Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1546135
56 FA L L 2 0 2 6 I C A S Q U A R T E R L Y To this topic, Nicholas adds, "You have these different recording qualities and different inflections in the voices. That happens a lot with anime. It feels like there's this crazy spike in the high-mid frequencies, but also their voice is so full—there are different frequencies that are being elevated, and you can't change that. It's just the inflection," it just cuts through, and it's already embedded into the culture and the audience. It is not something to take lightly, reminding us that each project, as well as each format and genre, have their own characteristics that must be respected for the audience. Around 80%– 90% of Netflix anime viewers globally choose dubbed audio over subtitles, as published by The Hollywood Reporter in 2025 4 . I recall two Japanese anime dubbed into English projects that I mixed last year in which talking robots were heavily involved, although very different between projects. Processed and stylized voices for the robots were present in the original and had to be recreated by ear as no session notes or parameters were included. After filling my track with plugins, trying to emulate the sound as closely as possible, I ended up with just a couple of plugins with very basic processing used smartly. It's a process that might take time, although it's not an element to spare in the workflow and timeframes of dubbing and localization, with fast turnarounds for the mix. And often, the simplest solution is the one that better tells the story—the most honest one. It was believable, close enough to the original, and suited for the English-dubbed dialogue. What Audiences Expect In dubbed-dominant markets in Europe, 65% of audiences stopped watching a movie or TV show because of poor localization quality, while 30% were abandoning content monthly as a result 5 , according to the report by the Entertainment Globalization Association, as reported by BusinessWire. That is the opposite of what we mixers, directors, and the studios aim for. Technical aspects aside, the main goal we share is to tell the story as originally intended, matching it as closely as possible while keeping the audience engaged with the same emotions and feelings that the original language creates. For Serge, the main thing that audiences expect from the dubbed version is dialogue intelligibility first, then authenticity. That begins with well-written dialogue, as a good translation and adaptation are the basis for good recording and subsequent mix. Everything based on the story—that's the top priority, besides being entertaining. David recalls on his most memorable experiences with the process: "When we did Moana and I got to fly to Tahiti and do the Tahitian language version, which had never been done by our studio before. Disney just did it, didn't advertise it, didn't say, hey, look at us. And I spent a week there with the culture, with the people, doing screenings of the film—10,000 people outdoors in the stadium watching Moana. I was blown away at the appreciation people had for doing a film like this in their language, and it stays with me to this day." A closing thought from Nicholas, "If we can make it so that someone turns on the dub and says I didn't even notice this was dubbed, then we've done our job," says Nicholas. Sources 1 Film Distributors' Association, Aug. 2025—'2025 Global Box Office Makes Gains on 2024 Results.' https://filmdistributorsassociation.com/2025/08/2025-global-box-office-makes-gains-on-2024-results/ 2 Los Angeles Times, Feb. 15, 2022—'Why dubbing has become more crucial to Netflix's business.' https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2022-02-28/why-dubbing-has-become-more- crucial-to-netflixs-business 3 Morning Consult, March 2022—'Streaming Trends: Subtitles vs. Dubbing in International Content.' https://intel.morningconsult.com/mc-content/trend-setters/subtitles-dubbing-streaming 4 The Hollywood Reporter, July 7, 2025— Netflix Says 50 Percent of Global Users Now Watch Anime.' https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/netflix-anime-slate-2025-1236307714/ 5 Entertainment Globalization Association/Whip Media, Nov. 4, 2021—BusinessWire. https://www. businesswire.com/news/home/20211104005275/en/France-Italy-Germany-and-Spain-Viewers-Stopping- Shows-at-Alarming-Rate-According-to-Entertainment-Globalization-Association-Report