“There’s No Way”: Dandadan Director Comments on AI Use in Anime (And He’s Fighting Back) EXCLUSIVE

AI is an inescapable topic in the film, TV, and anime industries. While major studio heads are looking to embrace the technology as a cost-cutting method, directors and creatives are fighting back against generative AI’s ability to create “art.” One such director who’s waging the Skynet-esque war against AI is Abel Gongora, who co-directs Season 2 of Dandadan. Before he moved up to co-directing responsibilities, Gongora was in charge of Season 1’s instantly iconic opening credit sequence, and he used the credits as a platform to give AI a proverbial kicking.

Season 2 of Dandadan premieres on Crunchyroll and Netflix on July 3rd, and eager fans can see the first three episodes a month early. Dandadan: Evil Eye releases in theaters on June 6th. Ahead of the film’s theatrical release, ComicBook was lucky enough to sit down with Abel Gongora to discuss his work on Evil Eye, Season 2 of Dandadan, and the role of AI in the anime industry.

Dandadan Season 2 Co-Director Pushes Back Against AI With Animation Techniques

While reflecting on how he created Dandadan Season 1’s opening credits, which played over the top of Creepy Nuts’ “Otonoke” OP, Gongora revealed the little tricks the animators used to emphasise how important a human hand is in creating art. “We are talking a lot about AI, and I thought that was really cool, to push the opposite way, something AI is not able to do,” Gongora said.

The technique in question involved using paper cutouts during the opening credits. To achieve the effect, most studios would simply animate the frame to look like paper, but Gongora revealed that the animators at Science SARU did it for real, explaining, “I also wanted to try a traditional approach, like having more cuts [that] were done on paper and pencil, [because] it’s not so usual lately in Japan… The cuts you see [that] look like pencil; this is really pencil. It’s not digital at all, and I was very happy that they could do it.”

[RELATED – Dandadan Star Aleks Le Reveals Cut Content From Season 1 (And We Love It): EXCLUSIVE]

Dandadan Season 2 Returns This Summer

After a few brief months of waiting, Dandadan is almost ready to return for Season 2. It’s been less than 12 months since the debut season blew everyone away last Fall season, and we cannot wait to rejoin Okarun, Momo, and Jiji for even more weird adventures.

Season 2 kicks off with the “Cursed House” and “Evil Eye” arcs from Yokinou Tatsu’s manga. As well as putting Jiji in the spotlight, the arcs are among two of the darkest from the manga so far, so expect Dandadan to really lean into the horror in the second season.