Still from "The Boy and the Heron"; A woman spreads butter on bread.

OpenAI crossed the line with new imaging feature that steals from Studio Ghibli

“Ghiblified” photos reignite the debate about the ethics of AI-generated art and go against Japanese animation director Hayao Miyazaki’s artistic beliefs

Still frame from Miyazaki's "The Boy and the Heron."

Words by Ray Liu

Over the last week, the latest internet trend swept through all social media platforms, from X to Instagram and Threads. Social media users are uncomfortably welcomed by AI-generated images of popular memes and personal photos that resemble the aesthetics of Studio Ghibli’s keen and distinct art style. Japanese animation’s godfather and living legend Hayao Miyazaki is the mastermind behind Ghibli’s widely renowned films, picturesque landscapes, and subtly but impactfully emotive characters. On March 25, OpenAI—already littered with controversies surrounding the unethical thievery of art and writing—launched a feature that triggered artists and creatives alike, once again, to call out the platform’s stealing of artists’ works. This time, OpenAI crossed the line with its so-called “AI art,” as its new feature challenged what Miyazaki once said in a 2016 NHK documentary series by Kaku Arukawa: “I strongly believe that [artificial intelligence] is an insult to life itself.”

Though the feature launched on March 25, the use of the feature didn’t explode until social media influencers of various niches started to hop on the trend. Notably, the first person to gain immense popularity over the use of the “Ghiblifying” feature was coding engineer Grant Slatton on X, who posted an AI-generated image of him, his wife, and their dog in the style of Studio Ghibli, amounting 47 million views (and counting).

tremendous alpha right now in sending your wife photos of yall converted to studio ghibli anime pic.twitter.com/FROszdFSfN
— Grant Slatton (@GrantSlatton) March 25, 2025

As more users began to post their own Studio Ghibli-like, AI-generated portraits of themselves, the new OpenAI feature entered the mainstream. Software engineer Jenn Cho posted to her Threads an OpenAI image of herself and her cat, which brought in 1.2 million views and thousands of disapproval. Similarly, lifestyle influencer Kouka Webb hopped on this trend, with AI-generated, Ghibli-like photos of her wedding reception on Threads, garnering 1.7 million views on the platform. Ironically, Webb had taken to her Threads (a post that is now deleted) just a few weeks prior to the new OpenAI feature that someone had stolen her video and earned views off of her creation. Minnesota-based beauty historian Ann Oh swiftly took note of this irony and publicly wrote, “It’s not [okay] for you to get ripped off, but it’s okay if [you] decide to use AI that literally steals from Studio Ghibli?...” On this note, the issue of OpenAI and its stealing of artists’ works has once again resurfaced.

Though it may have started as a trivial, whimsical participation of those who claim to be fans of Miyazaki, this trend quickly took a turn for the worse. While AI has been around for almost a decade, if we’re including its earlier stages before OpenAI, the discourse on where AI should have a place is ongoing. As a college writing adjunct, I noticed my students’ extreme reliance on AI to aid their writing, which ultimately diminishes their critical thinking skills and learning capabilities. And when it comes to the field of art—and specifically Japanese animation—AI seems to tip the scale, leaving many artists feeling violated and robbed. Poet and author of Pulitzer Prize finalist nonfiction book Minor Feelings, Cathy Park Hong sharply criticizes, “Studio Ghibli AI is technofeudalism aesthetic at its worst. I hope Miyazaki never gets wind of this.”

Still frame from "The Boy and the Heron."

Miyazaki's latest film, "The Boy and the Heron," was released in 2023, with over 60 animators working on it.

As more artists come out to publicly voice their concerns and dismay over the new OpenAI feature, the severity of the problem at hand is made clearer. In addition to how AI’s language learning “can consume thousands of megawatt hours of electricity and emit hundreds of tons of carbon,” reported by Shaolei Ren and Adam Wierman for the Harvard Business Review, this specific case of “AI art” targets the intellectual property and legacy of Japan’s forefather of animation. Miyazaki simply cannot be touched. And when an artist of Miyazaki’s caliber can be stolen from, what does the future of other artists look like?

There is no clear solution to this trend—or the discourse that came about through this trend. Cho returned to her Threads a day later to clarify, “As a [S]tudio [G]hibli fan, generating this image was just a fun way to play around with AI,” and adding at the end of her message, “The brutal truth is, AI is not going anywhere.” While it’s clear that we as a society need to figure out a way to coexist with AI, trends like this one do not drive the necessity of AI forward. In fact, this new feature only exemplifies the abuse of AI and theft of artists.

Published on April 8, 2025

Words by Ray Liu

Ray Liu is a New York-based entertainment and culture writer and K-beauty content creator. With a master’s degree in English, he finds purpose in analyzing fictional works with a cultural lens that centers marginalized communities. When he’s not writing, he’s making K-beauty content and reviews on YouTube (rayliur). Feel free to tweet him at @rayliur on Twitter.