Animes
Evangelion's opening singer pulls out of major event due to AI use
Advertisement
Yoko Takahashi is the interpreter of “The Thesis of a Cruel Angel”the anthem of Evangelion which is one of the animes that has captivated otakus and non-otakus around the world. A very special event to celebrate the anime and its music industry will be held in Shibuya in July, but the artist who had confirmed her presence backed out after seeing the event's promotions.
Furthermore, he even made a post on his official X account in which he was completely opposed to the use of AI, especially in the matter of celebrating anime. To make his position clear, the artist who interpreted the theme Evangeliondecided to permanently withdraw from the eventwhich disconcerted many fans who were eagerly awaiting his appearance.
The event is called First Concert and will be held at Sakura Hall in Shibuya on behalf of the Ikebukuro Animation Philharmonic Orchestra.. It is designed as a very special occasion for anime fans that will take place on July 10, 2024 and features several guest artists.
However, one of the promotions involved the use of AI-generated anime illustrations and the singer of the main theme of Evangelion He communicated on his X account that he does not consider AI an artist and definitely has no place in an event that celebrates that, after which he commented that he was leaving the event.
The use of AI in the anime industry is a controversial subject, and manga translators have been having conflicts with it lately, but that is just one of the things they face. There are few artists who have a strong and clear conviction regarding the use of AI and who also make themselves heard in the media.. Yoko Takahashi is one of the artists who openly expresses her position against AI in the anime industry.
How did the Philharmonic respond to the Evangelion theme song singer's statement?
In a way, the philharmonic's response was positive because it ended up apologizing and even changed the posters with original illustrations by an artist. Below is its official statement:
“Although we consider ourselves an anime-loving orchestra, we are ashamed that we are not sufficiently aware of the recent issues regarding the use of AI in illustration creation. We also realize that we have not taken into consideration the work and feelings of everyone who loves anime and its creative aspects. All members of the Executive Committee deeply regret this incident, which has affected people due to our incompetence. We have taken action and temporarily replaced the images used in the brochure and on the website with work commissioned from an illustrator. “We will continue to prepare for the concert using these images.”
It seems that the Philharmonic will resolve it, let's see what Takahashi's verdict is after that.
