Earlier this year, we interviewed local voice-over artist Su Ling Chan, who shared her thoughts on the rise of generative AI in the creative industry. Although the technology poses a threat, she believes it will never come close to replicating genuine human emotion and breathing in voice acting. The craft itself is inherently chaotic, with performers responding to each scene in real time and delivering their lines according to the direction given, often on the spot.
Her stance appears to have been validated after Amazon released an AI-generated English dub for one of the anime series on its streaming platform. Following immense backlash from both the voice-over industry and fans, the company has since removed the dub. Here’s what happened:
For context, “Banana Fish” is one of the most popular anime series, adapted from the 1994 manga of the same name. While not officially classified as such, fans often regard it as a BL due to the relationship between the two protagonists. It is also one of the most requested titles to receive an official English dub. When fans spotted an English dub option on Amazon’s Prime Video, they were initially overjoyed — but that excitement was short-lived once they realised the dub had been produced using generative AI. The voices sounded like a flat, literal translation rather than genuine voice acting.
Voice actor and director Daman Mills, a prominent figure in the industry, was among the first to call out and criticise Amazon for failing to hire trained and experienced professionals to voice the characters. Known for his roles as Frieza in “Dragon Ball Super”, Lyney in “Genshin Impact”, and Blade in “Honkai: Star Rail”, Daman’s remarks quickly echoed throughout the industry, with many other performers and fans condemning the company for what they viewed as a shameless and greedy attempt to use an AI dub.
Although Amazon has yet to officially respond to the backlash, it appears the company has acknowledged the damage caused, as the AI English dub has since been removed from the streaming platform, according to fans who noticed it was no longer available when streaming “Banana Fish”. However, it appears that AI was also used for the Spanish dub, which is still available.
Regardless, it is reassuring to see that when enough people speak out, change is possible. AI can be a powerful tool, but it should never replace real human talent in an industry where emotion and experience are essential. Let this serve as a lesson to Amazon and other companies considering the use of generative AI in the creative sector.
Sources: Twitter (1)(2), Forbes, ScreenRant, Reddit
