Studio Ghibli AI Generator
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About
Studio Ghibli AI Generator, also known as Studio Ghibli AI Filter or GPT-4o Art Style Image Conversions, refers to an AI art image-generation tool available on GPT-4o that allows users to convert images to different art styles. After OpenAI released the new image-editing feature on ChatGPT in late March 2025, numerous internet users began converting family photos, memes, historical photographs and other images into a Studio Ghibli-style animated image and sharing them on X / Twitter, among other sites. Studio Ghibli is a Japanese anime film studio with a distinctive and recognizable style of animation. In addition to Studio Ghibli recreations of images, many other iconic art styles, such as South Park, were created and shared by users online. The trend also stirred controversy when the official White House Twitter account shared a Studio Ghibli AI image of a woman being handcuffed and deported by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer.
Origin
On March 25th, 2025, OpenAI introduced 4o Image Generation, enabling users to create and edit images directly within the platform. This update allows for text rendering, image creation according to detailed prompts and the transformation of uploaded images.[1]
The use of GPT-4o to transform personal photos into specific art styles like Studio Ghibli became a popular trend online in late March 2025.
For instance, on March 25th, 2025, X[2] user @GrantSlatton tweeted two images, one showing him, his wife and his corgi at a beach and another showing a Ghibli version of the same image. The post gathered over 22,000 likes in a day.
Spread
Several internet users began sharing "Studio Ghibli" versions of notable and personal images in late March 2025 as the trend spread online.
On March 25th, 2025, X[3] user @HealingCynic posted a Ghibli version of an image of Joseph Stalin often cited to discuss Soviet censorship, given that Stalin erased Nikolai Yezhov from the image after he was purged from the party. The caption on the image read, "Spirited Away," a dual reference to a Studio Ghibli film and Yezhov's execution. The post gathered over 7,000 likes in a day.
That same day, X[4] user @adtac_ posted a Ghibli version of scientist Jiankui He, a controversial Twitter / X personality and meme. The tweet read, "In the future we will have Studio Ghibli filter glasses." The post gathered over 3,000 likes in a day.
Also on March 25th, 2025, X[5] user @EMostaque posted a Rick Rubin Headphones meme with the caption, Vibe Ghibling, a reference to vibe coding.
On March 26th, X[6] user @keysmashbandit posted an image of Jackie Kennedy diving after JFK's assassination, writing, "in the coming days, people are going to anime every iconic photo in history," and gathering over 15,000 likes in a day.
Later on March 25th, X[7] user @cakesauce posted an image showing Studio Ghibli co-founder Hayao Miyazaki's negative reaction to AI-generated art, receiving over 10,000 views and 230 likes in a day. However, Miyazaki's quote from 2016 was about a specific 3D model that used AI and was not about AI-generated art.[8]
The White House's Studio Ghibli AI Deportation Tweet
On March 27th, the official White House Twitter / X[9] account posted a "Ghiblified" version of deported illegal immigrant Virginia Basora-Gonzalez being handcuffed by a male Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer.[11] The tweet described her as a "felon convicted of fentanyl trafficking." The post gathered over 109,000 likes in a day.
The tweet sparked viral outrage and controversy in the following days, widely expressed in memes and quote tweets.
For instance, later that day, X[10] user @DenimsTV shared a How's It Going meme in response to the post, gathering over 130,000 likes in a day.
Various Examples
Related Entries
Art Just Became Accessible
Art Just Became Accessible refers to discourse around a tweet posted by Twitter / X user @KrishRShah, where he shared a group photo of him and his friends edited using Chat GPT-4o into various art styles, including and oil painting and the Studio Ghibli style, alongside a caption that reads, "Art just became accessible." The tweet gathered backlash from artists who did not consider his AI-generated images to be "art," and garnered criticism from internet users who argued that art has always been "accessible." Other internet users posted memes and jokes comparing AI art to TV dinners and fake muscle costumes.
![Twitter / X[1] user @KrishRShah posted a series of images showing a group photo of him and his friends altered using Chat GPT-4o's Image Generation software. The image was recreated in the trending "Studio Ghibli style":https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/studio-ghibli-ai-generator, as an oil painting, and as an anime-style line drawing. The tweet gathered backlash from artists who did not consider his AI-generated images to be "art."](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/003/035/929/69b.png "March 26th, 2025 tweet by @KrishRShah")
Search Interest
External References
[1] OpenAI – Introducing 4o Image Generation
[2] Twitter / X – GrantSlatton
[3] Twitter / X – HealingCynic
[6] Twitter / X – keysmashbandit
[8] Far Out – Hayao Miyazaki on the use of AI
[9] Twitter / X – WhiteHouse
[11] ICE – ICE arrests illegal alien with previous drug trafficking conviction
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DLD493v2
Mar 26, 2025 at 10:03AM EDT
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