One Piece Fan Letter director criticizes Ghibli AI trend
Miho Ishitani, director of the fan letter project for One Piece, expressed frustration with OpenAI's Studio Ghibli trend. The trend enabled users of ChatGPT to create characters in Hayao Miyazaki's distinctive art style. Ishitani's disapproval highlights concerns about the impact of AI on creative industries. The blending of AI technology with iconic art styles raises questions about intellectual property and artistic integrity. This development underscores the ongoing debate regarding the role of AI in generating artistic content.
ALBAWABA - One Piece Fan Letter
Director Migumi Ishitani recently voiced her anger towards OpenAI's Studio Ghibli trend, which allowed ChatGPT users to generate themselves as characters in Hayao Miyazaki's iconic art style.
One Piece Fan Letter director criticizes Ghibli AI trend
Ishitani, whose recent works have been described as a masterpiece by One Piece fans, expressed her disapproval with the recent trend and wrote on Musk's X (formerly known as Twitter), "You've tainted Ghibli... I won't forgive you..."
Similar artists from the industry and social media also condemned OpenAI's move, calling it "disrespectful" and "inhumane" towards Hayao Miyazaki and his beloved animation studio. This sparked a fire inside several artists who started sharing Ghibli-inspired artworks drawn by them, in protest of the ongoing AI trend. Artists showcased their drawings with captions such as "the studio ghibli fanart without ai."
Studio Ghibli and Its Legacy
Studio Ghibli is best known for its stunning 2D animation and heartfelt storytelling. With legendary director Hayao Miyazaki on top, the studio is best known for producing some of the biggest movies in Japan's history, including Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle, Princess Mononoke, My Neighbor Totoro, The Wind Rises, and many more.
The trend swarmed several social media platforms, with many individuals, celebrities, and brands sharing AI-generated photos on their accounts. Some even generated photos using movies and series as a base, such as Alien, Star Wars, and Severance. Moreover, several others brought politics into the matter and showcased Ghibli-inspired AI photos of US President Donald Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
Impact of the Ghibli AI Trend
Despite sparking outrage from artists and many social media users, ChatGPT recently recorded over 150 million active users in the past week because of the trend, with app downloads seeing an increase of about 5% in the US and 11% globally, while in-app purchases grew by 6%.
Why is the Ghibli AI trend problematic?
To put it simply, this new trend takes away what makes us human by summarizing years of effort and experience with a soulless command prompt. Artists such as Hayao Miyazaki, Migumi Ishitani, and many more have gone through years of dedication to perfect their craft, giving cinema fans unforgettable experiences, only for it to be stolen and mass-generated using an AI chatbot like ChatGPT.
Copyright concerns were also recently raised by lawyer Evan Brown, who said, "The legal landscape of AI-generated images mimicking Studio Ghibli's distinctive style is an uncertain terrain. Copyright law has generally protected only specific expressions rather than artistic styles themselves."
Back in 2016, Miyazaki said, "This is an insult to life itself." He further added, "I am utterly disgusted, I would never wish to incorporate this technology into my work at all." While many claim that the comments were made against AI, Miyazaki's response was in disapproval of a 3D technology showcasing a disfigured individual crawling weirdly on the ground.
About the Author
Khaled S. is an Animation graduate with a passion for Film, Anime, Tech, and Videogames. He is currently working at Al-Bawaba as a Multi-digital content writer/creator.