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The Japanese video service provider Imagica recently published an interview with Tatsuo Yotsukura, the director of his own daughter studio Olm Digital (producer of “The Apothecary Diaries”), in which he was talking about the role of artificial intelligence in the anime industry. We summarize the details.
Relief of the animators
According to Yotsukura, a research project called “Animins” is currently being worked on for “Anime Insight”. This should be found out how artificial intelligence can be sensibly integrated into anime production processes.
The reason for this is that he assumes that AI will soon be part of everyday life, as the past has already shown in comparable developments:
“You remember some examples from the past: At a time when computers were not yet common, Bill Gates said that a PC should be in every household. Steve Jobs also campaigned for a similar vision at a time when smartphones were hardly widespread. Both forecasts have now become a reality – today most people have such devices. «
The anime industry should also benefit from this, in which AI tools still have great skepticism. This situation is comparable to the introduction of 3DCG technology, which was also initially rejected, but has now become an integral part of the industry and is used in almost every anime.
One is convinced that AI can be a crucial tool in order to give employees more space for their creative activity. The “Animins” project should make a significant contribution to implementing this goal. It started in December 2024 and is initially scheduled for 15 months.
Several hurdles
There are currently four major challenges that you have to overcome for the integration of generative AI into anime production:
- Consists of licenses and copyright violations
- Negative attitude of the fans towards AI
- Overloading of the studios does not make it possible to experiment with AI, as well as the fear of the creators that she could dispute the jobs
- Technical challenges because there are fewer research and development teams in the anime industry- compared to other industries
In this context, it was noted that a AI tool was already being used at OLM Digital, which automatically colored sections and in some cases to reduce working hours by around 30 %.
Yotsukura also made it clear that this relief of work would be the only role of AI: »We clearly define the generative AI as a mere tool and supporter. It is not the creator herself, just an assistant who helps the creators to create better works. “
For the reasons mentioned, Yotsukura is currently considering three specific areas of application for artificial intelligence at Olm Digital.
