I don’t have to tell you thatNetflixis one of the biggest streaming services around. For the past decade, it’s the first name anyone thinks of when they think of streaming. What started as a company that would mail you movies to watch has turned the entertainment industry on its head, allowing you to watch all your favorite shows and movies whenever and wherever you want. While it dominates the streaming industry, it has one fatal flaw that anime-watchers outside of Japan can’t stand.
Netflix’s subtitles for anime can be horrendous.As someone who has watched nearly 2,000 hours of anime, I can tell you first hand that Netflix drops the ball way too often with its subtitles. The worst part is that Netflix has exclusive rights to a ton of great anime series, but because of how bad their subtitling is, these potential 10/10 shows become unwatchable. Other streaming services like Crunchyroll have figured it out, so why hasn’t the behemoth that is Netflix?
Netflix Has a Ton of Great Anime Series
Some of the Best Anime Are netflix-exclusive
On its surface, this isn’t a problem at all. I don’t mind subscribing to a second streaming service to get my anime, and since my mom has had an account with them for a long time (and is generous with the password), it hasn’t been an issue whatsoever. Netflix has a quality app, allows me to skip the intro for most anime if I’ve already seen it, and is easy to use. If they had the same subtitle quality as Crunchyroll, I wouldn’t even be writing this article in the first place.
Netflix’s Subtitling Is Horrible
They Could Fix This Problem Easily
Netflix’s poor subtitling makes a lot of thebest anime seriesaroundnearly unwatchable.Not only is it arguable that the translation itself is a huge problem, but Netflix has a slew of other problems related to its subtitles. Most of the time, no matter the series,the subtitles are mistimed. They come up before or after the speech itself, creating a disconnect between what was said and the speed at which we non-Japanese speakers understand what happened.
One of the biggest issues with Netflix’s subtitling is the fact thatthe screen can only translate either the dialogue or the background, not bothat the same time. When I was watchingKomi Can’t Communicate,there were several moments when Komi’s reactions had a ton of Japanese characters behind them, but Netflix didn’t translate them because they were busy translating Tadano’s speech.
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This is incredibly frustrating. When I watch an anime series on Netflix, it feels like I have to settle for half of the show. Series without a ton of Japanese characters on screen don’t have this problem but still suffer from the poor timing of subtitles. If there is a sign on screen in Japanese, or any other Japanese characters, it will either be translated instead of the speaking character’s dialogue, or it won’t be translated at all.
Crunchyroll’s Subtitling Is Outstanding
A Smaller Company (by Market Cap) Without the Same Issue
Netflix’s subtitling issue might be more tolerable ifnobodyhad a solution to the problem, but Crunchyroll has proven time and time again that there is in fact an easy solution.Crunchyroll’s subtitles are always amazing, making me wonder how a reportedly 400billiondollar company like Netflix can’t figure it out.
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Crunchyroll is capable of a few things Netflix isn’t. They can translate all the text on the screen at any given time, allowing you to get 100% of the anime you’re watching. They can even color the subtitles to match the text that they’re translating, making sure the viewer isn’t taken out of the viewing experience with different colored text.
Not only can Crunchyroll translate everything on screen, which seems like it should be a given for any streaming service acquiring rights for a series they’re going to translate, but Crunchyroll’s subtitles are rarely mistimed. As someone who has watched hundreds ofgreat anime series on Crunchyroll, I can name the amount of times I saw mistimed subtitles on the platform on one hand. Netflix is worth more than several of the biggest streaming services combined, so it’s incredibly frustrating that they acquire the rights to amazing anime series just to make them unwatchable.
If Netflix Improved, They’d Be Dominant In Anime
If Other Companies Don’t Have This Problem, Netflix Can Fix It Too
Netflix has a ton of great series I’ve watched that can’t be found anywhere else without sailing the seas. I’m currently watchingBlue BoxandSakamoto Dayson the platform because neither series has a lot of background text to translate, but if both of these series weren’t excellent in their own right, I’d avoid the platform entirely.
Netflix’s inability to subtitle at the same level as Crunchyroll is a major downside for the platform.It’s a company capable of greatness, as seen byits amazing original seriesand its incredible 400 billion-dollar evaluation. If they could revamp their subtitling system, it would make anime-lovers like me flock to their platform thanks to their great catalog. If they don’t, I’m just going to stick to Crunchyroll and hope thatNetflixloses the rights to their series so I can watch them in all their glory from a streaming service that will treat them right.
