In a recent interview with the Asahi Shimbun, Studio Ghibli co-founder and producer Toshio Suzuki offered his first public thoughts on the proliferation of AI-generated imagery mimicking the studio's iconic aesthetic. While the studio has faced numerous inquiries regarding the trend, Suzuki remained silent until now, noting that he anticipated the public would eventually grow tired of the AI-generated output—a prediction he believes has come to pass.
Suzuki was firm in his assessment that AI is fundamentally incapable of capturing the essence of a Ghibli production. He cited the tactile, physical details in My Neighbor Totoro—such as the specific way a character’s hand leaves a depression when pressing into Totoro’s stomach—as a level of artistic intent that CGI and AI currently fail to replicate. According to Suzuki, while AI can produce imagery, those with a background in animation can easily distinguish the lack of human nuance in machine-generated work.
Regarding the future of the studio's legendary director, Suzuki revealed that Hayao Miyazaki is entirely unaware of the existence of generative AI. During the production of the Academy Award-winning The Boy and the Heron, Miyazaki famously disconnected from all news, social media, and technology to focus solely on his craft. Suzuki contrasted this approach with AI, which relies on the aggregation of existing information, whereas Miyazaki’s process relies on the opposite: a deep, internal creative well.
When pressed on the possibility of a new feature film from Miyazaki, Suzuki acknowledged the director's enduring desire to create, though he noted that the physical demands of production remain a significant hurdle. Miyazaki continues to explore creative outlets, including conceptual work for the Ghibli Park. Given the studio's transition to new leadership—with Kenichi Yoda assuming the presidency this past June—it remains to be seen how these creative philosophies will shape the studio's next chapter.
