Crunchyroll Subtitling is a Disaster!! Necronomico Show References ChatGPT in Subtitles

Anime fans who frequent Crunchyroll expect easy access to simulcasts, reliable subtitles, and smooth viewing. But now, they're left puzzled—and even laughing—after discovering that Crunchyroll's subtitles for the new series Necronomico included a line straight from an AI chatbot. Yes, the actual words "ChatGPT said" appeared in the official German subtitles, raising questions about translation quality, editorial oversight, and the growing presence of AI in anime localization.

What happened with Necronomico's translation is both surprising and frustrating, continuing a long-running discussion about the importance of clear, accurate, and culturally aware subtitling. Let's look at what went wrong, dig into why this matters, and explore how machine translation is changing anime for global viewers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsuwS-DuUVU

Overview of the Subtitling Issue

Crunchyroll, the go-to streaming platform for anime fans worldwide, is no stranger to controversy over its translations. The latest uproar centers around the new show Necronomico, where official subtitles included the phrase "ChatGPT said" in the German language track. This isn't an obscure fan sub—this is text that made it all the way to Crunchyroll's global audience.

This mishap suggests Crunchyroll or its partners are at least experimenting with AI tools like ChatGPT to translate or assist with subtitles. While many companies have considered machine translation for rapid turnarounds, most fans expect basic quality control to stop internal notes, drafts, or glitches from leaking into the finished product.

The incident hasn't gone unnoticed. Social platforms are abuzz, and viewers are wondering if they’re part of a quality assurance experiment gone wrong. Is this the future of anime localization—or just an example of what happens when editorial oversight goes missing?

Background: Crunchyroll and Its History with Translation Issues

Crunchyroll has had its share of translation blunders and poorly handled subtitles, and fans remember them well. While the company promises professional and timely translations, the record shows an ongoing struggle to meet expectations and respond to feedback.

Most of the time, Crunchyroll stays silent when translation problems arise. Only a handful of incidents received official comment, like with Yuzuki Family, but even those responses felt lacking.

Some of the most notable past issues:

• Gibberish or nonsensical subtitle lines.
• Mistranslation of plot-critical scenes, at times completely flipping the meaning.
• Frequent missing cultural context or misunderstanding of Japanese honorifics, gender references, and puns.
• Attribution of poor translations to licensers instead of internal teams.

The pattern leaves fans wary that even obvious subtitling disasters won’t get a fix or a clear explanation.

Case Study: Yuzuki Family Translation Disaster

The Yuzuki Family episode is a stark reminder of Crunchyroll’s translation woes. When the first episode dropped, viewers found subtitles that not only read awkwardly but also stripped away emotional nuance.

One infamous line:

“Our four brothers lived a hand-to-mouth life. Although life without parents feels lonely, but there is nothing we can do after all. There is no resurrection. We are used to loneliness.”

Not only does this sound robotic, but it loses the warmth and subtlety intended in the Japanese script. Worse, confusion over pronouns and gender references led to even more awkward moments. These mistakes made it clear the translator didn’t fully understand the script—or the original language.

When fans complained, Crunchyroll blamed the licenser, distancing themselves rather than addressing quality control.

Current Incident: Necronomico Subtitle Fail

5.1. Origin of the "ChatGPT said" Subtitle

With Necronomico, the German subtitles included the phrase "ChatGPT said," directly pointing to some use of machine translation during the process. This wasn't an in-show joke or clever fourth wall break—the line made no sense in context. Whether it was an internal reminder or a machine-generated note, it revealed more about Crunchyroll's workflow than anyone intended.

No matter the intention, this error shows nobody gave the subtitles a responsible review. The glaring inclusion of internal notes like this shouldn't slip by, especially at a company with the reach and reputation of Crunchyroll.

5.2. How the Mistake Likely Happened

It's likely that a translator used ChatGPT or a similar tool to assist with their draft and left internal notes scattered throughout. Those notes probably read something like, "ChatGPT said [line goes here]," meant only for the next editor. But instead of cleaning up these comments, someone copied everything into the subtitle file that went live for viewers.

The lack of a responsible review creates this sort of problem. Whether due to a rushed deadline, inexperience, or too much trust in automation, the chain failed where it mattered most: before the show hit the global audience.

5.3. Impact of This Mistake on Viewer Experience

Errors like "ChatGPT said" yank viewers out of the story. Subtitled anime is supposed to be a window into another world—not a reminder of behind-the-scenes chaos. When broken subtitles appear, it not only damages immersion but also raises questions about the care given to the show and the respect for fans.

For Crunchyroll, these slip-ups erode trust. Viewers start to doubt not just the accuracy of the subtitles, but whether anyone at the company cares about the details.

Detailed Examples of Translation Errors in Necronomico

The "ChatGPT said" line is just the tip of the iceberg. Multiple glaring issues in the Necronomico subtitles signal deeper problems:

6.1. Fabricated Information in Subtitles

Sometimes the subtitles invent information never said by the character. For instance, where the original Japanese audio simply describes gameplay, the subs claim, "She's one of the super popular streamers with over 1 million subscribers." This wasn’t said nor implied—someone guessed what might fit, or machine translation invented a context.

6.2. Misheard or Nonsensical Lines

Voice recognition errors lead to grammatical nonsense, including lines like:

• "Voice recognition they fed into the slot machine"
• "Sorry I'm late. I'll take you to sorry I'm late"

These lines have no place in the show and make no sense to the viewer. They sound more like what you'd see in raw, unedited AI output.

6.3. Language-Specific Error Patterns

Interestingly, the Brazilian Portuguese and Russian subtitles seem less marred by these mistakes. Their localizations may have sourced material differently, or perhaps used more traditional translation methods. Still, for English and many other languages, it's obvious the same faulty, voice-to-text output was recycled.

6.4. Spelling and Typo Mistakes

Basic spellcheck could have prevented errors like "abandon" instead of "abandoned." Sloppy typos are inexcusable for any official subtitle track and show a lack of attention to detail.

Other notable mistakes include:

• Literal translations with no sense of context.
• Misused pronouns—sometimes the machine can't figure out subject or gender.
• Odd word choices that sound unnatural in English and other languages.

The pattern is clear: a tool like ChatGPT is only as good as the human hands guiding it, and here, nobody checked before hitting "publish."

Possible Causes Behind the Poor Subtitling Quality

Several factors may have led to this translation fumble:

7.1. Lack of a Proper Script from the Japanese Studio

To release new episodes quickly, Crunchyroll relies on getting script files directly from studios in advance. If those aren't provided, translators may have to transcribe and translate from the show audio itself. This takes longer, reduces accuracy, and exposes the process to more mistakes as they rush to keep up with the simulcast schedule.

7.2. Use of Voice Recognition Software

Without a script, it's tempting to use voice-to-text software to generate Japanese transcripts. These tools are far from perfect and can misinterpret words, context, and speaker intent. When combined with automated translation, it’s a recipe for “slot machine” errors—random and nonsensical lines, especially for nuanced dialogue.

7.3. Testing AI in Crunchyroll’s Workflow

There’s increasing evidence that anime localization teams are considering or already experimenting with AI translation tools. As reported in A translator’s perspective on AI and localization, even seasoned professionals see the appeal of AI for speed, but recognize its limits for context.

Industry representatives like Rahul Panini have spoken quite openly about the inevitability of incorporating AI. For less high-profile shows, companies may treat the process as a low-risk testing ground. Necronomico, with limited buzz and viewership, likely looked like the perfect guinea pig.

7.4. Using Cheap or Unprofessional Translators

When cost-cutting is a concern, there's a temptation to outsource work to cheaper freelancers, or in cases like this, to rely on one person—possibly without the necessary expertise—to handle multiple languages using AI tools. The result: one person’s oversight (or lack thereof) cascades as a disaster across every subtitle track.

There’s even speculation that the translator names (Amelia, Charlie) listed in the credits are placeholders or pseudonyms rather than genuine professionals.

Why Machine Translation Alone Isn’t Enough

8.1. Challenges of Machine Translation

AI tools struggle to understand the subtleties that matter in anime: ambiguous pronouns, sarcasm, region-specific idioms, slang, or double meanings. The same Japanese phrase might have several interpretations, but machine translation doesn’t know which one fits the story.

Even running the script through different AI models (ChatGPT, Gemini) can yield totally different lines—proof that nuance still escapes the machines.

8.2. Importance of Human Oversight and Editing

Automated translation should be seen as a helpful tool, not a solo solution. Even the best output needs careful review from a human translator who understands the language, the culture, and the story. Without this vital step, subtitles end up filled with weird grammar, off-tone lines, or confusing non sequiturs.

8.3. Audience Divided on Machine Translation Use

Some fans focus on speed—give us subtitles as fast as possible, even if AI does most of the work. Others want accuracy, nuance, and authenticity, which only come from skilled human translation.

Finding a balance is possible, but only if human oversight remains a step in the process.

Analysis of the Translator Credits on Necronomico

The Necronomico subtitles list translators such as "Amelia" and "Charlie" in the credits. But given the identical mistakes across languages, many in the fan community doubt these are actual people who worked individually. It's possible these are fabricated names, intended either as placeholders or to suggest a traditional workflow that never happened.

Without clear information from Crunchyroll, it's impossible to confirm the credits, but the same patterns suggest one person (or even just AI) generated subtitles for every language offered.

Reactions from the Anime Community and Crunchyroll

The anime community’s response mixes amusement, disappointment, and outright frustration. Some viewers see the "ChatGPT said" subtitle as a funny meme; others view it as a sign that their favorite shows are being given the bare minimum of attention. For translators and longtime fans, it's an insult to the craft and the stories they love.

So far, Crunchyroll World has remained silent on the issue. This isn’t surprising—past incidents often resulted in “radio silence,” with no clear response or public apology. However, given the international attention and the high visibility of this error, there's growing pressure for Crunchyroll to address what happened.

Speculations on Crunchyroll’s Next Steps

How will Crunchyroll handle this?

• Ignore it entirely, hoping it blows over.
• Quietly swap out subtitles and never mention the error.
• Blame the issue on the licenser, translator, or technology partner.
• Admit to using AI for translation and promise more robust proofreading for future episodes.

As the TechRadar article on AI subtitle mistakes points out, fan demand for genuine human localization is only getting louder. Whether this incident sparks real change or is swept aside will depend on how public outcry develops.

ChatGPT and AI’s Official Position on Crunchyroll Translations

When questioned directly, ChatGPT confirms that it did not work on or assist with the official subtitles for Necronomico or any other show licensed by Crunchyroll. The platform emphasizes that licensed content should be handled by professional human translators—or at the very least, have human oversight and editing.

ChatGPT also points out that if a subtitle appears with AI-related language, it's likely due to a rough draft, editor oversight, or a technical error—not standard industry practice.

For viewers worried about the rise of AI in localization, it's important to remember that professional standards still call for human review. If something seems off, it's often due to breakdowns in human oversight or shortcuts, not the intent of automation itself.

How to Spot AI-Assisted or Problematic Subtitles

Here's a quick checklist for noticing fishy subtitles:

Checklist:

• Phrases or notes that don’t make sense in context (like "ChatGPT said").
• Obvious grammar or spelling errors that native speakers wouldn't make.
• Editorial notes, bracketed comments, or code left in the finished subtitles.
• Contradictions between what’s spoken and what’s written.
• Repeated errors across multiple languages.

If you spot these issues, try switching subtitle languages to see which ones (if any) are better.

The Importance of Quality Subtitling in Anime Localization

Subtitles aren't just text—they're the bridge that allows fans worldwide to enjoy, understand, and fall in love with anime. Error-prone translations don't just impact the viewer’s experience, they also harm how well a show resonates across cultures and languages.

Quality localization is worth investing in. It builds loyalty, showcases a show’s best qualities, and helps series succeed in crowded streaming markets.

How Fans Can Support Better Subtitling

Fans looking for change can take action:

• Use official support channels to report subtitle mistakes—be polite and back up your feedback with specifics and screenshots.
• Discuss problems on social media and community forums to highlight recurring issues.
• Consider supporting the content creators and dedicated translation teams directly
• Share positive feedback when a translation is handled well to encourage best practices.

Keep the conversation constructive—community input helps drive improvements.

Summary of Key Takeaways

Crunchyroll’s Necronomico subtitling mess, with “ChatGPT said” appearing in official subs, is more than an amusing mistake—it’s a symptom of bigger challenges in anime localization. Whether caused by missing scripts, rushed deadlines, overreliance on AI, or lack of human review, mistakes like this remind us how vital professional translation is.

Anime deserves more than machine-generated gibberish. Streamers like Crunchyroll need to prioritize quality and transparency, especially as fans demand both quick releases and faithful, engaging subtitles.

If you’re passionate about anime, support your favorite creators, translations, and channels—take a look at our website The Manga Menagerie for more insights