Yu-Gi-Oh! has spoken out against the White House using anime footage without permission in a pro-war video on social media.
As spotted by Japanese news site ITMedia, the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime’s official X account made a statement in both Japanese and English:
“It has come to our attention that a post on the White House’s official X account used footage from the anime series Yu-Gi-Oh. This was made without any authorization from the rights holder. Regarding this matter, no one associated with the manga or anime had any involvement, and no permission was granted for the use of this intellectual property.”
The tweet references a pro-war video posted by the White House X account on March 6 alongside the caption: “Justice the American Way.” Yu-Gi-Oh! main character Yugi Muto appears around the 37 second mark. However, he is far from the only intellectual property to appear in the video. It includes clips of many well-known movie and game characters saying iconic lines, including Mel Gibson in Braveheart and Tom Cruise in Top Gun. What appears to be war footage of explosions is inserted in-between these soundbites. As of March 11, the post has been viewed over 64 million times.
JUSTICE THE AMERICAN WAY. 🇺🇸🔥 pic.twitter.com/0502N6a3rL
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) March 6, 2026
This is the same video Master Chief voice actor Steve Downes spoke out against earlier this week. “Let me make this crystal clear: I did not participate in nor was I consulted, nor do I endorse the use of my voice in this video, or the message it conveys.” Downes said. “I demand that the producers of this disgusting and juvenile war porn remove my voice immediately.”
Using meme-like images and clips of popular franchises appears to be part of the White House’s current social media strategy. Last week, the White House posted another video promoting Operation Epic Fury against Iran, this time featuring CJ from Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Also this month, The Pokémon Company issued a statement objecting to the White House’s use of Pokémon in a political meme when it posted the cover of Pokémon Pokopia on March 5, with the game’s title replaced with “Make America Great Again.”
Starting off life as a manga created by Kazuki Takahashi in 1996, Yu-Gi-Oh! is a multimedia franchise consisting of anime, video games, and the physical Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game. It gained popularity outside Japan in the late 1999s and early 2000s, and retains a strong following today, with the TGC still getting new boosters. Over the past year, Konami has been uploading the new promotional anime series Yu-Gi-Oh! Card Game The Chronicles on Yu-Gi-Oh!’s official YouTube Channel, as well as livestreaming in-person TGC tournaments.
Photo by Daniel Knighton/Getty Images.
Verity Townsend is a Japan-based freelance writer who previously served as editor, contributor and translator for the game news site Automaton West. She has also written about Japanese culture and movies for various publications.
