In Japan, AI is already helping to produce animes faster and compensate for staffing shortages. Many in Japan are open to the technology, but many artists are wary of what the future has in store.

Tokyo

The release of Open AI's ChatGPT has accelerated the development of artificial intelligence and warnings about its impact on society.

Rise of AI

Anime studios in Japan, such as KNK Design Studio, are adopting artificial intelligence to automate specific animation tasks, notably coloring and in-between frame creation. This technology significantly reduces production time, allowing tasks that once took a week to be completed in a single day. Industry experts note that AI is particularly effective for routine animation work, which can help studios manage costs and address challenges like long working hours and difficulty retaining young artists.

Despite these benefits, there are concerns among artists about job security and copyright. Surveys indicate that a majority of Japanese artists worry about AI-related job losses and the potential for AI to appropriate unique artistic styles. While Japanese culture is generally open to new technology, these issues highlight ongoing debates about the future of creative work in the anime industry.

How AI is used in anime productions

In Japan, many anime studios have embraced the use of artificial intelligence for specific tasks. One of these studios is KNK Design Studio. Vice President Hiroshi Kawakami says using AI saves a lot of time and effort. The anime producers give directions to the AI and check its work to ensure that it's done correctly. This five-second anime clip requires around 50 color drawings, which can take up to a week to do. But now, AI can add color and movement in just a day. All it takes is two drawings. The anime industry suffers from long working hours and low salaries. It's difficult for the studios to hold on to young artists. AI can help maintain the anime boom, says Roland Kelz, professor and Japanese culture expert. He has written a book about anime. They call it in-betweener work, when you draw frames in between the key frames. And that kind of work can be done by AI very effectively and save the studios money and time. You know, a lot of people think of anime as these big hits, etc. But there are thousands of anime produced every year. And many of them are just for late night TV. They're pretty cheap. So those can probably be easily reproduced with AI. Technology isn't seen as a threat in Japan, says Kelz. This openness is rooted in the country's indigenous religion, Shinto. Shinto is centered on worshipping kami or spiritual entities. They inhabit all kinds of objects, man-made or not. And everything is accepted to be part of nature. Japanese creativity is quite fluid. The very first anime hero was called Astro Boy. And the character was half boy, half robot. And the idea was not so threatening to Japanese. Still, people are afraid of losing their jobs. A survey in 2023 found that 60 percent of Japanese artists are worried about job losses associated with AI. Copyright is another area of concern. Does AI steal other artists' unique style and work? The same survey found that 90 percent of Japanese artists are concerned.

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How AI is used in anime productions

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Rise of AI