Bandai Namco is facing backlash for the English dub of Naruto x Boruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm Connections, as the company has been accused of using AI to alter line readings.

The fighting game is based on the popular anime and covers the entirety of the saga along with an original story. Fans of the series have noticed that some of the line deliveries in the English dub have odd inflections, drawing the attention of some of the voice actors for the game.

Did that…..WAKE YOU UP 🤣

Bro this Dub is horrible why did they redo the voice lines????? pic.twitter.com/9LpIxb1pzq

— ShonenGames (@ShonenGameZ) November 15, 2023

Responding to a tweet about a particularly jarring line that she was tagged in, Maile Flanagan, the English voice actor for Naruto, said “I can GUARANTEE I did not say that line that way. What’s that from? And I guarantee no voice director of Naruto or the games would have me do that in that way.”

A similar clip also got the attention of Michael Schwalbe, the voice actor for Kawaki in the game. “Bro what???? I screamed my lungs out for hours and they chose that???” he said in response.

Kawaki’s Eng Dub VA after getting his bag and seeing this absolutely atrocious take that CC2 picked: pic.twitter.com/9yc8UV7T8v

— Moeru (@MoeruStorm) November 22, 2023

Schwalbe then reached out to a friend, who ran the lines through an AI detection program, the results of which predicted some degree of AI use. “This was a union game. Generative AI use is supposed to be forbidden,” Schwalbe added.

Okay, this needs an explanation ASAP. I sent a couple of these clips to a friend. He ran the audio through an AI detection program and look at these results. First is Wake You Up, then power of gaaahhd.

This was a union game. Generative AI use is supposed to be forbidden. https://t.co/D7QbTxup2H pic.twitter.com/nfKblOEWJ8

— Michael Schwalbe: h̵u̵m̵a̵n̵ a̵c̵t̵o̵r̵ concept (@WhatHeSaidVO) November 23, 2023

AI detection programs are not always reliable, so there is no definitive proof that Bandai Namco employed generative AI for the game’s dub. However, an accusation from one of the game’s voice actors is still notable.

This year has seen a significant increase in controversies surrounding AI, with games such as The Finals and Persona coming under fire for potential use of it. Bandai Namco has not commented on the situation.