The art ofStudio Ghibliand Hayao Miyazaki has been adored by countless fans over the last 40 years and counting. Through films likeMy Neighbor Totoro,Spirited Away, andHowl’s Moving Castle, among many other genre-defining works, tales of fantasy and wonder have reached the furthest corners of the anime community and beyondto deliver deeply human stories and themes. Now, just over a year removed from the legendaryHayao Miyazaki’s latest Academy Award, Ghibli’s art style is being widely replicated in a sweeping AI trend.
A recent update to the OpenAI service brings a new image generation tool that allows users to render any image they like into the iconic Ghibli style. Unfortunately, in the last few days alone,social media platforms have been inundated with posts featuring such images, leading to major controversy involving artists, AI enthusiasts, Ghibli fans, and people who simply like drama. It’s in moments like these that Hayao Miyazaki’s stance on AI-generated art becomes more important than ever before.
Hayao Miyazaki Made His Stance on AI Clear
The Legendary Artist and Director Has Already Shared His Distaste for AI Art
As AI-generated Ghibli rip-offs continue to flood social media platforms, concerned spectators have wondered what Miyazaki, one of the studio’s co-founders, might think of the trend or whether he might respond.However, there’s not much of a need for speculation. In 2016, when shown a demonstration of an AI-assisted animation by Japanese media company DWANGO,Miyazaki didn’t hold back expressing his digust. In response, the director said, “I would never wish to incorporate this technology into my work at all.”
He then continued, adding,“I strongly feel this is an insult to life itself.“Given Ghibli’s, and especially Miyazaki’s history of creating deeply human works, as well as his comment that the animation reminded him of a friend with a disability, his response is fitting. The demonstrators were left speechless by his response, clearly not ready for the harsh criticism they had just received. AI-generated images have stolen Miyazaki’s and Ghibli’s style for years, though never to the extent it’s happening today.
Despite Pre-Dating Modern AI Tools, Miyazaki’s Statements Still Ring True
The Creator Felt the Technology Displayed a Lack of Faith in Humanity
While some supporters of AI-generated images have attempted to lighten Miyazaki’s comments regarding AI by pointing towards the nature of the horror-inspired demonstration,such arguments are largely in bad faith. Shortly after his scathing review of what he’d been shown, the demonstrators claimed they’d one day like to develop the technology enough that computers would be able to draw “like humans do”. In response, Miyazaki sat in a deafening silence.
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The clip then cuts to the creator sitting at his desk, drawing as he’s done throughout his entire career. He went on to say, “I feel like we are nearing the end of times.We humans are losing faith in ourselves.” These comments cannot be targeted at anything other than the exact notion of machines replicating human art, and frustration in his words is palpable. When removing the human aspect, all that’s left is the stolen likeness of an artist’s life’s work, and Ghibli’s leading directorisn’t the only creator to share those sentiments.
Artists Tend to Dislike AI-Generated Images
Other Figures In the Industry Have Also Chimed In
While AI-generated Ghibli tragedies run rampant online, the technology is also invading the anime and industries.Recent announcements from Amazonabout plans to outsource dubbing work to AI, along with VIZ Media already using AI to translate manga,spell trouble for the future of anime and manga, and figures in the industry tend to agree. The legendary creator ofJojo’s Bizarre Adventure, Hirohiko Araki, has claimed he fearsAI will lead to “a world of con artists”, while expressing hope that laws regulating its use will come into effect.
The director of 2024’s highly acclaimedLook Back, Kiyotaka Oshiyama,after finishing work on the incredibly drawn and animated film, stated, “I think this will be the last work created solely by human hands.” Coming from him, the comment is incredibly dark, given thatLook Backis a film centered around the pains and joys of creating art. Main character, Fujino, struggles with her reason for drawing, before realizing the hard work is worth the payoff of being recognized for and connecting through art.A feeling which would all but disappear in an AI-generated world.
Yoshihiro Watanabe, producer ofTrigun Stampede,took to X to express his feelings about the trend, posting,“The only Studio Ghibli is Studio Shibli. That’s why it’s Studio Ghibli.“To real artists who have poured their lives into their crafts, AI-generated images are a slap in the face to all the hard work that’s ever gone into improving and creating something. Above all else, art is an expression of self, and there’s little to be discussed when there’s no self to express.
The Recent Trend Is an Insult to Studio Ghibli
Removing the Humanity From Art Goes Against All Ghibli Has Created
Studio Ghibli’s works are more often than not incredibly moving tales that put humanity and nature on display,two things AI diametrically opposes. Removing the humanity at the heart of Ghibli’s films to make often unimaginative and mundane images a little more interesting than they are is an insult to the work the studio has released throughout its history, and, according to Miyazaki, it’s also an insult to life itself.
Studio Ghibliis arguably the most iconic studio in anime history, boasting a catalog of films that have inspired, motivated, and emotionally moved countless fans throughout its 40 years of operation. From its debut work,Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, to 2023’sThe Boy and the Heron, Ghibli has been able to capture a beauty only human hands could convey. Unfortunately, this recent trend proves that non-human hands will do their best to steal from immensely talented creators. Hayao Miyazaki doesn’t use social media to comment his thoughts,and AI supporters should be glad he doesn’t.
