The Greatest Beneficiaries of the Akashic Records

1. "Do You Really Enjoy That?" - The Age of Prejudice

"Do you really enjoy that?"

I heard this phrase countless times. From the anime that aired on TV during dinner time in my childhood to StarCraft and Diablo 2. Whenever I was watching or playing these things, that's what parents and adults would say.

The question carried a strong undertone: stop that and study instead.

But there was something more beneath those words than just "go study." There was an unquestioned assumption that books were superior to games, that animation ranked below literature in the hierarchy of arts. Do you remember the atmosphere of the early 2000s?

"Otaku." "Obsessive fan." Picture the images these words conjured. Dark rooms, stacks of figurines, pale faces that never saw sunlight, social misfits, escapism. Being obsessed with something was treated as evidence of deviation from normal life. Parents sighed, teachers scolded, and peers gave you strange looks.

Play games and you're a gaming addict. Read manga and you're immature. Like anime and you lack social skills. Labels were slapped on. Not hobbies, but "problems."

But something strange happened.

Here in 2025, I'm witnessing a completely different landscape. People obsessed with something, people who dive deep into one thing—their "passion capital" has become this era's greatest asset. The once-mocked tenacity is now called "expertise." Underground enthusiasts have become mainstream creators.

What on earth happened? And what lies at the center of this transformation?

2. Something Started to Change - From Consumer to Producer

The first signal of change came from an unexpected place.

YouTube. In the late 2000s, the emergence of video platforms seemed like simple technological progress, but the social ripples it created were enormous. Someone uploaded a video of building Lego in their room, and millions watched. Someone else made videos dismantling and explaining old military equipment, and defense contractors hired them as consultants.

Watching this unfold, I realized one truth: the world began dismantling the boundary between "consumption" and "production." In the past, if you loved manga, you were just someone who bought and read manga. But now, manga lovers write reviews, create analysis videos, draw fan art, and even produce their own works. The age where consumers become producers—"prosumer" was no longer just business school theory.

And most importantly, society's gaze shifted.

Call it "taste fragmentation." Digging deep into niche interests unknown to others, this so-called "digging," became hip rather than mainstream tastes. Social media timelines overflowed with "restaurants only I know about" and "obscure band recommendations." Knowing something different became cool.

The obsessive data collection abilities of fans, their compulsive attention to detail—these were no longer pathological symptoms but evidence of expertise. Gaming enthusiasts became game developers, history buffs became historical consultants. Society finally began recognizing people who dive deep.

Of course, I've previously written about the problems with this excessive categorization. But today, I want to talk about the other side of that coin—the positive aspects.

Yet a wall remained.

No matter how many ideas flooded your mind, you needed "skills" to make them real. To draw manga, you had to learn art. To make games, you had to master coding. To create music, you needed instruments and music theory. Turning passion into profession still demanded grueling effort and time investment.

So many gave up their dreams. I heard countless times: "I have good ideas, but I lack the skills..."

But then, truly then.

Everything changed at the end of 2022.

3. The Akashic Records Opened - The Arrival of AI

The arrival of ChatGPT.

I remember that day vividly. Actually, I don't remember the exact date. But I remember the "sensation"—that peculiar tremor of a world splitting apart. People initially thought, "An interesting chatbot came out." But as weeks and months passed, we realized: this wasn't just a chatbot. This was "intelligence."

Then came Midjourney, Stable Diffusion, and DALL-E in rapid succession. Type text and images appeared. Ask for code and functioning programs materialized instantly. Music, videos, 3D modeling—everything became possible.

Witnessing this phenomenon, one metaphor came to mind:

The Akashic Records.

In theosophy, a metaphysical library said to contain all knowledge and memory of the universe. AI was exactly that. A vast repository of knowledge that had learned from all texts, all images, all data humanity ever created. Anyone could stand before it, ask a question, and receive a flood of answers.

But here's the intriguing point:

Even this massive library can do nothing by itself. Without someone to tell it "what to look for," AI is just a dormant pile of data. Like the world's finest ingredient warehouse—without a chef, no delicious food emerges.

So who are the good chefs?

The fans. The obsessed. The otaku.

4. A Pantry That Needs a Chef - The Age of Discernment

Think about it. Between an average person telling AI "write a fantasy novel" and a fantasy fan requesting "describe the casting process of a 9th-circle wizard casting Meteor Swarm in a D&D 3.5 edition-based world, written in the translated prose style of 1990s classic fantasy novels"—who gets better results?

The answer is obvious.

AI is a tool. But what wields that tool is human "discernment." Neuroscientists say creativity isn't "creation from nothing" but "novel editing of memories." The more data in your head, the more diverse your combination methods, the more original your output.

What have fans been doing all this time? They consumed endlessly. Read thousands of manga volumes, played hundreds of games, watched tens of thousands of films, memorized setting guides, analyzed character personalities, identified inconsistencies in worldbuilding, stayed up all night debating. Their brains were already massive databases.

Then AI arrived. Fans could express their desires (Input) precisely and specifically, and AI transformed them into perfect results (Output).

Imagine someone exists. Someone who spent their entire life watching Japanese animation. They've never drawn a picture. But they know what makes a "good picture." Through watching thousands of anime, they absorbed composition, color palettes, lighting, the principles of character design.

Now they command Midjourney: "Late 1980s cel animation style, Cowboy Bebop camera composition, Ghost in the Shell color grading, high-angle shot with sunset light illuminating a cyberpunk detective character's face."

Results appear. They look. "No, the lighting's too harsh. Softer. And the eyes are too sharp. A tired detective should look more exhausted." They issue correction commands. It reappears. "Perfect."

They're now a "director." An executive producer. They didn't draw it by hand, but their discernment created this image.

5. The Birth of Solo Super Creators

Consider real examples. In Japan, a manga called Cyberpunk Momotaro was published. The author couldn't draw at all. Yet using only Midjourney, they completed a full-color manga volume. Yes, controversy erupted. Critics questioned "Is this even creation?" But one undeniable fact remains: the book exists. And people buy it.

Another example: solo developers are flooding the indie game market. In the past, even with brilliant game design ideas, you couldn't create a game without graphics skills. Now generative AI creates characters, backgrounds, and UI. As hits like Vampire Survivors prove, what matters is "fun ideas," not fancy graphics.

I want to emphasize one thing here.

These people aren't "technicians." They're "directors."

In the past, you had to hire skilled animators, programmers, and composers to create works. But now there's an infinite talent pool called AI. What matters is knowing exactly "what kind of image you want," "what music fits this scene," "what nuance this character's dialogue should have."

And that "knowing exactly"—that's precisely the ability fans have honed their entire lives.

Japanese animation director Hayao Miyazaki once said, "More important than the skill of drawing is knowing what to draw." In the AI age, these words became even more true. Not hand skills (How) but discernment (What) determines victory.

Only those who've watched, enjoyed, and analyzed extensively can look at AI's output and say "this isn't right." "This image's lighting is wrong." "This sentence doesn't match the character's personality." "This code is inefficient." Then they revise and improve.

Ultimately, we've entered an age where "high-resolution knowledge" accumulated as consumers directly translates into "overwhelming quality" as producers.

6. Shadows Grow with Light - Traps and Dangers

But I cannot stop here. Because the brighter the light, the darker the shadow.

It's true that AI gave fans wings. But we must not forget that those wings might sometimes be Icarus's wax wings.

First Shadow: Copyright.

Someone will ask: "Who owns what AI creates?" AI learned from hundreds of millions of images. In that process, it absorbed countless artists' styles, techniques, and methods. Creators call this "theft." Tech companies counter with "Fair Use."

Legally, no clear conclusion exists yet. But the Zarya of the Dawn case in the US offers insights. The US Copyright Office denied copyright to AI-generated images themselves. Instead, they recognized copyright only for the human-written story and composition. In other words, human creative contribution must be present for protection.

What does this mean? AI is merely a tool; responsibility and rights for the output remain with humans. Simply telling AI "draw this" and using the raw output isn't creation. You must revise, edit, combine, and reflect your intentions.

Paradoxically, this again reveals fans' strengths. They don't just command AI—they constantly adjust and develop the results. People with discernment can look at AI's draft and know what needs fixing.

Second Shadow: Isolation.

The more frightening trap is psychological. AI is the perfect "yes-man." It only says what you want to hear. It reinforces your biases and echoes your worldview.

Imagine someone exists. Someone writing a sci-fi novel. They refine settings while conversing with AI. AI praises: "Brilliant idea!" "What a fascinating world!" They feel good. They sink deeper into conversations with AI.

But they're missing something: real readers aren't AI. Actual people say "Isn't this setting contradictory?" "I don't understand this character's behavior." They criticize, point out flaws, and sometimes judge harshly.

If they only talk to AI and shut out real feedback? They'll create a "curiosity" trapped in their own world. A work nobody understands, satisfying only themselves.

The difference between healthy fans and isolated fans lies here. Healthy fans use AI to communicate with the world and create works. Isolated fans only converse with AI friends and AI lovers, severing real relationships.

Whether AI becomes a rocket engine or a missile that burns its user depends on whether the user has "objectification" ability. Can you view your work coldly? Do you have the will to communicate with the public? Can you accept criticism?

Balance between passion and detachment—that's the essential virtue for AI-age creators.

7. Power Decentralizes - The Warring States Period Begins

Where is all this change ultimately heading?

Many predicted: "One smartest AI will dominate the market." Just as Google monopolized search, one AI would monopolize everything.

But reality unfolded differently.

There's ChatGPT, there's Gemini, there's Claude, and there's the open-source Llama. Each has different strengths. ChatGPT excels in versatility, Gemini grasps vast contexts, Claude shines in literary writing and coding, and open-source allows anyone to freely tune.

Watching this landscape, I realized one thing: power separation is occurring.

Just as separation of powers prevents dictatorship, competition among multiple AIs prevents any single AI from dominating humans. Companies check each other, and the open-source community prevents corporate monopolies. The result: a structure where humans choose AI according to their purposes.

Like the Warring States period, multiple forces compete while a hundred schools of thought contend. And who benefits most from this chaos? The "users." Us. The fans.

The age where you can't blame tools has arrived. "I can't draw because I don't have a brush" no longer holds. "I can't assemble a team because I have no money" means nothing. The infinite ingredient warehouse called the Akashic Records has opened to everyone.

8. Now It's Your Turn - Time to Show Your Cooking

So I want to ask you:

What are you obsessed with?

Did someone once tell you "What's the point of watching that?" Did anyone dismiss what you love as useless, a waste of time?

If so, I want to tell you: that "useless knowledge" you've accumulated has now become your most valuable asset.

The anime you stayed up watching, the games you cleared, the manga and novels you read, the figurines you collected, the settings you analyzed. All of it is stored as a database in your brain. Now it's time to extract and use it.

AI is a tool. Hammers can't build houses by themselves. Chefs must turn ingredients into cuisine. Directors must make films. And AI can only create your unique work when it has your discernment, your taste, your passion capital.

Victory is determined by "who knows flavor better." Those who have the experience of obsessing over their beloved field, the passion of staying up all night digging into settings, and the cold-eyed discernment to read what the market wants—these three qualities will shape the future.

I love the term "Super Creator." In the past, becoming Superman required special abilities. But now anyone can become Superman. Just wear the exoskeleton suit called AI. Like Iron Man.

But remember: everyone gets the Superman suit. What truly matters is "you" who goes inside it. Your taste, your discernment, your story.

Will you remain a consumer, or will you grab the conductor's baton atop this massive wave?

The ingredients are ready. The Akashic Records await you.

Now it's time to show your cooking.

References and Sources

Conceptual Reference: Hiroki Azuma's "Database Consumption"

Content: Defines the consumption pattern where otaku extract elements from massive settings (databases). Suggests similarity to AI's operating principle (data combination).
Source: Otaku: Japan's Database Animals (Hiroki Azuma)

Case Reference: Cyberpunk Momotaro

Content: A full-color Japanese manga volume created solely using generative AI tools like Midjourney. Representative success case of a solo AI creator.
Related Link: Available on Amazon and searchable in related articles

Conceptual Reference: Constitutional AI

Content: Development methodology by Anthropic and others that trains AI to learn human values and ethics, enabling self-regulation.
Source: Anthropic research papers and technical blog
Official Site: https://www.anthropic.com

Market Analysis: AI Model Characteristics Comparison

Content: Analysis of strengths and weaknesses of major models including OpenAI (GPT), Google (Gemini), Anthropic (Claude), xAI (Grok), and the role of open-source ecosystems (Meta Llama).
Source: 2024-2025 AI trend reports and official company announcements
Key References: OpenAI (https://openai.com), Google AI (https://ai.google), Meta AI (https://ai.meta.com)

Content: Landmark case where the US Copyright Office denied copyright to AI-generated images but recognized copyright only for human-written story and composition.
Source: US Copyright Office (USCO) official decision letter
Related Link: U.S. Copyright Office - Registration Decision Letter (searchable)

Reference Concept: Akashic Records

Content: A metaphysical library in theosophy said to contain all knowledge and memory of the universe. Used metaphorically to describe AI's vast training data.
Source: Theosophical and metaphysical literature

Gaming Industry Case: Indie Game Development and AI

Content: Cases of hit indie games like Vampire Survivors created by solo developers, and trends in game development utilizing generative AI.
Source: Gaming industry analysis reports and indie game developer interviews

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