Taiki Sakurai, a former Netflix producer now leading an animation studio, argued at a recent trade show that animators support the use of AI in their work. He pointed out that while fans express concerns about AI replacing human artists, many animators find it burdensome to produce thousands of hand-drawn frames. He noted that the anime industry in Japan is facing a worker shortage due to a declining birthrate, which complicates the narrative around job losses linked to AI. Sakurai acknowledged differing opinions among creatives, particularly between animators and manga artists. Manga artists worry about AI’s ability to generate still images quickly, while animators recognize that creating videos from AI-generated images still poses challenges. He also shared his studio's plans to experiment with an AI model trained on a specific artist's style, aiming to streamline the creative process. Despite his optimism about AI in animation, the backlash against projects like "The Dog & The Boy" highlights a significant rift between industry intentions and fan perceptions.