For decades, Studio Ghibli, the Japanese animation studio, has captivated audiences with its creations. 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.
Among the earliest to embrace the trend was OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who swapped his profile picture on X (formerly Twitter) for a Ghibli-style rendition of himself. An excerpt of his tweet read, “Wake up one day to hundreds of messages: ‘look I made you into a twink ghibli style haha’.”
Indian politicians and celebrities soon joined the trend and shared their Ghibli-inspired images.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also shared his Ghibli-inspired illustrations. The photos were shared from the government’s MyGov website. “Main character? No. He’s the whole storyline. Experience through New India in Studio Ghibli strokes,” it said.
Main character? No.
He’s the whole storylineExperience through New India in Studio Ghibli strokes.#StudioGhibli#PMModiInGhibli pic.twitter.com/bGToOJMsWU
— MyGovIndia (@mygovindia) March 28, 2025
Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar recreated 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.
The tweet read, “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
— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) March 27, 2025
Indian 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
— Vijay Shekhar Sharma (@vijayshekhar) March 26, 2025
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said he didn’t know what Ghibli was. Upon learning about it, he was “officially spirited away”.
I’ve been assimilated into the Ghibli trend! These are pics sent by my supporters and well-wishers. Didn’t even know what Ghibli was till now, but consider me officially Spirited Away by this newfound revelation! pic.twitter.com/teoIhC1p69
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) March 28, 2025
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis too posted a Ghibli-style illustration featuring his family alongside Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
He said, “That’s my #ghibli style entry. Technology just doesn’t stop surprising us pleasantly !”
That’s my #ghibli style entry ????
Technology just doesn’t stop surprising us pleasantly ! @narendramodi @fadnavis_amruta pic.twitter.com/r2vTqj61vO— Devendra Fadnavis (@Dev_Fadnavis) March 27, 2025
The trend soon expanded beyond people, with some brands also joining in.
India 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
— India Post (@IndiaPostOffice) March 27, 2025
Create 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.
