AI is the future. We've all heard it, and we all read it. But it's the unfortunate reality we live in right now. Artificial intelligence is bleeding into all aspects of our lives and is impacting all global industries, including anime.
Whether we as fans like it or not, studios are embracing it. Even the largest ones, like Toei Animation, are openly admitting that they are exploring the use of AI in their animation production processes.
The anime powerhouse has released its outlook for the next financial year, FY2026, revealing its ambitious yet controversial plan to implement artificial intelligence. One of the report's slides was dedicated entirely to the use of AI and investing in Preferred Networks, Inc., "a company with cutting-edge AI technologies."
"With an eye on launching a joint venture, we will seek to co-develop new business opportunities and improve the efficiency and quality of our production, capitalizing on synergies between AI and animation production technologies," the slide reads, while showcasing a chart that shows how Toei's animation production technologies and Preferred Networks AI technologies will work together.
According to the graphic, Toei has plans to apply AI to various processes of animation production, including storyboarding, coloring, color specification, in-betweens, and backgrounds.
The fine print highlights that AI will be used to generate simple layouts and shooting of the storyboards, as well as correcting line drawing and generating in-betweens. It can also be used to specify colors and automatically correct colors, and even generate backgrounds from a photo.
The response to Toei Animation's stance on AI has been met with considerable backlash, and not just from those in the industry whose jobs will be affected, like animators, voice actors, and creators. Fans are also pushing back against the use of artificial intelligence, arguing that the loss of human touch often results in content that lacks depth, nuance, and soul.
There's also the concern over animation quality, including inconsistent visuals, especially when used for in-between animation or backgrounds. The AI art style and animation may also feel inauthentic to a show's identity.
Then, of course, there are the ethical issues associated with using AI art models that are often trained on existing works without permission. We've already seen AI steal the style of Studio Ghibli without credit or compensation. And then, there's just the overall lack of respect for human creators and what they bring to the anime industry. If we replace the heart and soul of the industry, we are left with generic and derivative content.
Just last year, Japan’s Nippon Anime and Film Culture Association released a statement on the dangers of artificial intelligence in anime:
“We [the NAFCA] feel it will be very difficult in the future to bring fair revenue to creators when projects are being created through the use of generative AI. For instance, if an AI generates a character with the head of Doraemon, the body of a Gundam, and the voice of Son Goku… If that creation is made with the thought it can be used freely so long as we hand over the required revenue, we’re not interested. Even if a character created using 100 others were to make a ton of profit, there is no good mechanism of sharing profit and approval with the creators of those 100 said characters.”
Toei Animation is hardly the only anime studio leaning heavily into AI for its production process, but as one of the industry's leading studios —the creators of major shonen franchises like Dragon Ball and One Piece — it's disheartening to see.