AFTER DRAWING IRE WITH NEW AI PLANS, TOEI ANIMATION IS BREAKING ITS SLEENCE ON THE CONTROVERSY

Toei Animation is one of the Biggest Names in the anime industry. Responsible for iconic titles like Ball, One Piece, Dunk, Sailor moonand so many moreFew Other Studios Can Compare to the Sheer Number of SuccessFul and Lasting Titles toe Has Pumped Over Over the Years. Howver, after announcing that the Powerhouse Studio Will Begin Heavily implement and expanding the use of he in their productions, fans aren’t very happy.

Following Reports of Heavy Investment in a Company Called Preferred Networks in April, Toei’s Recently released fiscal year 2025 Presentation Includd a sectioniling how they are to the Production of their Biggest Shows. Though the Technology Has Already Quietly Made Its Way Into Various Aspects of Anime Production, Toei’s Detail Report Has Received Quite a Large Amount of Backlashcausus the studio to backtrack. Howver, Though Changes Have Been Made to Their Original Ai-Focused Presentation, IT SEEM PLACE ARE CHANGING.

TOEI CLARIFIES Their plans for he in anime

The Powerhouse Studio has brokens their silence on it, but not in the way fans have hoped

Toei’s Original Presentation Detailed Just How the Studio Planned to “Apply it to various processs of anime Production”. Those included The use of it to Generate Storyboards, In-Between Frames, Backgrounds, and Eve in ColoringWith Hopes of Speeding Up the Animation Process by Effectatively Removing the Human Artist’s Touch. Naturally, This Angered the Vast Majority of Anime Fans, who believe that replace artists with it is inherently workg, and that he can never replicate what an artist with years of Experience and a trained eye is capable of.

In response to the backlash, toe updated their fiscal year 2025 Report, and removed the images under each of their planned use for it. They Also added to the original description, clarifying that though they plan to implement he in these areas, None of their Productions Are Currently Making use of the Technology. The Only Image that Remains in the Report is under the background section, to which toei added that the image is an example of the use of scenify, a technology they didloped and released in 2021.

One Piece Animator Confirms that is not Being Used in Production

One Animator Feels Like Its “an Overblown Disconnected Pr-Esque staff”

In Response to the Report, Vincent Chansard, Who Has Workhed at Toei Animation On One Piece, Posted His Thoughts on X. He said, “Have been talking to everyone of know on this he thing but it seames Everyone’s as confused as. (Right now) It just fes Feels like an overblown disconnected pr-esque staffent Like ‘Look How We Are an Innovative Company’ … “ Considering How Both fans and Other giants of the industry like Cowboy Bebop‘S Shinichiro Watanabe have Reacted to he in anime, Chansard’s staff wills Certainly Ease Concerns for Now.

Howver, with intense backlash, TOEI ANIMATION HAS REMAINED FIRM IN THEIR REPORT THAT TO IMPLEMENT AI INTO THEIR PRODUCTIONS IN THE FUTH. For now at Least, fans can be cone countin that Shows like Ball and One Piece Are Currently Being Made Entirely by Human Hands.

Source: Toei Animation Fiscal Year 2025 Presentation