The recent controversial remark passed by the Bleach director, Tomohisa Taguchi, has left fans concerned about the upcoming Cour of Bleach: Thousand Years Of Blood War. Will Bleach TYBW Part 3 be made via AI? While fans across the anime community have raised their voices against the harsh treatment the animators endure, it was predicted that the anime industry will gradually start treating their assets more kindly.
However, the recent interview with the Bleach director, Tomohisa Taguchi, and Crayon Shin-chan director, Keichii Hara, has sparked a heated debate all over again. The question that arises right now is how long it will take for AI to replace animators, and will Bleach TYBW Part 3 be the starting point for this experiment?
Bleach TYBW Part 3: Director’s Controversial “Lazy Animators” Comment Agitates The Anime Fandom
In the interview panel of Annecy Film Festival 2023, both directors talked about their films and expressed their approaches and insights on filmmaking. They also talked upfront about the ongoing controversy against Mappa. The ongoing controversy surrounding Mappa has been described as a “revolution,” which was not intended in a good way. Keiichi Hara talked about how it takes at least 3-4 years to produce a feature film, which can eventually prove risky, and according to him, the current trend poses a risk to exploring diverse themes in Japan.
While discussing the current trends, Hara commented that several animators, in today’s age, are paid without putting much effort into their production. Although Hara admitted that it is hard to find great animators in Japan these days, he contradicted himself by saying that many productions running simultaneously wear them out. He continued by saying that the animators in Japan are now in a “revolutionary” phase.
Crayon Shin-chan Director Keiichi Hara Lashes Out At The “Lazy Animators”
His remarks accused the animators of getting paid upfront monthly like regular employees and still choosing to work on side projects, sidelining their primary job, which causes a crucial delay in several production stages. According to Keiichi Hara, there are more productions in progress than the number of animators in Japan. The “average ones” take on any projects they find, and the “good ones” have years-long bookings!
I suggest something else – we keep human writers and animators and instead replace Tomohisa Taguchi and Keiichi Hara with AI. ChatGPT can handle their role of making dehumanizing comments about the employees very well.
— Reef (@reefraf64) December 13, 2023
Bleach TYBW director Tomohisa Taguchi commented on how AI may replace these “lazy animators,” quoting Hara, and aims to use AI in their production work in the future. Chat GPT, a new AI tool, has taken the world by storm, and Taguchi is among them. So, what awaits Bleach TYBW Part 3?
Bleach TYBW Part 3: Will The Age Of AI In The Animation Industry Start With Cour 3?
The AI tool can be used to do almost everything, be it creating a story from scratch or suggesting ideas for a story, and many producers are thinking of a “revolutionary” change in the digital age. Tomohisa Taguchi has expressed his interest in using AI from now on, initially during the writing process. He predicts that technological advancements may soon allow AI to be relied on to replace the industry’s lazy animators.
We’ll use AI more and more in animation production. This is just the beginning, and if these technologies improve enough, they could be able to resolve the problem with animators Mr. Hara was referring to.
So, will Bleach TYBW Part 3 be the first anime to be made via AI? While Tomohisa Taguchi did not comment lucidly on what his plans include with Bleach TYBW Part 3, his interest has piqued the curiosity of the Bleach fandom.
“AI could solve the problem of lazy animators by doing their work in their place. AI doesn’t complain, doesn’t get tired and doesn’t sleep…”
Although the tone-deaf comments were heavily criticized by fans, most notably when Hara jumped in to comment on how there will be no complaints from the AI tool being “tired” or “overworked,” which may have mocked the animators’ struggle not only in Mappa Studio but probably a general problem these days, Tomohisa’s silence on Hara’s comment suggests that he may have plans for utilizing AI to its full potential for his next work.
The release date for Bleach TYBW Part 3 was confirmed for Spring in 2024, announced right after Episode 26 concluded, and is rumored to be in the works.
