ChatGPT vs Grok: Which is a better Ghibli Studio art image generator

Ghibli images

When it comes to generating Studio Ghibli-style images, both Grok and ChatGPT are able to produce good images, but ChatGPT does a much better job of staying true to the original scenes. If you compare their outputs, you'll notice that ChatGPT keeps things like character positions, clothing details, and even little patterns on fabrics almost exactly as they were in the original. Grok, on the other hand, gets the general vibe right but often changes things up quite a bit.

Grok, while still capable of making beautiful images, tends to rearrange things, moving characters around or altering the overall layout of the scene. This makes its versions feel a little off compared to the originals.

Another area where ChatGPT shines is with clothing details.While turning pictures into Ghibli images, ChatGPT pays attention to the intricate costume designs,patterns and textures. ChatGPT does a great job of mimicking these, while Grok struggles—often simplifying or completely changing the prints on the clothing. If you’re a big fan of Ghibli’s art style, this difference is pretty noticeable.

Then there’s the issue of character details, like hairstyles. ChatGPT manages to keep the looks of people. Grok, however, often changes hairstyles, sometimes so much that the characters don’t even look like themselves anymore. That can make its images feel less connected to the original films.

ChatGPT keeps the characters and objects where they belong, preserving the original scene's feeling. Grok tends to shuffle things around, which can change the whole mood and composition of the image.

The Ghibli trend got the GPUs of Grok and ChatGPT burning, and they handled the pressure quite differently. ChatGPT, while capable of producing high-quality images, slowed down significantly after generating 3-5 images, needing a ‘cooling down’ period before it could continue. Grok, on the other hand, was much faster at generating images but struggled with reliability—often displaying an error message about a ‘heavy load’ when the platform was overwhelmed. So while Grok wins in terms of speed, ChatGPT is the more dependable option when it comes to consistent output.

In an experiment where we asked both models to turn an image of a Shihtzu dog with a champagne glass in a Ghibli-style, the results were strikingly different. ChatGPT got the exact style—it transformed the dog into an anime-style character that looked like it was pulled straight from a Ghibli movie. Every detail, from the character's posture to the smooth, magical aesthetic, was on point. Grok, however, took a different approach. It presented the image in a more cartoonish, sketch-like style, which lacked the delicate, dream-like quality that is synonymous with Ghibli's animation. While Grok's version was still fun, it didn’t capture the essence of the Ghibli aesthetic as accurately as ChatGPT did.

Ghibli images

Overall, if you're looking for AI-generated Ghibli images that actually feel like they came from the films, ChatGPT is the better option. It stays true to the source material, while Grok takes more creative liberties that make its versions feel less accurate. If accuracy and detail matter to you, ChatGPT wins this round.