According to a statement from September 8, Konami has taken down two YouTube videos that used AI-generated commentary for Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship (WCS2025) duels. The videos were released in multiple languages as a trial for Konami’s AI live commentary project.
Prior to the deletion, suspicions arose that the AI model used for the Japanese language commentary was trained on the voice of popular voice actress and singer Hibiku Yamamura without her consent. On September 6, Yamamura herself commented on X, “the other day, I discovered videos where my voice was being used for AI-generated narration without my permission.” Although she did not openly cite any names, she is very likely referring to the videos published by Konami, given the circumstances. The voice actress said the ordeal made her “sad, frustrated and overwhelmed.” She got her agency involved in dealing with the issue.
Konami say they used the AI model Anneli, which is part of an open-source, commercial-use speech synthesis system called Aivis Project. In response to the suspected unauthorized learning, the company said it “respects all creators and has begun investigating the situation.” They assured users that none of the AI technology has been implemented in Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel yet.
Meanwhile, the original creator of Anneli has disclosed as of August 30 that the model was trained on Est Gealach Arnotts, an adult game character voiced by Yamamura Hibiku, without her or the game publisher’s permission. The website that distributes Aivis Project models, including Anneli, temporarily shut down as of September 8, while the company “investigates the facts.”
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