Tezuka’s Son Sparks Outrage with AI Recreations

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Acclaimed Japanese creator, Osamu Tezuka, is famously known as the “God of Manga” and the “Pioneer of Anime.” He transformed the realms of manga and anime through his captivating narratives, vivid characters, and innovative panel designs. Over a span of four decades, Tezuka’s work laid the groundwork for contemporary manga and inspired countless artists, while popularizing the distinctive “big eyes” style that is prevalent in today’s anime. The impact of Tezuka’s work can be traced in numerous modern manga artists, such as Akira Toriyama (creator of Dragon Ball) and Naoki Urasawa (creator of Monster), to name a few notable examples. Tezuka’s groundbreaking series Astro Boy played a pivotal role in shaping both anime and manga into the mediums they are recognized as today.

Astro Boy was the pioneering animated TV series from Japan, paving the way for the entire anime industry as we know it today. This groundbreaking show, featuring Astro Boy, established the episodic format that is now standard in anime production. The narrative delved into various themes such as artificial intelligence morality, human-robot interactions, war, and discrimination, well before these subjects gained widespread popularity in popular culture. Tezuka’s influence on the anime and manga world remains unparalleled, with his contributions still widely respected. However, controversy arose when Makoto Tezuka, son of the legendary creator, attempted to use AI in an effort to replicate his father’s timeless works.

Makoto Tezuka, Osamu Tezuka’s son, has spent the last five years teaching AI using his father’s artwork to determine if it can convert the art into animation effectively. However, he shares that at this point, it remains challenging to achieve consistent and coherent direction with the technology.

— Manga Mogura RE (Anime & Manga News) (@MangaMoguraRE) March 21, 2025

Makoto Tezuka Has Been Training AI for Five Years

An article penned by Pia provides insights from the 3rd Niigata International Animation Film Festival, which featured a seminar called “The Future of AI in Animation Creation”. At this gathering, Makoto Tezuka commented, “I believe that accurately recreating the original author’s artwork is crucial when it comes to anime evaluation. By teaching AI the original manga and generating drawings for the anime, we can capture even the subtlest details and come closer to the original work. This approach could lead to a creative product that appeals to the audience.

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He also mentions, “For the past five years, this is precisely what I’ve been studying, and I’ve been striving to decipher the illustrations in Tezuka Osamu’s manga to find out if I can produce an anime in a similar fashion. I can confidently say that ‘animations can be crafted from the lines of Tezuka Osamu.’ Yet, at this point, giving it direction remains elusive.

Observing the post from @No_mizomi252917, they express a strong dislike towards Makoto Tezuka. It seems that whenever they encounter information related to him, it evokes feelings of distaste and disrespect for his father’s legacy in their eyes.

@LaurenceMallen” notes, “That’s really unfortunate for his dad. Instead of investing those five years in mastering art and adopting his father’s drawing techniques, it’s hard to believe!

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Zeeeevs_ comments, “Five years is astounding. It’s as if your own son were attempting to replicate your work, not by creating something innovative, but rather in a disorganized, error-prone, and incorrect manner. He could have spent these five years learning animation from the ground up and still be producing better results than this nonsense he’s trying to pass off.

Makoto Tezuka holds a partial stake in Tezuka Productions and is renowned for his contributions to “Tezuka’s Barbara,” “The Innocent: Hakuchi,” and “Moment.” The ongoing initiative utilizing artificial intelligence aims primarily at dissecting Osamu Tezuka’s unique artistic and narrative style, with the goal of generating a fresh manga.

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2025-03-27 00:15