Popular Manga Creator Beats Back AI Plagiarism Allegations

The artist of Slayers, Rui Araizumi, just schooled netizens accusing them of using AI artwork.

By Megan Peters

These days, the topic of AI has never been more decisive. While the technology has helped make major headway in medicine, fields from security to entertainment have been scorned for their use of AI. It is hardly a secret that artists across the globe has raised alarms over AI and its copyright abuse. And after putting out an art book, a popular manga creator in Japan is refuting AI allegations.

The situation came to light after Rui Araizumi, the artist behind Slayers, posted a new art book at Comiket 102. The huge event drew in artists from across Japan, and many were quick to buy Araizumi's art book as it includes original works and fan-art. In fact, the artist posted work they did inspired by Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury to start, but as some fans went through the book, they accused Araizumi on X (Twitter) for using AI.

To be specific, fans took an issue with the cover art of the book. Netizens in Japan hit up Twitter alleging the Slayers artist traced line art using AI to create their art book cover. These comments gained traction and piled until Araizumi posted a long video of them dissecting their digital artwork layer by layer to prove no AI was used.

"The cover of my new doujin magazine. I'm drawing things properly! Here it is separated layer-by-layer starting from the rough sketch. I've put up this video so it'll be easy for you to understand. Everyone can see my layer composition! I'm so embarrassed," the artist shared. They also posted breakdowns of other drawings including in the questioned art book. It seems netizens were so intense over the debacle that Araizumi posted a full note apologizing for the incident. The artist confirmed they kept a record of accounts that were "particularly horrible" with their harassment in case legal action becomes necessary. So with plenty of evidence backing them, Araizumi has refuted claims they used AI to complete their art.

Of course, AI has become a hot topic with consumers online, so witch hunts are popping up frequently. Araizumi was quick to show their process from start to finish to refute AI claims, and sadly, the mangaka is one of many that will be doing this in the future. As AI becomes more sophisticated, it can be hard to tell what was produced by tech and by human. But if you are going to accuse someone of pushing AI content as their own, well – make sure you're certain before airing your thoughts. 

What do you make of this AI debacle? Let us know what you think in the comments below as well as on Twitter and Instagram. You can also hit me up @MeganPetersCB to share your take!

HT – ANN

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