A source at Crunchyroll has confirmed to Anime Corner that the controversial AI-generated subtitles for the recent Necronomico and the Cosmic Horror Show anime were produced by a third-party vendor—and violated the vendor’s agreement with Crunchyroll not to use AI-generated subtitles. An investigation has since been launched.
Necronomico and the Cosmic Horror Show Episode 1’s debut on Crunchyroll garnered widespread controversy, rife with subtitling mistakes, and peaking with a line in the German sub that explicitly included “ChatGPT said:” as part of a character’s speech. Errors were present in grammar, as well as character and location names.
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As the investigation gets underway, Anime Corner asked whether the vendor agreement prevented Crunchyroll from editing the subtitles before release; the source neither confirmed nor denied this, merely stating that QC (quality control) is a part of the agreement with the vendor. It remains to be seen how this explanation will fare with fans, as it’s still unclear what Crunchyroll could’ve done as the endpoint for users.
Masato Matsune directs Necronomico and the Cosmic Horror Show at Studio Gokumi. Cygames was involved in the planning, production, and overseas licensing of the series. Crunchyroll described it:
Miko Kurono, also known as Necronomico, graduates from middle school and decides to pursue her dreams of becoming a streamer. One day, as she’s with her childhood friend, Mayu Mayusaka, and her rival, Kanna Kagurasaka, she accepts an offer to play a new VR game. The game gives Miko the opportunity to take on mysterious challenges with other unique streamers she meets within the VR world.
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