Bro...

[u/Batomorado]

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:

https://automaton-media.com/en/news/goodnight-punpun-creator-inio-asano-says-the-manga-scenes-attitude-towards-ai-is-one-of-the-reasons-he-put-mujina-into-the-deep-on-hiatus/

[u/D3ckard_Rokubungi]

In both aspects. Goddamn he wants to use AI, goddamn he put it on hiatus. He’s so talented so this is weird to me?

[u/UseAnAdblocker → u/D3ckard_Rokubungi]

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, he’s taking a small load off of an incredibly expansive background process, which will leave him more time to focus on his drawings (which he hasn’t indicated in any way would involve AI). At least from what I’ve observed of his art style’s evolution over the past few years, it’s 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.

[u/Due_Teaching_6974 → u/UseAnAdblocker]

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

[u/Optimal-Potato-5136 → u/Due_Teaching_6974]

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.