Studio Ghibli’s influence on the anime medium needs little explanation. The studio behind Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, Howl’s Moving Castle, and so many more animated classics has been a staple of the medium since the 1980s. While its influence on other anime creators is positive, Studio Ghibli’s influence on contemporary fans is a little bit more unfortunate. People are now using Generative AI software to imitate Studio Ghibli’s distinct art style as a way of insulting and trolling online.
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OpenAI, the controversial software company behind ChatGPT, recently unveiled its most advanced image generator yet. Within seconds, users were generating inappropriate and insulting images, with many targeting their online trolling towards OpenAI’s CEO, Sam Altman. Following the release of the software, Altman took to social media to address the online trolling.
OpenAI’s CEO Addresses Online Trolling & Studio Ghibli “Twink” Art
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Sam Altman shared his thoughts about the ever-shifting perception of OpenAI as a company, as well as the strange and uncomfortable AI-generated images he has received from users over the past few days. Imitating a piece of software code, the post (formatted for clarity) read, “be me, grind for a decade trying to help make superintelligence to cure cancer or whatever, mostly no one cares for first 7.5 years, then for 2.5 years everyone hates you for everything, wake up one day to hundreds of messages: ‘look i made you into a twink ghibli style haha.’”
Along with the post, Sam Altman changed his profile picture on X to, presumably, one of the “twink Ghibli style” designs he received. Along with attacks directed toward Altman, over the past few days, social media has been filled with ChatGPT users flooding their timelines with Studio Ghibli and anime-style images. Some are wholesome, like recreations of family photos. But, the internet being the cesspit that it is, many have used the software to recreate some of history’s most tragic events as if they were drawn by Hayao Miyazaki.
[RELATED – Lesser Known Studio Ghibli Movie Coming To Theaters For The First Time]
The Rise of AI in Anime
Just like with every creative medium, the rise of AI has become a major talking point within Japan’s anime industry. Along with AI anime image generators allowing fans to create their own “art” in seconds, the use of AI to create anime has been hotly debated by insiders and fans.
This year will see the release of the first AI-generated anime series to be broadcast on Japanese TV. Twins Hinahima is directed by Iizuka Naomichi, and the director recently defended his controversial decision to use generative AI to create an anime. During a recent appearance at Niigata’s 3rd Animation Festival in Niigata City (via Pia), Naomichi said that his use of AI is no different to other animators being inspired by their favorite shows. “Anime production is made up of imitation,” he said. “Animators have to imitate character designs, and character designers have to imitate key drawings. That’s how anime is made, but it becomes more important for animators to follow what they’re told, and they have fewer and fewer opportunities to think about directing.”
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