Studio Ghibli, the Japanese animation studio, has captivated audiences with its animation for decades. Now, a fresh wave of global fascination has emerged, thanks to artificial intelligence. The launch of OpenAI's GPT-4o, which can generate Ghibli-style images, has sparked a viral trend, with many users flooding social media with AI-generated art in the studio's signature aesthetic.
From portraits to reimagined movie scenes, the trend has gained massive traction, drawing in not just everyday users, but also high-profile celebrities and companies.
Perhaps among the earliest to embrace the trend was OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who swapped his profile picture on X for a Ghibli-style rendition of himself. One of the sentences in his caption read, “Wake up one day to hundreds of messages: ‘look i made you into a twink ghibli style haha'.”
>be me
March 26, 2025
>grind for a decade trying to help make superintelligence to cure cancer or whatever
>mostly no one cares for first 7.5 years, then for 2.5 years everyone hates you for everything
>wake up one day to hundreds of messages: "look i made you into a twink ghibli style haha"Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar was not to be left behind. He shared a recreation of India's historic 2011 ICC World Cup win. He shared two images — one showing his teammates carrying him on their shoulders in celebration and another of him proudly holding the World Cup. His caption was, “AI-sa kuch trend ho raha hai, maine suna. Toh socha ("I heard there's an AI trend going on, so I thought), what if Ghibli made cricket?”
AI-sa kuch trend ho raha hai, maine suna. Toh socha, what if Ghibli made cricket? pic.twitter.com/NdKptwOliM
March 27, 2025Elon Musk, the X CEO, also joined the trend. He posted a Ghibli-style image of himself as Rafiki from The Lion King, holding up Doge like a future ruler. With his trademark humour, Musk called it the “Theme of the day,”
Theme of the day pic.twitter.com/2ioG0StAxL
March 26, 2025Indian business leaders also joined the trend, with Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma updating his profile picture to an AI-generated version.
#NewProfilePic pic.twitter.com/HgTXKHo1gH
March 26, 2025Even political figures got involved. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis posted a Ghibli-style illustration featuring his family alongside Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Fadnavis captioned it, “That's my #ghibli style entry. Technology just doesn't stop surprising us pleasantly!”
That's my #ghibli style entry 😀
March 27, 2025
Technology just doesn't stop surprising us pleasantly ! @narendramodi @fadnavis_amruta pic.twitter.com/r2vTqj61vOThe trend soon expanded beyond people, with some brands also joining in.
Airbus' Ghibli-inspired AI creation included an illustration of Beluga, the specialised wide-body airliner, nicknamed after the beluga whale, used to transport oversized aircraft components and cargo. Airbus captioned it, “Ghibli stories have always celebrated flight — its freedom, its elegance, its soul. So, obviously, our #BelugaXL had to join the trend.”
#Ghibli stories have always celebrated flight — its freedom, its elegance, its soul.
March 27, 2025
So, obviously, our #BelugaXL had to join the trend.
How do you see the Airbus Family in Ghibli? Share in comments! pic.twitter.com/TisShO4MDTIndia Post also shared its Ghibli-style illustrations featuring a man and a woman delivering mail, each carrying the red India Post bag.
ChatGPT delivered the best🫶#Ghibli #IndiaPost pic.twitter.com/bhSTJffUkV
March 27, 2025Create Ghibli-Style Images Using AI
OpenAI's Ghibli-style image generation is currently available only to paid subscribers of ChatGPT Plus, Pro and Team plans.
To create Ghibli-style images, follow these steps:
For ChatGPT Users (Plus & Free), open ChatGPT and ensure your software is updated to the latest version.
This feature is exclusive to ChatGPT Plus users, but ChatGPT-4o offers free access to image generation.
Click the three dots on the prompt bar.
Select ‘Image' (this option appears alongside ‘Canvas').
Describe the image you want, specifying details like clothing, background and mood.
Make sure to include “in Ghibli style” in your request.
If you prefer, you can upload an existing photo to be transformed into a Ghibli-style image.
Once your request is submitted, the AI will generate the image.
Download it and share it on your social media platforms.
Alternative AI Image Generators
Free alternatives like Grok and Gemini can also produce similar results. The outputs, though, may tend to differ. You can use other AI tools such as Midjourney or insMind to create Ghibli-like artwork.
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