Tezuka Productions announced on June 12, 2023, that they have collaborated with AI, based on GPT-4, to release new chapters for Osamu Tezuka’s Black Jack manga, as a part of its 50th anniversary. It will be a fusion of AI and human creators.
The manga will be launched in Weekly Shonen Champion this fall.
The project is titled “TEZUKA2023,” and it brings creators from Tezuka Productions and AI to jointly create the new work.
It was created following the success of project “TEZUKA2020” in 2020, where Tezuka Productions’ creators and AI collaborated to create the new work “Paidon”.
The project uses the AI created through the commissioned work by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO). It involved Professor Satoshi Kurihara from the Faculty of Science and Technology at Keio University, Tezuka Productions’ Director Makoto Tezuka, among others
Professor Satoshi Kurihara and Macoto Tezka have provided comments regarding the collaboration with AI for creating a manga. Check them out below:
Professor Satoshi Kurihara comment:
By participating in “TEZUKA2020,” I strongly felt the potential of AI support in creative tasks, but at the same time, I realized that AI still has a long way to go in terms of human creativity. This experience led to the launch of our research project, which was adopted by NEDO, to explore the possibilities of “AI and Manga co-creation.” During our research, we were fortunate that generative AI systems like ChatGPT emerged at just the right time, providing a significant boost to our project.
In this project, we propose the concept of an AI based on GPT-4 that supports creators’ creative work through interactive exchanges. Of course, with such remarkable technology, we must also consider the negative aspects that are currently being widely discussed. Through this research project, I believe we can find one answer to the fundamental question of how AI, humans, and society can establish a relationship that is necessary for the realization of a better human society in the future. First and foremost, I am excited to see what kind of work will be created through “TEZUKA2023.”
Macoto Tezka comment:
In “TEZUKA2020,” we created a manga called “Paidon,” and at that time, AI was still a beginner in the world of manga, approaching it with modesty. Now, three years later, AI has made tremendous progress. It is no longer a beginner, which is why we are raising the bar significantly and taking on the challenge of creating a new installment of Osamu Tezuka’s masterpiece, “Black Jack” (BJ). “Black Jack” has a large number of episodes and encompasses various genres, embodying the essence of Osamu Tezuka’s work. Moreover, in the post-pandemic era, it is the content that is most eagerly awaited. This time, through the collaboration between various creators and AI in the actual production process, we will be able to create a new methodology for content creation. Japanese manga culture may once again obtain a new future.
Black Jack is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Osamu Tezuka in the 1970s, dealing with the medical adventures of the title character, doctor Black Jack. It consists of hundreds of short, self-contained stories that are typically about 20 pages long.
Black Jack has also been animated into an OVA, two television series (directed by Satoshi Kuwahara and Tezuka’s son Makoto Tezuka) and two films.
Black Jack is Tezuka’s second most famous manga, after Astro Boy. In 1977, it won the first Kodansha Manga Award for the shonen category. It has since then became Tezuka’s second best selling manga with over 50 million copies sold only in Japan.
Source: Mantan Web
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