Good anime in German – there is no such thing. Or does it? We’ll show you 5 anime that are also really strong in German.
When it comes to anime, fans are divided into two major camps. One group swears that good anime is only available in the original Japanese with subtitles. The other half can’t do anything with “Japanese squeaky voices” and therefore only looks at completely German translations.
But anime translations are often criticized – and often unfairly. The German versions of many series are now really good and a real alternative to the Japanese original.
We are therefore introducing you to 5 anime (series and films) that have also received a really strong dubbing in German – this is also perfect for everyone who wants to get started with the medium of anime.
Dusk Maiden of Amnesia
German title: /
Genre: Mystery, romance, horror, drama
Episodes: 12
German stream available on: Currently no streaming provider available, only available to purchase.
The Seikyou Private Academy was built on the site of an old school. There are many legends about scary incidents and stories from the past – such as the student Yuuko, who died in the basement of the old school and is now trapped in the school as a ghost.
Because she has hardly any memories of her mortal time, she tries to attract the attention of the students of the occult club and manages to get Teiichi Niiya, who can talk and interact with her. Together with two other classmates, they try to solve the school’s mysteries and learn more about Yuuko’s past and find out how she really died.
Death Parade
German title: /
Genre: Drama, tension
Episodes: 12
German stream available on: Currently no streaming provider available, only available to purchase.
After death, people go to heaven or hell. But there are some exceptions. A select few who die at the same time come to Quindecim – a special bar where the deceased meet their soul judge, Decim. His judgment ultimately decides whether those affected go to hell or heaven.
The verdict is decided by an often cruel game – in which it is not necessarily about victory or defeat, but about revealing the true essence of a person.
But are Decim’s rules really fair for judging human lives? He begins to question his own morals when he is confronted with a black-haired woman suffering from amnesia who is supposed to help him out at the bar for a while.
There are more great anime in German on the next page.
Neon Genesis Evangelion
German title: /
Genre: Action, drama, sci-fi
Episodes: 26
German stream available on: Netflix (new dub)
In 2015, Neo Tokyo is attacked by angels. Giant, strange monsters that sow destruction throughout the city. In contrast to this are the so-called “EVA” units – huge, apparent machines that have to be controlled by young people whose brain waves synchronize with the strange robots.
The young Shinji Ikari, whose father leads the EVA project, is also chosen to serve as a pilot for such a unit. But the already skeptical Shinji cannot cope with the pressure of this task. As the angels become more and more intelligent and efficient, Shinji himself has to deal with more and more problems – not just from his social environment, because little by little the truth of the EVA project and the angels is revealed to him.
If you have the choice, we recommend taking the original dubbing from 2004. The series has now been dubbed again, but the translation in the newer version has some, albeit minor, criticisms.
YourName.
German title: YourName. – Yesterday, today and forever
Genre: drama
Episodes: 1 (movie)
German stream available on: Crunchyroll
Mitsuha, who lives in the country, longs for the big city. She finds the sleepy life in her village with old traditions and little variety boring. Things are completely different for Taki, who lives in Tokyo and is only too happy to try to escape the stress of the big city.
The two dreams unexpectedly come true when Taki and Mitsuha find themselves occasionally swapping bodies and taking on each other’s roles – causing quite a bit of chaos.
After a few days, the two of them try to get to the bottom of this phenomenon and decide that they want to meet. But that doesn’t turn out to be that easy, as the memories of each other fade as soon as you wake up…
A Silent Voice
German title: /
Genre: drama
Episodes: 1 (movie)
German stream available on: Currently no streaming provider available, only available to purchase.
Shouya Ishida pays for his sins. He worked hard outside of school and sold everything he owned to pay off the debt to his mother and then killed himself.
But at the last moment he abandons this plan and tries to correct the mistakes of his past in other ways. As a child, he bullied his deaf classmate Shouko Nishimiya and ensured that she ultimately had to leave school.
When the bullying was exposed, Shouya became a victim himself and has since lived a withdrawn life without friends and can no longer even look strangers in the face.
Now he meets Shouko again by chance at a sign language course – and tries to apologize to his former victim. A situation that is not so easy to process for Shouko, her family and the school class at the time…
Of course, these are just a few examples of good German dubbing – there are many more. Do you know any anime series or films that completely convinced you in German? Then tell us about it in the comments.