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PR: Toradora! Out Now with a Full English Dub and on Blu-Ray in Both Premium and Standard Editions

Press Release so I'll doubt Ill get an answer, but does this come with 5.1 Japanese audio? I don't know if the Japanese version does, but I have noticed that a lot of anime that DO have 5.1 Japanese audio in Japan that get dubbed end up having 2.0 Japanese and 5.1 English. This is honestly the biggest reason I hate dubbed releases. I don't care for dubs, but I don't mind the option (even though it makes the releases take longer, and theoretically cost more), but the loss of 5.1 in the language I prefer is the biggest factor for me.

He didn't say dubs are the cause of the lack of 5.1 tracks. He's upset that dubs get them and subs don't. Which I agree is bullshit. If it exists, it should be included.

It isn't a dub vs sub issue. Its an issue of anime companies not getting the 5.1 track or if they do, not releasing it.

誤称 wrote:

He didn't say dubs are the cause of the lack of 5.1 tracks. He's upset that dubs get them and subs don't. Which I agree is bullshit. If it exists, it should be included. It isn't a dub vs sub issue. Its an issue of anime companies not getting the 5.1 track or if they do, not releasing it.

And I never made it one I asked a question base on their statement.

Stepppingoui wrote:

誤称 wrote: He didn't say dubs are the cause of the lack of 5.1 tracks. He's upset that dubs get them and subs don't. Which I agree is bullshit. If it exists, it should be included. It isn't a dub vs sub issue. Its an issue of anime companies not getting the 5.1 track or if they do, not releasing it. And I never made it one I asked a question base on their statement.

Which you apparently misunderstood.

.....but I have noticed that a lot of anime that DO have 5.1 Japanese audio in Japan that get dubbed end up having 2.0 Japanese and 5.1 English. This is honestly the biggest reason I hate dubbed releases. I don't care for dubs, but I don't mind the option (even though it makes the releases take longer, and theoretically cost more), but the loss of 5.1 in the language I prefer is the biggest factor for me.

I think most TV series do not get 5.1 sound in Japan. I think what is happening is that the North American companies are creating the dub in 5.1. The dub voices are original in NA, all they have to do is some audio processing to the sound effects and music portion. I suspect is depends on the company and what the licensor permits them to do.

Japan does virtually no 5.1 mixes for their TV shows, and only occasionally for OAVs (what few are made these days). While North America's digital TV broadcast standard, ATSC, supports 5.1 audio (due to its use of Dolby Digital AC3 format audio, which is also used on DVDs), the Japanese standard ISDB carries AAC audio, which is high quality but only supports stereo. Additionally, most Japanese homes are simply not big enough for people to bother with big, fancy 5.1 audio systems. Movies that play in theaters definitely get 5.1 mixes, but for things that are only shown in the home? Not really worth the trouble.

In the early days of DVD, American anime publishers would throw all sorts of bells and whistles onto DVDs thinking they affected sales (they didn't). 5.1 audio was seen as a major selling point, and so many dubs were created in 5.1, and occasionally a Japanese mix was upconverted to 5.1 (although often licensors didn't make the unmixed audio stems available, so that upconvert sounded pretty lame). 5.1 mixes are time consuming to do right, and require expensive equipment, so nowadays most dubs are created in stereo too. After all, if the Japanese is in stereo, and the supplied music and effects tracks are in stereo, what's the point?

5.1 is pretty cool if done right, of course, if you have the home theater equipment to play it. And a few lucky people in Japan do. So, for the "prestige" releases, the Japanese studios will go to the expense of creating a 5.1 audio track. But in most cases, especially for TV anime, producers have determined that the additional labor involved is just not worth it.

I don't mind the option (even though it makes the releases take longer, and theoretically cost more).