Level-5's VISION 2026 II showcase on September 10 triggered immediate scrutiny when fans compared trailers for Yo-kai Watch 2: Haunted Domain against the prior day's Nintendo Direct footage, flagging inconsistencies in backgrounds, character models, and details like telephone lines, vending machines, and bicycle brake levers as hallmarks of generative AI. The studio's CEO Akihiro Hino quickly confirmed on X that the presentation incorporated experimental AI processing to make visuals more spectacular, while insisting core game elements like story and character designs remain human-created and that AI serves only to digitize artist work for efficiency gains toward shorter development cycles. A September 17 follow-up statement expanded the damage control, blaming some flagged anomalies on human errors that resembled AI artifacts, promising corrected trailers for Tokyo Game Show, and pledging to restrict future AI use in public-facing videos while claiming no direct AI in released game content. Community reactions on X and Reddit show widespread skepticism, with users arguing the apologies sidestep ethical concerns around training data and trust erosion rather than committing to transparency. The episode highlights how even acknowledged limited AI experiments can poison fan perception when they coincide with rushed marketing assets and shifting character models between deadlines.