Crunchyroll's lazy AI subtitles on its new anime draw fan outrage

Going all in with ChatGPT? Crunchyroll's new anime subtitling is a clear shoutout that the company is effectively using the AI for good, though not without raising eyebrows. Fans all over the world have pointed this out as a lazy move from the company’s side. In the very first episode of Necronomico and the Cosmic Horror Show, an unmistakable blunder stole the spotlight, leaving no doubt about an AI being the source of the error.

Crunchyroll busted using AI? ChatGPT said, the line in subtitles sparks controversy

Last year, Crunchyroll’s president Rahul Purini disclosed to the media that the company was testing AI technology for subtitling. From captioning to text-to-speech subtitling, they have been quite focused on using AI to their advantage. Well, who knew this could be a misstep on their behalf. You think their acknowledgement was quite a big step right? Well, wait! The company only addressed the issue publicly after its show The Yuzuki Family's Four Sons received massive audience complaints over poor subtitling.

The episodes had major issues on the punctuations and clearly the translations were nonsensical. Many viewers had suspected the use of AI at that time but now with the new series it is just crystal clear! Had the results been acceptable, the company might have avoided backlash but the quality was as poor as anyone can expect. 

Taking the new series Necronomico and the Cosmic Horror Show into play, viewers have pointed out the give away point for the use of AI. According to an article, around the 19:12 mark, the show's German subtitles include a glaring error, “ChatGPT said” awkwardly inserted into the dialogue showing a clear sign of sloppy AI use. Funnily enough this was shown in one of the pivotal scenes of the episode. 

Frustrated by the poor quality, many fans took to social media claiming they had to rely on torrent downloads just to get accurate subtitles. Yes, they were that bad! Crunchyroll’s President, while accepting his testing with AI for subtitling, had also stated that this was a move done to reduce piracy. Well, the sheer irony of it all!