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Toei Animationrecently addressed the controversy surrounding its decision to pivot to the use of artificial intelligence in anime production. Last week, Toei Animation, the studio behindOne PieceandDragon Ball, shared a report on its earnings from the last fiscal year (April 2024 to March 2025).
As usual, the report contained information beyond the company’s financial balance, including its future plans. One highlight is that Toei Animation is pivoting toward producing live-action media to attract an international audience. According to the company, they don’t see how to continue growing among the Japanese audience.
Toei Wants to Use More A.I. In Anime Production
One of the most controversial points in the report is thatToei Animation has stated that it is investing in A.I. and that the company wants to employ this technology in anime production.The document cites processes such as storyboard creation, coloring, in-between animation, generating background from photos, and frame correction as being affected by this new initiative.
This sparked an immediate negative reaction among fans, and even among animators who work on series made by Toei.One Pieceanimator Vincent Chansardstated on social media that “everyone’s as confused as me,” indicating that the news caught other animators by surprise.
Following the negative reaction,Toei edited the document, which now states that the company is not currently using AI technology in any of the mentioned processes, but still wants to eventually do so. In other words,Toei is not using AI at the moment, but is investing in it and will likely start using it soon.
Since 2021, Toei has been investing in AI. The company will likely develop its own AI with the help of other AI companies, but the model will probably be built using internal information.
Why Is AI So Controversial?
AI has sparked lots of controversy for many different reasons. The most vocal complaints are usually related to working conditions and intellectual property. AI models need to be fed with massive amounts of data, and AI companies usually don’t disclose where this data comes from — and many other companies andartists fear that AI companies are using protected contentwithout authorization.
As for working conditions, many people, perhaps including many animators, fear that AI will eventually replace them, and fear that it will lead to fewer job opportunities in the future. In the case of the anime industry, companies also claim that they are pivoting to AI due to a current labor shortage.
One Piece
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One Piece is a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. The series follows protagonist Monkey D. Luffy and his Straw Hat Pirate crew as they explore the Grand Line to find the King of the Pirates' ultimate treasure, the One Piece, in order to become the next king. The manga’s popularity helped it spin off into a larger media franchise, including an anime with more than 1,000 episodes.
