Anime
WIT Studio admits using AI in Ascendance of a Bookworm and promises to fix it
The studio confirmed that fan complaints were real, assuming blame for review failures and promising to redraw backgrounds.
The keen eye of the otaku community on social media misses absolutely nothing, and this time they managed to catch a production error that has shaken one of Japan’s largest studios. WIT Studio had to publicly apologize this Friday after fans discovered the evident use of generative artificial intelligence in the backgrounds of the new opening of the third part of Ascendance of a Bookworm (Honzuki no GekokujΕ).
Taking the blame and cleaning up the mess
Everything exploded after the first episode aired on April 4. Viewers quickly noticed the classic visual anomalies left by automated programs in the background illustrations. After an internal investigation, the studio confirmed the suspicions and faced the issue. They clarified that the incident was due to serious failures in their quality management and inspection system, assuming full responsibility. To correct the error, they promised to completely redraw the affected art and release a corrected version of the opening sequence starting with the second episode.
To calm the waters and protect their artists’ reputation, WIT Studio management was very clear: neither the art director nor the background studio NAM HAI ART were to blame for this mistake. Additionally, they emphasized that, with the sole exception of their former experimental project Inu to ShΕnen, they prohibit the use of generative AI in their productions on principle, confirming that there are no traces of this technology in the rest of the series’ episodes.
A long season that doesn’t deserve to be tarnished
This new installment, titled Adopted Daughter of an Archduke, is an extremely important project for the studio, as it is scheduled to air for two consecutive cours (that is, half a year of uninterrupted broadcasting). Fortunately, the controversy was stopped in time so as not to overshadow the return of Yuka Iguchi and Show Hayami, who resume their iconic roles as Rozemyne and Ferdinand.
Under the direction of Yoshiaki Iwasaki and character designs by Aiko Minowa, the production team promised to use this stumble as a lesson to strengthen their review filters, ensuring that the magical literary world created by Miya Kazuki maintains the human and artisanal touch that fans love so much.