Manga artist Inio Asano, the creator of Goodnight Punpun and Dead Dead Demon’s Dededede Destruction, recently appeared as a guest on WEEKLY OCHIAI, a talk show hosted by Japanese media artist Yoichi Ochiai. In the interview, published partly on YouTube (the full version can be watched via the News Picks platform), Asano talked about the “Unreal Engine” technique for creating his manga, and touched on why he put Mujina Into the Deep on hiatus, as well as the use of generative AI in the manga scene.
To begin with, Asano says that Mujina Into the Deep ended up turning into an action manga because he wanted to create a story where he could freely experiment with 3D-modeled environments. “Initially, it was supposed to be a simple, grounded story about this hopeless middle-aged man in a shopping street. But when I created the town in 3D, I was like, I could make a manga that’s much better suited for this – and it naturally became an action manga.”
Those who follow Asano on X might be familiar with the fact that over 90% of the backgrounds in Mujina Into the Deep were made by the mangaka himself using Unreal Engine and Blender. While he uses paid assets when he can, he also models his own when needed.
Asked about whether utilizing AI could help with streamlining the process of modeling and placing all of the individual assets on such a vast open world, Asano explains that “it’s definitely possible, but there is a very difficult problem of what extent you can use AI to.”
“Right now, publishers are not in a position where they can overtly say that they allow AI use,” Asano comments. “It’s a strange situation; You’re not allowed to use it precisely because you’re a professional.” He explains that, while there are several reasons why Mujina Into the Deep was put on a hiatus until 2027, the manga scene’s current attitude towards AI is one of them.
“In the current state of things, mangaka are not allowed to use AI. But using AI actually drives up the quality by a mile. So doesn’t that mean it would be best to not draw the manga now? Maybe they suddenly lift the ban [on AI] next year, so it might be better to start drawing after that happens. I’m currently on standby in that sense,” Asano says. Though he didn’t elaborate if or to what extent he hypothetically plans to use AI, he said that using it could significantly speed up the modeling process.
As a side note, Asano says that, while he doesn’t find any particular inspiration for his stories in other forms of media, he is passionate about video games. Apparently, all of his work after Dededede, including Mujina Into the Deep, is heavily inspired by the GTA franchise. As he explains, he creates all of his stories by creating an “open world” for them first.
Anyone can make slop with AI. We are paying these people because they have the skill to not make slop. What’s so hard for this guy to get?
Is it slop because ai is used? Is this a hate driven comment to combat all ai usage, or would you be fine with reading ai assisted manga if it fit your taste?
Idk, i dont really care if AI gets used to make backgrounds better. One of the greatest bottlenecks in manga creation is the amount of time spent drawing the backgrounds and doing screen tones and shit. If they removed all that it would speed the process up to an insane degree
Would the backlash be big if he just used it now? I could be wrong but I feel like the witch hunters don’t really have a strong presence in Japan and are mostly in the west.
“I’m not making my stuff right now because I can’t use AI” sounds a lot like “I can’t make my stuff without AI.” The logic is flawed af. *Just Don’t Use It* It’s NEVER going to be ok. It’s always going to be thought of as a skilless shortcut at best, theft at worst. Everyone that is called out using AI as a shortcut loses huge respect in whatever community they are in.
Maybe it’s good that it’s in hiatus. The world doesn’t need more slop.
Anything made with AI is so worthless that it makes your previous work look shoddy or questionable, end of story. You can make it shittier than you want to, people will not mind as long as humans create the art.
Think about it this way: All AI and its users want to do is fool you into believing that someone drew it without using AI. They do this because they know it’s not impressive to make things with AI because it can’t create, it steals like a child looking at another’s test. And people do not like to be fooled!
How can you expect people to spend their valuable time on something you did not spend your valuable time making?
You’re the reason a competent and celebrated mangaka is suppressing themselves. AI isn’t going away. Either grow your skills or keep whining about “slop”. You’re like the people who complained about digital art and publishing 40 years ago. I’ll give you one guess who lost that battle.
I love AI so much, I hope all developers in all formats use AI to increase creativity and speed development.
This is awful, I will never support ai in literature. I’d expect a manga creator to feel the same way…
I’m never reading this guy’s crap, thanks for the article.
So, this is a rare moment when Japanese publisher actually do the right decision. And it’s actually a very terrible excuse if an artist doesn’t want to continue their work just bcs they aren’t allowed to use AI. I know Mangaka frequently faces crunch to meet deadline of their work. But, if they start to complain it like a spoiled brat, then their work quality start to drop. If they want to use AI freely, then I can also use AI to steal their works and make it much better than theirs