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Acclaimed director Megumi Ishitani, who is known for her work on One Piece, and the more recent One Piece Fan Letter, expressed strong disapproval of OpenAI’s image generation model mimicking the distinct artistic style of Studio Ghibli.
In a series of posts on X (formerly Twitter), Ishitani reacted to the OpenAI Ghibli controversy, voicing her discontent at such tools being utilized, even by the Japanese people. She felt that this act could damage the value of the Ghibli brand.
Ishitani questioned the legitimacy of the image generation software, wondering if Ghibli permitted OpenAI to replicate its style, or even train its models on their existing work.
The director called for legal action against OpenAI, stating she couldn’t stand the legendary Studio Ghibli being treated so cheaply.
“There’s no way the official Ghibli would give permission, right!? It’s unauthorized, isn’t it!?” Ishitani posted, adding, “Why is something like this being allowed…” Ishitani said in her post. “I want them to take legal action… I can’t stand seeing Ghibli being treated so cheaply,” she added in a different post.
If OpenAI indeed doesn’t have permission from Studio Ghibli for using their materials (for training their models) or mimicking their style it could result in a case of serious copyright infringement.
OpenAI and Sam Altman have continued to promote their image generation model despite the controversy. They have not responded to the backlash from disgruntled fans, who felt similar frustration to Ishitani.
This is considering the fact that Hayao Miyazaki, the co-founder of Studio Ghibli and the director behind many of the studio’s hit works, was vehemently opposed to the idea of using AI generated images in animation.
Ghibli themselves have remained silent throughout the whole fiasco. While there was a cease and desist letter circulating online, the Studio clarified that it was fake one. They however refused to comment further on whether they will take more action against OpenAI.
OpenAI launched their image generator (part of GPT-4o) on March 25, 2025.
Ishitani is not the first person within the anime industry to speak out against the trend. In a veiled message, GKIDS Vice President Chance Huskey said that this was currently an era where technology was trying to replicate humanity. This came after the re-release of Princess Mononoke film in the United States broke box office records from its initial run.
According to netizens, this was yet another example of how AI was mercilessly ripping off works of artists without giving them any due compensation.
Source: X
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