What nobody in the industry wanted to say out loud: studios are already using AI, and they’re terrified you’ll find out.
Terumi Nishii—a name that carries real weight. Her credentials: chief animation director on Jujutsu Kaisen‘s first season, key work on Death Note. When someone with that pedigree talks, the industry listens.
The Secret
Her allegation: multiple Japanese animation studios have quietly integrated generative AI tools into their pipelines. The silence isn’t accidental—it’s strategic.
- Social media outrage — trending hashtags, potential boycotts
- Corporate calculation — suits crunching numbers, deciding risk of exposure outweighs PR damage
- Forced implementation — production teams ordered to use automatic programs under absolute silence
The Exception
Nishii points to ufotable—the studio behind Demon Slayer‘s visually stunning adaptation—as proof that excellence doesn’t require shortcuts. Their production values remain astronomical because they invest in human talent.
The Real Danger
Junior animators learn by grinding through grunt work—the repetitive frames that build muscle memory and artistic judgment. Replace those learning opportunities with algorithms, and you’ve created a skills gap that compounds every year.
A decade from now, there may not be enough seasoned artists to mentor anyone. The generational change in anime? Potentially suffocated Actively threatened.
The Pattern
Back in 2023, Nishii criticised WIT Studio‘s public AI experiment. The Western reception turned hostile fast. But secretive adoption creates a different problem:
At least open experiments invite debate. Hidden implementation just breeds distrust.
What does transparency look like in an industry built on illusion? Should consumers accept AI assistance if studios openly credit its use? And how do we protect the next generation of artists when the economics of their training no longer add up?
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