Kenjiro Tsuda—the man behind Kento Nanami in Jujutsu Kaisen—took TikTok to court. The reason? The platform allowed users to clone his voice using artificial intelligence without his consent.
If you’ve ever heard Tsuda speak, you know why this matters. His baritone doesn’t just fill a room—it rearranges the furniture. Distinctive in the way a perfectly tailored suit is distinctive. You could pick it out of a lineup blindfolded.
TikTok’s Defence: “Generic Male Voice”
Here is where it gets absurd. TikTok’s legal team stood before a Tokyo court and argued that the AI-cloned version of Tsuda’s voice was merely a “generic male voice.”
According to their logic:
- Content creators weren’t hitching a ride on Tsuda’s fame
- They were simply seeking a “serious and universal tone” to narrate publications
- The AI voice allegedly does not imitate the celebrity at all
That’s like saying someone didn’t wear a replica of the Crown Jewels to look regal—they just had a sudden craving for generic, universal sparkle.
They are trying to convince the judge that having one of the most imposing and unmistakable voices in the Japanese animation industry is something completely common and ordinary.
The Community Saw Through It Immediately
The wave of outrage on Japanese forums was instant. Fans called the excuse absurd. The real danger here isn’t just about one actor’s likeness—it’s a blueprint for legal anarchy.
If this defence holds, it doesn’t just open a loophole. It throws the entire door off its hinges. It creates a precedent where anyone’s voice—a singer’s, a narrator’s, your own—could be scraped, synthesised, and monetised as generic
by a platform that profits from the familiarity while disavowing the source.
The Evidence TikTok Wants Ignored
Tsuda’s legal team presented user comments where people instantly recognised his tone in the AI videos—calling it out as Nanami’s voice without prompting.
TikTok brushed it aside. It’s like presenting a signed painting to a court and having the defence say: Lots of people use blue.
Why This Case Changes Everything
This is now a bellwether for creative labour in the age of synthesis. It’s less about a single lawsuit and more about defining what part of a person can be considered unique, ownable, and worthy of protection in the digital sphere.
With AI algorithms becoming increasingly accurate at replicating real people, the stakes are enormous:
- A terrifying legal loophole could emerge
- Anyone could train algorithms with celebrity voices for commercial projects or adult content
- Creators would receive zero royalties
- The entire voice-acting industry sits on the edge of its seat
The Questions That Linger
If a voice this singular can be legally labelled “generic,” what does that mean for the concept of uniqueness in our own work and identity?
Where should the line be drawn between technological innovation and the preservation of an individual’s artistic signature?
Ultimately, who gets to be the judge of what is common—the artist, the audience, or the corporation that profits from the imitation?
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