The secret that the entire otaku community feared has just been confirmed by one of the most important figures in the industry. Terumi Nishii, the veteran who shone as chief animation director in the first season of Jujutsu Kaisen and left her mark on the legendary Death Note, dropped a bombshell. Multiple animation studios in Japan are already using generative artificial intelligence tools. The problem? They’re doing it completely secretly because they know perfectly well that the public would destroy them on social media if the truth came out.

Fear of cancellation and corporate greed

Nishii’s statements have no filter. She assures that this clandestine practice is being pushed directly by the major corporations that control the studios from above. Those suit-wearing people who only check spreadsheets and profit margins. They’re forcing production teams to implement these automatic programs, but demand absolute silence due to panic about facing a massive cancellation from the international fandom. To make things clear, the animator used giants like ufotable as an example. She noted that top-tier studios don’t need to use these tools because they trust the best human artists in the industry to do the heavy lifting.

The future of traditional talent is at risk

This isn’t the first time Nishii has spoken out against this technological invasion. In 2023, she had already criticized that controversial project where WIT Studio openly experimented with AI, noting the brutal rejection it generated in the West. But the real danger she warns about today goes far beyond a simple tantrum against machines. Secretly depending on generative software not only crashes the visual quality of the series we love so much, but it steals fieldwork from newcomers. If computers fill in the animation frames, new artists lose the vital opportunity to practice and polish their skills. A catastrophic scenario that could suffocate the generational replacement in the anime industry for the next decade.