How AI Corrupted the Art of Studio Ghibli

Nothing is too beautiful or too sacred for artificial intelligence.

It’s probably a good thing that Hayao Miyazaki doesn’t own a smartphone.

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In the 2016 NHK documentary Never-Ending Man: Hayao Miyazaki, the famed Japanese animator reacts with visible disgust when presented with a demonstration showing off 3D animation created through artificial intelligence. Calling it “an insult to life itself,” Miyazaki vowed that he will never incorporate such technology into his own work and unfavorably compared the janky movements to that of a disabled friend unable to perform a high-five.

To be fair, Miyazaki was admittedly commenting on a very specific kind of AI animation that was about as far removed as possible from the kind of hand-drawn artwork that made him one of the most beloved creators in the world. Yet nearly a decade later, social media worldwide is now currently flooded with ChatGPT-generated images rendered in the round, cuddly style of Studio Ghibli’s beloved films like My Neighbor Totoro and Laputa: Castle in the Sky. Open up X (formerly known as Twitter) and you won’t have to look far to find everything from US President Donald Trump to classic reaction memes being “redrawn” into cute artwork that at first glance could be mistaken for frames taken from one of Miyazaki’s works.

I don’t remember this Ghibli movie.

While the most recent update to GPT-4o is more refined and also supports rendering in other art styles reminiscent of South Park or Ardman’s claymation, it isn’t perfect. The average person who cannot tell the difference between a Monet and a Degas might find the “Ghiblified” AI images indistinguishable from the real McCoy, but eagle-eyed users on X have already spotted the flaws. Genuine Ghibli animation is praised for being able to depict a wide gamut of emotions, finding a natural blend between stylized and realistic at the same time. The ChatGPT creations seem to understand the recipe in theory, but imperfections such as liquid tears not being quite right or the facial expressions approaching a strange uncanny valley make it apparent that we are looking at a computerized imitation.