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OpenAI’s latest image-generation update has taken social media by storm, as users are flooding X, Instagram, and Reddit with Studio Ghibli-style images generated by AI.
However, amid the viral trend, an old clip of Studio Ghibli co-founder Hayao Miyazaki expressing his disdain for AI-generated animation has resurfaced.
Before diving into Miyazaki’s words, let’s take a look at how the trend began.
On March 25, OpenAI launched its “most advanced image generator yet” as part of GPT‑4o, boasting highly accurate and stylized visuals.
Users quickly discovered that the tool excels at replicating Studio Ghibli’s iconic hand-drawn aesthetic, prompting a surge of AI-generated portraits, landscapes, and reimagined pop culture moments in Ghibli-style.
Hashtags like #GhibliStyle and #AIGhibli have since taken over social media feeds, with even OpenAI CEO Sam Altman joining in on the trend by sharing an AI-generated Ghibli-style version of himself – which is now his profile picture on X.
Now coming back to Miyazaki’s thoughts on AI, a widely shared video from 2016 shows the legendary animator reacting with disgust to an AI-generated animation demo.
The footage captures Miyazaki watching an unsettling AI-generated sequence of a grotesque, zombie-like creature dragging itself along the floor. When the developers present it as an example of AI’s potential in animation, Miyazaki responds with sharp criticism.
“Every morning, I see my friend who has a disability,” Miyazaki says in the clip. “It’s so hard for him just to do a high five. Now, thinking of him, I can’t watch this stuff and find it interesting. Whoever creates this stuff has no idea what pain is.”
He goes on to call AI-generated animation “an insult to life itself” and makes it clear that he would never incorporate such technology into his work.
As the AI-generated Ghibli-style trend gained traction, many artists and anime fans echoed Miyazaki’s concerns.
Netizens pointed out that Miyazaki’s vision – the one we see on screen today – was achieved thanks to the efforts and dedication put in not just by him, but entire teams of animators who worked tirelessly. And the fact that AI was simply copying that style without any repercussions did not sit well with them.
According to them, this was yet another example of how AI was mercilessly ripping off works of artists without giving them any due compensation.
Beyond concerns of copyright and compensation, there were also many who felt that being able to recreate Ghibli style artwork with little to no effort was not just insulting to the artist, but was also taking away everything that they worked for.
It needs to be seen if Altman will address this issue in the coming days, or whether GPT‑4o and it’s Ghibli trend will continue.
