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Agence France-Presse

Artificial intelligence risks taking Japanese anime artists’ jobs but nothing can replicate Hayao Miyazaki, the creative lifeblood of the studio behind classics such as Spirited Away, his son says.
Thanks to ChatGPT’s new image generator, the internet is awash with pictures imitating Studio Ghibli’s whimsical style, raising fresh debate over potential copyright infringements.
Movies such as My Neighbor Totoro and Howl’s Moving Castle are famous for their lush nature and fantastical machinery, painstakingly drawn by hand.
While the studio has not commented directly on the image trend, Goro Miyazaki, 58, predicted that artificial intelligence could one day replace animators.

“It wouldn’t be surprising if, in two years’ time, there was a film made completely through AI,” he said in an interview last week.
But whether audiences would want to watch a fully AI-generated animation is another matter, he added.
Despite the rapid changes, new technology also brings “great potential for unexpected talent to emerge”, added Goro, Studio Ghibli’s managing director.
He was speaking at the Ghibli atelier in western Tokyo, days before the San Francisco-based ChatGPT maker OpenAI released its latest image generator.

OpenAI, which is already facing a barrage of copyright lawsuits, said generating images in the style of individual living artists is banned, but “we do permit broader studio styles”.
“Our goal is to give users as much creative freedom as possible,” the US company said.
Japan is grappling with a shortage of skilled animators, partly because most spend years in low-paid jobs to learn the ropes.
Digitally savvy Gen Z may be also less enthusiastic about the manual labour involved, Goro said.
“Nowadays, the world is full of opportunities to watch anything, anytime, anywhere,” making it harder to imagine making a living from the physical act of drawing, he added.
Goro’s father founded Studio Ghibli with Isao Takahata in 1985, a year after directing the post-apocalyptic Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind.
It is impossible to create something with the same sense, approach and attitude that my father’s generation had
Goro Miyazaki
After Takahata’s death in 2018, Hayao – now 84 and a heavy smoker – continued to create films with 76-year-old producer Toshio Suzuki.
“If those two can’t make anime or can’t move, then what happens?” Goro said when asked about Ghibli’s future.
“It’s not like they can be replaced.”
Despite his age, Hayao won his second Oscar in 2024 with The Boy and the Heron – which is likely to be his last feature film.
Anime cartoons are usually for children, but Takahata and Hayao, men “from the generation that knew war”, included darker elements that appeal to adults, Goro said.

“It’s not all sweet – there’s also a bitterness and things like that which are beautifully intertwined in the work,” he said, describing a “smell of death” that permeates the films.
“That’s actually what makes the work so deep.”
For younger people who grew up in peacetime, “it is impossible to create something with the same sense, approach and attitude that my father’s generation had,” Goro said.
Even My Neighbor Totoro, with its cuddly forest spirit creatures, is in some ways a “scary” movie that explores the fear of losing a sick mother, he explained.
As the Ghibli-style AI images proliferated, a 2016 video of Hayao resurfaced that many said showed his disdain for the technology.
“I strongly feel that this is an insult to life itself,” the director says in the short clip, taken from a documentary.
However, he was in fact reacting to an AI-assisted computer graphic of a zombie-like creature, which he calls “extremely unpleasant” in the full footage.
Goro joined Studio Ghibli in 1998 and directed animations including the 2006 feature Tales from Earthsea and 2011’s From Up on Poppy Hill.

He also oversaw the development of the Ghibli Museum and newly opened Ghibli Park in Japan.
Goro enjoyed drawing as a boy and said he learned a lot watching his father’s and Takahata’s work, although he did not think he could live up to their talent.
“My mother, who was also an animator, told me not to pursue this career because it’s a tough and busy job,” Goro said, adding that his father was rarely at home.
“But I always wanted to do something creative.”


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An image generated by AI in the style of Hayao Miyazaki’s anime films for Studio Ghibli. Photo: AFP

Goro Miyazaki, the son of legendary Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki, says he wouldn’t be surprised if an animated film was soon made completely using AI. Photo: Nogi/AFP

Studio Ghibli-style pictures created by ChatGPT, such as this one, are exciting fans of the animation studio, but also raising copyright concerns. Photo: X/lycfyi

Hayao Miyazaki in 2014. The legendary animator, now 84, won his second Academy Award in 2024 with The Boy and the Heron. Photo: Invision/AP

A still from Tales From Earthsea, Goro Miyazaki’s directorial debut.

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A screen grab from Flow, the Oscar-winning animation from independent director Gints Zilbalodis.  

A screen grab from Flow, the Oscar-winning animated film from independent director Gints Zilbalodis. Films like his are challenging the lavishly funded animated productions of Hollywood studios. 

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A still from A Minecraft Movie. Photo: Warner Bros Pictures

Emma Myers as Natalie in a still from A Minecraft Movie. Photo: Warner Bros Pictures

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Lam Suet in a still from PTU (2003), one of four newly restored classic films screening in the Pan-Chinese Cinema programme at the Hong Kong International Film Festival 2025.

Hidetoshi Nishijima in a still from The Brightest Sun.

Natalie Hsu (left) and Fish Liew in a still from Pavane for an Infant.

Fernanda Torres in a still from I’m Still Here.

Vic Carmen Sonne in a still from The Girl with the Needle.

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Adam Driver and Nathalie Emmanuel in a still from Megalopolis.

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A still from Seven Samurai (1954).

Tony Leung Chiu-wai in a still from My Heart Is That Eternal Rose (1989).

Sakura Ando (front) in a still from 100 Yen Love (2014).

Takeshi Kaneshiro, one of the ‘most good-looking’ actors in Hong Kong cinema and star of some of Wong Kar-wai and Peter Chan’s best movies, is a man of mystery

Takeshi Kaneshiro at an interview with the Post in July 2004. Kaneshiro, who debuted as a singer in Taiwan in 1992, has not been seen on the big screen since 2017 – but remains as popular as ever. Photo: SCMP

Takeshi Kaneshiro and Zhou Dongyu in a still from “This Is Not What I Expected” (2017).

Takeshi Kaneshiro and Brigitte Lin in a still from “Chungking Express” (1994). 

Takeshi Kaneshiro and Kyoko Fukada in a still from the drama series “God, Please Give Me More Time” (1998).

(From left) Xu Jinglei, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Andy Lau, Jet Li, Jacky Heung and director Peter Chan promote “The Warlords” at an event in December 2007. Photo: SCMP

Takeshi Kaneshiro in a still from “Perhaps Love” (2005).

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Takeshi Kaneshiro in an interview with the Post in December 2006. Photo: SCMP

Lifestyle

Entertainment

Arts

Culture

Film & TV

Goro Miyazaki talks about AI, animation and why making films as deep as his father’s is impossible, as ChatGPT releases new image generator


Goro Miyazaki talks about AI, animation and why making films as deep as his father’s is impossible, as ChatGPT releases new image generator.


Hayao Miyazaki

Artificial intelligence

ChatGPT and other generative AIs