The Impact of AI on Anime

The Best Anime Here

How is Artificial Intelligence changing the world of anime? 🤖🎨 In this video, we explore the impact of AI on anime — from animation and voice acting to storytelling and production. As technology evolves, AI is transforming how anime is created, distributed, and even imagined.  We’ll look at both sides of this revolution: the innovation it brings and the controversies it sparks among artists and fans. From AI-generated art and automated animation tools to AI voice synthesis and scriptwriting, the anime industry is entering a new era.  🎥 In this video:   How AI tools are used in anime production  The rise of AI-generated art and its ethical debates  How studios balance creativity with automation  The future of anime creators in the age of AI  What this means for fans and the anime community  Whether you see AI as the future of creativity or a threat to artistry, this video explores what’s really at stake for the anime world.  💬 What do you think — is AI revolutionizing anime or taking its soul? 👍 Like and subscribe for more deep dives into anime culture, technology, and storytelling!

Transcript

00:00Artificial intelligence is already making its mark on anime, raising questions about the future of

00:05the industry. Japan has published the first manga drawn entirely by artificial intelligence,

00:10mid-journey, which immediately sparked debate about the future of art. Some creators, such as

00:15Hayao Miyazaki, have been strongly critical. He describes AI-generated content as an offense to

00:21life itself. Given this controversy, we ask ourselves, will AI be a liberating tool or a

00:26threat to the soul of anime? Background and image generation, generative networks, e.g.,

00:31stable diffusion or mid-journey, are used to create background art and characters in minutes.

00:36Specialized tools such as AnimeGAN allow real videos to be stylized to look like anime.

00:41Studios such as Toei have tested artificial intelligence, Scenify, to convert photos of

00:46cities into drawn backgrounds. Interpolation and assisted animation, AI engines, Epson,

00:51After Effects plugins, can automate the creation or smoothing of intermediate frames.

00:56Toei itself aims to use artificial intelligence for color corrections and line art generation and

01:01animation. These techniques promise to speed up production times, although the quality is still

01:06uneven. Dubbing and voice synthesis, voice cloning algorithms reproduce the nuances of the original

01:11performer, generating dubbing without real actors. Platforms such as Crunchyroll already use

01:16artificial intelligence to automatically translate and subtitle, and are exploring automated

01:21dubbing. However, this capability clashes with the legal protection of voice actors,

01:26who are demanding new labor agreements. Scripting and creative writing, language models,

01:30ChatGPT and Claude, are being tested to generate ideas, dialogues, or basic scripts. Although still

01:37limited, various creators are already experimenting with feeding the system with plots or character

01:41profiles, obtaining initial drafts. AI is expected to streamline pre-production, although final scripts

01:48will still require human review. Together, these technologies, from art generation to writing,

01:53are gradually being incorporated into the anime workflow. Studios are alternating traditional tools,

01:58clip studio and photoshop, with new artificial intelligence, seeking to streamline processes in

02:04an industry marked by long hours and staff shortages. One of the most talked about examples came from Netflix

02:09Japan. In 2023, it released the short film Dog and the Boy, created by its brand new Netflix anime

02:15creators' base in collaboration with WIT Studio and AI startup Rina. In this experimental project,

02:21the backgrounds were generated by artificial intelligence, first drawn manually and then

02:25processed by an algorithm, similar to stable diffusion. Netflix described the initiative as an

02:30experimental effort to address the labor shortage in the industry. The announcement sparked heated

02:35controversy, critics pointed out that the result looked artificial, and many fans accused Netflix

02:41of seeking to cut costs at the expense of artists. Even Hamish Steele, creator of Dead End Paranormal Park,

02:47tweeted, Not something to be proud of. Another recent case is the anime twins Hainahima,

02:51premiering in March 2025, promoted as the first anime powered by more than 95% artificial intelligence.

02:58Produced by Frontier Works and Kaka Creation, with animation by Kaka Technology Studio,

03:03this project used supportive artificial intelligence in almost all creative stages.

03:08According to specialized sources, more than 95% of the scenes were generated with algorithms and then

03:14retouched manually. In addition to these major examples, there are independent initiatives. For

03:18example, the first science fiction manga created entirely with artificial intelligence, author report,

03:24was completed in six weeks in 2023, bringing into discussion the possible impact on traditional

03:30cartoonists. In all these cases, it is clear that artificial intelligence is already being actively

03:35used, albeit in collaboration with humans, to innovate in anime production. Responses have been

03:41highly polarized. Some in the industry embrace the potential of artificial intelligence. Veteran

03:46Jeffrey Katzenberg, co-founder of DreamWorks, compared the arrival of these tools to Pixar's 3D

03:51revolution, predicting that artificial intelligence will accelerate creative processes and democratize

03:57animation. In Japan, Toei Animation, producer of One Piece, is investing hundreds of millions in

04:03collaboration with preferred networks to integrate artificial intelligence into storyboarding,

04:07coloring, and backgrounds, confident that this will increase efficiency and quality. Large technology

04:13companies are also showing interest. Sony and Crunchyroll apply artificial intelligence to

04:18translations and subtitles, and platforms such as Amazon Prime use artificial intelligence in some

04:24dubbing. There are even those who defend AI as a great companion. Illustrator Madoka Kobayashi,

04:2930-year career, says that AI helps her visualize ideas and generate drafts more quickly,

04:35without replacing human skill. However, critical voices abound. Globally, unions and creators are

04:40organizing protests against the unethical use of artificial intelligence in animation. The 2025

04:46OnSea Festival was the scene of demonstrations led by unions from the US, France, Spain, and others,

04:52who declared a global emergency in the face of the expansion of artificial intelligence in animation.

04:57They argue that this technology, far from being a simple support, threatens to destroy creative wealth

05:02and displace human artists. In Japan, many animators and designers fear for their rights. A 2023 survey

05:08indicated that 94% of Japanese artists fear that AI will infringe on their copyrights. Personalities such as

05:15Miyazaki have publicly expressed their displeasure, and groups of fans and creators on social media have

05:21demanded transparency and clear regulations. There are also divisions within the otaku and professional

05:26communities. Many fans reacted indignantly to the dog and the boy case, accusing Netflix of sacrificing

05:32quality for savings. At the same time, some fans see opportunity in artificial intelligence, specialized forums

05:39discuss how it could facilitate the localization of anime or enable the creation of art in classic styles.

05:44Meanwhile, voice actors are raising their voices. Unions such as Adoma, Spain, warn that replacing

05:49an actor with a voice generated by artificial intelligence is infinitely cheaper and demand that

05:54there always be a real actor behind each performance. They also call for a ban on productions training AI

06:00models with the voices of performers without permission. In short, the community is debating the

06:04ethics. Is artificial intelligence an ally of the artist or an unfair competitor? The impact on

06:10employment is already being analyzed. A report by Luminate Data concludes that animation jobs will be

06:15among those most affected by AI. Animation specialists estimate that in the coming years, roles such as

06:21concept artists and storyboarders, 55% of them, BFX specialists, 50% and game designers, 43% will see the

06:29biggest changes due to automation. Indeed, anime pre-production can be very labor-intensive, a half-hour

06:35episode requires almost 12 months, and AI promises to drastically reduce deadlines and costs. For example,

06:42Toei reported that in a short film Irvin, 2021, it generated two-thirds of the funds with AI,

06:48cutting production time to just one-sixth of the traditional method. However, this efficiency comes

06:53with occupational risks. Many animators already work for minimum wages. It has been reported that certain

06:58artists in Japan earn as little as $2,500 per year for grueling hours. The introduction of AI could worsen

07:05this precariousness by justifying replacements. In the U.S., this fear led to strikes by screenwriters

07:10and actors in 2023, demands for clauses in contracts regulating AI, and the recent no-fakes

07:16bill to ban unauthorized digital replicas. Voice actors in particular face an immediate threat.

07:21SAG AFTRA, the U.S. Union, and other guilds in Europe are already demanding that legislation protect

07:27their voices as artistic property. In Spain, ADOMA and the Actors Union are pushing for the urgent

07:33approval of a new artist statute that guarantees that AI imitations are excluded from the employment

07:38relationship. Their argument is clear. Without strict regulation, production companies will opt

07:43for on-demand artificial intelligence solutions to save on hiring professionals. From a global

07:48economic perspective, although anime is growing, Japan is now the world's second-largest exporter

07:53of animation. The crisis in orders in the United States has worsened. Commissions for animated series

07:58fell by 70% from 2021 to mid-2025. This has encouraged the search for new technologies. Major

08:05investors, Kodansha, Katakawa, Crunchyroll, and Amazon, are betting heavily on AI in translation and

08:12dubbing, hoping to boost the global monetization of anime. Ultimately, AI could drastically reduce

08:17production time and cost, but at the expense of radically changing the way creative talent is hired and

08:22compensated. The future of anime will likely be marked by both realities. Artificial intelligence offers new

08:28creative possibilities. It facilitates complex visual effects, allows experimentation with unprecedented

08:34styles, and opens the door to individual creators. A single person, as Charlie Fink predicts, could

08:40produce films with just a few thousand dollars. It could usher in a democratized golden age of animation,

08:46where creative forces previously trapped in repetitive tasks are set free. However, this path is not

08:51without its shadows. If cost savings are the only priority, the richness and diversity of human style is at

08:57risk. Many animators warn that AI will imperfectly copy existing styles. The backgrounds in Dog and

09:03the Boy, for example, were criticized as lacking originality. Animator Sebastian Bisbel observes that,

09:09in these shortcuts, animation loses some of the patience that historically defined it. In his words,

09:14AI works by scraping the work of thousands of artists and, used as a commercial shortcut, can produce a

09:20technical product that lacks human artistic richness. In conclusion, AI will not make anime disappear,

09:25but it will put it to the test. Its contribution can enrich production if used as a tool to enhance

09:30creativity, as Kobayashi supports, alleviating the burden on studios and helping to maintain quality

09:36in the face of talent shortages. But if used without ethical criteria, it risks impoverishing the industry,

09:42fewer artists employed, and a more homogeneous style. The great challenge will be to preserve the artistic

09:47identity of anime, that unique fusion of traditional techniques, narrative, and Japanese culture,

09:52in an increasingly automated environment. As experts warn, change is inevitable. The question is how we

09:58choose to take advantage of it so that the creative spark remains alive in every frame of anime.

10:22and the creative mechanism of the concept of emerging, the full-time key, as far as the play of the

10:38structure being used for a human being? So I think we will clear in this process, and how we use it to

10:42make this sound? So, let's see, in this case we will continue to create an image on the way of the

10:45building. And the way that we choose with it is, it is the right to make this sound. So, you komunikisya,

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended