Is Grok's new AI avatar based on Misa Amane from Death Note? Explored

While it’s been quite some time since the Death Note anime aired, the series continues to influence pop culture in various ways. That said, not many people expected one such influence to pop up on X (formerly Twitter), as netizens are led to believe that Grok’s new AI anime companion, Ani, bears a strong resemblance to Misa Amane.

As fans must remember, Misa Amane used to sport blond pigtails and a gothic dress as part of her ensemble. Needless to say, the design for the new AI model also looks similar. So, is there a chance that Grok based the character's model on the anime character?

How is Grok's Ani similar to Death Note's Misa Amane?

Grok's AI Companion Ani as seen in Grok (Image via xAI)

As one can observe, Grok's new AI anime companion Ani shares several appearance and personality traits with Death Note's Misa Amane. Similar to Misa Amane, Ani has a gothic LOLITA fashion sense, blonde pigtails, an edgy aesthetic, and a playful and chaotic personality.

Unfortunately, as neither Elon Musk nor Grok's developers xAI has explicitly confirmed that Misa Amane is truly the inspiration behind Ani, the resemblance between the two can only be considered a coincidence or inspired, but not a direct influence.

Misa Amane as seen in the anime (Image via Madhouse)

Speaking of influence, Elon Musk has previously confirmed that he has watched several anime such as Your Name, Evangelion, Spirited Away, Ghost in the Shell, and Princess Mononoke. However, he has never mentioned Death Note. Therefore, if the Businessman himself did not draw the inspiration, it is very possible that someone else from his xAI team must have drawn the inspiration from the anime.

Needless to say, fans do not wish to wait for a confirmation and are very well convinced that Misa Amane was the inspiration for Ani.

Fans' reaction to Grok's new AI companion

Misa Amane as seen in the anime (Image via Madhouse)

Almost everyone who knew about the Death Note anime instantly made a connection between Misa Amane and Grok's Ani. Some fans even quoted and replied to Elon Musk's announcement tweet, asking him whether the AI anime companion was based on the anime character.

"Isn’t this the girl from Death Note?," one fan asked.

"can we just all agree that Grok companion Ani is GORGEOUS?? Like seriously, she totally gives off Misa Amane vibes from Death Note," another fan said.

"Why does Grok look like a Temu version of Misa from Death Note?," other fan asked.

Meanwhile, other fans praised the AI model. They believed that the AI Anime Companion was really gorgeous and totally gave off the same vibe as Misa Amane from the anime. Some fans especially liked its animation quality.

As for other fans, while they could notice the connection between Ani and Misa Amane, they weren't a fan of the resemblance and labelled Ani as Misa Amane from Temu.

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About the author

Gokul has been an anime writer in Pop Culture division at Sportskeeda since 2022. His love for watching anime and his interest in the ever-growing anime industry inspire Gokul to produce insightful content about the genre on a daily basis. He holds a Master's degree in Communication & Journalism, and has worked for close to 3.5 years in the field.

Gokul likes to thoroughly research about the anime he is writing about and only credits a source after verifying its credibility. He loves the popular Shonen anime, Black Clover, for its memorable characters and their development throughout the story.

When not racking his brain behind his next anime story, Gokul likes to play video games, read manga, and play football.

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Edited by Gokul Chettiyar