Kasane Teto

In this Japanese name, the surname is Kasane. "Teto" redirects here. For other uses, see Teto (disambiguation).

Kasane Teto
Developers
Initial release1 April 2008 (2008-04-01)
Engines
Available in
  • Japanese
  • English
TypeVirtual singer
LicenseProprietary
Websitekasaneteto.jp
First appearanceUTAU
Designed bySen (線)
Voiced byOyamano Mayo
In-universe information
Full name重音テト (Kasane Teto)
GenderChimera[a]

Kasane Teto (Japanese: 重音テト, pronounced [kasane teꜜto]) is a virtual singer with a voicebank for UTAU, a singing voice synthesizer software. The character was initially created as a joke for April Fools' Day 2008 on the Japanese textboard 2channel,[† 2] but she was later made into an actual voicebank in the same year. Teto has been introduced as a "diva born from a hoax".[1]

Along with the UTAU voicebank, Kasane Teto was released as a voice model in 2021 for TALQu,[† 3] a text-to-speech software developed by Haruqa Software, in 2023 for Synthesizer V AI,[2] in 2025 for VOICEPEAK,[3] a text-to-speech software developed by AH-Software, and in 2025 for Synthesizer V 2 AI.[† 4]

Character

Kasane Teto is officially stated to be 31 years old. In her earliest design, she was 159.5 cm (5 ft 2.8 in) tall and weighed 47 kg (104 lb; 7 st 6 lb). She is listed as liking baguettes (which she is frequently depicted with in fanart) and having a tsundere personality.[† 5]

History

Creation

Kasane Teto's origins come from 2channel, a Japanese bulletin board. In 2008, a group of users devised a plan to make a fake Vocaloid character. Character names, hairstyles, genders, ages, likes, dislikes, special skills, and other traits were randomly selected from among the suggestions of 2channel users and consolidated into a single character, which would be shown as a prank for April Fools' Day. On 6 April 2008, she appeared for the first time on video, and on 13 April 2008, the first voicebank for Teto was released, with Oyamano Mayo as the voice provider. The first song using her voice was released on 1 June 2008.[4][† 5]

The rights holders who provided the character design and voice of Kasane Teto established the circle "TWINDRILL" in 2009 to promote and manage the character. Although Kasane Teto was a parody character of Crypton Future Media's series of Vocaloid singers, Twindrill organised the rights and established a cooperative relationship with Crypton from 2009 to 2010. Since 2010, Crypton has been the point of contact for commercial use.[1]

2010s and 2020s

Teto continued to make an impact on the Vocaloid community, with many songs being released. In 2012, a DLC pack for Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA F featured her.[5] In 2013, she appeared as a part of Hatsune Miku's act in the Sapporo Snow Festival.[6]

Synthesizer V

For the 15th anniversary of Teto on 1 April 2023, Japanese software developer AH-Software announced they would be partnering with Twindrill and Crypton Future Media to produce a Synthesizer V AI voice database for the character, its first full commercial release. On 3 April 2023, Kasane Teto AI version 104 was announced. For the occasion, a significant redesign was made, giving Teto a new outfit to stand apart from being a Hatsune Miku parody. The deep learning technology in Synthesizer V made use of singing from the voice provider rather than concatenative phoneme samples like UTAU. This allowed for cleaner, more natural synthesis and various features such as "vocal modes" for expression and the ability to sing in any language that Synthesizer V AI supports via "cross-lingual synthesis". Synthesizer V AI Kasane Teto was released on 27 April 2023, and has received frequent updates.[4][7] A limited "lite" voice database for the same software was released soon after on 8 May 2023, available for free download.

On 30 October 2025, AH-Software announced a Kasane Teto voice database for Synthesizer V 2 AI, which was released on 27 November 2025.[† 4]

VOICEPEAK

For Teto's 17th anniversary on 1 April 2025, AH-Software announced an adaptation of Kasane Teto's voice for their VOICEPEAK Japanese text-to-speech software, which was released shortly after on 24 April 2025.[3]

Voicebanks

Language Release Software
Japanese[8] 1 June 2008 UTAU
English[8] N/a
Multilingual[4] 27 April 2023 Synthesizer V
Japanese[3] 24 April 2025 VOICEPEAK
Multilingual 27 November 2025 Synthesizer V 2

Reception

Despite not being a Vocaloid character, Kasane Teto has gained popularity among Vocaloid and UTAU fans.[9] Within six months of her release, more than 500 videos with the "Kasane Teto" tag were published on Niconico, and the song "Uso no utahime" (Japanese: 嘘の歌姫, transl. "A Fake Diva") featuring Kasane Teto reached 100,000 views, entering the Vocaloid Hall of Fame.[10] According to stats from the 2025 Music Awards Japan, 5 out of the top 10 most popular Vocaloid tracks in Japan featured Kasane Teto, notably surpassing Hatsune Miku who was featured in 3. Among songs nominated for the 2025 Best Vocaloid Culture Song award, Teto was the second most used voice behind Miku.[11] Tetoris by Hiiragi Magnetite reached 105 million views, being the first and only solo Kasane Teto song to reach over 100 million views on YouTube.[12]

Notable songs

Charted songs with vocals by Kasane Teto
Title Artist Year Peak chart positions YouTube views Ref.
JPN
Hot 		JPN
Niconico Vocaloid
"Override" Yoshida Yasei 2023 75 1 92M [13][4]
"Mesmerizer" Satsuki / 32ki 2024 65 1 172M [14][15]
"Tetoris" Hiiragi Magnetite 35 1 105M [16][17]
Kasane Teto songs with awards and nominations
Awards Category Song Artist Year Result Ref.
2025 Music Awards Japan Best Vocaloid Culture Song "Override" Yoshida Yasei 2023 Nominated [11][18]
"Igaku" Sasuke Haraguchi 2024
"Mesmerizer" Satsuki / 32ki
"Tetoris" Hiiragi Magnetite

Other media

Kasane Teto has appeared in many different media, such as in Sega's music game franchise Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA, becoming a promotional character for Hokkaido Broadcasting, having Nendoroid and other plastic figures from Good Smile Company, performing with Nakamura Shidō II on the Kabuki stage, and having novel adaptations.[10]

Notes

  1. ^ Teto's gender, like most of her attributes, was chosen at random from suggestions on 2channel. It is unclear if this is her actual gender, or if it is referring to her species. According to TwinDrill, she is generally seen as a female due to her appearance and voice; however, there are no plans to change the official setting.[† 1]

References

  1. ^ a b Takigawa, Kyoko (27 April 2023). 嘘から生まれた歌姫 ｢重音テト｣ パロディが ｢本物｣の商業ソフトになるまで...歩んだ15年 [Born from a lie, the past 15 years have seen "Kasane Teto" shift from being a fake parody of a diva to being commercial software] (in Japanese). J-Cast, Inc. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
  2. ^ 誕生から15年, 多くの方に愛されたあのキャラクターがAI歌声データベースに! ｢Synthesizer V AI 重音テト｣ 2023年4月27日発売 [Born 15 years ago and loved by many, character「Synthesizer AI Kasane Teto｣ added to Vocaloid Database: goes on sale on 27 April 2023.] (in Japanese). AHS Co. Ltd. 3 April 2023. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
  3. ^ a b c 大人気キャラクターがトークソフトで登場！ 入力文字読み上げソフト『VOICEPEAK 重音テト』4/24発売！ [Popular character appears in voice software! Text-to-speech software 'VOICEPEAK Kasane Teto' to be released on April 24!] (in Japanese). AHS Co. Ltd. 1 April 2025. Retrieved 1 April 2025.
  4. ^ a b c d "Japan's Vocaloid Scene: Top Trend for the First Half of 2024 Is 'Room for Interpretation'". Billboard. Penske Media Corporation. 13 September 2024.
  5. ^ Sahdev, Ishaan (6 November 2012). "Hatsune Miku: Project Diva f DLC Adds "Unofficial" Vocaloids Neru, Haku And Teto". Siliconera. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  6. ^ Loo, Egan (3 February 2013). "Snow Miku Revealed for Sapporo Snow Festival 2013". Anime News Network. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  7. ^ Bueno, Daniel (4 April 2023). "Kasane Teto Synthesizer V Vocaloid Voice Arrives in April". Siliconera. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  8. ^ a b "UTAU sound source download" UTAU音源ダウンロード [UTAU Voicebank] (in Japanese). Twindrill. Retrieved 1 July 2025.
  9. ^ 日経新聞 社説でJASRACを皮肉る [Nikkei Shimbun editorial satorises JASRAC]. Daily Cyzo (in Japanese). 6 May 2008. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
  10. ^ a b "Rekishi･Nepyō" 歴史･年表 [History/Chronology] (in Japanese). Twindrill. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
  11. ^ a b "MUSIC AWARDS JAPAN's Best Vocaloid Culture Song Entries Highlight Different Domestic & International Trends". Yahoo Entertainment. 22 April 2025. Retrieved 11 June 2025.
  12. ^ "テトリス / 重音テトSV". Youtube. Retrieved 2 March 2026.
  13. ^ "Yoshida Yasei Chart History on Billboard Japan". Billboard Japan. Retrieved 30 January 2025.
  14. ^ "32ki Chart History on Billboard Japan". Billboard Japan. Retrieved 30 January 2025.
  15. ^ "ニコニコ VOCALOID SONGS TOP20" [Niconico Vocaloid Songs Top 20]. Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Hanshin Contents Link Corporation. 13 May 2024.
  16. ^ "Hiiragi Magnetite Chart History on Billboard Japan". Billboard Japan. Retrieved 30 January 2025.
  17. ^ "ニコニコ VOCALOID SONGS TOP20" [Niconico Vocaloid Songs Top 20]. Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Hanshin Contents Link Corporation. 13 November 2024.
  18. ^ "Winners for "MUSIC AWARDS JAPAN 2025" 1st Day Announced – NanteJapan". Retrieved 11 June 2025.

Primary sources

  1. ^ "KASANE TETO Official Site Q&A". Kasane Teto Official Site. Archived from the original on 25 March 2023. Retrieved 2 December 2024.
  2. ^ "Kasane Teto to wa?" 重音テトとは? [What is Kasane Teto?] (in Japanese). Twindrill. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
  3. ^ "TALQu Voice Model Data". Twindrill. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
  4. ^ a b 株式会社AHS (29 October 2025). 【歌声合成ソフト】「Synthesizer V 2 AI 重音テト」ボーカルスタイル紹介動画 (in Japanese). Retrieved 14 November 2025 – via YouTube.
  5. ^ a b 重音テトとは？ [What is KASANE TETO?]. Kasane Teto Official Site (in Japanese). Retrieved 6 July 2024.
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