There are two major opinions on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in daily tasks. Companies like Meta and Microsoft see it as a necessary tool to increase productivity. But Studio Ghibli sees AI as a tool that steals creativity and wants to sue those who use it. Toei Animation Company, the studio that produces the animated series Dragon Ball, One Piece, Slam Dunk, Digimon, Sailor Moon and more, is taking a middle ground by using AI to assist in the animation process.
In its latest financial report, Toei Animation announced an investment in AI Preferred Networks. AI technology will be used to generate storyboards, produce background images, create intermediate frames between two frames that have been produced and generate color specifications and change them if there is a mistake.
The move by Toei Animation is similar to the Russo brothers' Studio Agbo. It will not replace human animators but take over tasks that fall into the trivial category.
The Japanese animation industry has a bad reputation for making animators work overtime without overtime pay. Due to cost, time and manpower constraints, it is common for some episodes in a series to experience a sharp decline in quality. In this case, the use of AI may be able to solve this issue without threatening the future of animators.