ChatGPT’s new image tool sparks wave of Studio Ghibli-style memes

LOS ANGELES - What started as a wave of whimsical anime-style memes is now the latest flashpoint in the debate over AI and creative ownership. OpenAI’s new image generator, launched Tuesday as part of its GPT‑4o rollout, can produce strikingly accurate stylized images — including a flood of artwork mimicking the look of Studio Ghibli, the legendary Japanese animation studio behind "Spirited Away" and "My Neighbor Totoro."

Social media users quickly seized on the feature, uploading selfies, memes, and even pets to be "Ghiblified." But while the results have delighted fans, they’ve also reignited serious concerns about the ethics of training AI on copyrighted artistic styles — especially without the consent of the artists whose work inspires the output.

How did the Ghibli-style meme trend start?

The backstory:

The viral meme moment began almost immediately after OpenAI released what it called its "most advanced image generator yet," a tool capable of producing accurate, photorealistic, and stylistically complex images. Users discovered it could replicate the hand-drawn aesthetic of Hayao Miyazaki films with uncanny precision — and they ran with it.

Photos of pets were turned into Ghibli-style characters. Olympic athletes like Turkish shooter Yusuf Dikec were reimagined in dreamy anime frames. Even the "Disaster Girl" meme was given the treatment.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman himself joined in, posting on X, "> be me / > grind for a decade trying to help make superintelligence to cure cancer or whatever / > mostly no one cares for first 7.5 years, then for 2.5 years everyone hates you for everything / > wake up one day to hundreds of messages: ‘look i made you into a twink ghibli style haha.’"

What’s OpenAI saying about the Ghibli-style images?

The other side:

While OpenAI has encouraged the trend, it also acknowledged the controversy. In a technical paper released Tuesday, the company said it added guardrails to prevent users from generating images "in the style of a living artist," but allows for broader studio styles to be used for what it described as "delightful and inspired original fan creations."

In a technical paper released Tuesday, OpenAI said it is taking a "conservative approach" to how its model mimics the aesthetics of individual artists. The company added that it has implemented a refusal mechanism that triggers when a user attempts to generate an image in the style of a living artist. However, OpenAI also said it permits broader studio styles, which have been used in many of the viral "Ghiblification" images shared online.

Studio Ghibli itself has not issued a public comment on the meme trend. Emails sent to the studio and its U.S. distributor went unanswered, according to the Associated Press.

Why are artists and legal experts raising red flags?

What they're saying:

Hayao Miyazaki has long made his stance on AI animation clear. In 2016, when shown an AI demo of a grotesque animated figure, the 84-year-old director said he was "utterly disgusted" and called it "an insult to life itself." He added: "I would never wish to incorporate this technology into my work at all."

Legal experts say the issue is more than just artistic preference. Josh Weigensberg, a partner at Pryor Cashman, told the Associated Press the key legal question is whether OpenAI trained its model on Ghibli’s copyrighted works — and if so, whether it had proper licensing. Even if "style" isn’t always protected by copyright, Weigensberg said some generated outputs may mimic "specific, discernible, discrete elements" of films like "Howl’s Moving Castle" or "Spirited Away" too closely.

Artist Karla Ortiz, who is currently suing other AI companies over image training practices, called the Ghibli-style meme wave "another clear example" of AI companies exploiting the work of human artists. "That’s using Ghibli’s branding, their name, their work, their reputation, to promote OpenAI products," she said. "It’s an insult. It’s exploitation."

What’s next in the debate over AI and artistic ownership?

Big picture view:

The Ghibli-style memes may be lighthearted on the surface, but the underlying questions strike at the heart of a much larger legal and cultural reckoning. Can AI ethically replicate the aesthetic of iconic works? Does the popularity of AI-generated fan art threaten the livelihoods of real artists? And if companies benefit from mimicking beloved creative styles, who gets compensated?

As copyright lawsuits continue — including one filed by The New York Times against OpenAI and Microsoft — the viral success of trends like these may increasingly test the boundaries of what’s legally and ethically acceptable in the age of generative AI.