Animon.ai brings AI-powered anime creation to South Korea as industry faces labor crisis and creative transformation

Japanese Anime-Tech Firm Animon.ai Expands to South Korea

CreateAI Holdings has launched its AI-powered anime video generation platform, Animon.ai, in South Korea. After its debut in Japan in April, the platform now supports Korean and introduces new features to improve anime creation. The latest update includes a text-to-video generation tool and adds a traditional Chinese interface, enhancing user experience across the Asia-Pacific region.

Currently, Animon.ai supports Japanese, English, Korean, and Traditional Chinese, with plans to add languages like Spanish and Indonesian soon.

1️⃣ AI Tackles Labor Challenges in Anime Production

The anime industry faces serious workforce problems and unsustainable production methods. Despite generating over $19 billion annually, many Japanese animators earn less than $10,000 a year and often work up to 400 hours monthly. Traditional animation is labor-intensive; a single episode requires about 3,000 frames, demanding extensive manual work throughout various production stages.

In-between animation, a particularly time-consuming task, pays artists less than $2 per drawing, with each frame taking over an hour to complete. Earlier AI attempts, like a 2017 program by Yuichi Yagi, improved frame processing but couldn’t fully automate the process.

Animon.ai’s subscription model offers unlimited video generation, shifting away from the per-drawing payment structure. This change could help reduce exploitative labor practices by streamlining workflows and providing more creative freedom.

2️⃣ Democratizing Creativity While Respecting Artistic Integrity

The anime industry traditionally demands specialized skills, creating high barriers to entry. AI tools like Animon.ai are lowering these barriers, enabling people with limited technical expertise to produce professional-quality anime. This trend reflects a larger movement across creative fields, allowing wider participation in content creation.

However, this accessibility raises concerns about preserving artistic quality. For example, renowned director Hayao Miyazaki has expressed criticism of AI animation, emphasizing the importance of creative integrity.

Animon.ai’s development involves collaboration between AI experts and professional Japanese animators. This partnership aims to balance quality and accessibility, responding to the growing global demand for anime content that exceeds the production capacity of traditional studios. With nearly 200 new TV series needed yearly, the shortage of skilled animators is a pressing issue.

3️⃣ Subscription Models Shift Creative Economics

Animon.ai’s unlimited generation subscription model marks a departure from traditional anime production finances and common AI platform pricing. The anime industry's budget distribution is heavily imbalanced: studios often receive only half of the production budget, while broadcast slots for late-night shows can cost around 50 million yen.

By offering unlimited content creation instead of token-based pricing, Animon.ai could reshape how value is shared within the creative process. This approach may contribute to more sustainable economics for creators and studios alike.

Such subscription models reflect broader trends in AI-driven creative tools, where adapting quickly to new technologies offers competitive advantages. This shift also addresses long-standing structural issues in anime production, some tracing back to Osamu Tezuka’s legacy, which set precedents for low-cost workflows that still affect the industry today.

For creatives interested in AI tools and their impact on media production, exploring practical training can offer valuable insights. Platforms like Complete AI Training provide courses that cover AI applications in video, art, and automation.