What is Twins Hinahima? Everything you need to know about Japan's first AI anime

On Mar 28, 2025, Japan's first AI anime, Twins Hinahima, was released nationwide. As already mentioned, the anime used artificial intelligence as its central means of animating. The anime was only released on Japanese TV channels, as no international streaming service bought the rights to stream the anime.

With only two voice actors and some staff members, the AI anime was aired to reduce the burden on Japanese animators. Animated by KaKa Technology Studio, the anime utilized different software like Clip Studio Paint to deliver a single episode of 24 minutes, telling the tale of two girls trying to become viral on the internet.

Twins Hinahima: What is Japan's first AI anime, and how was it produced?

Hinana and Himari as seen in the anime (Image via KaKa Technology Studio)

On December 12, 2024, Frontier Works (one of Japan's biggest production companies) and KaKa Creation registered a website for Japan's first AI anime series, Twins Hinahima. Based on a Japanese TikTok user of the same name, the anime tells the tale of two girls trying to go viral on the internet using their dance videos.

However, with the passing time, they realize something eerie about their videos. The anime series is animated by the animation studio KaKa Technology Studio (the first anime project). The entire voice casting consists of two voice actors: Yurie Igoma (Ruby Hoshino from Oshi no Ko) as Hinana and Sae Hiratsuka (Akina from Bottom-Tier Character Tomozaki) as Himari.

As already stated, Twins Hinahima used artificial intelligence, which the anime's production teams term as 'Supportive AI,' for the majority of its production. However, the entire anime was compiled by a small group of staff members. The studio used real-life pictures as a base and diversified them into creating an anime using software like Clip Studio Paint and some Adobe software.

Beni Nakano (first role as a staff member) is Twins Hinahima anime's director, Takumi Yokota (character designer of Warlords of Sigrdrifa) as the character designer, and Kujra Yumemi (music composer of Kubo Won't Let Me Be Invisible) as the music composer, and Yuu Shinada (first role as a staff member) as the scriptwriter.

The additional staff members include Naomichi Iizuka (first role as a staff member) as producer, Yousuke Kouda (key animator of Call of the Night) as the key animator, and Masayoshi Ozawa (first role as a staff member) as the director of photography.

The anime voice cast performed Twin Hinahima anime's opening song, titled Augment Day!, and Japanese female singer CHiCO (opening theme songs for Ao Haru Ride and Rent-a-Girlfriend) performed the ending song, titled 6:00 PM. The anime aired on Mar 28, 2025, with a singular episode spanning 24 minutes.

Where to watch Twins Hinahima

Twins Hinahima episode 1 was aired on three Japanese TV channels, including TOKYO MX (on March 28), MBS (on March 29), and BS Nippon Television (on March 30). However, as of this article's publication, no international streaming service has licensed the anime for a worldwide airing, meaning that the anime has only aired in Japan.

Twins Hinahima: Reception among the fans

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The anime is currently rated 4.95/10 on MyAnimeList and 4.5/10 on IMDb, with one anime database, AniList, rejecting the idea of adding an 'AI anime' to their database. Despite the anime's claim to bring innovation into the anime industry through the use of AI, the majority of the fandom criticized the animation.

According to the fans, the anime had no storyline, claiming that it put animation sequences together without the purpose of pleasing the fandom and only to create a motion picture. Moreover, some also claimed that the CGI used in the anime was borderline ridiculous, declaring that there was no love put into the anime series (presumably due to the use of artificial intelligence).

Final thoughts

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Where China is creating extravagant animation series like To Be Hero X to bring the innovative concept of mixed 2D and 3D animation, Twins Hinahima is bringing the use of artificial intelligence to make everything look like a computerized motion picture.

This might be a key reminder of the words of Masao Maruyama (co-founder of studio Madhouse and the founder of studio MAPPA and studio M2), who claimed that China might take over Japan in the anime industry because Japanese animators no longer show the desire to challenge themselves to create amazing anime series.

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About the author

Umer is an anime and manga expert at Sportskeeda with a Bachelor's degree in Industrial Biotechnology. He chose to deviate from his original career path due to his love for anime, and wishes to encourage more people to experience the genre through his work. He has previously worked at niche anime-centered media website Anime Senpai for around 1.5 years.

Umer believes in cross-checking facts with official sources and strives to produce well-rounded articles through thorough research. He is a fan of anime series like 'Made in Abyss,' 'One Piece,' and 'Clannad,' and also loves indulging in manga including 'Monster,' 'Yotsubato!,' and any series by Junji Ito. He admires 'One Piece' author Eiichiro Oda and is inspired by how he intricately weaves a narrative and seamlessly connects loose links.

Apart from immersing himself in a wide array of anime and manga, Umer also collects physical copies of manga series to support his favorite authors. When he's not working, he enjoys reading classic literature and watching soccer.

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Edited by Bharath S