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.

AI-Generated Ghibli Art: Innovation or…

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