the Funimation subs for the anime a 9/10 and the Viz translation of the manga a 7/10. That is to say, the anime subs are more literal, but Viz know their audience and have paraphrased, which isn't necessarily bad.

[superfunk]

But you can't compare subs of anime series, that is adaptation of manga thus different then the original manga. These are two interpretations of the story.
It's like comparing the Dark Knight Returns movies with the comic book.

But you can to a degree when scenes are based exactly on panels, so the the anime will often have exact lines said by a character in the sub that correspond to an exact speach bubble in the manga. So is line "x" from the sub more accurate to the original than viz's corresponding line "x".

[theoriginalbilis]

They're both pretty accurate renditions of their source material. The Viz translation takes a few too many liberties and unfortunately censors some dialogue/content, but overall, it's fine.

FUNimation's DVD subtitles are very close, almost near-literal translations of the original TV show dialogue; which used the manga as a source and may have added or slightly altered dialogue depending on the scene. FUNi's subtitle translations for their releases tend to be second-to-none, especially with super-DBZ-fans like Steve Simmons working on the translations.

So.... TLDR, yes. The subs are more accurate than Viz's translation.

[Herms]

But you can't compare subs of anime series, that is adaptation of manga thus different then the original manga. These are two interpretations of the story.
It's like comparing the Dark Knight Returns movies with the comic book.

No, the anime script is typically the same as the manga. Obviously there's stuff like filler scenes and opening/closing narrations and other dialogue that's not in the manga, but typically any bit of dialogue in the manga is going to be pretty much word-for-word the same in the anime. The DB anime is an adaptation, but it's a pretty direct adaptation compared to many anime adaptations of manga. It's certainly not at all the same sort of thing as the Batman movies.

Anyway, Simmons' subs are indeed a good deal more accurate than Viz's manga translation, though Viz is pretty accurate overall too. It derives from their different approaches: Simmons tries to stick as closely to what's said in Japanese as possible, while Viz adapts things more and adds in jokes of their own. So naturally Simmons' subtitles are very direct translations, but as a result some people find them a bit stiff and awkward.

[dprez]

I'd say that the subtitles of the anime are more accurate to the original anime than Viz's translation of the manga is to the original manga.

This is true. I had read through the entire manga, all 42 viz volumes, at least 4 times before I finally watched the Z Dragon Boxes. The subtitles are far more accurate to Herms translations then they are to the Viz translations.

[CODii]

The Viz translation tends to be pretty good except for the the crazy liberties they sometimes take. Overall I'd say Steve Simmons > Clyde Mandelin >> Viz but all three really are pretty good.