How is that different than a human artist using their eyes to look at some Ghibli art, taking inspiration from the style, and making a unique drawing or painting with the same style? Artists take inspiration from and copy the style of other artists all the time. If I had the ability to copy the style of Leonardo da Vinci and if I made a painting of my daughter posing like the Mona Lisa on a street in New York, would I be counterfeiting the Mona Lisa? Same style, same pose, different character different backdrop, inspired by the original but not a copy of the original.
How is that different than a human artist using their eyes to look at some Ghibli art, taking inspiration from the style, and making a unique drawing or painting with the same style? Artists take inspiration from and copy the style of other artists all the time. If I had the ability to copy the style of Leonardo da Vinci and if I made a painting of my daughter posing like the Mona Lisa on a street in New York, would I be counterfeiting the Mona Lisa? Same style, same pose, different character different backdrop, inspired by the original but not a copy of the original.
It’s different because it’s directly referencing the original.
It’s different because it hurts their feelings.