Amazon Pulls AI-Generated Dubs from Popular Anime After Backlash

Amazon has quietly taken down AI-produced English dubs from a handful of well-known anime titles, including Banana Fish, Pet, and No Game, No Life Zero. Earlier in the week, some sharp-eyed viewers spotted a new 'English [AI beta]' option in the audio settings, which featured voices entirely generated by artificial intelligence. By the start of December, these AI dubs had vanished from Prime Video, leaving punters with no English audio option for these shows. Interestingly, a Latin American AI dub for The Vinland Saga is still hanging around for now.

Studios Respond to Unauthorised AI Dubs

The move to pull the AI dubs came after a fair bit of noise from fans and industry insiders. Anime studios Aniplex, Kadokawa, and Sentai Filmworks all weighed in after being contacted about the situation. Kadokawa made it clear, stating,

no AI dub was approved 'in any form'

. Sentai Filmworks, for their part, said they were

'not aware in advance' of the AI dub and are currently investigating the matter with Amazon

. The studios’ responses suggest they were caught off guard by the sudden appearance of these AI-generated tracks.

Viewer Reactions and Industry Concerns

The use of AI voice actors in these dubs sparked a fair bit of criticism online. Many fans reckon the technology just isn’t up to scratch, with some taking the mickey out of the robotic delivery and lack of emotion. Others raised concerns about the impact on professional voice actors, who rely on this work for their livelihoods. The backlash was swift, with social media lighting up as soon as the AI dubs were spotted.

For now, English-speaking fans of these anime are left without a dubbed option, while the studios and Amazon sort out what happened. The whole episode has put a spotlight on how streaming platforms are experimenting with new tech, sometimes without giving creators or audiences a proper heads-up.

What’s Next for AI in Anime?

While the AI dubs have been pulled from these particular titles, the Latin American version for The Vinland Saga remains available, at least for the time being. It’s not clear whether Amazon plans to roll out more AI-generated dubs in the future, or if this backlash will make them think twice. Either way, the incident has sparked a broader conversation about the role of artificial intelligence in the entertainment industry, especially when it comes to creative work that’s usually done by humans.