Godzilla Minus One has finally come to streaming a few months after its theatrical release, but which is the best way to watch it: the dubbed version or the original version with subtitles? After it was hailed as one of the best Godzilla movies ever made and won a much-deserved Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, Godzilla Minus One has finally arrived on the streaming library of Netflix. It’s a must-see for monster movie fans, but it’s a must-see for non-fans, too, because, for once, the human storyline is actually compelling.

In between Godzilla’s attacks on Japanese cities, Godzilla Minus One tells the touching tale of a blended family that comes together in the rubble of World War II. Godzilla is once again portrayed as a poignant visual metaphor for the devastating effects of nuclear warfare (as well as the PTSD and survivor’s guilt felt by its protagonist, former kamikaze pilot Kōichi Shikishima). There are two ways to watch Godzilla Minus One on streaming – dubbed or subbed – but which version is the best way to enjoy the movie?

Why To Watch Godzilla Minus One In Dubbed

Subtitles draw focus away from the visuals

The easiest way to watch Godzilla Minus One is the dubbed version. Reading subtitles can be a hassle, and the dub removes all that hassle by translating all the dialogue into the viewer’s native language. And not only is reading subtitles a pain; it also draws focus away from the visuals. Film is a visual medium, but watching a movie with the subtitles on forces the viewer to keep staring at the bottom of the screen. They’ll often miss a really great visual or an inventive shot if they’re too busy reading the subtitles.

Viewers of the dubbed version can just get swept up in the story. There’s no need to translate dialogue on the fly, because it’s delivered in the viewer’s familiar native language. They don’t have to go through the laborious process of hearing the dialogue, reading the translation, and mentally putting it into context. Watching a movie with subtitles is pitched somewhere between watching a movie and reading a book, which makes it difficult to get fully immersed in the story. The dubbed version can create that immersion.

Why To Watch Godzilla Minus One In Subbed

The original performances are ruined by the dub

The big advantage of the subbed version of Godzilla Minus One is getting to see the cast’s whole performances. The dubbed version keeps their facial expressions and body language, but their line deliveries are recorded over. The dubbing artists often ruin the tension of a scene, because they’ll be handed individual lines out of context. As a result, the dialogue in dubbed movies can be grating and disconnected from the mood of a given scene. In some cases, it can be more of a distraction than subtitles.

There’s not actually a lot of reading involved in watching the subbed version of Godzilla Minus One. Movies like Roma or Anatomy of a Fall are very dialogue-heavy, with very little action (save for the civil unrest on the streets of Mexico City in Roma and the opening death in Anatomy of a Fall), so it’s a big commitment to read their subtitles. But Godzilla Minus One is extremely action-packed. There are some dialogue scenes between the central family, but there are also long, skyscraper-smashing action sequences with little to no dialogue at all.

Why Subbed Is The Best Way To Watch Godzilla Minus One

Subbed beats dubbed any day of the week

The dubbed and subbed versions of Godzilla Minus One both have their advantages and disadvantages. Dubbed can be good, because it provides the immersive experience of telling the story in the viewer’s native language, but subbed keeps the original actors’ performances intact and gives the audience a proper viewing experience. The subbed version is the version that the filmmakers put out there; the dubbed version is the butchered version that exists for people who are too lazy to read subtitles. Putting in the work to read the subtitles pays off handsomely.

The same goes for any non-English-language movie that became a big hit in the English-speaking markets: Parasite, Amélie, Spirited Away, Pan’s Labyrinth, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The original actors’ performances are a big part of why those films work so beautifully, and those performances get butchered in the dubbing process. Godzilla Minus One is no different. The actors of Godzilla Minus One delivered their lines with nuance and gravitas and deeply felt emotion. The dubbed version is missing all that stuff.