Crunchyroll Caught Using AI Subtitles After Viewers Notice “ChatGPT Said…” in New Anime Scene

Crunchyroll is once again under fire after fans spotted what looked like AI-generated subtitles in one of its latest anime releases, Necronomico and the Cosmic Horror Show. Things got messy when viewers noticed a strange line in the German version of the subtitles that started with “ChatGPT said…” and it showed up during a pretty serious moment in the first episode.

People weren’t happy. The subtitles didn’t just feel off, they were full of awkward sentences and weird phrasing. The English ones weren’t much better either.

After the episode aired, a Crunchyroll spokesperson told Engadget that the issue came from outside the company. “We were made aware that AI-generated subtitles were employed by a third-party vendor, which is in violation of our agreement. We are investigating the matter and are working to rectify the error,” they said.

This isn’t the first time Crunchyroll has had problems with subtitles. Last year, it pulled the first episode of The Yuzuki Family’s Four Sons after viewers complained about bad subs filled with missing punctuation and confusing translations. Around that time, some fans already suspected the company was using AI tools for translation.

In fact, early in 2023, Crunchyroll president Rahul Purini told The Verge that they were “very focused on testing” generative AI tools for subtitles and captions. According to him, the goal was to shorten the time between the original Japanese release and the translated version on the platform. He also said that quicker translations might stop fans from turning to pirated content.

But now, that move seems to be backfiring. Fans are complaining they’re paying for a subscription, starting at $8 a month, and getting poor quality in return. One user on Bluesky, who goes by Pixel, shared a screenshot of the “ChatGPT said…” line and wrote, “This is not acceptable. How can we be expected to pay for a service that clearly doesn’t care about the quality of its products?” The post went viral and was quoted and reshared thousands of times.

Some fans are now saying they’ll just go back to pirated fan-subs, which they claim are more accurate and readable. Others on Reddit echoed the same feelings, calling the official translations “unwatchable.”

Crunchyroll says it’s working on fixing the subtitles, but fans clearly expect better, especially when they’re paying for it.

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