> I have seen both versions and the subtitled version is *much, much* better. However, the dubbed version is not disastrous or even bad; I thought it was very well done and not at all intrusive. Maybe I've already said this somewhere on the forum before, but I can't find it in a quick search, so I guess I'll risk repeating myself.
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> Having seen the subtitled version first, I noticed some minor alterations in the dubbed dialogue which I felt changed meanings too much. An example: when a character was asked what he would wish for, his answer was "To be back in the desert" (subbed) but "To return to the desert" (dubbed). It's a miniscule difference, but it changes the meaning. The first, to me, means that he wishes to erase the intervening time and events. The second is barely worth using up a wish on -- he just has to *go* there, for goodness sake, and there is apparently nothing stopping him from doing this.
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> If sufficient depth and complexity of meaning is lost in just one line like this, and in an exceptionally well-crafted production, it's enough reason for me to stick to subtitles whenever possible.
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Ah, yes - subtitles vs. dubbing, and translation quality issues... this is something I run into a lot. In my case, it's because of anime, but the same issues come up as long as you're watching something originally done in another language.

Part of the reason for slight dialogue changes in dubs is that not only do the translated words have to at least somewhat reflect the original meaning, they also need to have a similar pattern of lip movement to the original. I've talked to a few anime dub voice actors, and matching the cadence of their speech to the movement of the character's mouths is pretty darn difficult. So I can see why slight changes like the one you mentioned might have been just an issue of lip movement. (Of course, I don't know if that's the reason for that example, but it might have been. *shrug*) I still usually watch anime subtitled, though. Truly good anime dubs are few and far between... there are several reasons for that, but I'm not going to give a lecture here. ;)

Sosi"hater of bad dubs"qui