Artificial intelligence is a hot topic throughout the entertainment world, sparking a lot of debate. Many fans and creators are concerned about protecting the people who bring their favorite stories to life. In Japan, particularly within the anime industry, there’s been a strong push to safeguard animators, voice actors, and other creative professionals. Given the ongoing controversy surrounding AI, it’s a good time to take a closer look at some of the biggest issues facing the industry.
7.) Amazon’s Banana Fish Boondoggle
Amazon faced criticism last year for using artificial intelligence to create English dubs for popular anime series on its streaming service, including Banana Fish, Vinland Saga, and No Game No Life. Fans strongly disliked the AI-generated dubs, leading Amazon to remove them. So far, the company hasn’t used this technology for any other anime, and it doesn’t appear they plan to in the future.
6.) JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure A.I. Soundtrack
While the JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure anime hasn’t explored artificial intelligence, one of its live-action movies did. The recent film, Rohan At The Louvre, surprisingly used A.I. to create its entire soundtrack, which initially upset some fans. Despite the criticism, the composer decided to keep the A.I.-generated music in the film. Now, with JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Steel Ball Run coming to Netflix next month, the controversy surrounding the A.I. soundtrack seems to be fading.
5.) Studio Ghibli Becomes an A.I. Target
Studio Ghibli is a highly celebrated anime studio, famous for beloved films like My Neighbor Totoro, Spirited Away, and The Boy and the Heron, among many others. Recently, fans began using artificial intelligence to create images in Ghibli’s distinctive style, which upset creator Hayao Miyazaki. While this trend isn’t as widespread now as it once was, it still pops up occasionally – even the White House briefly used the style with AI, generating significant media attention.
4.) Crunchyroll’s Subtitle Issue
Last year, Crunchyroll faced criticism over subtitles in the anime series Necronomico and the Cosmic Horror Show. Viewers noticed errors and inconsistencies that led many to suspect artificial intelligence was used to generate them. Crunchyroll responded, explaining they hired a third-party company to create the subtitles, and reiterated their previous stance on AI. They had previously stated that they don’t use AI in creative roles, including voice acting, as they view those individuals as storytellers who contribute to the plot.
3.) Mechanical Marie’s A.I. Backlash
There’s been a lot of discussion among anime fans about whether the recent series, Mechanical Marie, used artificial intelligence to create its visuals. The manga author, Aki Akimoto, made a short statement about the anime’s art style, which only fueled the speculation. Some news organizations even avoided reporting on the series, suspecting A.I. involvement, but so far, there’s been no official confirmation either way.
2.) Dragon Ball & One Piece’s A.I. Decision
I recently read Toei Animation’s statement about their plans for using artificial intelligence. As the studio behind popular anime like Dragon Ball and One Piece, their announcement definitely got people talking. They haven’t said they’ll use AI quite like Amazon does, but their approach still raised some concerns among fans. Basically, Toei explained they want to use AI to boost efficiency, improve the quality of their work, and explore new business possibilities by combining AI with their animation process.
1.) Netflix’s The Dog & The Boy
Netflix sparked debate when it released a short film called The Dog & The Boy in 2023. The film features a boy and his robot dog, but some viewers were unhappy with the use of artificial intelligence in its creation. Netflix explained that while artists still worked on the project, AI was used to help with production, specifically to ease the current labor shortage in the anime industry. The streaming service confirmed they used AI to generate the background images for the three-minute film.
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2026-02-14 00:43