MAPPA President and CEO Manabu Otsuka has made his position on AI in anime very clear. Speaking alongside director Kaori Makita in an interview with Anime Corner published yesterday (October 17th), Otsuka said AI and other digital tools will never replace the people who make the studio's shows.
The pair sat down for the chat while visiting AnimagiC in Germany to celebrate MAPPA's 15th anniversary. Makita directed Hell's Paradise and Kakegurui Twin, and during the trip the two also took part in a fan panel and a screening of Chainsaw Man - The Movie: Reze Arc. The interview was conducted with an interpreter.
Otsuka On AI In Anime Production
When asked where MAPPA draws the line on AI, Otsuka grouped it together with other technology the industry already uses. He said that whether it is digital tools, 3D, or AI, "all of these are ultimately tools, and nothing more than tools."
He went on to explain why he feels that way. "Quality that moves people emotionally can only come from human beings," Otsuka said, adding that "it has to be people who create it. That is my fundamental belief."
He did leave a little room for tools in general, saying the real question is which ones to use, how, and to what degree, and that MAPPA will keep exploring that. He then set a firm limit on what they can do: "Tools can at most serve to make workflows more efficient, but the creative process has to come from people."
It is a strong statement from the head of one of the biggest studios in anime, at a time when generative AI is a hot topic across the industry and plenty of fans are nervous about where it is heading.
Making Anime For Fans Everywhere
The interview also touched on how much the international audience shapes MAPPA's work. Otsuka admitted that overseas fans have a big influence on the studio, but said the team is careful not to bend too far toward them. He explained that doing so could mean giving up "the particular appeal Japanese anime has" and the things that make the studio strong.
Makita offered the view from the creative side, and said the audience's nationality barely comes up while a show is being made. "We don't specifically think about whether we're producing it for Japan or for overseas, the nationality of the audience really is secondary," she said. "With an adaptation, for example, our focus is on realizing the source material so well that the fans of the original, and everyone willing to give it a chance, can enjoy and love the work as much as possible."
She added that this is the reason anime has caught on worldwide, since fans in Japan and abroad receive the works in the same way.
Longer Schedules And The Chainsaw Man Experiment
Otsuka also shared how much MAPPA's production process has changed. In the studio's early days, a TV anime took around two years from planning to broadcast. Now, at least three years is standard, and big titles can take five years or more from the planning stage.
He looked back on the studio's turning points too, naming Terror in Resonance in 2014 and Yuri!!! on ICE in 2016 before hits like Jujutsu Kaisen and Chainsaw Man arrived. On Chainsaw Man, where MAPPA handled both financing and distribution itself, Otsuka said the studio wanted to strengthen the link between the people making a show and the people bringing it to fans. He called it a big challenge and said the team learned a great deal from it.
Other topics included MAPPA's regional studios in Tohoku and Osaka, which Otsuka said exist to give talented young people outside Tokyo a way into the industry. He pointed out that he and Makita are both from Shizuoka and only met because they moved to Tokyo. He also praised Makita for starting her first directing job in her late twenties, saying young creators can express things that nobody else can.
As for how they know a show turned out well, both agreed that the mood at the wrap party says a lot. Makita added that quiet everyday scenes are often harder to animate than big action, and are some of the moments she is proudest of when they land.
A Big Year For MAPPA
The interview arrives during a busy stretch for the studio. MAPPA picked up the Studio award at the Newtype Anime Awards earlier this weekend, and the MAPPA EXPO 15th Anniversary exhibition is running at Yurakucho Museum in Tokyo until December 7th.
Do you trust MAPPA to keep AI out of the creative side of its anime, or do you think the pressure to use it will grow too strong for any studio to resist?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.