Cosmic Princess Kaguya!

Cosmic Princess Kaguya!
English release poster
Kanji超かぐや姫！
Revised HepburnChō Kaguya-hime!
Directed byShingo Yamashita
Screenplay by
  • Saeri Natsuo
  • Shingo Yamashita
Based onThe Tale of the Bamboo Cutter
Starring
CinematographyDaisuke Chiba[1]
Edited byRyōta Kinami[1]
Music byConisch
Production
companies
Distributed byNetflix[a]
Release date
  • January 22, 2026 (2026-01-22)
Running time
142 minutes[3]
CountryJapan
LanguageJapanese
Box office¥1.342 billion[4]

Cosmic Princess Kaguya! (Japanese: 超かぐや姫！, Hepburn: Chō Kaguya-hime!) is a 2026 Japanese animated musical yuri fantasy film[5][6][7][8] directed by Shingo Yamashita, in his feature directorial debut, from a screenplay he co-wrote with Saeri Natsuo. A reimagining of the folktale The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, the film follows high school student Iroha Sakayori and Kaguya, a girl from the Moon, as they compete in a streamer tournament within the virtual world of Tsukuyomi. It is produced by Studio Colorido and Studio Chromato with character designs from Akihiro Nagae and Hechima. The film stars the voices of Yūko Natsuyoshi, Anna Nagase, and Saori Hayami.

Netflix announced the film and revealed the main cast and staff in November 2025. The film started development in 2022, with the final product being delivered in September 2025. Its soundtrack consists of an original score composed by Conisch with songs provided by Vocaloid producers Ryo of Supercell, Yuigot, Aqu3ra, HoneyWorks, 40mP, and Kz of Livetune. The film was released on Netflix on January 22, 2026, along with a limited theatrical release at Laemmle Glendale in California. It was later released theatrically in Japan on February 20 and had grossed over ¥1.342 billion.

Plot

Iroha Sakayori, a high school student living independently from her family after her father's death, struggles to maintain a tight schedule of school, tuition and part-time work while also spending time in the virtual world of Tsukuyomi. On her way home one night, she encounters a glowing utility pole with a baby inside. Reluctantly taking her in, the baby rapidly grows up into a young girl over the span of a few days. The girl, claiming to be from the Moon, is named Kaguya after the Japanese folktale. Dejected by the "depressing" ending of the folktale, Kaguya aims for a "happy" ending with Iroha.

As Iroha's daily life begins to be disrupted by Kaguya, much to her annoyance, she introduces her to Tsukuyomi and its virtual administrator AI, Yachiyo Runami. Together with Kaguya's virtual pet InuDOGE, Kaguya and Iroha sign up for the Yachiyo Cup, a streamer tournament where the winners get to perform a live show with Yachiyo. Kaguya quickly becomes a popular streamer with Iroha's help, inadvertently placing them in the crosshairs of Black OnyX, the top streamer group led by Akira Mikado. After the group challenges the pair to a competition in KASSEN, a territory battle game in Tsukuyomi, Kaguya learns that Akira is Iroha's estranged brother.

Despite Yachiyo's assistance, Black OnyX wins the KASSEN match, but the outpouring of support from fans allows Kaguya and Iroha to win the Yachiyo Cup instead, securing their live show with Yachiyo as well as reconciliation with Akira, who agrees to co-sign a new apartment for the pair. The live show is successful, but after the performance, Tsukuyomi is invaded by mysterious beings, revealed to have come from the moon to bring Kaguya home. Although repelled by Yachiyo, the beings promise to come back by the next full moon, a fact that troubles Iroha, who is now unwilling to part with Kaguya.

On the day of Kaguya's impending departure, as she performs a graduation concert in Tsukuyomi, Iroha attempts to fight the lunar forces with the help of Black OnyX and her friends, but are ultimately unable to stop her from being taken by them. Returning back to her normal life but unwilling to accept Kaguya's absence, Iroha completes a song she and her father had never finished and plays it. After she does so, she reaches a revelation and logs back into Tsukuyomi, where Yachiyo confirms that she is a future version of Kaguya.

Having been motivated to return back to Earth by Iroha's song, Kaguya had attempted to travel back in time to reunite with her, but her ship had collided with an asteroid, sending her back 8,000 years into the past. Unable to leave her damaged ship, InuDOGE (who later became Yachiyo's companion Fushi) served as her communicator, interacting with people over the ages until the creation of Tsukuyomi, where she was uploaded into a virtual avatar.

Determined to bring Kaguya back into the real world, Iroha scraps her plans of becoming a law student and works on creating an android body for Yachiyo to upload her digital consciousness into. After ten years, she succeeds: they can finally be together and continue performing, this time both in real life and Tsukuyomi.

Voice cast

Character Voice actor[9][10]
Japanese English
Kaguya (かぐや) Yūko Natsuyoshi Jeannie Tirado
Iroha Sakayori (酒寄 彩葉, Sakayori Iroha) Anna Nagase Dawn M. Bennett
Yachiyo Runami (月見 ヤチヨ, Runami Yachiyo) Saori Hayami Ryan Bartley
Frankie Kevich (singing)
Fushi (フシ, Fushi) Rie Kugimiya Cassandra Lee Morris
Akira Mikado (帝 アキラ, Mikado Akira) Miyu Irino Max Mittelman
Rai Komazawa (駒沢 雷, Komazawa Rai) Yuma Uchida A.J. Beckles
Noi Komazawa (駒沢 乃依, Komazawa Noi) Yoshitsugu Matsuoka Casey Mongillo
Roka Ayatsumugi (綾紬 芦花, Ayatsumugi Roka) Yoshino Aoyama Cassandra Lee Morris
Mami Isayama (諌山 真実, Isayama Mami) Konomi Kohara Anairis Quiñones
Otako the Loyal Dog (忠犬オタ公, Chūken Otakō) Fairouz Ai
Koto Okkotteru (乙事照 琴, Okkotteru Koto) Natsuki Hanae Kieran Regan

Production

In April 2022, Studio Colorido signed a deal with Netflix to co-produce three feature-length anime films for the platform,[11] with the first two films being Drifting Home (2022) and My Oni Girl (2024).[12] In November 2025, Netflix announced that Shingo Yamashita would direct his first feature-length film, Cosmic Princess Kaguya![13] He had previously directed the web series Pokémon: Twilight Wings and the opening sequences for several anime series, including the first season of Jujutsu Kaisen and Chainsaw Man.[14][15] After directing Pokémon: Twilight Wings, Twin Engine offered Yamashita to work on an original film. Yamashita's initial plans for the film were rejected since they "lacked elements that would appeal to the public as an original work", after which he created a new proposal whose elements include the metaverse and live streamers.[15] The decision to include Vocaloid producers came after Yamashita realized that Yachiyo's characteristics and design had similarities to Hatsune Miku.[16] He also cited One Piece Film: Red and Needy Girl Overdose as partial influences for the film.[16] The project began development in 2022. The storyboards for the film were completed in June 2024, and an additional year was allotted to finishing the animation. The final product was delivered in September 2025.[17] The film is a reimagining of the Japanese folktale The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter.[5][18] Yamashita co-wrote the screenplay with Saeri Natsuo.[1] Naoya Nakayama directed the film's musical performances, and Masaya Machida served as the CG director.[1]

Studio Chromato, where Yamashita serves as the representative director,[19] produced the animation with Studio Colorido; the film is Studio Chromato's first production.[13][14] Akihiro Nagae, who worked on Drifting Home, designed the characters in the film's real world, and illustrator Hechima handled the character designs in the Tsukuyomi world.[1][20] Yūko Natsuyoshi, Anna Nagase, and Saori Hayami were cast as the main characters Kaguya, Iroha Sakayori, and Yachiyo Runami.[13][14] In December 2025, Rie Kugimiya was added to the cast as the voice of Fushi.[1] The following month, Netflix revealed seven cast members and the English-language dub cast; the latter includes Jeannie Tirado, Dawn M. Bennett, and Ryan Bartley as the voices of the main characters, with Frankie Kevich providing Yachiyo's singing voice.[9]

Music

Conisch composed the film's score.[1] Six Vocaloid producers provided original songs for the film: "Ex-Otogibanashi" by Ryo of Supercell, "Remember" by Yuigot, "Hoshi Furu Umi" by Aqu3ra, "Watashi wa, Watashi no Koto ga Suki" by HoneyWorks, "Shunkan, Symphony" by 40mP, and "Reply" by Kz of Livetune.[21] "Ex-Otogibanashi" is performed by Hayami and served as the film's main theme song; it was released as a six-track CD single on January 23, 2026.[22] A cover version of Bump of Chicken's song "Ray", performed by Natsuyoshi and Hayami, served as the ending theme song.[1][23] "CPK! Remix", a four-track CD single, was also released on January 23, 2026, and contains remixes of the film's songs, performed by Nagi Yanagi and Hatsune Miku.[22] The film's score and soundtrack were released on music streaming services on the same day.[24]

The soundtrack peaked at number four on the Billboard Japan Hot Albums chart and at number 14 on the Oricon Combined Albums Chart.[25][26] It debuted at number four on the Billboard Japan Download Albums chart on January 28, and later topped the chart on February 18.[27] The cover version of "Ray" also debuted at number 82 on the Billboard Japan Hot 100 chart published on February 11, 2026.[28]

Marketing

A teaser poster and trailer were released along with the film's announcement in November 2025. The trailer featured a remix of Ryo's 2008 Vocaloid song "World Is Mine", originally performed by Hatsune Miku. Hayami provided the vocals for the remix, titled "World Is Mine CPK! Remix", as her character Yachiyo Runami.[6][20] Three additional trailers featuring each main character were unveiled in the same month.[20] The film's main poster and trailer were released in December,[1] followed by a second full trailer in January.[9] Cover versions of five Vocaloid songs – Aqu3ra's "Lonely Universe", HoneyWorks' "Taketori Overnight Sensation", 40mP's "Torinoko City", Yuigot's "Yume o Miru Shima", and Kz's "Tell Your World" – were also performed by Hayami and Natsuyoshi and published on the film's YouTube channel.[29] The film has held multiple collaboration events with companies such as Yamaha Corporation, as well as with Fuji City.[30]

Release

Cosmic Princess Kaguya! was released on Netflix on January 22, 2026.[13] It had a commemorative screening at the Grand Cinema Sunshine in Toshima on the same day,[31] and a limited theatrical release was held at Laemmle Glendale in California, U.S, from January 22 to 29.[32][33] The film was released in 19 Japanese theaters starting on February 20, 2026; it included screenings that allow cheering and waving of glow sticks.[34][7] Initially a one-week run, the theatrical release was extended beyond February 27 with eight additional theaters that screened the film,[35] and it expanded to over 100 theaters starting on March 13.[2]

Reception

The film debuted at seventh place in Netflix's weekly ranking of non-English films, garnering one million views within the tracking period from January 19 to 25.[36] It reached first place in the platform's list of top films in Japan one day after release, and it also ranked within the top 10 in South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Thailand, and Vietnam.[37][38]

During its first four days, the film had grossed over ¥291.2 million (US$1.87 million) from 148,067 admissions.[39][40] It debuted at fifth place in Kōgyō Tsūshinsha's weekend attendance rankings and also topped the mini-theater rankings for three consecutive weekends.[40][41][b] By March 22, 2026, the film had grossed over ¥1.342 billion.[4]

Other media

A manga adaptation by Tarō Yoneda began serialization with its first two chapters in Kadokawa Shoten's Comptiq magazine on January 9, 2026;[22] later chapters were published in Kadokawa's KadoComi website.[42] The manga's first volume was released on February 10, 2026.[22] A novelization by Naruto Kiriyama with illustrations by Asao Urata was released by Kadokawa on January 30, 2026. Supervised by Yamashita, the novel contains additional scenes not shown in the film.[22] An 80-page guidebook compiled by Newtype's editorial department, subtitled Happy End no Sono Saki e!, was also published on January 30.[43]

A music video for the cover version of "Ray", directed and storyboarded by Yamashita, was released on January 31, 2026.[44][45] It contains newly animated footage, with Animate Times stating that it depicts Iroha's childhood, her and Kaguya's daily life, Yachiyo's hidden feelings, and a sequel to the film's story.[44] Melvyn Tan of Anime Trending noted that the music video has "a mix of afterstory content and shots that highlight certain offscreen elements".[45] The music video was played after each screening of the film in Japanese theaters starting on February 27, 2026.[35]

Notes

  1. ^ Twin Engine handled the film's distribution for its Japanese theatrical release.[2]
  2. ^ The film stopped appearing in the mini-theater rankings after its theatrical release was expanded.[41]

References

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