"AI Might Be Easier to Deal With": What Kiyotaka Oshiyama's Comments Mean for Creatives
AI isn't a distant threat. It's here, it's cheaper than people, and it doesn't argue. That's the blunt backdrop to director Kiyotaka Oshiyama's comments after Look Back won Anime Film of the Year at the Crunchyroll 2025 Anime Awards.
Asked how the "age of AI" hits anime production, he cut to the core: labor costs and "problem creators." Translation for any creative: studios pay for output and predictability. If a tool gives them fewer headaches and smaller bills, they'll try it.
Why studios feel the pull
In anime, most projects are adaptations because IP with a following reduces risk. The biggest line item is people. That's where AI looks attractive: no creative standoffs, no schedules slipping, no notes ignored.
Oshiyama joked that "AI might be easier to deal with," but the subtext is serious. If management has to choose between a team of strong-willed artists and an algorithm that never pushes back, budgets tilt the decision.
This is already happening
Studios are testing the waters. Frontier Works and KaKa Creation released Twins Hinahima, promoted as the first nationally broadcast AI anime special. Coverage on ANN lays out how the pipeline leaned on AI across the production.
Some big names expect restructuring and job loss. Hideaki Anno has said the industry has to accept AI's presence and figure out how to handle it, suggesting scripts from AI can read similar to human work. That should light a fire under anyone who writes for a living.
What won't get replaced
Oshiyama isn't fatalistic. He believes the "aesthetic sense and technical skills of the very best" are hard to imitate, pointing to the industry's master-level craftspeople-its Living National Treasures. That bar is your moat: taste, judgment, and idiosyncratic craft that's earned, not downloaded.
The takeaway isn't to fight the tool. It's to make yourself the person who sets vision, makes hard calls, and delivers work AI can't quite hit without your hand on the wheel.
How to stay indispensable as a creative
- Move up the value ladder: Don't sell frames, sell decisions. Pitch concepts, story DNA, and a clear point of view. AI can generate options; you choose the one that works and explain why.
- Reduce risk for producers: Lead with proof. Show audience data, micro-trailers, and small pilots that test tone and demand. Make it safer to pick you than a model.
- Systemize your workflow: Use AI for speed, not soul. Idea expansion, references, color keys, style frames, rough boards, line cleanup-then finish by hand. Keep a clear audit trail and mind licensing.
- Be cost-aware: Present two budgets: AI-assisted vs. artisan-first. Outline timeline, quality deltas, and where your touch changes the result. Producers remember who makes choices simple.
- Train on prompts and tools: Fluency buys you time back. Build reusable prompt libraries, style guides, and checklists. If you need structured learning, see focused resources for creatives: Courses by Job and Prompt Engineering.
- Build a signature: Create recognizable choices-composition habits, timing, shape language, transitions. Consistent taste beats infinite variation.
- Negotiate AI clauses: Clarify usage, credits, dataset concerns, and approval points. Protect your style from being scraped into someone else's pipeline.
A quick workflow you can steal
- Define a one-sentence creative north star.
- Generate 50-100 references with AI; shortlist 5 that match the north star.
- Hybridize: AI roughs → your passes on rhythm, staging, and edge quality.
- Lock a style bible and prompt bank for the project so teams stay consistent.
- Ship a 60-90 second pilot to test with a real audience before full spend.
Reality check-and opportunity
AI will sit in the chair next to you. Some studio jobs will compress; others will expand around people who can steer taste, manage systems, and deliver outcomes under pressure.
Look Back's win signals there's still massive appetite for work with a clear voice. If you bring that voice and the ability to run a smart process, you stay in demand-no matter what tools enter the room.
Want context on the award? See the official Anime Awards 2025 winners.
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