Studio Ghibli Speaks Out on ‘Ghibli-Style’ AI Images: ‘Miyazaki Doesn’t Even Know AI Exists’

Studio Ghibli president Toshio Suzuki says even highly advanced artificial intelligence cannot reproduce the distinctive expression of director Hayao Miyazaki. In an interview published by the Asahi Shimbun, Suzuki compared generative AI with the studio’s actual work and dismissed the idea that software can simply recreate its character.

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I thought everyone would get tired of it quickly

“Ghibli-style” images created with OpenAI’s ChatGPT became widely popular around March 2025. Suzuki said he initially thought people would quickly tire of them, adding that events had unfolded as he expected. Some kinds of animation can be made easily with AI, he said, but people with even moderate knowledge can spot the difference. He described the results as lacking meaning and fun.

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Some kinds of animation can be made easily with AI, but anyone with a certain amount of knowledge can tell. It has no particular meaning and no fun.

Suzuki also said Miyazaki does not know about generative AI itself. He argued that even simple physical details, such as Totoro’s belly sinking when someone presses it with a finger, cannot be reproduced by computer graphics or AI. “Miyazaki Hayao, computers and AI are not a good match,” he said.

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Even the simple movement of Totoro’s belly sinking when you press it with a finger cannot be reproduced by computer graphics or AI.

The difference, Suzuki explained, goes beyond style. AI produces results from vast amounts of data, while Miyazaki has worked by cutting himself off from outside information. During production of the 2023 film “The Boy and the Heron,” Miyazaki reportedly kept away from smartphones, newspapers, the internet and television. Suzuki said that approach ultimately produced the kind of expression computers find most difficult to create.

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Miyazaki Hayao, computers and AI are not a good match.