One Piece Creator Uses AI to Create Controversial Song

Eiichiro Oda has created a new song for the Straw Hat Pirates, but it's origins are controversial for fans.

By Evan Valentine

One Piece has had one of its biggest years to date in 2023. With the anime bringing the War For Wano to an end and Netflix releasing the first season of the live-action adaptation, the shonen franchise is sitting on top of the world. Unfortunately, a song that was created by the man responsible for the Straw Hat Pirates, Eiichiro Oda, has become controversial thanks to its origins. Oda used artificial intelligence to create a new song for the Grand Line, causing many fans to raise an eyebrow at the move.

Artificial intelligence hasn't just become controversial in the anime world, but the pop culture realm as a whole. Earlier this year, fans took umbrage with the creation of Marvel's Secret Invasion television series using A.I. to create its opening. A.I. has been finding several ways into the medium, with one such entry becoming quite controversial thanks to a partnership between Netflix and Wit Studio. A new anime project titled "Dog And Boy" will be released on the streaming service, with Wit and Netflix using artificial intelligence to help bring the series to life. 

Here's how the platform describes the project, "A short movie of the joint project animation "Dog and Boy" by Netflix Anime Creators Base, technology developer rinna Inc., and WIT STUDIO. As an experimental effort to help the anime industry, which has a labor shortage, we used image generation technology for the background images of all three-minute video cuts."

Is Eiichiro Oda in Hot Water?

Oda himself created the song "YO-HO-HO We Pirates" and shared it with the world. The song itself won't be used in any official capacity for One Piece, but it still had some fans' hair stand on edge thanks to the controversial place that artificial intelligence has in the entertainment world.

This isn't the first time that Oda has dabbled in the world of artificial intelligence as late last year, the One Piece creator used A.I. on an independent art project. Drawing a new take on series villain Rob Lucci, the mangaka used A.I. to re-image his drawing in a different style. 

What do you think of artificial intelligence's place in the anime world? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and the world of the Grand Line. 

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