Megumi Ishitani, one of the standout directors behind some of One Piece’s most highly praised episodes, has spoken out against ChatGPT’s new ability to generate artwork that looks almost identical to Studio Ghibli’s signature style. Her response was emotional, saying she felt Ghibli’s legacy had been disrespected and even called for legal consequences.
A Director with Real Credibility Opens Up
Ishitani isn’t a random name in the anime space. She’s directed several visually impressive and emotionally strong One Piece episodes, including Episode 957 (“Big News! An Incident That Will Affect the Seven Warlords”), Episode 982 (“Kaido’s Trump Card! The Tobi Roppo Appear”), and the iconic Episode 1015 (“Straw Hat Luffy – The Man Who Will Become the Pirate King”).
Her skills come from serious training, she graduated from the GDI program at Tokyo University of the Arts, a well-respected school in Japan known for producing high-level talent in visual design and animation.
So, when someone with that kind of experience publicly expresses anger, the industry listens. On X (formerly Twitter), Ishitani posted: “You’ve tarnished Ghibli. I’ll never forgive you.” A few hours later, she followed up with, “I want legal action to be taken. I can’t stand seeing Ghibli treated so cheaply.”
ジブリ公式が許可出すわけないよな！？
— 䂖谷牛乳 (@ishigyunyu) April 2, 2025
無断だよな！？なんでこんなことが許されるんだ…
法的手段に出て欲しい……ジブリがこんな安っぽく扱われるの耐えられない
— 䂖谷牛乳 (@ishigyunyu) April 2, 2025
What Happened With Ghibli and ChatGPT?
The controversy began after OpenAI added an advanced image generation feature to ChatGPT. With this tool, users can request pictures in the visual style of famous creators, including Studio Ghibli.
The results were shockingly close to the real thing. These AI-made Ghibli-style pictures quickly started trending across platforms, with many users impressed by how authentic they looked. But for creators like Ishitani, it’s a serious problem.
She raised the concern that Ghibli never gave approval for this to happen. In her post, she said, “There’s no way Ghibli gave permission. Why is this allowed?” That question highlights the biggest issue here, no official agreement, no creative control, and possibly no legal protection for one of Japan’s most respected animation studios.
Surprisingly, Ghibli has stayed completely silent.
This silence is causing speculation. Some think the studio might be planning a legal move. Others believe they’re just staying quiet until they decide how to respond. But even though Ghibli hasn’t officially spoken out, we can still get a sense of where their founders stand.
Hayao Miyazaki, Ghibli’s legendary co-founder, once called AI-generated animation “an insult to life itself” in a 2016 documentary. That one quote has resurfaced everywhere this week, especially as fans debate how much value AI art really holds.
