The Great Ghibli Gambit: AI, Art, and the Chaos of Creation

Explore the AI art revolution as ChatGPT4o conjures Studio Ghibli-style images, sparking joy, copyright chaos, and Miyazaki’s fury. Dive into the legal and ethical clash!

GHIBLIMIYAZAKICHATGPTCOPYRIGHTGENERATIVE AI

Henri Hubert

4/3/202519 min read

The Great Ghibli Gambit: AI, Art, and the Chaos of Creation

1 - Introduction: A Tale of Pixels and Principles

2 - The Joyful Anarchy of the Masses

3 - The Dragon’s Roar: Miyazaki’s Stand

4 - The Legal Labyrinth: Lawsuits, Fair Use, and the Ghibli Gambit

4.1 - A Courtroom of Chaos

4.2 - The Ghibli Conundrum: Input and Output

4.3 - Fair Use: The Slippery Slope

4.4 - The Lawsuit Ledger: A Rogues’ Gallery

4.5 - Miyazaki’s Ghost in the Machine

4.6 - The Global Ghibli Gambit: A World Stage of Law and Lunacy

4.7 - The Future: Order or Anarchy?

5 - The Ethical Abyss: Art, Soul, and the Machine’s Merry Jest

5.1 - The Spark and the Shadow

5.2 - The Artist’s Lament

5.3 - The Muse Unmoored

5.4 - The Fan’s Feast vs. The Creator’s Fast

5.5 - A Mirror to the Age

5.6 - The Final Jest

6. References

Cover graphic with title, Miyazaki quote, and young man speaking
Cover graphic with title, Miyazaki quote, and young man speaking
Bezos saying "That´s crazy!"
Bezos saying "That´s crazy!"

1 - Introduction: A Tale of Pixels and Principles

On March 25, 2025, OpenAI flung open the doors of its ChatGPT4o upgrade, unleashing a beast of image-making wizardry upon the world [1]. Suddenly, every Tom, Dick, and Harry with a subscription could conjure images in the style of Studio Ghibli - those lush, hand-drawn dreamscapes spun by Hayao Miyazaki, a man who’d sooner wrestle a dragon than let a machine touch his art. The internet, predictably, went berserk. Photos of cats, memes of historical blunders, even Elon Musk’s smirking mug - all morphed into whimsical Ghibli-esque visions [2]. It’s a marvel, a delight, a blooming chaos of creativity! And yet, beneath the glitter lies a shadow: the specter of copyright, gnashing its teeth, ready to drag this merry romp into the courts of law and lore.

Here we stand, at the crossroads of genius and thievery, where the soul of art meets the cold steel of code. This is no mere trend; it’s a parable of our age - a clash of human spirit against the mechanical maw. Let’s dig into the marrow of it, shall we?

Trump in discussion with others in Ghibli style
Trump in discussion with others in Ghibli style

2 - The Joyful Anarchy of the Masses

Picture this: Janu Lingeswaran, a chap with a cat and a dream, uploads a fuzzy photo to ChatGPT4o. Moments later, out pops an image - his moggy now a wide-eyed, Ghibli-fied sprite, prancing through a forest of impossible green [3].

Across X, users fling their own offerings into the fray: a Tiananmen Square tank reimagined as a Totoro-like behemoth, or Sam Altman’s own profile pic, grinning in anime splendor [4]. It’s a carnival of creation, a riot of nostalgia! For twenty bucks a month, the Pro-tier plebs have seized the tools of the gods, and the free-tier peasants are left hammering at the gates, demanding entry [5]. OpenAI, swamped by the sheer glee of it all, delays the rollout to the unwashed masses - proof, if proof were needed, that beauty still moves the world [6].

This is the human spirit at play, unshackled from the drudgery of draftsmanship. You don’t need Miyazaki’s decades of toil to dance in his world now - just a prompt and a prayer. And yet, as the crowd cheers, a voice cuts through the din: Miyazaki himself, glowering from his tower of tradition.

Sleeping Ghibli-style cat
Sleeping Ghibli-style cat

3 - The Dragon’s Roar: Miyazaki’s Stand

Hayao Miyazaki, that grizzled sage of animation, doesn’t mince words. Back in 2016, he watched an AI churn out a grotesque mockery of art and spat, “I am utterly disgusted. An insult to life itself.” [7]. If you think he’d softened by 2025, you’ve not met the man. His Studio Ghibli isn’t just a brand - it’s a philosophy, a labor of love etched in ink and sweat. Every frame of Spirited Away or My Neighbor Totoro is a testament to human struggle, to the chaos of creation tamed by hand and heart. And now? Now comes this silicon pretender, this ChatGPT4o, slurping up Ghibli’s essence like a greedy imp and spitting it back out for the masses [8].

The backlash isn’t just Miyazaki’s - it’s a chorus. Artists, those beleaguered souls, see their livelihoods teetering. Sarah Anderson and Kelly McKernan, for instance, have hauled AI giants like Stability AI into court, claiming their works were devoured to train these models [9]. Imagine it: your life’s work, fed to a machine that churns out pale echoes for a pittance. It’s not just theft - it’s a cosmic jest, a punchline delivered by a soulless algorithm.

Tiananmen Square ‘Tank Man’ in Ghibli style
Tiananmen Square ‘Tank Man’ in Ghibli style

5 - The Ethical Abyss: Art, Soul, and the Machine’s Merry Jest

5.1 - The Spark and the Shadow

And so we arrive at the heart of it - not the cold machinery of law, but the warm, messy pulse of ethics, where the ChatGPT4o Ghibli trend reveals a tale as old as fire: the struggle to define what makes us human. Here, in the flickering light of Miyazaki’s hand-drawn worlds, we confront a paradox. OpenAI’s tool offers a spark - fans conjuring Totoro-fied cats and Ghibli-esque memes with a flick of a prompt [2] - yet casts a shadow over the very soul of creation. It’s a dance of delight and dread, a cosmic jest where the machine plays puppeteer, and we’re left wondering who pulls the strings.

Peterson might frame it thus: art is the crucible where chaos meets order, where we wrestle meaning from the void. Miyazaki’s Spirited Away, with its painstaking frames, is a testament to that struggle - a human hand taming the wild muse over years of toil [38]. Pratchett, ever the imp, would wink and say it’s all a grand lark - until the machine starts scribbling the punchlines. The ethical question looms: when AI apes Ghibli’s style, does it honor that spark, or snuff it out?

5.2 - The Artist’s Lament

Consider the artist’s lot, those weary souls who pour their essence into every stroke. Hayao Miyazaki, at 84, has called AI art “an insult to life itself”, a cri de cœur from a man who sees machines as soulless interlopers [7]. He’s not alone. Across the digital wilds, creators like Karla Ortiz - a concept artist steeped in Ghibli’s lineage - rail against AI’s encroachment. Ortiz, locked in a lawsuit with Stability AI, fears her commissions dwindling as clients opt for cheap, Ghibli-fied knockoffs churned out by ChatGPT4o [9]. It’s not mere paranoia; online marketplaces already hawk AI art in artists’ styles, undercutting the human hand [26]. One X user quipped, “Why pay $500 for a Miyazaki-esque sketch when ChatGPT does it for $20 a month?” [39]. The jest stings.

This is no abstract woe - it’s a dagger to the livelihood. According to a 2023 survey by the Authors Guild, 90% of writers believe they should be compensated if their work is used to train AI models, and many report declining income from illustration and freelance commissions - a quiet bleed masked by the fanfare [40]. For every Janu Lingeswaran delighting in his Ghibli-fied cat [3], an artist somewhere tallies a lost gig. It’s a zero-sum game dressed up as progress, and the ethical weight presses hard: should joy for the many come at the cost of the few who forge the path? Peterson might thunder that society crumbles when it discards its creators; Pratchett’d mutter that the gods of commerce always did love a bargain.

5.3 - The Muse Unmoored

Beyond the purse, there’s a deeper rot - the unmooring of the muse itself. Miyazaki’s craft is slow, deliberate, a meditation on life’s fleeting beauty [8]. ChatGPT4o’s Ghibli trick? A flick of the wrist, a second’s work - whimsical, yes, but hollow as a tin drum. Where’s the struggle, the sweat, the soul? Fans revel in transforming Trump into a Totoro or Disaster Girl into a Chihiro [10], but it’s a conjurer’s trick - borrowing a master’s cloak without earning the scars. The ethical rift gapes: does this flood of faux-Ghibli dilute the real, turning art into a commodity, a meme to be flicked aside?

It’s not just Miyazaki’s legacy at stake - it’s the idea of authenticity. When AI mimics, it flattens; every image carries Ghibli’s sheen but none of its weight. Over 4,000 artists and filmmakers signed an open letter in March 2025, begging Christie’s to nix an AI art sale, crying “exploitation” of human craft [4]. They’re not wrong - there’s a vampiric edge to it, a machine feasting on the living to ape their dance. Pratchett might grin at the irony: a golem outpacing its maker, all cogs and no conscience. Peterson would mourn the loss of meaning, the erosion of what makes art a mirror to our depths.

5.5 - A Mirror to the Age

This Ghibli gambit mirrors our age - a tug-of-war between progress and principle. AI’s promise dazzles: art for all, unbound by talent’s yoke. Yet its shadow looms: a world where creation’s cheap, where the human hand fades to a whisper. Peterson might cast it as civilization’s test - will we guard the sacred flame, or let it gutter in the machine’s wind? Pratchett’d spin a yarn of a world overrun by art-golems, charming till they clog the streets.

There’s no tidy fix. Licensing could salve the wound - imagine Studio Ghibli striking a deal, letting fans play while artists profit [17]. Opt-out rights might shield creators, as over 400 filmmakers demanded in their anti-AI salvo [4]. Or perhaps we lean into chaos, letting AI flood the canvas till only the truest art stands tall. Each path carries a cost: to the artist’s soul, the fan’s joy, or the law’s frail order.

5.4 - The Fan’s Feast vs. The Creator’s Fast

Yet flip the coin, and there’s the fan’s feast - undeniable, radiant. This trend isn’t malice; it’s love, a chorus of voices singing Ghibli’s tune in new keys [41]. Kouka Webb reimagined her wedding photos as Ghibli scenes, a memory gilded with whimsy [8]. X posts brim with glee: historical photos, pets, even mundane selfies reborn as anime dreams [5]. It’s democratized delight, a rebellion against the gatekeepers of skill. Who dares call that theft? It’s a tribute, a thousand hands reaching for Miyazaki’s magic - albeit through a silicon wand.

Here’s the rub: this joy teeters on an ethical tightrope. OpenAI’s tool, trained on untold troves (perhaps Ghibli’s own?), sidesteps consent [11]. The fan’s glee rests on a shadow bargain - artistry pillaged without a nod. Shouldn’t creators at least get a bow, a coin, a say? The EU AI Act nudges at this, demanding training data transparency [27], but America’s freewheeling ethos shrugs [34]. China labels AI outputs, a nod to clarity [32], yet the ethical core festers: if the muse is borrowed, who pays the muse’s keep?

5.6 - The Final Jest

In the end, the ethical abyss yawns wide. Miyazaki’s disgust - “an insult to life” - still rings like a bell, a warning against surrendering the human soul to silicon sleight-of-hand. Yet the fans' laughter echoes too, joyful and loud, a hymn to shared wonder.

This was never just about Ghibli. It’s about us - our tools, our culture, our spark. The machine churns on, tireless and oblivious, a merry trickster in a drama it doesn't understand.

We stand again at that same old crossroads: genius or theft, homage or heist. Will we tame the beast, feed it, or let it devour the very thing we call creation?

That’s the riddle now—still unanswered—as the Ghibli-fied world spins merrily into the void.

Happy dog in warm sun, Ghibli-style
Happy dog in warm sun, Ghibli-style
Monk praying to Ghibli art: 'Just one more image'
Monk praying to Ghibli art: 'Just one more image'
Wedding photo rendered in Ghibli style
Wedding photo rendered in Ghibli style
'Sell me this pen / It’s AI-powered' meme
'Sell me this pen / It’s AI-powered' meme
Smiling young man: 'Images, videos, campaign ideas? No problem.'
Smiling young man: 'Images, videos, campaign ideas? No problem.'

6 - References

[1] TechCrunch, “ChatGPT’s image-generation feature gets an upgrade,” March 25, 2025
https://techcrunch.com/2025/03/25/chatgpts-image-generation-feature-gets-an-upgrade/

[2] VentureBeat, “Studio Ghibli AI image trend overwhelms OpenAI’s new GPT-4o feature, delaying free tier,” March 2025
https://venturebeat.com/ai/studio-ghibli-ai-image-trend-overwhelms-openais-new-gpt-4o-feature-delaying-free-tier/

[3] AP News, “ChatGPT’s viral Studio Ghibli-style images highlight AI copyright concerns,” March 27, 2025
https://apnews.com/article/studio-ghibli-chatgpt-images-hayao-miyazaki-openai-0f4cb487ec3042dd5b43ad47879b91f4

[4] Variety, “OpenAI CEO Responds to ChatGPT Users Creating Studio Ghibli-Style AI Images,” March 2025
https://variety.com/2025/digital/news/openai-ceo-chatgpt-studio-ghibli-ai-images-1236349141/

[5] NBC News, “Studio Ghibli-inspired memes and portraits made with ChatGPT are flooding the internet,” March 2025
https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/studio-ghibli-chatgpt-inspired-memes-portraits-rcna198273

[6] The Times of India, “How to create Ghibli-style portraits without paying for ChatGPT Plus,” March 2025
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/technology/tech-news/how-to-create-ghibli-style-portraits-without-paying-for-chatgpt-plus/articleshow/119581346.cms

[7] Gizmodo, “ChatGPT’s Studio Ghibli AI Art Trend Is an Insult to Life Itself,” March 2025
https://gizmodo.com/open-ai-ghibli-trend-miyazaki-chatgpt-2000581679

[8] The New York Times, “ChatGPT’s Studio Ghibli Style Animations Are Almost Too Good,” March 27, 2025
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/27/style/ai-chatgpt-studio-ghibli.html

[9] Hollywood Reporter, “Artists Lose First Round of Copyright Infringement Case Against AI Art Generators,” October 31, 2023
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/artists-copyright-infringement-case-ai-art-generators-1235632929/

[10] TechCrunch, “OpenAI’s viral Studio Ghibli moment highlights AI copyright concerns,” March 26, 2025
https://techcrunch.com/2025/03/26/openais-viral-studio-ghibli-moment-highlights-ai-copyright-concerns/

[11] Built In, “AI and Copyright Law: What We Know,” 2025
https://builtin.com/artificial-intelligence/ai-copyright

[12] The Washington Post, “AI copyright lawsuit hinges on the legal concept of ‘fair use’,” January 4, 2024
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/01/04/nyt-ai-copyright-lawsuit-fair-use/

[13] Copyright Alliance, “Current AI Copyright Cases – Part 1,” March 30, 2023
https://copyrightalliance.org/current-ai-copyright-cases-part-1/

[14] The Independent, “ChatGPT’s Studio Ghibli AI trend sparks debate over creativity vs copyright violation,” March 28, 2025
https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/studio-ghibli-chatgpt-openai-hayao-miyazaki-trend-copyright-b2723114.html

[15] Business Insider, “Studio Ghibli Has Few Legal Moves Against OpenAI ChatGPT Image Feature,” March 28, 2025
https://www.businessinsider.com/studio-ghibli-openai-chatgpt-image-feature-copyright-law-2025-3

[16] Center for Art Law, “Art-istic or Art-ificial? Ownership and copyright concerns in AI-generated artwork,” November 21, 2022
https://itsartlaw.org/2022/11/21/artistic-or-artificial-ai/

[17] Futurism, “Lawyer Says Studio Ghibli Could Take Legal Action Against OpenAI,” March 28, 2025
https://futurism.com/lawyer-studio-ghibli-legal-action-openai

[18] Perkins Coie, “Recent Rulings in AI Copyright Lawsuits Shed Some Light, but Leave Many Questions,” December 14, 2023
https://perkinscoie.com/insights/update/recent-rulings-ai-copyright-lawsuits-shed-some-light-leave-many-questions

[19] Reuters, “AI-generated art cannot receive copyrights, US court says,” August 21, 2023
https://www.reuters.com/legal/ai-generated-art-cannot-receive-copyrights-us-court-says-2023-08-21/

[20] Copyright Alliance, “Insights from Court Orders in AI Copyright Infringement Cases,” December 12, 2024
https://copyrightalliance.org/ai-copyright-infringement-cases-insights/

[21] Supreme Court, Google LLC v. Oracle America, Inc., 593 U.S. ___ (2021)
https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/20pdf/18-956_d18f.pdf

[22] Perkins Coie, “Fair Use Defense Failed in Thomson Reuters v. Ross—But the Jury Is Still Out for Generative AI,” February 13, 2025.
https://perkinscoie.com/insights/update/fair-use-defense-failed-thomson-reuters-v-ross-jury-still-out-generative-ai

[23] Second Circuit, Authors Guild v. Google, Inc., 804 F.3d 202 (2015)
https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/ca2/13-4829/13-4829-2015-10-16.html

[24] IU News, “Ask the Expert: What are legal issues surrounding AI, its impact on the arts?” 2025
https://news.iu.edu/live/news/31782-ask-the-expert-what-are-legal-issues-surrounding-ai-it

[25] Business Insider, “OpenAI Cracked Down on Requests for Studio Ghibli-Style Images,” March 2025
https://www.businessinsider.com/openai-chatgpt-studio-ghibli-style-images-generation-grok-claude-genai-2025-3

[26] ScoreDetect Blog, “Can You Copyright AI Art: Legal Insights,” 2025
https://www.scoredetect.com/blog/posts/can-you-copyright-ai-art-legal-insights

[27] European Parliament, “EU AI Act: first regulation on artificial intelligence,” July 12, 2024
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20240308IPR19015/artificial-intelligence-act-meps-adopt-landmark-law

[28] KEA, “EU AI Act: shaping Copyright compliance in the age of AI Innovation,” March 14, 2024
https://keanet.eu/eu-ai-act-shaping-copyright-compliance-in-the-age-of-ai-innovation/

[29] The Guardian, “EU accused of leaving ‘devastating’ copyright loophole in AI Act,” February 19, 2025
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/feb/19/eu-accused-of-leaving-devastating-copyright-loophole-in-ai-act

[30] USC IP & Tech Law Society, “AI, Copyright, and the Law: The Ongoing Battle,” February 4, 2025
https://sites.usc.edu/iptls/2025/02/04/ai-copyright-and-the-law-the-ongoing-battle-over-intellectual-property-rights/

[31] LinkedIn, “AI Regulation: A Comparative Analysis of Approaches in the US, EU, and China,” July 14, 2023
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/ai-regulation-comparative-analysis-approaches-us-eu-china-markevich/

[32] Linklaters, “China: First AI output copyright infringement case,” April 3, 2024
https://techinsights.linklaters.com/post/102j4cb/china-first-ai-output-copyright-infringement-case

[33] Transcend, “Global AI Regulation: A Closer Look at the US, EU, and China,” October 19, 2023
https://transcend.io/blog/ai-regulation

[34] RAND, “Artificial Intelligence Impacts on Copyright Law,” November 20, 2024
https://www.rand.org/pubs/perspectives/PEA3243-1.html

[35] Copyright Alliance, “AI and Copyright Law in 2023: Federal Government Activities,” January 3, 2024
https://copyrightalliance.org/ai-copyright-federal-government-activities/

[36] U.S. Copyright Office, “Copyright and Artificial Intelligence,” ongoing reports as of 2025
https://www.copyright.gov/ai/

[37] Japan Today, “Copyright questions loom as ChatGPT’s Ghibli-style images go viral,” March 27, 2025
https://japantoday.com/category/tech/copyright-questions-loom-as-chatgpt%27s-ghibli-style-images-go-viral

[38] CNN, “ChatGPT: Viral Studio Ghibli-style AI images showcase power – and copyright concerns,” March 27, 2025
https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/27/style/chatgpt-studio-ghibli-ai-images-intl-hnk

[39] User on X, AI Engineer Hub (@AIEngineerHub), “Why pay $500 for a Miyazaki-esque sketch when ChatGPT does it for $20 a month?” March 31, 2025
https://x.com/AIEngineerHub/status/1906503482267292058

[40] Authors Guild, “AI Survey: 90% of Writers Believe Authors Should Be Compensated for AI Training Use,” October 2023
https://authorsguild.org/news/ai-survey-90-percent-of-writers-believe-authors-should-be-compensated-for-ai-training-use

[41] Forbes, “The ChatGPT 4o Studio Ghibli AI Trend Is The Ultimate Heartbreak,” March 27, 2025
https://www.forbes.com/sites/paultassi/2025/03/27/the-chatgpt-4o-studio-ghibli-ai-trend-is-the-ultimate-heartbreak/