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Frontier Works, KaKa Creation Reveal Twins Hinahima AI Anime

KaKa Creation and Frontier Works opened a website on Friday to announce an anime project titled Twins Hinahima that is made using AI, with plans for the anime to release in spring 2025. The anime is based on the anime TikToker of the same name.

The above video outlines the various ways AI was used in the creation of the project, and the anime's website discusses the concept of "supportive AI." The website stated as AI technology is becoming more prevalent, there is a large gap between creators and AI. In response to this, the project is working to approach AI in a way where AI is used as a support tool for creators. The staff stated they believe AI for creators can be used to make work more efficient as labor shortages and excessive work hours in the anime industry continue, and also can achieve new forms of expression currently difficult for hand-drawn animation and CG.

More than 95% of the cuts in the anime will use AI, and a person will make the final edits by hand. The anime also uses other tools such as CLIP STUDIO PAINT, and Adobe software such as Photoshop, After Effects, and Illustrator.

For example, in the above key visual, a staff member drew the characters in CLIP STUDIO PAINT. For the background, a photograph was converted to an anime background using AI, then retouched by art staff. The logo was hand-drawn using Adobe Illustrator, and the special effects used Adobe Photoshop and Adobe After Effects.

The announcement noted that staff who normally work on Netflix originals and television series including animators, artists, cinematographers, and CG staff are working on the anime. The announcement did not reveal any staff members.

The anime centers on twin girls Himari and Hinana who are in their first year of high school in Tokyo. Their goal is to go viral and they post dance videos and other videos on TikTok. In the process, they notice something strange happening.

Other recent AI anime projects include generAIdoscope, a full-length original omnibus movie project completely made with generative AI. The film was originally slated to screen in Japanese theaters this year, with Hirotaka Adachi (who uses the pen name Otsuichi as a novelist), One Cut of the Dead cinematographer Takeshi Sone, and Hiroki Yamaguchi (Bloody Chainsaw Girl) directing the three original stories.

The animated film adaptation of Rika Hirotsu's Shi ga Utsukushii Nante Dare ga Itta (Who Said Death Was Beautiful?) book by motion capture studio Eins, was made through a combination of motion capture technology and generative AI. The film premiered in Japan in December 2023.

Sources: Twins Hinahima anime's website, PR Times, Oricon News