Netflix to Launch New English Dub for Legendary Anime After A.I. Controversy

Netflix is readying to launch a new English dub for a legendary anime series after it was hit by an A.I. dub controversy last year. English dubs have become one of the most popular ways that anime fans watch their favorites in recent years. While the idea used to be seen as lesser by fans of older generations, streaming platforms like Netflix have revealed that younger generations and the majority of those that use the platform are choosing instead to watch their shows dubbed. That in turn has led even more shows getting their own dub releases.

Even long in the vault projects like Banana Fish are getting their own English dub releases as well thanks to how much fans are requesting to see them in action. But following the series’ original streaming debut with Prime Video and eventual English dub release created entirely through artificial intelligence, Banana Fish is returning with a proper English dub launch coming to Netflix later this August.

Banana Fish Launches New English Dub With Netflix in August 2026

Netflix has officially announced that Banana Fish will be coming to Netflix on August 12th in the United States (and a few select other regions) with exclusive English and French dubs. The first two additions to both voice casts include Brandon McInnis as Ash Lynx and Jonathan Tanigaki as Eiji Okumura in the English dub, and Sébastien Baulain as Ash Lynx and Grégory Laisné as Eiji Okumura in the French dub. This is going to be a huge bump for the anime as fans have been waiting on a proper dub since it first launched back in 2018.

Banana Fish came under fire with its release on Prime Video last year as while they had the exclusive streaming license for the original Japanese language release, they had launched a completely A.I. created English dub for the series (alongside other notable releases like Vinland Saga). It led to a massive backlash from both anime fans and those involved with the actual dubbing industry, and it wasn’t long before the dub was removed from the streaming platform. Now fans are finally getting an official dub after such a notable failure.

Why You Should Watch Banana Fish

It’s a shame that Banana Fish was ultimately marred by such a big controversy as the English dub for the anime has been highly requested since it first made its debut eight years ago. Akimi Yoshida’s original manga made its debut with Shogakukan’s Bessatsu Shojo Comic magazine back in 1985, and ended its run in the early 1990s, so fans had been waiting quite a long time for it to even get an official anime adaptation in the first place. This dub brought some unwanted attention, but the franchise is bouncing back now.

With Netflix launching this new English dub release later this August, it’s going to bring a lot more eyes to Banana Fish than before. It’s a cool action series where a gang leader investigates a mysterious drug, but then finds himself in a much deeper conspiracy. There’s also a romance that sparks as a result when he meets a young photographer in the midst of the investigation, and it’s why it’s such an icon all these years later.

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