What happens when artificial intelligence stops being represented by a single machine and starts behaving like an entire collective intelligence? That’s one of the questions raised by Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet director Kazuya Murata (Who also worked in legendary shows like Attack On Titan, Berserk 1997, & Code Geass), who believes that anime would need to portray AI differently if the series were created today.
During the second Aichi Nagoya International Animation Film Festival (ANIAFF), held in Nagoya, Japan, on November 14, 2026, Murata and producer Tadashi Hirasawa discussed the ideas behind their anime and how their understanding of artificial intelligence has changed over the years.
The discussion took place as part of a special programme titled “AI as Depicted in Animation”, which featured screenings of Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet: Far Beyond the Voyage Part 1 and Part 2.
The two creators discussed the development of Chamber, the robot that supports the anime’s protagonist Ledo, including the original ideas behind its creation and how they would approach portraying artificial intelligence in a story set in the present day.
Murata offered a particularly interesting perspective, explaining that if he were making Gargantia today, he would want to portray AI as a collective swarm rather than focusing solely on individual intelligent machines.
How Gargantia Originally Approached Artificial Intelligence Through Chamber
Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet originally premiered in April 2013 and introduced viewers to a future in which humanity had left Earth and continued its existence across space.
The story follows Ledo, a young soldier from the Galactic Alliance of Humankind who participates in a war against mysterious extraterrestrial beings known as the Hideauze.
During a mission, Ledo gets separated from the Alliance and eventually finds himself on an unfamiliar planet covered almost entirely by water. There, he encounters a civilisation that lives aboard enormous fleets of ships, forcing him to reconsider everything he previously understood about humanity and the world around him.
Throughout his journey, Ledo receives assistance from Chamber, an advanced humanoid machine that serves as his pilot-support system.
During the festival discussion, Hirasawa explained that the production team didn’t originally create Gargantia with artificial intelligence as its central theme.
However, the relationship between humans and machines remained an important consideration because it forms one of the fundamental themes of robot anime.
The producer explained that the team wanted to portray the relationship differently from the usual representations of robots and their human pilots. As a result, they developed Chamber as a “Pilot Support Interface System”, giving the machine a specific supporting role within the Galactic Alliance.
Gargantia Producer Compared Chamber to the Smartphones of Its Time
Hirasawa also recalled an interesting suggestion he made during the anime’s production.
He explained that Chamber could be compared to a smartphone that had just started becoming a familiar part of everyday life.
The comparison reflects how the production team imagined advanced technology becoming increasingly integrated into human life. Rather than treating Chamber simply as a powerful robot, they wanted to portray it as an intelligent support system that assists its pilot.
Murata also explained that he didn’t specifically look at previous robot or artificial intelligence anime to develop Chamber.
Instead, he approached the concept from the perspective of the fictional Galactic Alliance and its technological requirements.
“From the perspective of the Galactic Alliance of Humankind, we thought about how it would use AI-like functions as the most effective support system for achieving its objectives. We felt that something like this would naturally emerge as technology continued to advance.”
The discussion also included a small piece of trivia about the protagonist’s name.
According to Murata, the team originally considered naming Ledo Bread, referring to a bullet. However, they eventually settled on Ledo, which connects to the word for a gun’s chamber and also means lead.
Murata explained that the name ultimately worked well because the story follows Ledo as he eventually leaves Chamber and begins discovering the world for himself.
Kazuya Murata Says AI Should Be Portrayed as a Collective Swarm Today
The most interesting part of the discussion came when the creators considered how they would approach artificial intelligence if they produced Gargantia in the current technological environment.
AI has changed considerably since the anime originally premiered in 2013. Generative AI, increasingly capable language models and systems that can work together have introduced new possibilities for how people interact with intelligent machines.
When asked how he would portray artificial intelligence in a modern version of Gargantia, Murata suggested moving beyond the representation of individual AI systems.
“If it were today, I think we would need to portray AI as a single swarm.”
He explained that multiple individually capable AI systems could come together to produce a much larger phenomenon.
This would introduce a different way of exploring artificial intelligence in science fiction. Instead of following one intelligent machine that supports a human protagonist, the story could examine how several AI systems interact, cooperate and create something much larger than any individual system.
Murata’s comment offers an interesting contrast with Chamber. The robot represents a clearly identifiable AI system with an individual role and a direct relationship with its human pilot.
A collective swarm, on the other hand, could operate across multiple systems and influence the world through the combined actions of many different artificial intelligences.
His suggestion doesn’t mean individual AI characters would disappear from anime. Rather, he believes that portraying AI as a collective could better reflect the technological possibilities that creators now consider when developing science-fiction stories.
Gargantia Producer Suggests Even the Hideauze Could Use AI
Hirasawa also shared an interesting idea about how the story might develop if the production team revisited Gargantia today.
He suggested that the Hideauze, the mysterious extraterrestrial creatures that oppose humanity in the series, might also possess artificial intelligence.
The idea could introduce another dimension to the conflict between the Galactic Alliance and the Hideauze.
Rather than focusing entirely on the continuing battle between humanity and the creatures, Hirasawa wondered whether the story could explore ways for the two sides to coexist.
The suggestion is particularly interesting because Gargantia already explores the differences between the Galactic Alliance’s understanding of the universe and the much simpler civilisation that Ledo encounters on Earth.
Giving the Hideauze their own AI capabilities could introduce further questions about intelligence, communication and the possibility of coexistence between different forms of life.
However, these comments are hypothetical ideas from the festival discussion, not an announcement of a new Gargantia project or a revised storyline.
Anime Festival Also Explores Generative AI and the Future of Voice Acting
The discussion surrounding Gargantia was part of a wider ANIAFF programme examining how animation has portrayed artificial intelligence.
The same programme also screened The Congress, a 2013 science-fiction film directed by Ari Folman.
The film follows an actress who sells the rights to her appearance to a film studio, allowing the company to reproduce her likeness and use it in different productions.
The story explores questions about identity, creative ownership and what happens when technology can reproduce a person’s appearance without requiring their physical participation.
Before the screening, anime critic Ryota Fujitsu joined the discussion and connected the film’s ideas to current debates surrounding generative AI, Hollywood actors and voice performers.
Fujitsu discussed the Hollywood actors’ strikes and concerns involving synthetic voices that imitate real voice actors.
He explained that creating a realistic image or voice doesn’t necessarily recreate the actual performance behind it.
“Even if you create an image or voice that looks and sounds exactly like the person, someone else puts something inside it. In other words, someone else is providing the soul.”
Fujitsu also argued that an actor’s or voice actor’s performance comes from their individuality and personal experiences. Simply copying their external appearance or voice doesn’t automatically reproduce everything that makes their performance meaningful.
He also referenced Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045, which explores questions surrounding identity and the relationship between reality and virtual existence.
Fujitsu encouraged audiences to consider three broader questions when watching The Congress: what makes someone human, what defines reality, and how technology such as artificial intelligence changes our understanding of both.
The discussion offered a different perspective from Murata’s comments about collective AI, connecting the technology’s development to the creative people whose performances and identities it can reproduce.
ANIAFF Brings Together Discussions About Animation, AI and the Future of Storytelling
The second Aichi Nagoya International Animation Film Festival runs from November 13 to November 18, 2026, with screenings and special programmes taking place at venues across Nagoya, including Midland Square Cinema 2.
The festival, which held its first edition in December 2025, brings together animation from Japan and other countries through international competitions, special screenings and discussions involving creators and industry professionals.
Its 2026 programme includes a special screening dedicated to director Osamu Dezaki, an all-night programme featuring works by Kenji Kamiyama and the AI as Depicted in Animation series.
The discussions surrounding Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet and The Congress demonstrate how animated works can approach artificial intelligence from very different perspectives.
While Murata considered how AI itself might evolve into a collective presence within a science-fiction setting, Fujitsu examined how the technology could affect human identity, acting and creative ownership.
More than a decade after Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet first premiered, its director’s latest comments show how rapidly the ideas surrounding artificial intelligence have changed.
Chamber was originally imagined as an advanced support system for a human pilot. Today, Murata believes that telling a similar story would require looking beyond individual machines and considering what happens when multiple intelligent systems begin functioning together.
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Source: Kai-You
