Crunchyroll, the leading anime streaming service, has recently faced significant backlash following the premiere of its new Summer 2025 anime series, Necronomico and the Cosmic Horror Show (Japanese title: Nekuronomiko no Kozumikku Horā Shō). The controversy centers on the German subtitles for the first episode, which prominently featured an unexpected “ChatGPT said:” prefix, igniting widespread speculation and criticism regarding the platform’s use of artificial intelligence for translations.
The Incident: “ChatGPT said:” Appears in German Subtitles
The incident occurred on July 1, 2025, when Necronomico and the Cosmic Horror Show began streaming on Crunchyroll. Eagle-eyed German-speaking viewers quickly noticed a peculiar line in the subtitles at the 19-minute and 12-second mark of the first episode. The subtitle read, “ChatGPT said:Wenn ich die Welt von hier an weiter genießen kann.” This direct attribution to an AI chatbot immediately drew attention across social media platforms, with screenshots of the error going viral.
The “ChatGPT said:” prefix was specifically found only in the German subtitles, though reports also indicated numerous translation errors in the English subtitles for the same episode, further fueling concerns about translation quality across different languages.
The Wider Implications: AI in Localization
This subtitle gaffe has reignited a broader discussion about Crunchyroll’s use of AI in its localization processes. While Crunchyroll President Rahul Purini had previously stated in early 2024 that the company was “very focused on testing” generative AI tools for subtitling and speech-to-text captions, he also indicated that the company was “not considering” using AI for direct translations. The appearance of the “ChatGPT said:” line directly contradicts this earlier reassurance, leading to frustration among subscribers who pay for a premium service expecting high-quality human-translated content.
Fans and critics alike have expressed disappointment, with many suggesting that this incident provides “definitive proof” that Crunchyroll is indeed employing AI for at least some of its new anime episode translations. The lack of proper proofreading, indicated by the unedited AI prompt and other translation inaccuracies, has been a significant point of contention.
Industry Response and Previous Concerns
While Crunchyroll has yet to issue an official statement directly addressing this specific incident regarding Necronomico and the Cosmic Horror Show, the anime community’s reaction has been swift and largely negative. This is not the first time Crunchyroll’s subtitle quality has come under scrutiny. In October 2024, the premiere of Re:Zero Season 3 was marred by numerous inaccurate subtitles, which Crunchyroll corrected only after widespread fan complaints.
Some reports suggest that Cygames, the producer of Necronomico and the Cosmic Horror Show, may have provided the translations to Crunchyroll, implying a shared responsibility for the oversight. A company photo of Cygames allegedly showed DeepL, another AI translation software, on a desktop, leading to speculation that AI was used in the initial translation by the licensor before being passed to Crunchyroll. Regardless of the source, the incident highlights a critical lapse in quality control for a platform that dominates the anime streaming market outside of Japan. Many fans are now considering turning to unofficial “fansubs,” which they perceive as offering more reliable translations than the official, potentially AI-generated ones.
