Anime with Japanese subtitles in the UK?

Japanese Language
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I am trying to start watching anime or Japanese tv shows in Japanese but need the subtitles to help me understand what is being said.

I have tried both Netflix and Crunchyroll, both allow Japanese audio but not Japanese subtitles for some strange reason, even after changing my region and language to Japanese.

I would rather avoid VPN if possible, does anyone know of anyway to activate Japanese subtitles on either of these services or any other service to watch these on or even if there is a place to buy the episodes on with Japanese subtitles so I could watch them on both my Smart TV and iPhone? Preferably a streaming service for ease of use and progress syncing.

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Some Netflix anime should have Japanese subtitles, just not all. First example - I remember Toradora having them, can you use it for checking?

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I just checked, at least on American Netflix there’s no option for them.

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Wow, I think I now understand licenses rules and logic even less than before.
Here’s Polish region:

toradora
toradora1189×402 16.1 KB

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Very strange, I checked Netflix and Crunchyroll and they have neither.

Isn’t it strange to have the audio in that language but not the subtitles even though they are clearly available?

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I find this site (and their browser extension) useful for finding anime on Netflix that has Japanese subtitles

Language Learning with Netflix

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My guess is they’re discouraging VPN use by only providing the subtitles that are absolutely necessary for the country it’s streaming to. I briefly used a VPN to get Japanese Netflix and there are rarely english subs provided. It worked out alright for me, but your usual anime-loving American VPN user would be disappointed.

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That’s excellent, LL! Thank you for that, it’s great. Amongst those 86 there must be something for NihonDash’s tastes. I’m seeing my favourites ‘Japanese Style Originator’ and ‘Tokyo Stories’. But Miyazaki’s lovely films have Japanese subtitles too - so maybe there are others not even on the list.
I have set up a separate Japanese-watching profile on Netflix so it can do its own algorithm thing. If you’re not seeing any come up, NihonDash, maybe try the same as I’m getting them and I’m in the UK?

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How are you getting to that page? I can only find the option to completely change the interface to Japanese, which I don’t want to do.

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Does anyone understand it? :joy: Licensing negotiations for media are part of my job and I low-key think if you aren’t a good lawyer in that field you’ll struggle. Licensing negotiations are annoying, complicated and often an ongoing matter since they get renegotiated every few years. Every country has different copy right laws so I don’t even want to imagine the struggle with different international laws and all that.

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That is perfect, thank you!

I thought I was going crazy as every series on my watch list didn’t have subtitles but I have added all 86 to a watch list on a separate profile and added 日本語 as an additional language.

Thanks for the great resource tip!

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I’ve found that Netflix originals often have the most subtitle/audio options! For example Carole and Tuesday, Beastars, etc

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#truth

At work we have a dedicated person for licensing contracts and an attorney on retainer.

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