What springs to mind when thinking of famous Hollywood movies featuring Artificial Intelligence (AI)? 2001: A Space Odyssey with its psychotic, murderous HAL 9000? The Terminator with Skynet’s skeletal, metal monstrosities crushing the feeble human resistance beneath their feet? The Matrix with its machine race keeping humans alive merely as fleshy battery packs? Not exactly fun, fluffy, feel-good tales about our silicon-brained chums.
So what about anime? AI is an integral theme in a wide variety of Japanese animated movies, OVAs, and TV shows, many of which are more upbeat and optimistic in tone compared to the mechanical horrors endemic in Western media. Recent anime like Sing a Bit of Harmony and The Orbital Children are a testament to the popularity and flexibility of stories featuring AI characters.
As with many other…
