How AI is used in anime productions

DW (English)

In Japan, AI is already helping to produce animes faster and compensate for staffing shortages. Many in Japan are open to the technology, but many artists are wary of what the future has in store.

Transcript

00:00In Japan, many anime studios have embraced the use of artificial intelligence for specific tasks.

00:07One of these studios is K&K Design Studio.

00:10Vice President Hiroshi Kawakami says using AI saves a lot of time and effort.

00:17The anime producers give directions to the AI and check its work to ensure that it's done correctly.

00:26This 5 second anime clip requires around 50 color drawings, which can take up to a week to do.

00:33But now, AI can add color and movement in just a day. All it takes is two drawings.

00:40The anime industry suffers from long working hours and low salaries.

00:44It's difficult for the studios to hold on to young artists.

00:48AI can help maintain the anime boom, says Roland Kelts, professor and Japanese culture expert.

00:54He has written a book about anime.

00:57They call it in-betweener work, when you draw frames in between the keyframes.

01:03And that kind of work can be done by AI very effectively and save the studios money and time.

01:11A lot of people think of anime as these big hits, etc.

01:14But there are thousands of anime producers every year.

01:17And many of them are just for late night TV.

01:21They're pretty cheap.

01:23So those can probably be easily reproduced with AI.

01:28Technology isn't seen as a threat in Japan, says Kelts.

01:32This openness is rooted in the country's indigenous religion, Shinto.

01:35Shinto is centered on worshipping kami or spiritual entities.

01:40They inhabit all kinds of objects, man-made or not.

01:43And everything is accepted to be part of nature.

01:46Japanese creativity is quite fluid.

01:49The very first anime hero was called Astro Boy.

01:52And the character was half boy, half robot.

01:55And the idea was not so threatening to Japanese.

01:59Still, people are afraid of losing their jobs.

02:03A survey in 2023 found that 60% of Japanese artists are worried about job losses associated with AI.

02:12Copyright is another area of concern.

02:15Does AI steal other artists' unique style and work?

02:18The same survey found that 90% of Japanese artists are concerned.

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