Publisher Shueisha unveiled a unique new addition to its offices: an AI receptionist with the voice and appearance of One Piece's Monkey D. Luffy.
Twitter use @moritsuu, who is a Shueisha employee, showed off a video of Luffy on his first day on the job. The Luffy AI can perform a number of front desk tasks, including welcoming visitors to the building, helping them sign in for appointments, and providing them with directions. Similar to the voice assistants you'd find on a modern smart gadget, the Luffy AI doesn't use pre-recorded lines to talk, but uses AI synthesized speech to mimic the voice and speech patterns of Mayumi Tanaka, who has voiced the character ever since the One Piece anime's 1999 debut. Shueisha says the AI receptionist is currently only available to employees and visitors who have official business within its headquarters, though the company is planning to give the public a chance to interact with Luffy at some point in the future.
「AIルフィ」は約1年半くらい前から開発を進めていたもので、尾田先生の許諾はもちろん、DeNA&セコムの開発の元、東映アニメーション、声優の田中真弓さんにご協力を頂き、実現しました！
— もりみちはる (@moritsuu) March 24, 2022
実験はせっかくなので集英社でやってみようぜ！となり、総務部をはじめノリノリで手伝ってくれました。いい会社 pic.twitter.com/XgUVoKcbrs
Luffy has some extra time on his hands to take on the new receptionist gig, as the One Piece anime is currently on hiatus. The next new episode in the series was indefinitely delayed following a hacking incident at studio Toei Animation on March 6; an unauthorized third-party accessed the company's online infrastructure, prompting a shut down of the studio's private networks and substantial delays to the production of several of its most popular properties. In addition to shows like One Piece and Digimon: Ghost Game, the hack has also pushed back the release of Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, which was originally planned to premiere in Japan this April, with a North American release following this summer.
The Toei Animation hack does not appear to have affected production of One Piece Film: Red, the latest animated movie in the franchise. The series' producers recently unveiled a first look at the new, extra-piratey costumes that the Straw Hat crew will wear during the new film, which is scheduled to be released in Japan on Aug. 6. The movie sees Luffy and friends traveling to a new island to take part in a music festival.
The series' producers are also teasing a major new announcement for the series on March 28. The official Twitter account has shared a number of photos that provide cryptic hints as to what the new reveal might be. The photos include a photo of Cape Town, South Africa, where Netflix is currently filming its live-action reboot of the series. Series creator Eiichiro Oda is serving as the new show's executive producer.
Source: Twitter
