AI is becoming increasingly involved in the production of anime, and it seems the industry's top studios are getting ready to go all-in on the technology. Toei Animation, the studio behind massively popular titles like One Piece and their 2025 fiscal year report, and an entire section was dedicated to their plans for implementing AI into various stages of production. The community hasn't exactly responded well to the news, yet Toei has doubled down on their plans, and they aren't the only ones.

AI has been a larger part of anime production for longer than most realize, though the rapidly improving technology seems to now be making its way into more important tasks like storyboarding and coloring. ing Toei's recent report, massive conglomerate Kadokawa has shared their own plans for AI, viewing the technology as a tool for ing artists rather than replacing them.

AI Is Becoming a Bigger Part of Anime Production

Top Studios Are Entrusting Aspects of Anime Production to AI

Toei's report detailed that they plan to entrust aspects of production to AI, including generating storyboards, in-between frames, backgrounds, and coloring, all with the intention of speeding up the production process by effectively removing the human touch. In response, fans expressed their outrage, believing the latest technological advancements could never replace the decades of training that go into shaping an artist's eye.

Kadokawa's announcement, which came just following Toei's fiscal year report, made sure to highlight the exact role AI might play in anime production, expressing their intent to use it as a tool to assist artists rather than replace them. CEO Takeshi Natsuno stated that he has a fairly strong understanding of the technology and its capabilities, and explained that AI does have shortcomings.

He said, "AI can reproduce patterns, but it can't generate the kind of originality that defines powerful storytelling. A series like Oshi no Ko, for example, is too imaginative and unconventional—something AI could never come up with on its own." The hit anime series Oshi no Ko is animated by Doga Kobo, a subsidiary of Kadokawa. Natsuno made it clear that AI would not be taking the jobs of Kadokawa's artists, and instead would be used as a tool to help those artists with heavy workloads, a stance that would likely receive a more favorable response than Toei's.

Some In the Anime Industry Aren't Entirely On Board With AI

Prominent Figures In Anime Aren't Exactly In Favor of AI

In response to the news that Toei plans to implement AI technology into several parts of the production process, One Piece animator Cowboy Bebop director Shinichiro Watanabe just recently referred to AI as a "heartless monster" in an interview with Gizmodo Japan.

Legendary director Hayao Miyazaki's stance on AI is documented in a now famous clip, in which he called an early iteration of the technology "an insult to life itself", before expressing that he feels humanity is losing faith in itself. Kiyotaka Oshiyama, the director of 2024's top anime film, Look Back, expressed a somber attitude towards generative AI, sharing that his highly acclaimed film might be the "last work made entirely by human hands".

AI seems set to become a large part of anime production, whether fans and those in the industry like it or not. However, certain companies' stances on the technology will ultimately be the deciding factor between whether artists are helped by the tool or replaced by it entirely. It's possible that shows like One Piece and Dragon Ball will soon be losing their human touch, and only time will tell how fans might warm up to that change.

Source: The Worldfolio, MANTANWEB