Technology

Manga artist Inio Asano, the creator of Goodnight Punpun and Dead Dead Demon’s Dededede Destruction, recently appeared as a guest on WEEKLY OCHIAI, a talk show hosted by Japanese media artist Yoichi Ochiai. In the interview, published partly on YouTube (the full version can be watched via the News Picks platform), Asano talked about the “Unreal Engine” technique for creating his manga, and touched on why he put Mujina Into the Deep on hiatus, as well as the use of generative AI in the manga scene.

To begin with, Asano says that Mujina Into the Deep ended up turning into an action manga because he wanted to create a story where he could freely experiment with 3D-modeled environments. “Initially, it was supposed to be a simple, grounded story about this hopeless middle-aged man in a shopping street. But when I created the town in 3D, I was like, I could make a manga that’s much better suited for this – and it naturally became an action manga.”

Those who follow Asano on X might be familiar with the fact that over 90% of the backgrounds in Mujina Into the Deep were made by the mangaka himself using Unreal Engine and Blender. While he uses paid assets when he can, he also models his own when needed.

Asked about whether utilizing AI could help with streamlining the process of modeling and placing all of the individual assets on such a vast open world, Asano explains that “it’s definitely possible, but there is a very difficult problem of what extent you can use AI to.”

“Right now, publishers are not in a position where they can overtly say that they allow AI use,” Asano comments. “It’s a strange situation; You’re not allowed to use it precisely because you’re a professional.” He explains that, while there are several reasons why Mujina Into the Deep was put on a hiatus until 2027, the manga scene’s current attitude towards AI is one of them.

“In the current state of things, mangaka are not allowed to use AI. But using AI actually drives up the quality by a mile. So doesn’t that mean it would be best to not draw the manga now? Maybe they suddenly lift the ban [on AI] next year, so it might be better to start drawing after that happens. I’m currently on standby in that sense,” Asano says. Though he didn’t elaborate if or to what extent he hypothetically plans to use AI, he said that using it could significantly speed up the modeling process.

As a side note, Asano says that, while he doesn’t find any particular inspiration for his stories in other forms of media, he is passionate about video games. Apparently, all of his work after Dededede, including Mujina Into the Deep, is heavily inspired by the GTA franchise. As he explains, he creates all of his stories by creating an “open world” for them first.