Toei Animation, one of the world’s largest animation studios, has recently been thrust into the center of controversy because it announced that it will include artificial intelligence in its future projects. The use of AI within anime production has been one of the most sensitive topics within the anime industry, and Toei’s decision disappointed a lot of fans.
The fans of One Piece were one group that was particularly impacted by Toei’s choice. They were disappointed with Toei’s decision, as even the creator of One Piece, Eiichiro Oda, has expressed his concern over the use of AI in official projects. However, there is some good news that concerns the One Piece fans in particular.
According to recent reports, AI technology might not be used in One Piece production at all. In fact, it is stated that Toei’s announcement might just be a PR move that was carried out to keep Toei relevant with the current technological advancements within the industry.
Toei’s announcement disappointed One Piece fans
Artificial Intelligence might be the next step into the future for many industries, but the anime community has still not accepted it. The reason behind this is that AI lacks the creativity and the human touch that a real animator or scriptwriter may bring to the table. However, despite this, there are a few anime companies that are investing in the technology.
One of them was Toei Animation, which recently invested in Preferred Networks Inc., a Japanese startup using the most advanced AI technologies. The FY2025 financial report of the production studio included an entire panel around the news, which revealed how Toei plans to implement AI into the upcoming projects and bring a modern change to the company.
This decision was a complex one, as the news received a mixed response from fans, particularly the One Piece fandom.
Toei has over 1000 staff, why do they need Ai. This is going to ruin the one piece anime. I mean they already are sellouts for how they censor super and Daima by removing the blood and gore, but nooooo they want to do this too.
— SupremeVidsPro (@SupremeVidsPro) May 16, 2025
While some were fine with Toei’s decision, a majority of them were upset and believed that the use of AI in a series as big as One Piece would primarily ruin the essence of the anime and, in extension, the entire One Piece franchise.
Toei’s use of AI might just be a PR move
While One Piece fans were concerned that Toei’s decision might negatively impact the anime forever, it looks like the announcement was nothing but a PR strategy. According to the popular One Piece fan page @pewpiece on X, a certain individual from the Toei Animation staff has confirmed that One Piece’s production will remain unchanged despite the recent AI news.
The account also confirmed that Toei’s decision was just a PR move, and it won’t change any ongoing production methods as of now. This was also confirmed by popular One Piece animator Vincent Chansard, who shared a special tweet pointing out that even though Toei has made this announcement, it has not yet revealed their decision to the official staff of the company.
While there is a chance that both reports came from the same source, it gives a sigh of relief to One Piece fans who were concerned about Toei’s controversial decision. This also means that the production of One Piece will continue smoothly, and fans will receive enticing content weekly.
One Piece is currently available to watch on Crunchyroll.
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