Is the One Piece Dub Catching Up to the Sub?
The English dub for the current One Piece has a notorious history of airing episodes far later than the Japanese version. This is due to the fact that Funimation, which is now a part of Crunchyroll, didn’t start on it until 2004. However, the first episode of the One Piece anime aired in 1999. For a very long period, the English dub and the Japanese subs were separated by five years.
This gap has, however, been undergoing a change recently. The gap has been closing as dubbed episodes are released much more quickly than subtitled episodes. With the most recent set of episodes, the One Piece dub is less than three years behind the subtitles. If things continue in this direction, it won’t be long until the dub catches up totally.
How Long Will It Take the One Piece Dub to Catch Up to the Subs?
Looking at how quickly new dubs have been released will help determine how long it will take for the dub to catch up to the subs. Episodes 759 through 914 of the 2022 season were made available in English, which places the dub just before Luffy and Kaid’s first bout. This results in 156 brand-new dub episodes, or an average of 13 episodes every month.
Comparatively, the subs released Episodes 1005 through 1045 in 2022. They have produced a total of 46 episodes, which indicates that they typically produce three to four episodes every month. The 131-episode gap between the sub and the dub still exists, but it seems much more manageable given how quickly the dub is moving.
By the end of 2023, the dub may reach Episode 1070 if the sub and dub both keep moving forward at their present rates. The sub ought to have at most reached Episode 1093 by that time. Theoretically, the dub might start releasing episodes in March or perhaps February 2024, only weeks after the original Japanese broadcast.
The increased creation of the dub in recent years is likely due to the way that people now watch anime. Before, a dub being at least a year behind schedule wasn’t a significant concern. Nowadays, however, it is assumed that the majority of anime will be dubbed within a few weeks or months following their Japanese broadcast. In such a situation, One Piece’s continued lag would be almost unjustifiable. Whoever made the choice must have understood this and taken the necessary actions to advance the situation.
Whatever the case, it’s great that the dub is gradually catching up to the subtitles. As a result, individuals who like the dub and want to follow along may do so with a lot less fear of being spoiled by others who prefer the subtitles. English fans would still be at the beginning of the Whole Cake Island Arc if events hadn’t taken this turn; while technically just one arc separates the two points in time, a lot occurs within that span. English viewers will finally be able to converse with their pals who only watch the dubs if the dubs continue at their present rate. The Toonami run viewers who are still watching Punk Hazard will need to wait a bit longer to hear that conversation.
- Reference Sites:
- https://animesee.com/
- https://www.crunchyroll.com/
- https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/
- https://www.cbr.com/
