U.S. culture wars reach anime with targeting of translators

NEW YORK -- The official X account of the manga series "The Ancient Magus' Bride" posted in December what was supposed to be an exciting announcement: The next chapter would be published in English simultaneously with the Japanese version, thanks to an AI translation.

This set off a firestorm of protest from some fans, but a vocal minority offered unqualified support for the move toward AI, seeing it as a way to remove those they see as "left-wing localizers" ruining their favorite series with a "woke" agenda.