Cyberpunk: Peach John – The First AI-Generated Manga
Cyberpunk: Peach John is the first manga created by an AI program. It was developed by a 37-year-old mangaka known as Rootport. On March 9, 2023, “Cyberpunk: Peach John” was officially published in Japan as a compiled volume, marking the debut of a comic book entirely generated by AI.
In the official manga release, Rootport included a detailed guide on how to create manga with AI. He stated that Cyberpunk: Peach John should be considered an “artistic work.”
In a recent email interview with CNN, Rootport discussed the impact of AI on the quality of comics and its potential to enhance the industry’s future.
Throughout the interview, Rootport explained that he completed the 100-page book, which includes color illustrations, in just seven days. Typically, a traditional mangaka would take nearly a year to finish a project of this scale. However, some illustrations in “Cyberpunk: Peach John” bear a resemblance to the works of Sui Ishida, the mangaka behind Tokyo Ghoul and Choujin X.
Rootport utilized AI tools such as DALL-E 2, Midjourney, Stable Diffusion, and Google Imagen to create his manga, with Midjourney being the primary tool used.
Rootport elaborated that one of the challenges he faced while using AI software was generating different facial expressions for characters. The AI had to learn how to recreate a character in various scenes and emotional states consistently. To differentiate the characters, Rootport assigned a unique trait to each character, such as distinctive hairstyles or clothing styles.
Another challenge was with hands, as AI often produces hands with too many fingers. Therefore, Rootport had to reduce the number of images featuring hands in his manga.
Ultimately, Rootport believes that AI could potentially replace traditional comic artists. He insists that while both humans and AI can generate images from data, humans possess the unique ability to interpret emotions and experiences, a quality that AI currently lacks. Thus, human involvement remains crucial in the creation of manga, as AI cannot produce a perfectly unique image independently.
Rootport is confident that AI can assist comic artists in saving time and reducing the workload due to its efficiency, allowing for a more focused creative process, thus potentially expanding and diversifying the comic industry.
Prior to the release of Cyberpunk: Peach John, there were many polarized opinions, with some expressing skepticism. Many hope that AI will not overshadow legendary manga and talented artists like Yuusuke Murata, Junji Ito, and Tatsuki Fujimoto.
