Users quickly began making the most of the policy change — sharing “Ghiblified” images of 9/11, Adolf Hitler, and the murder of George Floyd. The official White House account on X even shared a Studio Ghibli-style image of an ICE officer detaining an alleged illegal immigrant.

OpenAI says that demand for its tool, which can recreate photos in the style of this Japanese studio, has exceeded all its expectations

There are many debates on the ethics of generating AI images, especially against the vocal anti-AI opinions of Studio Ghibli co-founder Hayao Miyazaki. Despite this, the fusion of internet culture with Studio Ghibli’s art style continues to engage and entertain people on social media worldwide.

If you ever dreamed of living in a world like Studio Ghibli, now you can—at least virtually. Studio Ghibli-themed AI pictures have been trending on the internet.

But there’s also something deeper at play, because the Ghibli filter itself has a sour aftertaste — at its core, it’s a minor echo of the Trump era’s utter disregard for other human beings.

OpenAI’s GPT-4o image generator sparks a wave of anime-style memes as users recreate pop culture and political moments

Given his commitment to the human touch in animation, and his description of AI as an "insult of life itself", many argue that the AI trend is an insult to everything Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli stand for.

Social media has recently been flooded with images that looked like they belonged in a Studio Ghibli film. Selfies, family photos and even memes have been re-imagined with the soft pastel palette characteristic of the Japanese animation company founded by Hayao Miyazaki.