{"id":554893,"date":"2026-07-17T19:32:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T19:32:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/554893\/"},"modified":"2026-07-17T19:32:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T19:32:11","slug":"goodnight-punpun-creator-inio-asano-says-the-manga-scenes-attitude-towards-ai-is-one-of-the-reasons-he-put-mujina-into-the-deep-on-hiatus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/554893\/","title":{"rendered":"Goodnight Punpun creator Inio Asano says the manga scene\u2019s attitude towards AI is one of the reasons he put Mujina Into the Deep on hiatus"},"content":{"rendered":"

Manga artist Inio Asano, the creator of Goodnight Punpun and Dead Dead Demon\u2019s Dededede Destruction, recently appeared as a guest on WEEKLY OCHIAI, a talk show hosted by Japanese media artist Yoichi Ochiai. In the interview, published partly on YouTube<\/a> (the full version can be watched via the News Picks<\/a> platform), Asano talked about the \u201cUnreal Engine\u201d technique for creating his manga, and touched on why he put Mujina Into the Deep on hiatus, as well as the use of generative AI in the manga scene.<\/p>\n

To begin with, Asano says that Mujina Into the Deep ended up turning into an action manga because he wanted to create a story where he could freely experiment with 3D-modeled environments. \u201cInitially, it was supposed to be a simple, grounded story about this hopeless middle-aged man in a shopping street. But when I created the town in 3D, I was like, I could make a manga that\u2019s much better suited for this \u2013 and it naturally became an action manga.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those who follow Asano on X might be familiar with the fact that over 90% of the backgrounds in Mujina Into the Deep were made by the mangaka himself using Unreal Engine and Blender. While he uses paid assets when he can, he also models his own when needed.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u6539\u3081\u3066\u52d5\u753b\u3067\u5171\u6709\u3002\u300cMUJINA INTO THE DEEP\u300d\u4ee5\u964d\u30019\u5272\u4ee5\u4e0a\u306e\u80cc\u666f\u306f\u5c4b\u5916\u5c4b\u5185\u554f\u308f\u305a3D\u3067\u5236\u4f5c\u3057\u3066\u307e\u3059\u3002\u30e2\u30c7\u30ea\u30f3\u30b0\u306fBlender\u3001\u914d\u7f6e\u306fUnrealEngine\u3002\u30a2\u30bb\u30c3\u30c8\u306f\u8cb7\u3048\u308b\u3082\u306e\u306f\u8cb7\u3046\u3002\u7121\u3044\u3082\u306e\u306f\u81ea\u5206\u3067\u4f5c\u308b\uff01\u3067\u3059\u3002 pic.twitter.com\/9SZk62Iplc<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 \u6d45\u91ce\u3044\u306b\u304a\/Inio Asano (@asano_inio) July 15, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Asked about whether utilizing AI could help with streamlining the process of modeling and placing all of the individual assets on such a vast open world, Asano explains that \u201cit\u2019s definitely possible, but there is a very difficult problem of what extent you can use AI to.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRight now, publishers are not in a position where they can overtly say that they allow AI use,\u201d Asano comments. \u201cIt\u2019s a strange situation; You\u2019re not allowed to use it precisely because you\u2019re a professional.\u201d He explains that, while there are several reasons why Mujina Into the Deep was put on a hiatus until 2027, the manga scene\u2019s current attitude towards AI is one of them.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the current state of things, mangaka are not allowed to use AI. But using AI actually drives up the quality by a mile. So doesn\u2019t that mean it would be best to not draw the manga now? Maybe they suddenly lift the ban [on AI] next year, so it might be better to start drawing after that happens. I\u2019m currently on standby in that sense,\u201d Asano says. Though he didn\u2019t elaborate if or to what extent he hypothetically plans to use AI, he said that using it could significantly speed up the modeling process.<\/p>\n

As a side note, Asano says that, while he doesn\u2019t find any particular inspiration for his stories in other forms of media, he is passionate about video games. Apparently, all of his work after Dededede, including Mujina Into the Deep, is heavily inspired by the GTA franchise. As he explains, he creates all of his stories by creating an \u201copen world\u201d for them first.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Related: Megami Tensei artist Kazuma Kaneko\u00a0thinks\u00a0AI replacing parts of game dev is \u201cinevitable,\u201d but\u00a0games still need\u00a0the \u201cimpure desires\u201d of human creators\u00a0to be great\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

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