Recently, a friend sent me the below image - based on a photo of the two of us, with our two babies born a few months apart. In addition to being a very sweet memory, what struck me most was the artistic side of it. Having studied a bit of art during my cultural communication studies, I immediately recognized the graphic style of Studio Ghibli.
And let's be honest, at first glance, it’s a great way to engage in cultural mediation. However, the phenomenon of AI generating images inspired by Studio Ghibli - a trend now so prominent that some even refer to it as “Ghiblitization” - raises important ethical questions.
If, as I mentioned earlier, the artistic appropriation of Ghibli seems like an exciting form of cultural mediation, this trend is far from unanimously celebrated.. As we can read in this article, Hayao Miyazaki firmly criticizes the use of AI to reproduce his work, considering it an 'insult to life itself.'
But why Ghibli?
The rise of AI-generated art in the Ghibli style is directly fueled by user behaviors and preferences.
To satisfy my curiosity, I quickly launched a Historical Tweet Count report using TweetBinder. Unsurprisingly, the curve is exponential! The total number of posts on X jumped from around 50,500 to — hold on tight — 2,975,622 between March 26 and April 7.
But what audiences are actually driving this trend?
Founded in 1985 by Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata and Toshio Suzuki, Studio Ghibli has become a legendary name in Japanese animation thanks to its poetic style, narrative finesse and humanist themes.
From My Neighbor Totoro to The Voyage of Chihiro (Oscar winner, 2003), its films blend magic, ecology, childhood and spirituality with rare sensitivity. Globally recognized,the Ghibli aesthetic has become iconic.
If we look at the period when the films were released, it’s likely that the core audience interested in Ghibli today is probably between 25 and 40 years old. This generation grew up in the 1990s and 2000s, when the studio was gaining international recognition. At this pivotal age, they were still young enough to be amazed by the magic of animation, but also old enough to grasp the depth of the themes: nature, war, the transition to adulthood, and the quest for identity.
But what about the younger generation, who seem to be rediscovering Ghibli from an entirely different lens — that of AI?
It’s tempting to link this "digital renaissance" of the Ghibli style to Gen Z, but we should approach that assumption with nuance.. While this younger generation, aged 16 to 24, may be drawn to the AI trend and the chance to experience Ghibli’s aesthetic through modern tools, this doesn’t necessarily mean they engage with the studio’s films in the same way as the 25-40 age group.
Their relationship might be shaped more by quick visual exploration and a less profound connection to the original themes of the studio.
A Conversations report in Audiense Insights reveals which audiences have recently expressed an interest in Studio Ghibli since January 2025. At first glance, the clusters identified show a strong affinity for Asian culture - manga enthusiasts, BTS army, K-pop lovers and the cluster that confirms all this: Anime & art lovers.
Looking closer at the age range, we see we're primarily dealing with 25-34 year-olds, which aligns with the expected image of Ghibli’s core audience. But let's go a step further.
Insights also helps us understand what influences each cluster - and here’s where it gets inteesting.,
For example, anime and art fans show a surprisingly high affinity with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC). This could reflect a generational and aesthetic proximity between a young, creative and socially engaged audience, and the progressive figure AOC represents..
Conversely, Elon Musk ranks high among crypto-enthusiasts with a distinct - and especially high - affinity among crypto enthusiasts.
These insights point to potential bridges: such as the link between the visual universe of anime and emerging political or cultural commitments.
From a demographic standpoint, a report from Soprism on people interested in Studio Ghibli and anime confirms what we saw in the Insights data - the 25–34 age group dominates.
What’s really interesting to me at this stage is to dig into the differences between Ghibli fans and those more interested in AI-generated illustrations, specifically ones inspired by the Ghibli aesthetic.
First shocker: where intuition might suggest that Gen Z is most interested in AI and artistic illustrations, it’s actually the 35–44 age group that is overrepresented!
This completely challenges the idea that Gen Z is the main consumer of this kind of content. 😱
Soprism reveals a clear contrast between the two audiences.
Studio Ghibli enthusiasts tend to show a strong affinity for Asian culture, manga, ecology, and coming-of-age stories.
In contrast, those interested in AI-generated art are more drawn to technology, digital design, and creative innovation.
What emerges is an interesting hybridization. Ghibli represents an organic and poetic world, while AI art tends to evoke cybernetic, sometimes dystopian imagery -, where machines, too, become artists.
On one side, we see dreamer-type profiles - people who are sensitive to authenticity, traditional Japanese culture, and humanist values — the Ghibli lovers.
On the other, we see profiles who engage with visual content in a more experimental way, sometimes detached from classic storytelling. This reflects two distinct ways of engaging with imagery: one through the emotion of a narrative, the other through formal innovation. There’s also a noticeable difference in depth between the two audiences.
From a geographical perspective, interest in Ghibli remains particularly strong near Asia — particularly Japan and Korea - but also in France and Canada, where fan communities have historically been very engaged.
In contrast, the enthusiasm around AI-generated illustrations is much more globalized. It tends to flourish in creative hubs like San Francisco, Berlin, or Seoul - often connected to tech ecosystems.
This difference in geographical distribution shows that while Ghibli’s aesthetic is universal, it still carries strong cultural roots. Meanwhile, AI art is becoming a globalized language, shapedn by networks and algorithms.
A detailed analysis of the audiences engaging with 'Ghiblitization' reveals much more than a surface-level aesthetic craze - it uncovers two radically different worlds of values, behaviors, and motivations.
On one side, a community that values emotionally resonant and culturally rooted storytelling.
On the other, profiles driven by visual experimentation, and virality.
This generational and symbolic divide shows why it’s essential to go beyond appearance when segmenting an audience.
Just because content looks like Ghibli doesn’t mean it’s reaching the same audiences - or generating the same kind of engagement.
Understanding these nuances not only enables better targeting but, more importantly, enables better storytelling — by accounting for the imaginations, values, and aspirations that drive each audience segment.
At a time when AI is reshaping the rules of creation, we need to learn how to read this new cultural map.
P.S. A new trend to watch is the "Toybox effect" — an AI-driven aesthetic inspired by packaging and collectible visuals. Unlike styles that remix known art, Toybox builds from scratch, offering a playful and original visual language that sidesteps the controversies of appropriation.