Tired of Chat GPT-generated Hayao Miyazaki art? Here are a few underrated Studio Ghibli films

Discover the impact of AI on Miyazaki's legacy, the rise of Ghibli-style images, and underrated Studio Ghibli films.

Hayao Miyazaki couldn’t have expected that the machines he dreaded would appropriate his legacy and manufacture this tiresome barrage of AI image-making. Fans of Miyazaki, known for his distinct hand-drawn animation style and the famed Japanese animation house Studio Ghibli, were in for a sweet surprise that turned quite nasty earlier this week.

In what can be dubbed a mockery of the authenticity at the soul of Miyazaki’s art, a trend of GPT users generating Ghibli-style images of their own with text prompts has taken over the internet. Netizens have begun turning their own portraits, family pictures, and things far worse, into Ghibli-style animated images. While some have given in to this ‘cute’ trend, much of Miyazaki’s fans and anime enthusiasts have called out the bastardisation of his legacy, and an ironic take on the glibness of AI.

ALSO READ:‘The Boy and the Heron’ movie review: Hayao Miyazaki’s Wonderland comes calling

A silver lining, however, is that this has also resulted in resurged popularity in the already iconic Ghibli filmography, leading to many internet users discovering Miyazaki for the very first time. It’s about time the world appreciated the delicate, soulful and immersive art of this master creator, but one can’t help but feel dejected at the fact that it took an AI-generated trend for the larger world to take attention.

For now, why don’t we take a step into the breezy, wondersome world of (authentic) Miyazaki animation with these underrated Studio Ghibli films that you can binge-watch this weekend?

Miyazaki’s 11th directorial film, The Wind Rises, is a heartfelt story of an aeronautical engineer. Based on the semi-autobiographical novel The Wind Has Risen by Tatsuo Hori, the film marked Miyazaki’s return to direction after five years. Interestingly, the film was originally intended to be his final feature film, before he reversed his decision and made The Boy and The Heron.

Like The Wind Rises, Porco Rosso too showcases Miyazaki’s affinity towards aviation. Set in the 1920s in the Mediterranean, this fun, melancholic film follows an Italian ex-fighter ace, cursed to have a pig’s head, fight air pirates as a bounty hunter. Fun fact: an iconic line from the film, “Better a pig than a fascist,” became a symbol of Spanish resistance conservative right-wing ideologies during the 2023 elections.