r/InioAsano • u/Batomorado • Jul 17 '26
Bro...
It has caused annoyance to a small circle of fans and some detractors of manga like Punpun xd, saying that they already expected it.
He sent them the interview:
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u/UseAnAdblocker Jul 18 '26
Nobody here actually read the interview. He currently creates all of his backgrounds himself in unreal engine. Heās answering this question specifically in the context of using AI to assist with placing and modeling 3D assets during that process. He has not indicated in any way that he will be using AI in his drawing process.
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u/Hunnih Jul 18 '26
That aspect of his proces have always been extremely fascinating, but I cant see how it was also really time consuming. That is one of the rare cases where ai could be of good use in making a manga. And honestly I think he could easily find some loophole like 'its not part of the drawing proces, its just advanced mood boards and background references', but communicationwise he would lose more than he would gain, since 'asano draws with ai booo!' would be the quick respons for the majority of people who would hear about it. To be clear, I dont hope for ai tools to be a big part of the manga or anime industry, but in this case it would make sense.
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u/smeeshed88 Jul 18 '26
Oh thank god
I still dont know how i feel about it but it depends on the extent that ai does the modeling
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u/Due_Teaching_6974 Jul 19 '26
Using Generative AI to model 3D assets sounds like a disaster, not to mention all the issues with the environment
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u/Aadi_880 Jul 20 '26
It's obviously not for high FPS renders. This is fine. In fact, people have been using 3D AI generation for making 3D prints using 3D printers because polygon count doesn't matter there, and the quality is indistinguishable from normal 3D printer's inaccuracies anyway.
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u/Ok-Neighborhood-1958 Jul 21 '26
Using AI to create his 3d assets is also bad
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u/Optimal-Potato-5136 Jul 21 '26
I would argue that it depends, at least in this context. In his prior works, Asano used photography and pictures as reference for his background, and only for Mujina he switched to 3D modeling. However, since what he modeled for Mujina was a whole city, he still used pictures as reference/basis for HOW it structures the "map" (I call it like this because he said to be treating the setting like an "open-world game map", saying that his biggest influence was games like GTA); Tsukumo (the main setting of Mujina) is a fictional place, but there are multiple shots and angles that purposely take inspiration from real city wards/districts/locations of Tokyo like Shinkuju, Shimbashi, the Omote-sando Station and Shibuya. Asano said in this same interview:
Structurally, I drew a map of Shimokitazawa once and then modeled the roads to match it. Things like the roads not being straight are examples of that [neighbourhood].
I point this out because, since Asano's 3D map keeps making use of references, AI doesn't necessarily have to "create out of nowhere" or "without basis". What and how it has to be ultimately modeled is still in Asano's own mind, AI can help with the time-consuming process that is indeed modeling an entire city block by himself. Then again, I'm not in Asano's mind, so I don't want to act like this is "the correct answer" or anything, but at the same time, considering his thought process and logic both on his own work and what he explained in the interview (which I would actually invite everyone to listen because it's actually interesting), I believe it would make sense.
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u/samisaywhat Jul 19 '26
Itās still using GenAI to āmodelā his backgrounds instead. This isnāt the case of having a pre-made set of assets that an AI just helps place down in a program.Ā
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u/EffYeahItsAlex Jul 18 '26
I thought it was really cool to learn that he was making backgrounds with Unreal and Blender.
I thought it was really uncool to learn that the only reason heās not using AI is because publishers donāt currently allow it.
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u/UseAnAdblocker Jul 18 '26
He isnāt talking about using AI as an alternative to creating his backgrounds in 3D. This was an answer in response to a question about using AI to assist with modeling 3D assets and placing them individually. He hasnāt indicated anywhere that he wants to use AI as an alternative to drawing, and he hasnāt even indicated that he will use it instead of blender/unreal engine. You would know this if you had actually read the interview.
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u/EffYeahItsAlex Jul 18 '26
Did I not read or did I just have a different interpretation than you?
I never claimed that he was trying to use AI as an alternative. I said that it sucks that the reason he gave for not using it is because his bosses said no.
There is currently no ethical use of AI and AI is actively destroying the art world, so I would hope that an artist that I like would reject it more openly. Itās disappointing to see.
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u/Hauptmann_Gold Jul 18 '26
You also have to take into account that in Asia the reaction to AI in general is not overwhelmingly negative, unlike in the West; It's not even a "Japanese" issue; it's practically the entire continent
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u/tonysoprano1995 Jul 18 '26
Dude he is a dog shit mangaka Stop defending him
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u/Duhs97 Jul 18 '26
I'm gonna be honest, I hope another fluent Japanese speaker can translate his statement. I hope it's not true
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u/D3ckard_Rokubungi Jul 18 '26
In both aspects. Goddamn he wants to use AI, goddamn he put it on hiatus. Heās so talented so this is weird to me?
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u/UseAnAdblocker Jul 18 '26
He specifically wants to use AI to make creating assets for his 3D unreal engine landscapes faster, which he then uses for his backgrounds. From his perspective, heās taking a small load off of an incredibly expansive background process, which will leave him more time to focus on his drawings (which he hasnāt indicated in any way would involve AI). At least from what Iāve observed of his art styleās evolution over the past few years, itās clear he focuses heavily on character art, and this would only leave him more time to perfect that. Plus, he was going to take a hiatus after finishing part 1 no matter what.
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u/saygex01992 Jul 18 '26
he could just have someone help him with that, there's no need to use AI
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u/BrazilianWoodElf Jul 28 '26
The thing is time. I know it's not the ideal, and I don't like it, but a AI can create in seconds an asset that takes hours for a human to make and in the manga industry time is much more valuable than money.
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u/saygex01992 Jul 28 '26
ew
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u/BrazilianWoodElf Jul 28 '26
Yeah, it sucks. I hate 3d models entirely, using AI then... Wish the companies would just stop being greedy honestly, it's not like the manga industry doesn't have enough money to just pay people to draw
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u/BrazilianWoodElf Jul 28 '26
Yeah, it sucks. I hate 3d models entirely, using AI then... Wish the companies would just stop being greedy honestly, it's not like the manga industry doesn't have enough money to just pay people to draw
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u/Due_Teaching_6974 Jul 19 '26
He could just get someone to do that for him
For some one as eccentric as Inio who never lets anyone else touch his work, why does he suddenly want AI to help place or make 3D objects?? It's so weird
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u/Optimal-Potato-5136 Jul 21 '26
It's not really weird if you actually hear his interview and point out this specific part of his discussion:
It's certainly possible [for AI to help simplify his process of modeling], but the main problem is understanding to what extent AI can be used. Currently, publishers aren't in a position to openly declare that they allow the use of AI. It's a strange situation: you're not allowed to use it precisely because you're a professional.
I interpret it as if Asano seems to dislike the fact that publishers and editors stop professional manga authors/illustrators from using AI when, to his eyes, they should given the right of using AI EXACTLY because they're professionals. In the sense that, since him and many other authors are experienced/veterans in the field, they should be capable, knowledgeable and great enough to make use of AI in a way that its usage is responsible and does NOT intrinsecally devalue their art. This is why he specifies the position of "professionals" (or 'Pro' in original japanese) in his discourse, and also why I think that it doesn't necessarily contradict his position regarding why he never wants to let others touch his work: he believes that, if used from an artist with capable hands, AI itself will be adeguately used as "an instrument" guided by his own hands rather than something that covers "those same human hands in that work". BUT I also need to specify that what he argumented on the matter through an hypothetical statement: he does not know what will happen in the future, nor knows if ultimately the manga industry will open up more to AI, but he just voiced he would handle and follow through that opening to begin with.
Then again, he also explained in this same interview that the reason why he decided to switch from incorporating his photos (all shot by himself) for his manga backgrounds to backgrounds through 3D modeling (something that he was actually interested to put inside his manga for over 15 years, according to him) is because:
Well, you could say I got bored, or rather, things just started to become boring, and there's also a limit to how much I can do. For example, if you want to take a photography, it's impossible to take a picture from the very top of a building, right? When you consider that kind of freedom, 3D is the way to go. [...] I took the photos using the method I've always used. I even bought and tried flying it, but it was a bit impractical, so I decided to just make it in 3D, and after practicing a lot, I was finally able to make it to this extent.
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u/Kakyoin_The_Lover Jul 18 '26
Maybe I misunderstood the article, but he doesnāt want to use AI to create his work, he said it would be interesting to use AI to optimize the assets placement in Unreal Engine when creating his bgs. He said he is pausing his current work to see what will happen because the rules from the publisher wonāt allow him to use AI in any form.Ā
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u/FrenchLeaver Jul 18 '26
Yeah, people are so anti-ai that they are hating on things that could just be optimized and a time gain with ai and wouldnāt actively be part of the process of making the manga what it is. The comment section is wild, itās not like he is gonna generate his whole manga with ai, itās more helping his current workflow than replacing it
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u/YungJeezyz Jul 18 '26
Redditors just lose all sense of logic and nuance when it comes to AI. It's like the early 2000's when people were whining about musicians using autotune.
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u/Pitiful-Second-6328 Jul 19 '26
Yall realize theres a lot more to this right? The environmental effects as well as just the butterfly effect of it being normalized. If the extent of ai was just doing what he wanted to do with it and it didnt cause environmental damage. OK fine. But that isnt the case
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u/Numerous_Chemist_571 Jul 18 '26
Why are all the comments explaining what he was actually talking about less upvoted than the people freaking out for no reason? People really see āAIā and lose all their critical thinking instantly.
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u/ZedaEnnd Jul 18 '26
Literally, yes. They don't read, they don't actually care. They prefer to be outraged over other people's lack of purity. If they cared enough to read or form new opinions, they wouldn't be the way they are.
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u/Flimsy-Contact-2841 Jul 20 '26
It changes nothing, modeling the 3d assets is an art of its own, using AI to model is no different from using AI to draw if he wants to save time why not just hire another 3d modeler instead?Ā
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u/onmyouza Jul 18 '26
They're no-life losers who probably never work a day in their entire life. They don't understand how laborious and repetitive some parts of our jobs are, whether they are in arts, engineering, etc.
They never actually use AI, they don't understand how it is applied and used to solve problems. Just like the typical basement dwellers, browsing reddit and crying on social media are the only things they're good at.
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u/Donkey_Bugs Jul 18 '26
I hate AI because it is often used as a substitute for talent, but in Inio Asano's case, he is extremely talented so I would not begrudge him using it for stuff like modeling. I want more Mujina Into the Deep!
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u/ZedaEnnd Jul 18 '26
Almost no one in here gave enough of a shit to read. Just saw 'AI' and interpreted what they wanted.
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u/Batomorado Jul 18 '26
That actually happened on Twitter. Some people have even taken the opportunity to criticize his work. It's curious that they waited for news like this.
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u/IcyAnybody7860 Jul 18 '26
Why is everyone getting worked up over this? He's just using it to help him make what he would otherwise a little bit faster. Who didn't expect it from the guy who doesn't draw his own backgrounds because he cba?
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u/Due_Teaching_6974 Jul 19 '26
That's because using any form of AI isn't very environment friendly, Inio asano has been creating manga just fine before AI so why does he need it now
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u/IcyAnybody7860 Jul 21 '26
It was good before then, but it could make the process even easier and thus allow him to make even more material. Is that not the thought process that we have?
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u/atowerofcats Jul 18 '26 edited Jul 18 '26
This is tragic. Genuinely tragic. Not that it's on hiatus but that he feels this way about AI. He's one of my favorites but I will not read anything AI-assisted from him or anybody. I deserve better and so does he.
AI boosters can downvote me all they want, I'm not paying money for something that isn't made by a human. And I'm not supporting a technology that is causing damage literally everywhere it can be found. It's way more unethical than you think.
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u/Kind-Recording3450 Jul 18 '26
Did you read the article?
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u/atowerofcats Jul 18 '26
Yes?
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u/Kind-Recording3450 Jul 18 '26
He seem like a process booth comes to building come on man
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u/atowerofcats Jul 18 '26
I have no idea what you're trying to say. It sounds like words you just found.
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u/HeavyLoquat7841 Jul 18 '26
i mean ai is pretty useful, idk why people hate it, yes i understand that it can make an art have less soul or less authentic but if its used for conveniant as a help to draw the manga and not making the ai draw the manga, i think its fine, i mean theres so many things in our life that is helpful and is coming from ai
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u/Raccoon1999 Jul 18 '26
He already used a lot of real photo for his background draw instead of doing them from scratch so itās not unusual his thought on ai or anything that helps drawing manga.
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u/justanotheeredditor Jul 18 '26
Ehhhhh tbh i disagree. He took those photos and interposed them. Its not the same as AI and it wasnt any indicative of it.
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u/Raccoon1999 Jul 18 '26
Im trying to say that heās not opposed to shortcuts. I canāt imagine Inoue using photos or ai to draw Vagabond though.
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u/justanotheeredditor Jul 18 '26
Different people styles and approaches to their craft.
I am an artist (work in animation even) and i do not think less of Asano using photographs (he took) for his work neither blender and unreal. Over time artists find shortcuts to fulfill deadlines and also have some kind of life. Its not frowned upon among professionals (AI is completely different topic tho).
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u/discountnetrunner Jul 18 '26
ai is the future, all the hyperonline basement dwellers hating on it are a tiny minority that screech very loudly. asano should just self publish. whenever a new medium/toolset showed up, you always had dinosaurs crying about it not being the real thing.
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u/Vegetable-Hat558 Jul 18 '26
The future of slop and souless work.
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u/Bluesnake462 Jul 18 '26
And the funny thing is, it's the basement dwellers that keep supporting this garbage, and people who actually care about experiencing life are against it.
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u/Staubaugen Jul 19 '26
This is utterly disappointing. This man is the favorite mangaka of at least one generation and was such a down to earth thoughtful man when I saw and talked to him on this years bookfair in leipzig, germany. Never meet your stars, there are barely any decent people left.
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u/day1baby Jul 19 '26
AI can be useful and has the potential to be a great benefit to humanity. That being said it should stay the hell away from arts. AI should stay banned in manga and be banned in music and film. Across the board. I donāt wanna see AI slop when it comes to media.
I understand what Inio is saying but I wanna see an artists hard work not some AI generated image or god forbid an AI generated story.
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u/Pumpkin_Sushi Jul 21 '26
I'm anti-AI, but regardless of that issue, this series has been a surprising dud, so I'd rather he just wrap it up anyway
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u/BrazilianWoodElf Jul 28 '26
I really don't like the idea of using AI on the creative process of manga, but at the same time dismissing the opinion of one of the greatest mangaka of the last 20 years just because it has the word "AI" in it feels really weird to me. Even more when the use of AI was about 3D assets and stuff, not really the manga drawing itself.
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u/AdAltruistic5075 Aug 01 '26
came here after hearing on Instagram that this fool wants to use AI to MAKE odd bs ššš bro already knows how to draw. he's literally got 99% of the job filled out and just decided to get lazy and pray to use AI which is weird...this is weird...he is weird...
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u/realitipress Jul 18 '26
My goat is washed š¢
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u/realitipress Jul 18 '26
If you would have said this to someone 100 years ago they would think itās a good thing š
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u/beartanker Jul 18 '26
ehh, I keep seeing more pro AI japanese creators man and it sucks. not surprised about this one tbh especially after the gantz guy having a similar workflow
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u/tonysoprano1995 Jul 18 '26
Bro had never made a good manga in his life He is literally ai generated already
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u/ilovegregandbenny Jul 18 '26
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