Amazon Removes AI English Anime Dubs After Kadokawa and Sentai Films Say They Didn’t Know
The relationship between streaming giants and anime rights holders has always been complex, but a recent misstep by Amazon has escalated the tension to a boiling point. When a handful of popular anime titles suddenly received new, English-language dubs. This controversial move, already facing fan backlash, has now triggered a major response from Japanese rights holders, resulting in a swift removal of the “AI beta” tracks.
The Rise and Fall of the “AI Beta” Dubs
Amazon Prime Video recently began adding “AI beta” dubs to select anime titles, including fan favorites like “Banana Fish” and “No Game, No Life Zero”. The move, part of a broader company initiative to use generative AI for dubbing, was quickly met with widespread ridicule and anger from the anime community and professional voice actors. Clips of the robotic, poorly mixed dialogue, which completely missed the emotional nuance of the source material, circulated rapidly across social media platforms.
The low quality was a major factor in the backlash, but the core issue was the utilization of AI to replace human creative labor. Veteran voice actor Daman Mills publicly condemned the action, writing on X that the use of synthetic voices was a “massive insult to us as performers.” He further questioned the choice to apply AI to a series with heavy themes, stating, “Was a queer trauma narrative handed to a machine because paying real actors is too hard?”
Rights Holders Claim Ignorance and Unauthorized Use
The true crisis for Amazon, however, emerged not from the fan base but from its crucial licensing partners in Japan. Two major companies that hold the rights to the affected anime, Kadokawa and Sentai Filmworks (which licenses through their platform HIDIVE), issued strong statements indicating they were not involved in the decision to create the AI dubs.
Kadokawa, the owner of the rights for the movie “No Game, No Life Zero,” delivered a clear rejection of the technology. A company representative stated that they “have not approved an AI dub of the movie in any form.” This suggests that Amazon proceeded with the AI dubbing without the express permission of a major content provider—a critical breach of trust in the notoriously protective Japanese intellectual property industry.
Similarly, Sentai Filmworks, which also holds rights to “No Game, No Life Zero” and other titles, revealed their total lack of foreknowledge. In an article on Anime News Network, sources confirmed that the company was “not aware in advance” of the AI dub and was actively “looking into it with Amazon.” This lack of communication with licensing partners over such a significant change to the content is a serious violation that threatens Amazon’s future anime acquisition efforts.
Amazon’s Silent Retreat
Following the dual-pronged pressure from fans/industry professionals and the rights holders, Amazon quietly removed the “AI beta” English dub options from the titles. The removal was swift and done without an official statement from the streaming giant.
For the anime industry, this incident highlights the growing tensions between technology companies seeking cost-cutting automation and creators fighting to preserve human artistry and labor. The fact that the dubs were pulled almost immediately after the rights holders objected suggests that, in the complex world of anime licensing, the contractual power of the Japanese studios ultimately outweighs the internal AI ambitions of a streaming giant. While the immediate threat has been neutralized, the situation serves as a stark reminder of the ongoing struggle over the future role of AI in creative media.
