Japanese police arrest two people for selling AI generated “obscene” Evangelion posters 

Two men in Japan have been charged with violating Japan’s Copyright Act by creating and illegally selling AI-generated “obscene” posters of female characters from popular anime like Evangelion and Yu-Gi-Oh! (as reported by NTV). 

The two individuals used the same modus operandi, creating obscene posters of popular female anime characters using AI prompts and then selling posters of the images on online auction sites. It is believed that one of the offenders, a man from Yokohama, made around 10 million yen between May 2023 and March 2024, while the other, from Shiga, made approximately 5.7 million yen between July 2023 and April 2024. 

The two men have admitted to the charges, explaining that they did so to cover their living expenses. 

The sale of illegal merchandise is a significant problem for anime companies. Just last month, Studio Ghibli announced that they are cracking down on unofficial products that infringe on their copyright.