Anime Studios MIGHT Use A.I. in the Future

READ "MIGHT"; Toei currently doesn't use any A.I. at the moment! Toei responds

Just a preamble to say that I am sort of neutral towards of A.I. and its use, but that's just my bias towards chatbots and Text generators used for RP speaking. I am in no position or hold any opinions regarding Image generators and their use for visual art medium. With that out of the way, let's get into the article.

Toei

Just a few days ago, I found a concerning article written by Chike Nwaenie | Anime Corner Article:

"Toei Animation To Apply AI to ‘Various Processes of Animation Production’ in the Future"

As quoted:

“We will seek to co-develop new business opportunities and improve the efficiency and quality of our production, capitalizing on synergies between AI and animation production technologies.”

The company says in regards in following its investment with Preferred Networks (PFN), a company recognized for its advanced AI technology in Japan. Here's the Investment in Preferred Networks (PFN), Inc. Report

The collaboration says in the article aims to enhance the efficiency and quality of animation production by applying AI to various stages, such as generating storyboards and layouts, coloring, line drawing correction, in-between generation, and creating backgrounds from photos. 

Kadokawa

And not long after, another article published again by Chike | Anime Corner Article stating that Kadokawa CEO Takeshi Natsuno is "actively investing" in A.I. for productions, as the article eloquently phrased it.

According to the article, Mr. Natsuno stated:

“At this point, we see AI primarily as a support tool, because it still can’t be truly creative on its own. I actually come from the IT industry and still hold a university position as a professor, so I have a fairly strong understanding of this subject [...]“

“[...] That’s why, at the moment, we use AI mainly to support artists. Although it is still in the testing phase, for instance, it’s helpful in tasks like coloring animation cels after the drafts are completed. It enhances efficiency without interfering with the core creative process.“

Unlike Toei, which had backpedalled after the backlash of their announcement [Link to that Article], Kadokawa is actively sharing AI resources and technology across its seven anime studios, leveraging its internal engineering expertise to evaluate and implement AI with the company's broad vision to become a tech-driven entity, streamlining workflows while protecting creative freedom. They made examples of its application called Mantra, a manga translation tool that uses image recognition and language processing to convert Japanese to multiple languages.

Insights

I can see the impending backlash and boycott among the anime fan who are against A.I. use for art medium such as animation. With the one "A.I. Anime" airing that's mindnumbling bad, I fear for the quality of the upcoming production of anime adaptation, and more or less, translations of numerous of manga titles. Am I being pessimistic? Not really. Am I optimistic? Not quite either. Just hoping now this "A.I. tools" would lessen the work for those animators that skip sleep for achieving some fruition from their product.

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