PixVerse Joins KAGAMI Gate IP Licensing PoC With Captain Tsubasa
PixVerse is participating in a proof-of-concept for KAGAMI Gate, a new infrastructure layer built to manage how intellectual property is licensed and tracked when it’s used in AI-generated video. The initiative launched alongside the opening of the FIFA World Cup 2026 and centers on one of the most recognized sports franchises in the world: Captain Tsubasa.
The PoC is led by KAGAMIAI Holdings Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of NEXYZ.Group Co., Ltd., in partnership with TSUBASA Co., Ltd., the company that manages the Captain Tsubasa IP. PixVerse’s role is to serve as the AI video generation platform where the system gets put into practice.
A Sports Manga With Global Reach
Yoichi Takahashi’s Captain Tsubasa has been running since 1981 and has sold more than 90 million copies across upwards of 20 languages, making it one of the defining sports franchises in manga history. Its footprint extends well beyond publishing sales.
Several professional footballers have described the series as part of what drew them to the sport in the first place. Fernando Torres has said the anime is what got him playing soccer as a kid, and Lukas Podolski has pointed to it as one of his biggest childhood inspirations. Andrés Iniesta has taken on an ambassador role for a Captain Tsubasa game title, and Hidetoshi Nakata has cited the series as central to his decision to go pro.
The franchise’s reach has only grown in the age of social platforms. Captain Tsubasa-related content on TikTok has passed 3.1 billion cumulative views, and tags tied to the character Tsubasa Ozora alone have crossed 1 billion. Manga Productions brought a reboot to Saudi Arabia, and a YouGov survey of Arab audiences found that a majority named the series their favorite anime.
Under this PoC, Captain Tsubasa’s characters and world become available for fans to use when generating original videos on PixVerse, marking one of the first times this IP has been opened up for AI-generated content in this way.
What KAGAMI Gate Is Built to Solve
As generative AI makes it trivially easy to recreate copyrighted characters and worlds, IP holders have had few good options beyond after-the-fact takedowns and legal enforcement. KAGAMI Gate (patent pending) is designed as a different kind of answer: a system that works more like a toll gate or an exchange, recording who is using a given piece of IP, under what terms, and at what scale, in real time rather than after the fact.
Rather than trying to police AI output after it’s already been created, the system is built to observe usage as it happens and apply generation controls that reflect the rights holder’s terms directly at the point of creation.
In this PoC, KAGAMI Gate monitors how Captain Tsubasa’s IP is used within PixVerse’s generation tools, giving TSUBASA Co., Ltd. visibility into usage volume and patterns. The same system also enforces boundaries set by the rights holder and original creator, including rules around commercial use, fan-content limits, and whether generated videos can be monetized elsewhere — giving PixVerse users a clear, permissioned way to create Captain Tsubasa content without legal ambiguity.
Why This Matters for PixVerse Users
For creators, this kind of licensing infrastructure is what makes it possible for major franchises to show up as officially sanctioned options inside PixVerse’s generation tools, rather than staying off-limits. It gives users a straightforward, sanctioned way to produce fan content tied to IP they care about, while giving rights holders the confidence to say yes.
PixVerse operates across more than 177 countries with over 100 million registered users, and its latest model has placed in the top tier of Artificial Analysis’ independent video generation rankings. Following its Series C round in March 2026, PixVerse reached unicorn status, a milestone tied to both its technical roadmap and its growing footprint in exactly this kind of large-scale creator ecosystem.
Looking Ahead
This PoC is an early step toward a broader framework for how AI platforms and IP holders can work together at scale. If it proves out, KAGAMI Gate’s model of real-time, transparent licensing could extend to other franchises looking for a structured way to enter AI video generation without losing control over how their characters are portrayed.
Fans curious about the Captain Tsubasa templates and creator challenge that followed this PoC on PixVerse can find more detail in the Related Resources below.