The
clinical eye of the otaku community on social networks is
absolutely unforgiving, and this time they managed to catch a production error
that has shaken one of the largest studios in Japan. WIT Studio had
to publicly apologize this Friday after fans discovered the obvious use
of generative artificial intelligence in the backgrounds of
the new opening of the third part of Ascendance of a
Bookworm (Honzuki no Gekokujō).
Taking the blame and cleaning up the mess
Everything
exploded after the broadcast of the first episode on April 4. Viewers were
quick to notice the classic visual anomalies left by automated programs in the
background illustrations. After an internal investigation, the studio confirmed
the suspicions and showed its face. They clarified that the incident was due to
serious failures in their quality management and inspection system, assuming
full responsibility. To make amends for the error, they promised to completely
redraw the affected art and issue a corrected version of the opening sequence
starting with the second episode.
To calm the waters and clean up the reputation of its artists, WIT Studio's management was very clear: neither the art director nor the fund studio NAM HAI ART was to blame for this slip. In addition, they stressed that, with the sole exception of their former experimental project Inu to Shōnen, they are prohibited by principles from using generative AI in their productions, confirming that there are no traces of this technology in the rest of the episodes of the series.
A long
season that doesn't deserve to be stained
This new
installment, titled Adopted Daughter of an Archduke, is an
extremely important project for the studio, as it is scheduled to air for two
consecutive cours (i.e. half a year of uninterrupted
broadcasting). Luckily, the controversy was stopped in time so as not to
overshadow the return of Yuka Iguchi and Show Hayami, who reprise their iconic
roles as Rozemyne and Ferdinand.
Under the
direction of Yoshiaki Iwasaki and the character designs of Aiko Minowa, the
production team promised to use this stumble as a lesson to tighten their
review filters, ensuring that the magical literary world created by Miya
Kazuki maintains the human and artisanal touch that fans love so much.
