As Steve says, "A studio does not make an anime. People make anime." But what tools should those people be using? Chris and Steve discuss.
Disclaimer:The views and opinions expressed by the participants in this chatlog are not the views of Anime News Network. Spoiler Warning for discussion of the series ahead.
Steve
Chris, I think the last time I yelled about AI on this column, it was about that "Ghibli" trend. Which still pisses me off, let the record show. And I hoped, at that moment, it would be the last time I'd have to gripe about AI and anime for a good while. However, here we are, not even six months later, and I am back with a vengeance. I guess it's like they say:
But this latest digital dustup is happening under its own unique circumstances. Specifically: a highly anticipated project getting announced, then hit back by fans merely for the possibility of using AI, to the point that, like an online artist posting their timelapse, the staff felt the need to put out a statement confirming this project was, in fact, made with human hands.
It's a bracing dose of modern irony that the staff communicates these words. At the same time, the studio, Qzil.la, still proudly touts AI integration on its web page: "We're incredibly excited to bring Sekiro: No Defeat exclusively to Crunchyroll in 2026. The whole anime adaptation is a fully hand-drawn 2D animation created by the talented teams at Qzil.la, ARCH, and Kadokawa. We can confirm that no AI is being used in the creation or production of this anime. Fans can look forward to the same artistry and precision that defined the original game, now reimagined in a new medium."
I think this whole situation reveals just how fraught the public perception of AI currently is, and how difficult it makes having a productive conversation around it. Because before that statement was issued, I saw a lot of people jumping to the conclusion that this trailer used AI.
I'll admit that I got my dunks in at the outset, though it was more on Qzil.la as a company, or, as you mentioned, touting their overall use of AI. They've also incorporated blockchain cruft before, just for an extra dose of techbro terribleness. It's not an ideal look for an adaptation of a game renowned for the intentional artistry of the craft behind it.
The trailer itself, to my eyes, looks pretty good, and even features a credit roll at the end that seems to emphasize the sheer force of experienced artists and animators coming together to work on this. The company sucks, but they've brought in some good people here!
I get why people jumped to that conclusion, and Qzil.la deserves the dogpile. They're owned by Comisma, which is the same group partnering with former NFT/Web3 project and now studio(?) Azuki. It's techbros all the way down.
I'll always be a little galled that they can use the same name as the other, more appreciable, anime-adjacent Azuki.
However, I believe this Sekiro debacle can serve as a teachable moment that extends beyond its connection to the AI debate. It would be nice if more people came to realize that a studio does not make an anime. People make anime. And like you said, the people behind this Sekiro adaptation are legit!
Perhaps most notably, you've got Kenichi Kutsuna and Takahiro Kitsuda, who both worked on Birdy the Mighty: Decode, among many other things. They're animation veterans, and some familiarity with their style would explain the Sekiro trailer's idiosyncrasies more soundly than the use of AI.
Even on a simpler level, if you look up Kutsuna's recent credits, you can see he did the first Fire Hunter OP, and then you can almost immediately detect similarities with how Sekiro looks.
It's a striking look that lends its own additional flashes of color and artistry to the base Sekiro art style. I love the painterly backgrounds too, which still feel like they carry that all-important intentionality.
It feels like there was some confirmation bias at work in how some viewers rushed to prove that the animation seen in the trailer was the product of generative AI once it was revealed that Qzil.la was involved in such technology. Thus, you had people playing the old game of grabbing out-of-context in-between frames as "evidence." I get trying to be sure once the suspicion's been planted. Still, it also demonstrates a lack of understanding about how animation works that I've been seeing from the sidelines, at least going back to folks complaining about Shingo Yamashita's work on the Pain fight in Naruto Shippūden.
One of my major concerns—and the one that fueled my intense response to this issue—is that any slightly deviant art or animation style will be subject to accusations of AI use. Anything that looks "off" will be stigmatized. If Masaaki Yuasa debuted in 2025, would people accuse him of using AI? I've seen similar witch hunts unfold in fan art spaces, and I don't want to see them consume every avenue of art.
And I get it. I'm jumpy too. If I see a sus bit of art cross my feed, I start scrutinizing the details. But I don't want us to forget that things are complicated. I saw this crop come up as potential evidence of AI use in the Sekiro trailer, because we've all internalized the heuristic that AI = extra fingers.
In reality, it was always far more likely that this was a coloring and/or lineart error on an in-between. Something that happens all the time.
It sucks, because in the before-times, that sort of momentary askew detail would be a neat reminder of the human touch behind this craft, rather than something for people to jump on and accuse them of outsourcing the animation to the plagiarism machine. Funny in-between frames are a mark of the medium, and no bad-faith generative animators can take something like Wide Superman from me.
There's also an irony in that imperfection being a focal point, since a defining element of much AI imagery clogging up fanart feeds in the anime space is that it looks too "perfect": immaculately airbrushed, sheen-finished anime babes with nary a hint of the handcrafted human touch.
Which is why I think it's also useful to clarify what AI use in animation actually looks like right now. Because we have examples, and none of those remotely resemble Sekiro. And yes, I hate looking at this stuff too, but I suggest you follow my lead and direct that hatred towards popping the AI industry bubble that much faster.
I'm hanging my hopes on those news stories about big companies pausing their AI plans as much as you are. I lived to see NFTs fade into irrelevance, and I can do the same for this, especially when preeminent examples of admitted AI use include something like Twins Hinahima from the appropriately named KaKa Technology Studio. This aired earlier this year, and really does look like what I'd expect from an anime that purports to be 95% made with AI.
Incidentally, you can't stream this one anywhere but here. I can't imagine why; they must be incredibly proud of it.
Twins Hinahima is an illuminating example because they posted a video that partially reveals their process of creating it, allowing us to break down what AI is actually doing. That's helpful when most companies handwave their sausage-making with platitudes about technology and the future.
Right away, we can see that they process the storyboard drawing with AI, and (imagine a buzzer sound here) whoops, looks like you needed significant human input on your very first step! You're not getting a legible, consistent storyboard from the stable diffusion ether. You need a person for that.
It's one of those things that you'd think would be obvious to anybody even adjacent to the animation industry. Storyboards aren't just busywork that needs to be gotten out of the way before the "real" animation can begin—they're recognized for the guiding hand they provide to the process, being able to dictate important elements like placement, framing, and pacing of movement. Yet, for some strange reason, storyboards are something even larger, more well-known animation studios are discussing wanting to offload onto AI.
It's a perfect example of the pie-in-the-sky thinking holding up the entire industry. Because AI can (poorly) perform a basic task, its proponents argue that it can or will be able to perform a significantly more complex task. It's inevitable. All we need is one trillion dollars right now.
A big ask from an industry where studios hardly want to pay their animators enough to live.
That video also shows them processing a photograph into a cartoon background, which I'll admit is a far more realistic application of what AI can do.
Amazing that even just filtering still utterly mangles the contents of that vending machine there. You know I'm jonesing for what appears to be a dozen irregularly shaped boxes of band aids.
You don't need AI to do that! Anime have been filtering photographs and compositing those into their backgrounds for ages. Here's a recent example from My Dress-Up Darling. No AI required. Just the good old computer.
It's also worth noting that they made one standard-length episode in this fashion. Not a full season. One episode. Almost like this was more of a stunt than a workflow, you can scale up appropriately.
It's certainly a proof of concept more than anything else, and the concept it's proving is that using AI for animation isn't really worth it. To say nothing of the fact that, as the Sekiro situation showed, audiences are energized to outright reject anything they think even might be AI. They haven't bothered getting Hinahima streaming anywhere official here, and between you and me and the TWIA readers, there's not even a proper English fansub immediately findable. People don't want it, and they seem to be aware of this.
I found one fansub, and it was a joke one done using AI transcription and machine translation. I respect the bit. Even if you look at those trailers, they have an abysmally low likes-to-views ratio, and they've turned the comments off. The people have (not) spoken.
Moreover, despite every criticism I've laid on it, I think Hinahima is by far the best current example of AI integration in anime that I've seen. It's not good, mind you, but it seems like the most honest one. They're at least somewhat cognizant of the technology's limits, they utilize other techniques like motion capture, and they put in an effort to make it look better than slop. I think that's all a waste, but credit where it's due.
And I mostly say that because the bar for AI animation is buried somewhere in the Earth's mantle. It doesn't take long to find another AI project that has garnered recent headlines, and this one makes Hinahima look like a Vermeer painting.
I felt bad for even indirectly contributing to people getting the wrong idea about Sekiro and criticizing the people behind it, so part of me wants to hold off on making incendiary remarks again in this same space. But honestly?
This looks like shit.
It is utter slop. Ugly hyperreal nonsense that even has the gall to be narrated by a soulless AI voiceover. I'm sorry you all have to see this. You can't afford to look away. You need to understand that this is what the world economy is riding on right now.
Same with the monkeys. There's no art style because there's no art. It really does look like a loose collection of shots thrown on social media that merely serve as examples for whatever Sora or other soulless corporate automaton being pimped this week can do.
These sorts of smeary sliding cutouts with lip movements that would make Clutch Cargo weep are an insult when they're frontpaged on DLsite asking for money. And these doofuses dare to blurt them out in a feature film? I am not sorry they seemingly lost their play for a proper release in Japanese theaters last year.
Would you distribute this if you saw it? I'd ask them to delete every copy. I think you can chalk up any airplay or ink about generAIdoscope to novelty, and the reserve of that is going to evaporate very quickly. Nothing about it looks (or sounds) like the way of the future. And yes, I said sounds, because that trailer uses AI-generated "music" too. It is so ass.
Scientists so preoccupied with whether or not they could that they never etc etc.
Again, you mustn't look away. Especially if you thought, even for a moment, that you saw telltale signs of AI in the Sekiro trailer. AI companies, including Qzil.la, want you to think that they are capable of making the Sekiro trailer with just a text prompt and a dream. They're relying on that. But generAIdoscope skews far closer to these programs' actual capabilities.
It's a night-and-day comparison that makes the artistry behind what we've seen of Sekiro shine even brighter. And as you've said, it's a teachable moment for folks on either side of the screen, as the Qzil.la suits have seen what the response will be if they actually do use AI for animation. I hope they're also seeing the enormously diminished market reactions to Twins Hinahima and generAIdoscope to give them additional pause.
This applies to any other studio as well, as even a giant like Toei is reportedly exploring AI use for tasks such as creating storyboards for series like Pretty Cure. It's shocking not just because of the value of the human touch on storyboards, which we have already covered, but because Pretty Cure itself has regularly been a proving ground for animators at the studio. Seeing a well-considered backlash might encourage them to reconsider.
The key is reining in the urge to scrutinize artists and continuing to direct our rightful scorn towards the corporations that are trying to foist this technology onto the world. I do anticipate that we'll continue to see AI being used and pushed in smaller but significant ways in anime productions. Like that The Dog and the Boy short from 2023 that used AI-generated backgrounds before everyone immediately forgot it existed.
Even the artists at Studio Orange utilized some generative AI backgrounds for the OP of the second season of BEASTARS. There was experimentation happening with this tech before we knew how much the suits in charge wanted to crank up the slop knob.
And that's fine! Believe it or not, I'm not anti-AI experimentation, and I do think there may be limited use cases for it in the future, particularly in a creative environment controlled by artists, not executives. But the burden of proof is on the corporations, and, so far, they haven't shown me anything besides greed and delusion. And a vacuum of taste.
Exactly. Companies like Qzil.la claim to be "maximizing value" and "evolving production processes," but in reality, they are poisoning the well for creatives, making them more susceptible to less-informed viewers hurling accusations at them. The sheer irony is that, as what we've seen of Sekiro so far shows, the path to success really is as simple as hiring exceptional artists and letting them create to their own standards—probably for ultimately less than they're throwing at genAI startups and processing.
Sekiro may be based on a game known for being hard, but this part seems pretty easy.
Indeed. And hopefully, the next time we discuss Sekiro, we can focus on the aspects that are actually germane to the narrative, like spamming the L1 button.
2nd season ended with 12th episode on Sunday― The official website for the second television anime season based on Fujino Ōmori and Toshi Aoi's Wistoria: Wand and Sword (Tsue to Tsurugi no Wistoria) manga announced in an teaser on Sunday that production on a third season has been green-lit. The anime's character designer Sayaka Ono drew the visual celebrating the news: The anime's second season ende...
Katagiri helms Laboratory of Optics and Neural Analysis anime with original story, screenplay by Akiko Nogi― WIT Studio revealed on Sunday a new original television anime by director Takashi Katagiri (SPY×FAMILY Code: White film) titled LONA (Laboratory of Optics and Neural Analysis), which will debut in spring 2027. WIT Studio also revealed two teaser videos, three teaser visuals, and the main cast...
Monolith Soft's ambitious RPG is better than ever on the Switch 2.― Good news, folks! Xenoblade Chronicles is finally a real video game! It's got 4K graphics and everything!The Xenoblade Chronicles series is one of grand ideas, grand vistas and greater impact. People willing to look past its RPG trappings get quickly obsessed with its heady blend of science fantasy and Gnosticism. It's a labor of lo...
Season 1's final episode aired on Saturday― The staff for the television anime of Tadatoshi Fujimaki's Kill Blue manga announced after the final episode for てthe first season aired on Sat;urday that the series will receive a second season. Fujimaki drew an illustration to celebrate the announcementViz Media is publishing the manga digitally and in print, and it describes the first volume: Juzo Ogami...
So many iconic moments from the manga are replicated intelligently and beautifully here.― How many different adaptations can one single manga spawn? In the case of Masamune Shirow's 37-year-old Ghost in the Shell, too many TV seasons, movies, and OVAs to count on the fingers of both hands. It's a bona fide phenomenon, with influence beyond the realms of manga and animation. Although every version so...
With millions of views on YouTube and a feature film adaptation, Milky☆Highway is largely the work of a single man: character designer, 3D modeler, animator, and director Yōhei Kameyama.― With millions of views per episode on YouTube, Milky☆Subway: The Galactic Limited Express is one of, if not the, standout short-form anime of 2025—so much so that it got a theatrical run in Japan earlier this year....
The Summer Anime Trailer Watch Party returns with the hottest anime line-up.― The Summer Anime Trailer Watch Party returns with the hottest anime line-up. Watch all the trailers for the upcoming season with special guest Geoff Thew (Mother's Basement), and Anime News Network friends Lynzee Loveridge, Jacki Jing, and James Beckett. Find your next must-watch anime, from the biggest hits to hidden gems...
New season adapts Cohabitation arc― The staff for the anime of Reiji Miyajima's Rent-A-Girlfriend (Kanojo, Okarishimasu) manga announced on Saturday that the anime is getting a sixth season. The season will adapt the manga's Cohabitation arc. Character designer Kanna Hirayama shared a commemorative illustration: The fifth season ended on Wednesday on the DMM TV streaming service, and the season's 12...
Video, illustration, logo unveiled for Record of Ragnarok IV― Warner Bros. Japan announced on Friday that the anime based on Shinya Umemura, Azychika, and Takumi Fukui's Record of Ragnarok (Shūmatsu no Walküre) manga will get a fourth season titled Record of Ragnarok IV. The company streamed a trailer and unveiled the logo: Azychika also shared a commemorative illustration: Record of Ragnarok III, t...
Trailer streamed― The official X/Twitter account for the television anime of Yuhiro Tsujitsugu's Snowball Earth manga announced on Friday that the series is getting a second season. The staff unveiled a trailer: The first season's 13th and final episode aired on Friday. The anime premiered on NTV's extended Friday night programming block on April 3. Hulu is streaming the anime. Viz Media releases th...
Nippon Sangoku and Akane-banashi are locked in a neck-and-neck, seesaw battle for the third spot on the podium! This race won't be settled until the final results next week.― Let's have a look at what ANN readers consider the best (and worst) of the season,
based on the polls you can find in our Daily Streaming Reviews
and on the Your Score page with the latest simulcasts. Keep in mind that these r...
Happy Birthday, Sonic! My, those are some interesting choices Sega's making for you.― Welcome back, folks! I had a very fun long weekend, bookended by the wildest movies to pair together. On Friday, I watched the new Masters of the Universe, which was a total blast and put a big smile on my face. Then on Monday, I met up with some friends and watched Adolescence of Utena on the big screen. Both time...
An engaging story is marred by distractingly lackluster animation. A gorgeously animated series is hindered by a trite or nonsensical story. Maybe the characters are wholly unlikable, yet there are five seasons chronicling whether they'll get together.― What makes an anime 'bad'? The answer to that question will differ for everyone. An engaging story is marred by distractingly lackluster animation....
ChaO's Yasuhiro Aoki to direct anime starring Batman villain― DC Studios and Warner Bros. Animation announced during their panel at Annecy International Animated Film Festival on Thursday the Joker: Laugh Riot anime, based on the Batman villain Joker, for a worldwide release. Yasuhiro Aoki (ChaO, Batman: Gotham Knight episode 4) is directing the anime at Sola Entertainment (The Lord of the Rings: Th...
If this is what’s to come, Bleach might have one of the best final arcs in shonen anime.― 14 years ago, the Bleach anime ended its 8-year run on a bittersweet ending that still left fans hungry for more. What was it Aizen saw within Soul Society that drove him to his tyrannical rage? How did Ichigo become so adept at gathering differing powers? What really happened during the Soul Reapers War with t...
Tsukasa Unohana debuted 4-panel manga in June 2022― Houbunsha's Comic Fuz website announced on Friday that Tsukasa Unohana's Gokigenyō, Ikkyoku Ikaga? (Good Day to You, How About a Game?) 4-panel mahjong manga is getting a television anime. Unohana drew a commemorative illustration: Kaori (Stardust Telepath) is directing the anime at Felix Film. Kazuyuki Fudeyasu (Is the order a rabbit?) is in charg...
Sylvia and Chris revisit Simoun on its twentieth birthday to honor the power of girls kissing.― Sylvia and Chris revisit Simoun on its twentieth birthday to honor the power of girls kissing. Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the participants in this chatlog are not the views of Anime News Network.Spoiler Warning for discussion of the series ahead. Darkroom streams Simoun. @RiderStrike...
Manga about girl traveling around the world's dangerous places to taste local dishes launched in 2021― The official X (formerly Twitter) account for writer Juntarō Aoki and artist Shin Moriyama's Nabe ni Dangan wo Ukenagara (Getting Shots on a Frying Pan or Nabetama for short) manga revealed on Thursday that it is getting a television anime adaptation by J.C. Staff, and will debut in 2027. The anime...
Reiji Kawashima, Rumi Ōkubo star in project No.9 anime 平 純/Jun Taira― A website opened on Thursday to announce the television anime adaptation of Makoto Morishita's The Fledgling Demon Lord's Starter Shop (Sudachi no Maōjō) manga that will debut in January 2027. The website also revealed a teaser promotional video, teaser visual, and the anime's main cast and staff members.Morishita also drew an ill...
Daisuke Sakaguchi, Miyu Tomita, Iori Noguchi star in anime― A website opened on Thursday to announce that author Chinkururi and illustrator Yasutaka Isegawa's Gacha Girls Corps (Gacha o Mawashite Nakama o Fuyasu: Saikyō no Bishōjo Gundan o Tsukuriagero) light novel series is getting a television anime adaptation that will debut in January 2027. Micro Magazine had announced in May 2025 that an anime ...
Thunder 3 is one of the most insane manga I’ve ever read, and it’s incredible.― Thunder 3 is one of the most insane manga I've ever read, and it's incredible. It's a bizarre mash-up that I can only describe as “what if Crayon Shin-chan, but Gantz”. If that sounds like a wild combination, then it is. The first volume, which I reviewed for Manga Guide back in Fall 2024, certainly impressed me with its...
New tentatively titled project reimagines Tatsunoko Production's Shinzō Ningen Casshan anime― American animation news outlet Cartoon Brew reported that Singapore-based anime venture studio Kasagi Labo announced during its panel at this year's Annecy International Animation Film Festival on Wednesday the new tenatively titled Casshan 2045 project, a reimagining of Tatsunoko Production's Shinzō Ningen...
Masuo Maruyama serves as special creative advisor― American animation news outlet Cartoon Brew reported that Singapore-based anime venture studio Kasagi Labo announced during its panel at this year's Annecy International Animation Film Festival on Wednesday a new project connected to the Ninja Scroll (Jūbei Ninpūchō) franchise. Cartoon Brew lists it as a film. Madhouse and MAPPA co-founder Masao Mar...
4th season ended with episode 16 on Wednesday― Kadokawa announced on Wednesday that production on a fifth Classroom of the Elite television anime season has been green-lit, and presented a new visual:Classroom of the Elite: Year 2 (Yōkoso Jitsuryoku Shijō Shugi no Kyōshitsu e 4th Season 2-nen Sei Hen 1 Gakki), the fourth season anime, ended with its 16th episode on Wednesday. The season covered the ...
@RiderStrike
@BWProwl
@LucasDeRuyter
@vestenet
