An anime project made with the assistance of AI is making waves within the community.
Twins Hinahima, which is touted to be majorly made through the use of AI, is an anime project that first made rounds across the internet sphere when it was announced in December 2024. The anime, which was only 24 minutes long, released in Japan on 28 March to mixed reactions within the anime community who were able to find a copy online.
How was Twins Hinahima made?
The project, which was handled by Frontier Works in collaboration with KaKa Creation, was animated by KaKa Technology Studio with artificial intelligence (AI) assistance. Although the companies did say that the majority of the work was done with AI, the building blocks of the project, like its character designs and background images, were first done by human artists.
The character designs of the main characters Himari and Hinana, were drawn by actual artists through the use of the digital drawing program CLIP STUDIO PAINT. The backgrounds employed in the anime were also based on real photos that were run through AI to “make them look anime”, after which the generated images were retouched by hand.
The animation itself, although done through AI, went through cleanup work that fixed minute details such as expressions, while other factors were smoothed out by animators. The effects used, which included glowing lights and sparkles, were added through the use of Adobe Photoshop and After Effects. The logos used for the anime were hand-drawn through Adobe Illustrator.
The idea of “Supportive AI”
The project has always highlighted the importance of “supportive AI”. In a statement to the official Twins HinaHima website, the team posits the belief that AI technology should merely be a “supporting tool for creators’ creative activities.”
Through a machine translation, the statement reads: “We believe that it is necessary to approach AI technology based on the idea that 'AI is merely a supporting tool for creators' creative activities,' in other words, the idea of 'supportive AI' and to use its capabilities for the right purposes while overcoming the challenges that come with using AI.”
The team also points out that anime production is a “labour-intensive” task that requires complex and diverse processes, leading to longer production periods and an increase in workload, which they believe to be “a barrier to entry for young creators.”
Through the Twins HinaHima anime, the team hopes that the project is a starting point to contribute to resolving a number of issues, those being: a shortage in creators, improving the work environment through improving work productivity, and improving the treatment of creators.
It’s an open secret that the anime industry is currently struggling when it comes to workload. Many anime studios implement harsh schedules that more often than not cause issues, both physically and mentally, to individuals within the field. As such, it seems like the end goal for the Twins HinaHima team is to offer a solution that could ease these troubles.
Is AI really the solution?
Twins Hinahima currently has not received any international broadcast, but curious anime fans have looked into the project, with even fan translations of the episode coming out on various platforms. Although we do mention this, we do not encourage the use of piracy if you’re wanting to see the anime for yourself.
That being said, the internet is divided in opinions when it comes to what kind of work Twins HinaHima really is. According to a report by AnimeSenpai, the reception is “mixed feelings, but more positive than expected.”
Truth be told, the quality of the project is elementary at best. The anime is littered with uncanny movements, shaking lines, and flaws that could be jarring to some. But the thing is, Twins HinaHima isn’t supposed to be a perfect representation of what the team behind it is going for; it’s an entry point that opens the door for AI to be met with more serious consideration when it comes to producing anime titles.
But concerns regarding the ethics behind AI and how it’s seen as a threat to those within the industry is something people shouldn’t overlook either. The discussion is filled with nuance and feeling; how can creators trust a tool that has been, time and time again, made to take from their hard work?
We can’t say for certain that the direction KaKa Creation and Frontier Works has taken is the light at the end of the tunnel. Whether or not anime studios will take this route in the future is still up in the air.