Hey anime lovers, buckle up for a wild ride! Amazon just stirred up a hornet's nest by sneaking in an AI-driven English dub for the beloved series Banana Fish. Fans with eagle eyes spotted an 'AI beta' label lurking in the Audio Languages settings, and boy, did it ignite a social media firestorm!
As clips of the AI voices spread like wildfire online, the criticism came crashing down from all corners—including subscribers, passionate fans, and influential voices. One streamer exclaimed on Twitter/X, "Amazon's using AI for dubs now?! This is a disaster and underscores the magic that real voice actors bring to their roles."
Watch out, world! The hashtag #BANANAFISH started trending, and the backlash was so intense that Amazon did a quick U-turn, yanking the AI dub from its Prime offerings. Now, viewers are left without any English dub option—an ironic twist!
But this isn't just a one-off controversy. Anime has been walking a tightrope with AI lately. Take the upcoming series Sekiro: No Defeat, slammed for allegedly dabbling in AI art. Crunchyroll squashed those rumors, proudly declaring the anime as "a fully hand-drawn 2D animation" set for 2026.
Crunchyroll's not stopping there, either. They're planting their flag firmly against AI in creative processes, pledging to employ talented human voice actors. Crunchyroll CEO Shams Purini passionately defended this in Forbes: "Voice actors are creators; their voices bring our stories to life."
Let's keep our fingers crossed that other streaming giants take a leaf out of Crunchyroll's book!
Want to keep up with the latest in film and television? Follow Lex Briscuso, our lively entertainment correspondent, on Twitter at @nikonamerica.