Toei Animation's latest update is the best news for One Piece fans

One Piece will keep its existing production process while Toei Animation explores expanding AI application within the studio's animation work, as per the studio's latest update. Toei Animation announced their commitment to maintain current production standards for One Piece after their latest financial report to alleviate fan worries about changes to the series which began airing in 1999.

Company representatives stated that One Piece would not be impacted by Toei's plans to implement AI throughout many of their projects. The decision maintains Toei's innovative drive while showing respect for their key series, which holds large international fan support and addresses fan worries during the broader tech changes in the industry.

---

Toei Animation navigates AI integration in One Piece amid studio reassurances to fans and industry debate

Toei Animation's March 2025 fiscal report serves as the central point of controversy by outlining extensive plans to use AI throughout various production stages such as storyboard creation, coloring processes, automatic in-between animation correction and generating backgrounds from photographs.

Preferred Computing Infrastructure, Inc. will be a joint venture between Preferred Networks, Mitsubishi Corporation and Internet Initiative Japan which Toei plans to partner with starting operations in early 2026. Toei invested in this venture because they believe it will help "advance business co-creation" while allowing them to use what they call "Japan's best" AI technology.

Toei intends to educate its AI models with a proprietary library from past productions which helps sidestep usual ethical issues related to unauthorized training content. Toei Animation performs a strategic balancing act as they announce this new development. On one hand, the studio faces industry-wide pressures to increase efficiency and reduce costs in anime production.

AI implementation presents a potential solution, with Toei having already utilized AI in various capacities since 2021. The studio needs to preserve the artistic identity and unique style that transformed One Piece into one of the most successful anime franchises ever.

Toei reassures fans about consistent production quality while simultaneously opening up opportunities to explore AI applications in anime projects of lesser prominence. The anime community's reaction has been predictably divided.

Critics view this as a concerning step toward an industry that increasingly marginalizes human artists, with some dramatically declaring it "the end of Toei Animation" as we know it. These voices often point to the vocal opposition many animators and creative professionals have expressed regarding generative AI in the animation industry.

Conversely, proponents suggest that if the final product maintains its quality and viewers cannot distinguish AI-assisted elements, then the technological assistance merely represents natural evolution in animation production methods.

---

Conclusion

For dedicated fans, the immediate takeaway is reassuring fans of One Piece can expect the Straw Hat Pirates' weekly adventures to be presented in the established animation style they recognize. The way Toei Animation handles One Piece while balancing artistic tradition with technological innovation provides a compelling example of how major studios respond to AI advances in animation.

The overall animation industry evolves steadily, but One Piece remains true to traditional production processes at present, while its parent company plans for AI to become more influential in anime creation.

---