Anime Fans Say Pluto TV’s ‘Inuyashiki’ English Dub Sounds AI-Generated Amid Backlash

Free streaming platforms have been racing to expand their anime libraries in recent years to compete with paid services like Crunchyroll. This rapid growth has sometimes resulted in hasty rollouts, prompting fans to be more vigilant about potential shortcuts taken in production.

Pluto TV has emerged as a significant player in this arena, recently enhancing its anime catalog with new dubbed titles, additional linear channels, and greater access to popular franchises. As part of this initiative, the platform introduced English dub and subtitle options for ‘Inuyashiki: Last Hero,’ a title that was previously hard to find with English audio on free streaming services.

However, this expansion has sparked unexpected controversy. Viewers have claimed that the English dub of ‘Inuyashiki’ on Pluto TV sounds suspiciously artificial, leading to accusations on social media that the platform may have utilized AI-generated voices instead of professional voice actors.

Fans have pointed out several specific issues with the dub’s audio quality. Many viewers have noted unnatural voice inflections and abrupt audio cutoffs throughout episodes, which are often associated with synthetic or AI-generated speech rather than traditional voice acting.

Compounding the suspicion, there has been no official English voice cast listed in the show’s credits, which is unusual for a series that was promoted as a proper dubbed release. This lack of credited talent has made it challenging for fans and industry observers to determine who, if anyone, actually performed the English-language voice work.

Currently, Pluto TV has not made any public statements confirming or denying these claims, leaving the controversy largely driven by fan speculation and shared clips circulating on social media.

If these claims are accurate, it wouldn’t be the first time a major streaming platform faced backlash over AI-generated anime dubs. Amazon Prime Video encountered a similar uproar after quietly rolling out AI-generated English dubs for titles like ‘Banana Fish,’ ‘No Game No Life: Zero,’ and ‘Vinland Saga,’ labeled under an “AI beta” option in the platform’s audio settings.

The backlash against Amazon was significant enough that the platform ultimately removed the AI dubs following widespread criticism from fans and voice actors. This controversy was particularly pronounced given ‘Banana Fish’s’ importance as a landmark piece of LGBTQ+ anime storytelling, with critics arguing that handing such a culturally significant work over to synthetic voicing was disrespectful to both the source material and the professional voice acting community.

These recurring controversies highlight a broader tension in the streaming industry as platforms weigh the cost savings of AI voice generation against the risks of alienating dedicated fan communities. Anime audiences, in particular, are quick to notice and call out any shortcuts taken in dubbing quality, as voice performance is closely tied to a series’ emotional resonance.

Whether Pluto TV’s ‘Inuyashiki’ dub is a genuine case of AI voicing or simply an unusually rough traditional recording remains unconfirmed. Given the platform’s silence thus far and the precedent set by Amazon’s own AI dub fallout, fans are unlikely to let this issue fade without some form of official response.

Have something to add? Let us know in the comments!