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A recent report from NHK World-Japan highlights how generative AI is being adopted in the anime and manga industries to ease production workloads and allow creators to focus on more creative aspects.
The report, which released on Dec 9 via NHK’s YouTube channel, stated, “Manga and anime are a big part of Japanese culture. But they require a huge amount of work to produce. Now, AI is taking on some of that work, so humans can focus on the creative side.”
Generative AI and Anime
The NHK report featured Nagoya-based studio K&K Design, which has Napping Princess and After School Dice Club among its credits, and its use of generative AI to create in-between animation frames.
According to the studio, this process, which traditionally takes one to two weeks, is reduced to four to five hours with the help of AI.
All the staff needs to do is give the required prompts along with the starting and ending frames, and the AI handles the rest – like moving a character from one point to the another.
However, K&K Design ensures human staff members check and retouch all AI-generated work to maintain quality.
“We always make sure a human checks, retouches, or adds to the work. As creators, we don’t want to rely too heavily on generative AI. However, we believe AI can save significant time, so we can use that time for more creative things,” Hiroshi Kawakami, a director at the studio said.
The report also stated that AI was being used to convert real movements into animated ones – a feature which looked very Snapchat-esque, but which is believed to have a lot of potential.
An August 2024 report by Nikkei too had revealed details on how K&K Design employed generative AI to color backgrounds.
In that report, the studio said that coloring backgrounds, which traditionally takes a week, was completed in five minutes with AI assistance.
Kawakami explained the studio’s approach as a collaborative effort with AI to improve the working environment while maintaining production quality.
K&K Design also applied generative AI for an animated sequence in the eighth episode of the live-action Trillion Game series in September 2023.
Generative AI in Manga Industry
The NHK report also featured 70-year-old manga creator Yoshimi Kurata, known for his work Aji Ichi Monme. He shared how generative AI has extended his ability to produce manga.
Kurata noted that his drawing speed has slowed down with age, but the use of AI would allow him to continue working for potentially another decade instead of five years.
The AI assisted him in areas such as completing backgrounds, coloring and refining sketches, enabling Kurata to focus on storytelling and creative elements.
The August 2024 Nikkei report provided additional details about a Tokyo-based digital manga production company en-dolphin, which is developing generative AI technology to assist manga creators.
The AI learns from a creator’s past works to reproduce illustrations and streamline the drawing process. However, the company emphasized strict copyright management, ensuring AI only learns from artists who provide explicit permission.
The en-dolphin website states it is a “custom-made AI service that will not operate without the permission of the manga creator who holds the copyright, and the manga creator can control all of the learning results.”
En-dolphin showcased examples of its AI system in action, demonstrating how it converted rough sketches from artists like Yoshimi Kurata and Dong-Hwa Kim into polished, colored illustrations.
While the technology could reduce the need for manga assistants, the company claimed that it ensured its system prioritizes the protection of artists’ copyrights and originality.
In addition to streamlining production processes, generative AI is being leveraged to combat challenges such as piracy in the anime and manga industry.
The Japanese government has initiated a $2 million USD pilot scheme to develop AI capable of detecting and reporting pirated content.
Furthermore, major industry players are exploring AI to expand their global reach. Sony, for instance, is utilizing AI to enhance anime production efficiency, thereby lowering costs and increasing output.
Japan itself has invested heavily in an AI manga translation company in order to expedite the process of translation and increase the number of titles being exported from the country.
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There’s only ever bad news.
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