Technology

Iconic photos turned into anime images go viral: the best around and other AI styles

A flood of Studio Ghibli anime–styled recreations of famous photos is sweeping social media, but not everyone can get ChatGPT to do it.

IMAGEN CREADA POR INTELIGENCIA ARTIFICIAL

Calum Roche

Sports-lover turned journalist, born and bred in Scotland, with a passion for football (soccer). He’s also a keen follower of NFL, NBA, golf and tennis, among others, and always has an eye on the latest in science, tech and current affairs. As Managing Editor at AS USA, uses background in operations and marketing to drive improvements for reader satisfaction.

Update: Mar 27th, 2025 04:43 EDT

When you hear Studio Ghibli, you probably think Totoro, Spirited Away, or something with a floating island. But this week, that unmistakable art style has been cropping up in a different, weirder place: famous photographs turned into anime scenes with eerie precision.

Studio Ghibli images meet ChatGPT

Users across X, Reddit, and Instagram have been uploading these whimsical re-imaginings: the moon landing rendered like a Miyazaki daydream, The Godfather cast recast with soft lighting and oversized eyes, or the JFK motorcade transformed into something almost... sweet? It’s part surrealism, part nostalgia, and fully viral.

The latest version of ChatGPT, which includes a major update to its image generation tool, has sparked this flood. OpenAI’s new release boosts its handling of image prompts—offering sharper detail, better consistency across styles, and more nuanced compositions. The anime filter has been around for a while, but it’s these upgrades that appear to have unlocked a new level of creativity.

Here’s a selection of some of our favorites (how many do you recognize?) followed by recreations in other styles: