For the dedicated fans of One Piece, one question has been a recurring puzzle: Why is the One Piece dubbed version consistently lagging behind the subbed version? To find the answer, we need to delve into the history of One Piece’s English adaptation.
One Piece originally set sail in the anime world on October 20, 1999. However, the English-dubbed version had a delayed entry into the scene. The first dubbed episode aired on Fox TV in the USA on September 18, 2004. It wasn’t until 2008 when Funimation ( now Crunchyroll) secured licensing rights, that uncut and unedited episodes of Season 1 were made available.
A significant shift occurred in the anime industry around 2014-2015 with the advent of the SimulDub era. Before this era, the conventional method involved releasing anime series on DVDs, leading to considerable delays between the original Japanese release and the availability of the English-dubbed version. The transition to SimulDubs, where episodes are dubbed and released close to the original Japanese airings, happened relatively late.
While it took several years for the first dubbed episode of One Piece to see the light, it is essential to acknowledge the efforts to bridge the gap. The year 2023 marked a turning point as the episodes were released at a more accelerated pace, narrowing the time difference between the sub and the dub.
“I don’t watch the one piece anime I only read the mang-“ pic.twitter.com/ejQ2LM3ljt
— Geo (@Geo_AW) January 20, 2024
When will One Piece Dub catch with the sub?
One Piece Episode 1037 Dub was released on January 16, 2024, on Crunchyroll. This episode is part of the first batch of One Piece Dub for this year, including Episodes 1037–1048. The final dubbed batch of One Piece for 2023 consisted of Episodes 1025–1036.
Fans were quite excited as the gap between the sub and the dub was closing. Crunchyroll accelerated the dubbing process, promising a quicker release of episodes throughout the year. The current expectation is that by May 2024, the dub will catch up to the sub.
As fans eagerly await each new episode, the future promises a closer alignment between the sub and the dub, providing a more synchronized viewing experience.
