During an interview with ForbesCEO Crunchyroll, Rahul Puriniwas blunt: the platform does not intend to use artificial intelligence (AI) in any creative aspect of its anime. This includes both the work of the studios and the performances of the voice actors, which he considers an essential part of the narrative construction of each series.
The statement is particularly noteworthy because, last year, the same executive had expressed interest in using AI to accelerate subtitling and transcription processes, as revealed to The Verge. At the time, the proposal aimed to make international releases faster and simultaneous with Japan—something that generated a lot of criticism from fans.
The negative reaction was immediate on social media. Many fans made it clear that anime should remain an artistic expression made by humans, without interference from automated technologies. The case of AI-generated art in the style of Studio Ghibli only reinforced the debate about the value of manual labor and copyright.
Purininow emphasizes that AI is only used for internal functions, such as recommendation systems and personalized search, completely excluding anime content.
Meanwhile, other platforms are going in the opposite direction. Amazon Prime Video is already testing AI-generated dubbing, and Netflix is investing heavily in generative AI tools, including anime settings and voice technologies.
For now, Crunchyroll has chosen a more cautious approach — one that's much closer to what fans truly value.
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Source: Forbes