Rui Araizumi, the illustrator behind the Slayers manga and novels, is accused of using AI to create images for his latest anime art book.
According to Anime News Network, the Slayers series co-creator released a new art book at Comiket 102. Araizumi’s book features fan art from popular anime series like ONIMAI: I’ m Now Your Sister! and Mobile SuitGundam: The Witch from Mercury. However, after Araizumi posted a picture of it, user X (formerly Twitter) started accusing the artist Slayers of using AI to create the cover art and other pages in the book.
Two days later, Araizumi posted a video of him illustrating the book’s cover art on his digital illustration program. He also uploads many photos showcasing his work in progress. “My new doujin magazine cover,” he said. “I am drawing everything correctly! Here it is separated layer by layer starting from the rough sketch. I have put this video up for you to understand. Everyone can see my layer layout! I’m so embarrassed.”
Araizumi continues to post behind-the-scenes videos and illustrations to prove to everyone that he didn’t use an AI rendering service for his artbook. He later apologized for sharing exclusive illustrations from his art book to those who purchased it. The creator said, “To those who obtained my doujinshi at the event and who obtained it through other means, I apologize for publishing the image data in this way.”
“As I wrote in the book’s afterword, I wanted to challenge myself to do things that I haven’t been able to do in my commercial work and to do things that are out of the ordinary (like painting). Because this is a doujinshi, I’m happy to pursue this goal. To those who picked up the book and to those who loved it, if I’ve hurt you, I’m really sorry.”
This is not the first time Araizumi has been accused of using AI in his artwork. At the end of May, social media users believed that he used AI to illustrate a new image of Slayers’ Lina Inverse. One user allegedly ran Slayers artwork through the AI image detector chapter and concluded that the illustration was 99% likely AI. This latest incident is Araizumi’s first time fighting these allegations.
The Slayers anime series is currently available to stream on Crunchyroll.
Source: Anime News Network and X
