As everyone knows, Akira is known as one of the greatest science fiction films in history, and its animation has inspired millions to this day. So, of course, the debate was bound to erupt on social media when a fan created a remaster of Akira with the help of AI ( Artificial Intelligence ).
Akira – Artificial intelligence remakes scenes from the film and provokes outrage
The story begins when Eric Groza took to Instagram to share an AI derivative work he created at home. He took Akira and applied Adobe's Beta AI to reimagine the anime on screen.
View this photo on Instagram
Specifically, they wanted to give Akira better formatting for vertical screens, so they plugged images from Akira into Adobe's emerging software.
“Using Adobe’s Beta AI, I was able to extend the 16x9 backgrounds into a fully vertical shot. Completed in the art style of the original background paintings. I then recomposed the scenes and edited them as an additional video layer. Why is this a big deal? Because this isn’t a blurry, out-of-focus shot, it’s a distinct style that the AI was able to replicate after many tweaks and errors,” Groza shared.
“This is why true artists will learn to love AI. … Brands, productions, and animation studios often crop a horizontal image to create a vertical format—which cuts out some of the action and often reduces image quality. For artists, it means they can enhance their style and scale their work. It's a win for the creative individual who wants to do more with their own hands.”
As you can imagine, some tech heads were eager to see how this AI worked, but many others were not satisfied with the revision. The unofficial remaster plays with the intentional layout and composition that Otomo approved when creating Akira. On social media, this short video posted to Instagram reignited the war between AI and anime, as industry caution grows. Finally, with divisive working conditions, anime creators are concerned about how AI might overtake the industry, and tests like this are leaving a bad taste in their mouths.
Source: Eric Groza
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