Cosmic Princess Kaguya! (2026) is the directorial debut of Shingo Yamashita, an animator and storyboard artist responsible for some of the most iconic anime openings of the last decade. For his first time helming a feature film, Yamashita chose to reinterpret one of Japan’s oldest and most-renowned mononoke — fictional prose — “The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter.” It’s not the first time this particular tale has been adapted into an animated film; Studio Ghibli produced a more traditional adaptation with The Tale of Princess Kaguya (2013). Plenty of other animated fare take bits and pieces of the original story and incorporate them into a more modern story. Yamashita turns “The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter” into a two-way coming-of-age tale bathed in the spectacle of streaming and virtual idols.
Iroha Sakyori (Anna Nagase) is a high-achieving student living on her own after her frayed relationship with her mother hits a new low following the death of her father. Like many teens in the 2020s, Iroha spends most of her free time immersed in virtual worlds — here referred to as “Tsukyomi” moderated by virtual idol Yachiyo Runami (Saori Hayami). One night, Iroha finds a newborn stashed within a telephone post. Unwilling to leave the baby alone, she takes the baby home, prepared to raise her with the limited spare time she has. After a few days, the baby grows into a teenage girl who names herself Kaguya after the moon princess in the myth. Unwilling to face the unfortunate departure with her newfound sister/mother/friend figure that the myth prophesies, Kaguya begs Iroha to join in on Tsukyomi’s streaming extravaganza. Through their journey to virtual idol stardom, Iroha and Kaguya learn the power of self-confidence and of finding family in those who support them.
Part of what initially drew me to Cosmic Princess Kaguya!, and what probably got the almighty algorithm to push the film to me, was Yamashita’s direction. As a storyboard artist by trade, Yamashita has an eye for composition for both action-heavy fare and simpler, more grounded genres. The two main settings of Cosmic Princess Kaguya! lend themselves to a lovely visual dichotomy. Of course, Tsukyomi is much more striking than residential Tokyo, with its very 90s anime-inspired color palette. The character designs, especially the idols’, are distinct and memorable without feeling too dissimilar from actual V-tuber models. Iroha’s kitsune-inspired look is probably my favorite of the bunch, but the several rival idol groups all have a look that lands on the right side of outlandish.
Cosmic Princess Kaguya! is just as much a musical as it is a coming-of-age story. Fitting for a film about virtual idol-dom, many of the songs come from Vocaloid producers: the artists behind Internet icon Hatsune Miku. Even if neither of those names rings a bell, if you have been on any social media app in the past two decades, you have heard a Vocaloid song. Vocaloid, more recently Piapro, is a series of digital software used to create a series of actual virtual idols, including Miku, most famously. Each voice bank borrows voices from J-Pop and J-Rock stars, which are then remixed by producers, amateur and professional alike, to create songs. While the actual idols themselves aren’t real, the artists that lent their voice to them and the producers that create the songs are. Having the producers behind some of the biggest Vocaloid songs remixing them for the film is probably its biggest boon, both in terms of production and fan service.
The lack of a real antagonistic force until about two-thirds of the way through the runtime is a particular detriment, making the story feel like it’s barely progressing between musical setpieces. Even Iroha and Kaguya’s relationship, the central crux of the story, falls to the wayside in favor of spectacle. It makes the film a slog between song covers and the few well-composed moments of bonding between Iroha and Kaguya.
Cosmic Princess Kaguya! is perhaps one of the least accessible films for general audiences, short of sequels in long-running film franchises. Even with the niche audience appeal, the 140-minute runtime bows under its own weight without the necessary substance beyond hearing new covers of Vocaloid songs or watching well-directed animation. As someone with a lot of context for this film, I found myself losing steam before the third act. That being said, in a time where digital art and animation have turned into a minefield of slop for profit, I can’t fully disparage the film for being a spectacle.
It even takes advantage of arguable pioneers of combining technology with real artists by employing Vocaloid producers and popular songs. If you enjoy films as a sensory experience rather than a narrative one, or if you’re looking for more original animated films to watch, Cosmic Princess Kaguya! is an entertaining way to spend two hours.
Review Courtesy of Red Broadwell
Feature Image Credit to Netflix