As artificial intelligence reshapes animation, Goro Miyazaki stands firm in defending the soul of Studio Ghibli. For the director and son of Hayao Miyazaki, no algorithm can replace the depth of his father's work.
Artificial intelligence might take over some of the work done by Japanese animation artists, but it will never match the brilliance of Hayao Miyazaki — the creative soul of Studio Ghibli — according to his son Goro, speaking to AFP.
After the release of the latest ChatGPT version (GPT-4o), the internet was flooded with AI-generated images and memes mimicking the iconic Ghibli style, known for animated classics like My Neighbor Totoro, Porco Rosso, and Princess Mononoke.
"It wouldn’t be surprising if, in two years, we see a fully AI-generated animated film," says Goro Miyazaki, acknowledging the possibility of AI eventually "replacing" creators.
This surge in viral images created by OpenAI’s tools has sparked debate around potential copyright violations and how existing content is being used to train these systems.
Still, during an interview conducted in late March at Studio Ghibli’s headquarters in western Tokyo, Goro Miyazaki questioned whether audiences are truly ready to embrace a fully AI-made animated film.
At 58, the director admits that new technologies do offer "great potential for the emergence of unexpected talents."
Japan, however, is grappling with a shortage of skilled animators — largely because many of them start out in low-paying jobs and spend years learning the craft before they can make a living from it.
Gen Z and the art of drawing
According to Goro Miyazaki, Gen Z (those born between the late 1990s and early 2010s) are deeply immersed in digital tech and may gradually turn away from hands-on drawing altogether.
"Today, people can watch anything, anytime, anywhere," he says, which makes it harder to commit to the physical act of drawing as a career.
Goro’s father, who always drew by hand, co-founded Studio Ghibli with Isao Takahata in 1985 — just a year after releasing the post-apocalyptic animated film Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind.
Following Takahata’s passing in 2018, Hayao Miyazaki, now 84, has continued creating films alongside long-time producer Toshio Suzuki, 76.
"If those two can no longer animate or even move around, what happens then?" Goro wonders when asked about Ghibli’s future.
"It’s not like they can just be replaced."
Despite his age, Hayao Miyazaki earned his second Oscar last year with The Boy and the Heron, which is likely to be his final feature film.
Although animation is often considered a medium for children, both Takahata and Miyazaki — shaped by the wartime generation — embedded their films with darker themes that also speak to adults, says Goro.
"There’s sweetness, but also bitterness and other things that intertwine beautifully," he adds, describing a kind of "scent of death" that lingers in their work.
"That’s what gives it such depth."
For younger generations raised in peacetime, Goro believes, "it’s impossible to create something with the same meaning, perspective, or attitude as my father’s generation."
"An insult to life itself"
As AI-generated content in the Ghibli style continues to spread online, an old clip of Hayao Miyazaki from 2016 has resurfaced — viewed by many as a reflection of his aversion to technology.
"I honestly think it’s an insult to life itself," Miyazaki said in a documentary aired by Japanese public broadcaster NHK.
He was reacting to an AI-assisted animation of a zombie-like creature, which he described as "deeply unpleasant."
Goro Miyazaki joined Studio Ghibli in 1998 and has directed two animated films: Tales from Earthsea (2006) and From Up on Poppy Hill (2011).
He also oversaw the development of the Ghibli Museum in Tokyo’s Kichijoji neighborhood, and the Ghibli Park, which opened in Aichi Prefecture in 2022.
As a child, Goro loved drawing and says he learned a lot just by watching his father and Takahata work — though he never believed he could become an animator on their level.
"My mother, who was also an animator, told me not to go into this field because it’s so demanding and intense," he recalls, adding that his father was hardly ever home during his childhood.
"But I always wanted to do something creative... and I think being a director suits me."
With AFP
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