Studio Ghibli

In October 2025, a Japanese trade group called CODA — whose members include Studio Ghibli and its parent company Nippon TV — formally demanded that OpenAI stop using Japanese creative content to train its AI video generator, Sora 2. The letter said CODA had confirmed that Sora 2 was producing videos that closely resembled Japanese content, and argued this was only possible if that content had been used as training data without permission. This was a collective industry action, not a standalone Ghibli initiative.

CODA (Content Overseas Distribution Association) sent its letter to OpenAI on October 27, 2025, shortly after Sora 2 launched on October 1. The letter made two demands: that OpenAI stop using member content for AI training without prior permission, and that OpenAI respond substantively to copyright infringement claims. The coalition included approximately 30 members: Bandai Namco, Square Enix, Aniplex, Kadokawa, Toei, Toho, NHK, Nippon Television Network (Ghibli's parent), and others — in addition to Ghibli. CODA argued that Japanese copyright law requires prior permission before using works as training data, and that no opt-out mechanism substitutes for that consent. OpenAI did not publicly respond to the letter. Because this was a multi-member coalition action, attributing it solely to Studio Ghibli would be misleading; Ghibli's participation reflects at minimum passive endorsement of the coalition's position.

In 2016, Studio Ghibli co-founder Hayao Miyazaki publicly rejected AI-generated animation after watching a demonstration of a machine learning program that made a 3D human figure move in disturbing, zombie-like ways. He called what he saw an insult to life and said he would never incorporate such technology into his own work. The moment was filmed for an NHK documentary and resurfaced widely during the 2025 AI art debate.

The incident took place at Ghibli's studio, where Dwango chairman Nobuo Kawakami presented a machine learning demo in which a 3D model taught itself to move without any programming around pain or bodily limits — producing grotesque results. Miyazaki connected the footage to a disabled friend of his and expressed deep moral objection. It is important to note that the demo shown was a motion-simulation experiment, not a modern generative AI image tool of the kind used in 2025 to replicate Ghibli's art style — a context that is frequently missing when the clip circulates online. No Studio Ghibli corporate policy document has ever referenced or formalized Miyazaki's personal views on AI.

Studio Ghibli does not use AI tools at any stage of making its animated films. The studio still draws everything by hand, and director Hayao Miyazaki insists on doing whatever can be done manually. While Ghibli helped create a free animation software called OpenToonz — which later received AI add-ons made by a third party — there is no evidence Ghibli itself uses those AI features.

Ghibli's cinematographer Atsushi Okui, speaking during press for The Boy and the Heron (2023), confirmed that hand-drawing remains the studio's core production method. Ghibli co-developed OpenToonz with tech company Dwango in 2016 and released it as free, open-source software for the animation community. Third-party developers later added machine learning plugins to OpenToonz, but no reporting confirms Ghibli adopted them internally. Ghibli's only fully computer-generated film, Earwig and the Witch (2020), used standard 3D graphics software, not AI generation tools.