AI-Generated Ghibli Art: Innovation or Infringement?

The AI scarefest is real for some

Apr 12, 2025

Have you ever wondered what happens when creativity stops being human?

Lately, it feels like we’re heading towards such a reality. As we are all aware that AI is getting better in all realms with each passing day, which is kinda… scary. Think about it: you feed it a prompt, and the next thing you know is that an image that looks like it took someone weeks to craft is right in your face.

Currently, the algorithm has a new favorite toy. Any guesses about what that toy is? I am talking about the famous Ghibli-style art.

You have seen it; everybody you know has seen it. Even people who don’t know the difference between RAM and ROM are converting their profile pics into Ghibli-style. Maybe doing this grants them some kind of superpower that I don’t know about. Everyone is jumping into this trend, but what disappoints me is that no one is stopping to ask: where’s this coming from?

Here is some truth about Ghibli. This art style wasn’t generated by an algorithm or some random AI chatbot. It was invented by a man named Hayao Miyazaki, who famously hates the idea of soulless creations. This guy practically poured his soul into making this art style.

And now his legacy and style are being fed into machines and posted like it's just another aesthetic filter. It’s being used for literal engagement farms. Tell me, what would your reaction be if something like this happened to you instead of Hayao Miyazaki?

Today, I want to break down tons of important things related to this topic. I want to shed some light on the questions that nobody bothers to ask. We’ll talk about how we got here, the ethics no one wants to talk about, the real impact this has on creators, where we are heading with all this, and this doesn’t end here. I have many more things that I want to cover.

Before we move on and cover the main points, how about we first learn about the creator of the Ghibli art style and dive a bit into his story? Doing this would give us a much better foundation on this topic.

Who Really Made Ghibli?

At this point, you probably know who is the mastermind behind Ghibli's art style because I just mentioned the name of the guy who made it a few seconds ago. But I believe I need to go a bit more in-depth when it comes to this guy’s past… he actually made one of the greatest art styles. The least we can do is learn some interesting stuff about him, right?

So, first of all, let’s get one thing straight: That Miyazaki isn’t just some guy who made cute cartoons. He was the kind of person who believed that every frame of a film should be drawn by hand. He basically poured his soul into masterpieces like Spirited Away and My Neighbor Totoro.

I remember watching these masterpieces when I was a kid, And It felt so peaceful… The art style and everything about these movies were right on point. All this was the result of the person who spent decades manually animating scenes frame by frame. He practically inserted a soul into his animation, and that is why everything felt so alive.

You see… Miyazaki hates AI-generated art. Like, really really hates it. There’s even a clip of him watching some AI-generated movement. Any guesses on how he might have reacted? He straight-up called it “an insult to life itself.” To him, art isn’t just pixels arranged to look good, it’s much more.

Now that you know some important things about Miyazaki, don’t you feel a bit sadistic when you look at the world? People are slapping the word Ghibli onto AI-generated images for aesthetics and engagement without noticing they’re not just borrowing a style. They are unintentionally cheapening the life’s work of a man who worked day and night on that very particular thing.

Hayao Miyazaki wasn’t just a random dude who made movies. He built worlds. And I believe that he deserves more than just a passing mention in a TikTok caption. That is the reason why I wanted all of you to learn about who he really was. Anyway, let’s move on to the next thing.

The Rise of AI-Generated Ghibli-Style Art

I hope that you didn’t go to sleep after reading so much history about Miyazaki. Even if you did, you better drink that coffee on your table because we are about to discuss something more interesting.

Recently, you might have noticed something. Social media has been flooded with AI-generated images inspired by the world of Studio Ghibli. Mostly, the majority of users simply use ChatGPT’s image tools to create visuals that mimic the hand-drawn aesthetic of Hayao Miyazaki’s awesome films.

I know, I know… You can use tools other than ChatGPT as well to create images that mimic the Ghibli style. And that is the thing- quite literally, anyone can do it. All you need to do is simply type out the description and boom, within seconds, a machine coughs up an image. You’d swear it was pulled straight out of a lost Miyazaki film.

Almost every social media platform is flooded with this new art style, whether it’s TikTok, Instagram, or Facebook. It is literally everywhere.

Why is Ghibli's art style blowing up?

Just like any other trend, we notice that an art style, out of nowhere, becomes viral thanks to Open AI, but there is a question that bugs me. The question is simple: Why in the world is a mere art style growing so fast? And I bet you might have questions similar to it as well.

After carefully analyzing the Ghibli art style, I noticed tons of things and found the answer to my question as well. The answer isn’t actually complicated; rather, it simply lies in the art style itself. And it’s not just about the lines and the colours. It’s what it does to our brains.

The Ghibli art style contains warm colors, it contains comfort, and it gives the feeling of nostalgia. The style instantly taps into something deep within us. It gives off the feeling of taking a break from all the chaos around us, and this is the main reason for both why everyone’s hooked into it, and it growing famous with each passing day.

The Ethical Dilemma: Creativity vs. Copyright

I believe I have yapped enough on some of the basic points when it comes to today’s topic. There are some major issues that need to be highlighted as well, and I must talk about them too, right? So, let’s get to that.

I am sure that by now, all of you have realized that we are in the middle of a revolution. AI tools are truly pushing past their limits with each passing day. They can generate paintings, mimic voices, and quite literally do everything at this point.

I know that, at first, it seems like magic. Give a prompt and boom, an image appears, and most of the time, it is stunning enough to make you pause and wonder: “Is this the work of a machine?” Sure, AI is indeed handy when you want help, but there are tons of serious questions that are arising as well. Questions like:

Who really owns what’s being created?
What happens when these tools are trained on copyrighted works without asking?
At what point does creative inspiration start to feel more like theft?

I hope these questions are making your brains melt because they are surely making mine melt. And trust me, these aren’t some hypothetical concerns. All of this? It’s unfolding in real time, and guess what the worst part is? Ghibli's art style is just the tip of the iceberg.

So, why not dive into the rabbit hole and find out about the truth? Let’s get to it.

Was Ghibli’s Art Meant to Be Recreated in This Way?

I did touch on this point previously as well, but since we are on the path to answering different questions, I wanted to emphasize this particular topic again. Since it is that important.

So… As we are all aware, Hayao Miyazaki has made the fact clear that he does not like AI-generated animations. In a 2016 interview, Miyazaki described AI-generated animations as "an insult to life itself." This perspective raises questions about whether it is appropriate to replicate Ghibli's unique style using AI technologies.

The short answer to the question? In my opinion, it’s definitely not appropriate to recreate Ghibli’s art style using AI tools.

AI Models Being Trained on Copyrighted Works Without Permission

You might be aware of the fact that most of these AI tools don’t just wake up one day and decide how to draw in Ghibli style. They get properly trained by inserting a vast amount of data in them, which enables them to do all this, so it’s definitely not a coincidence that AI tools are able to just spit out Ghibli-style art in an instant.

You might be wondering what they get trained on, right? Well, for starters, they are trained on a lot of real data which is made by real people, and most of the time, the data is copyrighted, which has been causing some serious legal issues lately.

Just recently, in early 2025, a U.S. court basically said:

“No, you can’t just scrape copyrighted content and call it fair use.”

The case was between Thomson Reuters and an AI company called Ross Intelligence. And as you can tell by that statement, the court sided with Reuters, making it clear that you can’t just feed copyrighted work into your AI like it’s a free buffet.

You might be wondering how in the world this is related to all the Ghibli mess, right? Well, it is very much related. Think about it: if scraping copyrighted legal texts isn’t fair game, then scraping copyrighted artwork from creators like Miyazaki certainly is not fair either.

So yeah, maybe that Midjourney Ghibli image looks cool… but don’t forget the fact that it is built on stolen brushstrokes : D

The Argument of Inspiration vs. Imitation

You see… Artists have always pulled inspiration from each other. The truth is that’s how creativity works. You see something cool, it sparks something in your brain, and you make your own version of it, which is totally normal.

Even I am guilty of this act. There are tons of moments when I am talking on a particular topic with someone, and while we are talking, they share their ideas with me, and then out of nowhere, something lights up in my brain as well.

But when it comes to AI? Things are quite the opposite. It’s not like us, who can get inspired by something. AI literally studies every brushstroke, memorizes every frame, and then spits out something that looks exactly like the original piece. And just like that, the topic switches from being inspired to copying on a massive level.

At this point, I have a question for all of you: Is it really a tribute to Ghibli when the art looks like it was deep-fried in a neural network and then labeled as aesthetic? Or is stealing the work of someone who had poured his blood and sweat into that thing?

What a scary time it is; the line between inspiration and straight-up copying is getting blurrier with each passing day, and our boy AI? It’s dancing all over it with no idea where it’s stepping.

Should There Be Legal Restrictions on AI Usage of Signature Art Styles?

We all know that AI is moving faster than the laws meant to control it. While people are busy turning their profile pics into Ghibli-style images with a few prompts, the legal world is still trying to figure out if that’s even allowed.

In early 2024, a new bill was introduced in the U.S, the Generative AI Copyright Disclosure Act, which basically tells AI companies: “Hey, if you’re training on copyrighted stuff, at least be honest about it.” Makes sense, right?

At this point, even you might be saying that “Surely, everything going on with the Ghibli stuff is wrong, and it should be illegal, right?” But that is the thing: even if the Generative AI copyright bill was passed doesn’t mean everything suddenly becomes illegal overnight.

Another important thing to note is that although the bill sounds pretty fancy but it still doesn’t ban AI from using copyrighted styles. The law is basically saying, “You can do it, just tell us that you did.” So even if you and I know it feels wrong to recreate something like Ghibli using AI, in the eyes of the law… It’s still not a big thing.

The short answer to the question? It’s not illegal (at least not yet) to slap a Ghibli filter on your cat photo.

Its Impact on Artists and the Art Community All Around the Globe

Alright, folks, how about we take a breath and zoom out for a second? So much chaos in the wind, right? I am aware of the fact that all of you know AI-generated Ghibli content seems like a cool trend in your feed, but you might not know about how it is playing a key role in reshaping the entire art world.

If any of you reading this piece have spent any time in creative circles, you might get what I am trying to say. The thing is, for many artists, all of the things happening in the Ghibli world? It’s not just about a style being copied; it’s much more than that. It’s about their value being questioned.

We all know that AI has not only impacted other industries but the world of artists as well, and that is what I will be covering next: how the world of artists has been impacted and where do we currently stand in this modern era where people are scared of losing everything that they worked for, by a mere machine.

Professional and Indie Artists Expressing Concerns About Devaluation

Let’s be real: if a person spends years honing his craft, perfecting every brush stroke, or maybe even writing code or whatever it is. It does sting watching AI whip out something quite similar to that in seconds, right? And currently… Artists are definitely feeling that sting.

I will be honest; I am no Leonardo da Vinci, but what I am… is a programmer. I know how it feels to bash your head against the wall to solve something very simple, and if you give that same problem to AI… It will simply demolish that problem in a couple of seconds. It burns my heart when I see that. And I am quite sure that when artists watch some machine spitting out their life’s work, they feel the same thing.

Recently, a survey by the Society of Authors found that a huge chunk of illustrators and translators are actually losing income because of AI. Like, 37% of illustrators said their work is being undercut, and 43% of translators felt the same. This is not a minor inconvenience, we are talking about rent money, bills, and careers being messed with.

And things don’t stop here. Think about it for a second: mostly all AI-generated stuff is being made using the art of the same creators who aren’t getting paid good enough nor given any credit, and on top of that, they aren’t even getting asked for any permission for it.

So when people say,

“Oh boy… Tech is moving forward.”

remember: for a lot of working artists,

“It’s tech moving over them.”

Creative Fatigue: When Originality Starts to Feel... Replaceable

All of us are familiar with the feeling when we are scrolling through our feed and everything starts to look the same, right? That’s not just your brain zoning out. In the world of artists, it’s known as creative fatigue. And no, it’s not just about being tired of trends; it’s about being surrounded by a sea of perfectly generated, soulless content.

There are multiple examples of this. For instance, think of TikTok trends, Pinterest aesthetics, or the Instagram Ghibli-fied posts. Everywhere your eyeballs land, there is some version of Ghibli already standing there. It all starts to look too familiar. Your brain zones out, and nothing feels fresh. That’s the fatigue I am talking about.

Now, here is the twist: Clients (brands, content creators, agencies) notice that there is repetition everywhere, and it is working. The trend is getting likes, it's getting clicks, it’s trending. And since these clients only give a damn about making money they start chasing the trend. They say: "We need something in that style, the thing everyone’s engaging with."

And then guess who steps in? The good old AI. It enters the game and delivers whatever trendy style is on demand, fast and cheap, which is the reason why clients lean on it. They don’t care about wanting something original and different. They only care about getting what is the current market trend, even if it’s oversaturated.

Meanwhile, the artists who are actually capable of producing things that are original and new are pushed aside. Why? because they take longer, cost more, and worst of all, in a click-chasing world, they don’t guarantee anything.

Not Every Artist Hates AI, But Not Everyone Trusts It Either

This is the place where things start to get really messy.

If you have read so far, you have every reason to believe that artists basically hate AI. While this statement does have some truth to it, it’s not entirely true because there are people who literally take quite some joy in using AI in their work. Many modern artists treat AI like a tool. According to them, it helps them experiment, break creative blocks, and even generate weird concepts they’d never think of alone.

Take Brett Amory, for example. He is truly making tons of unique stuff by blending traditional painting with AI feedback loops like it’s the most normal thing in the world. This man is literally using AI glitches to build entire worlds. He had an 800-page conversation with ChatGPT, where he basically told it to act like a superintelligent being while he played its assistant. Together, they created a made-up language called AIGlyphic913 and use it to describe surreal images he makes with AI.

Artist Brett Amory at his studio in Oakland, California, on April 1, 2025.

But on the flip side of the world, we have people like Miyazaki. For them, using AI feels like cheating. Not because they’re old-school, but because they believe real art needs a human heartbeat. They see AI as something that turns creativity into a shortcut. Something that kills the very essence of what art is.

So yeah, not every artist is fighting the AI wave, but a lot of them are still deciding if it’s a surfboard or a tsunami. Nonetheless, not only artists but people in almost all industries will need to make the big call sooner or later. The call that decides whether they will adapt and rise or get left behind.

What’s Next? Can Art and AI Share the Same Canvas?

We have come so far, but we still have a long way to go. So… “where exactly do we go from here,” you might be asking that, right? We have spent a great deal of time talking about the chaos, the ethics, and the fatigue. But I think it's time to shift our focus a bit towards something more practical.

So… As we all are aware of the fact that AI isn’t going anywhere, and it is definitely here to stay. But… the real questions are:

Can we use it responsibly?
Can creators and machines co-exist without stepping all over human effort?

Truth is, if you actually focus on the current world, then you can notice that there are hints of the future that are present there. They are hard to spot but not impossible. I just talked about the biggest hint some moments ago about how artists like Brett Amory are collaborating with AI and producing something truly unique. Maybe the future of art and artists lies in doing the same thing that Amory is doing, right?

If we take another step forward and move away from the world of artists and take a look at the world of law, debates are going on in the courts as well, there is a whole war going on with questions similar to what I raised today. Nonetheless, the point I am trying to make is that it’s not just up to lawmakers or big tech companies to decide what will be next.

It’s also on people like us, aka the audience. What we choose to support will shape the kind of art that survives.

Anyway… Let’s actually zoom in on what’s coming next and focus on discussing how the platforms, the people, and the possibilities could potentially help us use AI without losing the soul of art.

Platforms That Actually Have Artist’s Back

We all are aware of how AI is basically pulling art from all over the internet to learn and generate new stuff. Because of this, tons of artists have been raising red flags. And things get really heated when their work gets used without permission. Of course, anyone would get angry if someone just steals their work, right?

But there is still hope…because new platforms like Cara are actually trying to support and help these artists. You might be wondering: what’s special about Cara, right? You see, cara isn’t just another image-sharing site. It was built by artists for artists. It was started by the famous photographer Zhang Jingna, and this guy made sure that AI can’t peek into artists' work here.

Yes, you heard me right. Cara blocks AI-generated content from being uploaded and even tags posts with NoAI to warn off scrapers. This platform actually gives artists a place where they can breathe freely while not worrying about AI. Isn’t it great, right?

I know, I know that it’s not a perfect fix to the larger problem, but it’s a meaningful step in the right direction. Tools like Cara are helping to reshape the future. Think about it… If more platforms follow this lead and more people actively choose to support human-made art, we could literally change the reality, right? We would be able to build an internet that uplifts originality instead of diluting it.

How the World is Trying to Protect Human Creativity

AI definitely makes a lot of noise, right? Guess what? Because of all the noise and the chaos that it has caused in the creative world, the governments and international bodies have finally noticed it.

In September 2024, a major action was taken by the authorities. I am talking about the part when the Council of Europe adopted a treaty called the Framework Convention on Artificial Intelligence and Human Rights, Democracy, and the Rule of Law (yeah, it’s a mouthful).

In simple words, this treaty is about making sure AI doesn’t mess with human rights, democracy or create new ways for discrimination, and yes, this includes the creative and art area as well. Basically, this is a sign that lawmakers are starting to recognize how powerful and potentially harmful AI can be when you don’t put a leash on it.

Although we are still in the early stages, but the fact that these conversations are happening at a global level is promising; it gives us hope onto which we can latch on.

If fair rules and regulations continue to develop and evolve with input from real artists and creators, there’s a good chance that we can change things, that we can build a future where tech helps art rise instead of replacing it.

The New Canvas: When Artists and AI Create Together

Whenever the topic is “whether AI will take over the world of artists,” it is quite similar to the “Will AI take over the world of developers?” The answer to both of these questions is the same. I have talked about this multiple times that AI is just a tool, and people who will wield it wisely will be the ones to come out on top.

And I get it, many artists like the creator of Ghibli art style i-e Miyazaki, aren’t quite fond of AI and using it, but that is not true for all of the artists. We even discussed this earlier as we saw how Amory is using AI to help him. My guy literally worked with ChatGPT to build an entire fictional world, complete with its own invented language.

Think about it: Amory is just one of the examples of people using AI in art. I bet there are more artists out there as well. Even if there aren’t any, they can surely follow the path laid by this guy and open some new doors in their life, right?

And maybe that’s the future, not where AI takes over, but one where it holds the flashlight while artists explore paths no one’s walked before.

The Cycle, the Shift, and the Choice We Still Have

Alright, let’s take a break and just appreciate how far we have come. At the start, we didn’t even know who created the famous Ghibli art style, but if you have read so far, you have truly understood what in the heck is happening with the art world.

You might be wondering why I dived so much in-depth in today’s topic, right? It was because in order to truly understand what is happening with Ghibli, these things that we all learned about were necessary. And also because I wanted to change the thought process of many people.

You see… Many people believe that AI kills art or just demolishes whatever industry it steps into. But that’s where they are wrong. The thing is, AI is like a powerful animal; it shakes the room in which it steps, and that makes everyone rethink where they stand.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I know there has been a lot of damage inflicted upon the art world.

Yes, unique art styles are getting buried under the weight of AI-generated content.

Yes, consumers get excited when they’re getting visuals in seconds that used to take weeks of effort.

Yes, many businesses that thrive on the very principles of originality are now struggling to compete with tools that can mimic anything, instantly.

But, here is the twist: even the people who once celebrated the rise of AI art are now getting bored because, to them, everything looks the same. They feel like the spark’s missing and the soul has been ripped out of the art. And that brings us to over next question: So what happens next?

If you think about it, it is pretty obvious. New artists and creators will rise from the shadows, but things will be different this time because they will be teaming up with AI; they will be using it to create masterpieces. Let's be real; we all know that not everything AI spits out is bad. In fact, that was never the problem.

Things started to get heated when the boundaries were crossed and when the balance between things vanished. And that is exactly going to be the challenge.

What challenge?
Letting AI assist without letting it disrupt things.

And here is the thing: originality still matters, and maybe now more than ever. And who can bring it to life? “Real creators.” And just like AI, they also aren’t going anywhere unless we let them fade into the background.

The truth is that the future of art doesn't have to be a war. It can simply be a remix, as long as we don’t forget what made us fall in love with it in the first place. So yeah, maybe the question isn’t “Will AI kill art?”

Maybe it’s “What do we choose to keep alive?”

Lately, I know it’s been feeling like we are in this weird limbo where machines can copy beauty, which makes me wonder, if everything starts looking the same, will we even notice when something real passes us by?

Anyways, as much as I hate to say it, I will be winding things up, but I will be leaving you an interesting question. What question? The following:

If AI can mimic your favorite art style perfectly, does that style still hold the same meaning for you?

Drop a comment and let me know your take; I genuinely want to hear your answer. And as always, if at any point this article helped you in any way, do tell me about that. Feedback helps me level up, and I love that.

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