One of the original VTubers Kizuna AI has returned, and with a brand new model!

Kizuna AI originally debuted in 2016 and helped to pioneer the existing standards of the VTuber community. In the years since she debuted, she remains one of the most recognized VTubers but over the past few years has had some difficulties.

Her anime project Kizuna no Allele had an ill-fated tie in with NFTs which at the time were on their way out after their brief period of popularity. Meanwhile her original voice actress Kasuga Nozomi stepped away from the character in 2022, causing Kizuna AI to go on an indefinite hiatus.

It’s unclear at the present if Nozomi has returned to voice Kizuna AI, obfuscated in part by the kayfabe that’s expected of VTubers. Though in our opinion it does sound like her.

You can check out Kizuna AI’s return video below.

AI’s new model appears smoother and more responsive than ever before, tracking arm and head movements in a way that wasn’t as common just a few years prior.

In the years since, VTuber agencies such as hololive have established their dominance in the industry, and it seems like to keep pace, AI plans to focus on her singing. She’s aiming for ten songs and a concert this year.