Demon Slayer Production Firms Aniplex and Ufotable Vow to Protect Jobs Amid Anime Industry AI Takeover

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba has turned Aniplex and Ufotable into two of the most closely watched studios in modern anime, in Japan and overseas alike. As more companies test artificial intelligence in everything from storyboards to background art, these two firms are signalling that the people already inside their studios still come first. Their message is that the future of Demon Slayerwill continue to be built around human work, not automated shortcuts.

At the 9th Astra Film Awards on 10 January 2026, a representative for Aniplex and ufotable was asked directly whether AI would change how the studios make anime in the coming years.

Astra Awards Signal Defiance

The spokesperson pointed back to the current production setup, where animators, scriptwriters and voice actors work closely together across each project rather than handing key tasks to automated tools.

'I will be very careful on how I approach and talk about AI,' the representative stated. 'But what I will say is at our studio, Aniplex and ufotable, we will continue to work with our hand-drawn artists, our writers, our voice actors, and the talent that helps bring this emotion to the big screen for everyone.'

For many in the industry, that answer sounded like more than a polite reassurance. It was read as a clear sign that human staff will stay at the centre of upcoming Demon Slayer releases, even as AI becomes cheaper and more widely available.

The studios appear willing to lean on the craft of long-time Demon Slayer artists and other manual artists who shaped the look of the series from the start.

Anime's AI Flashpoint Grows

Across the wider anime business, AI has become a flashpoint for arguments about cost, speed, and creative control.

Some studios in Japan are already testing AI tools to handle labour-intensive work such as filling in in-between frames or generating basic scenery, which has raised concerns among animators about losing both jobs and creative input.

Others, including Aniplex and ufotable, are moving more slowly, wary of trading away the human choices that give series like Demon Slayer their emotional weight.

For these companies, pulling back on automation is as much about practicality as it is about art. The smallest details, such as a flicker in a character's expression or the precise rise and fall of a line delivery, capture the attention of fans.

It is those small choices that give a scene its emotional weight, and they are still the part that current AI struggles the most to get right. AI animation tools in particular remain weak at capturing these fine-grained emotional cues in faces and performances.

Their stance suggests that future projects will still depend on teams of specialists rather than generative systems making creative calls on their own.

Investing in Traditional Craftsmanship for the Infinity Castle Arc

Ufotable has built its reputation on a very deliberate mix of traditional hand-drawn work and digital compositing. That approach is on full display in Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba – Infinity Castle Arc, where long, complex fight scenes and detailed backgrounds are meant to feel hand-crafted even when digital tools are involved.

The scale of the trilogy reflects that ambition, and the first part alone is reported to have cost around £14,925,000 ($20,000,000) to produce.

Spending at that level shows a belief that the studio's trademark look depends on experienced people making frame-by-frame decisions. The Infinity Castle Arc has become a reference point for how human-led animation can still stand out in a market that is rapidly testing AI.

As Demon Slayer moves towards its finale, Aniplex and ufotable are presenting that same commitment to 'emotion' on screen as the core reason to keep animators, writers and actors at the heart of their work.