AI Helps Create New Chapter in Osamu Tezuka's 'Black Jack' Manga Series

A fresh chapter of the iconic 'Black Jack' manga, crafted with the assistance of AI technology, was recently introduced to the public. The AI-generated work aims to honor the essence of the manga's late illustrious creator, Osamu Tezuka, but the team recognizes there are still difficulties in accurately capturing the intricacies of human emotions.

Legacy Continued Through AI

Makoto Tezuka, Osamu Tezuka's son and director at Tezuka Productions Co., expressed satisfaction with the AI's ability to produce a manga episode that closely mirrors his father's unique style. The creation not only commemorates Black Jack's half-century legacy but also comments on the ethical dilemmas brought forth by sophisticated medical interventions.

A Tale of Advanced Medicine

Set to appear in the Shukan Shonen Champion magazine, this 32-page installment delves into the story of a woman with an AI-created 'perfect' artificial heart—reflecting both the sanctity of life and the challenges of cutting-edge medical technology. The original Black Jack series, which followed the exploits of an unlicensed surgical genius, was serialized in the same magazine from 1973 to 1983.

Behind the Scenes with AI

The manga episode resulted from a project tapping into generative AI models, which studied over 200 previous Black Jack stories, 200 shorter manga pieces by Tezuka, and a comprehensive database of 20,000 pages of facial expressions from his characters. The creative process involved feeding plot suggestions into the AI, which then proposed a complete story for the new chapter.

AI's Creative and Emotional Boundaries

While the AI model, including ChatGPT's advanced GPT-4 and the Stable Diffusion image generator, boosted creative output, the team had to tailor the AI-generated text to align with their vision and to be relatable for readers. However, Makoto Tezuka pointed out the present limitations of AI in truly grasping and portraying the complexity of human emotions.

The Future of AI in Content Creation

Satoshi Kurihara, a team member and professor at Keio University, envisions the potential of AI to 'mass produce' manga of high quality, possibly exceeding the standards set by human artists. In the coming years, he's looking to extend these AI capabilities to cultivate more Japanese content for global export.

The ambitious AI project follows the 2020 release of 'Paidon,' another Tezuka-inspired manga generated by AI, showcasing the continued innovation in this merging of technology and art.

manga, AI, Tezuka