Social media has recently transformed into a Studio Ghibli-inspired world, thanks to OpenAI’s latest image-generation update on ChatGPT.
While some people are enjoying creating Ghibli-style portraits, fans of legendary Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki and critics have voiced their disapproval of the trend, raising concerns over copyright issues.
Posting on X, a user remarked that the Ghibli-style portraits were making people feel nauseous and expressed hope that Miyazaki would sue everyone involved in creating them.
all this “ghibli trend” made me nauseous, I hope miyazaki sues everyone involved idc
— ♡ (@carademoji2) March 27, 2025
Miyazaki, a legendary Japanese animator and filmmaker, is the co-founder of Studio Ghibli. However, he has long been vocal about his disapproval of AI-generated art and the use of technology in creative expression.
While some people expressed their disapproval towards AI generate art forms, a tech columnist highlighted several “mind-blowing examples” of Studio Ghibli art created using OpenAI’s latest text-to-image model, which is available only through ChatGPT’s paid version.
It’s been 24 hours since OpenAI unexpectedly shook the AI image world with 4o image generation.
Here are the 14 most mindblowing examples so far (100% AI-generated):
1. Studio ghibli style memespic.twitter.com/E38mBnPnQh
— Barsee 🐶 (@heyBarsee) March 26, 2025
However, not everyone was impressed. One X user questioned whether people “truly value art so little that it’s just a filter for your profile pic?”
I saw the beautiful 4K IMAX version of Princess Mononoke last night… then got out and saw this shit. Do you morons truly value art so little that it’s just a filter for your profile pic? Pay a fucking artist and make something real you gremlins. https://t.co/A0wK0j54Fk
— Michael Berardini (@mbirdini) March 27, 2025
“People act like this is a good thing but all the soul has been sucked out of society, we really are at the peak, nothing really matters anymore,” another user commented.
Several users also highlighted how the AI tool was being misused to create Studio Ghibli-style depictions of controversial events, such as the 9/11 attacks in the US and the demolition of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya.
One X user shared an AI-generated image of the Twin Towers attack, commenting, “Even terrifying events look like cozy art in #Ghibli style.”