'AI dubbing' appears on Amazon Prime Video, but is removed after strong criticism



Amazon Prime Video added an AI-generated English dub called ' AI Beta ' to the audio language options for some anime titles. The dub sounded monotonous and monotonous, drawing criticism as 'awkward and soulless' and 'laughably bad.' Following strong criticism from the National Association of Voice Actors (NAVA) and American voice actors, Amazon quietly removed AI Beta.

Amazon removes AI-generated anime dubs after uproar | Mashable
https://mashable.com/article/amazon-ai-dub-anime-banana-fish



According to NAVA, when watching Japanese anime titles such as ' BANANA FISH ,' ' Vinland Saga ,' and ' No Game No Life Zero ' on Amazon Prime Video, an AI dubbing called 'AI beta' was added to the audio language options. However, the quality of the AI dubbing was low, and NAVA criticized it, saying, 'These dubbings are insulting and disrespectful.'



'BANANA FISH' in particular is popular in the United States as a work that has influenced LGBTQ+ manga and anime, and many have been calling for an official English dub. Voice actor Daman Mills, who has previously voiced Kaworu Nagisa in the 'Evangelion' series, said in a post on X, 'It's extremely disrespectful that they've provided a dub of 'BANANA FISH' that fans have been waiting for for years with AI-generated garbage. If they don't fix this, I will never work on a dubbed project for Amazon Prime Video again. Shame on you.'



Additionally, 'No Game No Life Zero' has an official English dub provided by the American anime distribution company Sentai Filmworks , while 'Vinland Saga' has two dubs, one by Sentai Filmworks and one by Netflix. Despite this, the addition of AI dubbing prompted Christina Kelly, who participated in the dubbing of 'No Game No Life,' to lament, 'No Game No Life' was the first anime I ever dubbed, and Amazon is making fun of me for it. Please don't support AI.'



Other concerns have been raised about the audio used to train the AI dubbing. Briana White, the voice actress for Aerith in 'Final Fantasy VII,' said, 'I just wonder if the talented actors who were fed their voices into the AI without their consent or knowledge will ever be compensated for their work.'



NAVA states, 'Human dubbing requires skill, emotion, nuance, understanding of story and scene, and human experience to create a performance that audiences can relate to and respect. AI dubbing shows how much skill and practice it takes to connect with audiences through voice acting, and how difficult it is to replicate the human experience.'

The AI Beta was added towards the end of November 2025, causing quite a stir. As a result, the AI Beta was quietly removed towards the beginning of December.

'I'd like to thank Amazon for removing the English AI dub of Banana Fish. However, I, and many others, believe that all other languages should be given the same respect. I hope this is the start of a path to a fixed future,' Mills wrote on X.

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in AI,   Anime, Posted by log1e_dh