A Fairytale Built for the Algorithm Age

MOVIE REVIEW
Cosmic Princess Kaguya! (Chô Kaguya-hime!)
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Genre: Animation, Fantasy, Music, Sci-Fi
Year Released: 2026
Runtime: 2h 23m
Director(s): Shingo Yamashita
Writer(s): Shingo Yamashita, Saeri Natsuo
Cast: Yūko Natsuyoshi, Anna Nagase, Saori Hayami, Rie Kugimiya / Jeannie Tirado, Dawn M. Bennett, Ryan Bartley, Max Mittelman
Where to Watch: available, streaming on Netflix January 22, 2026

RAVING REVIEW: What happens when a story older than recorded history is filtered through streaming culture, the internet, AI, and the fragile hope that art can still connect people in a digital void? COSMIC PRINCESS KAGUYA! doesn’t shy away from that question; instead, it leans into it with a very specific style, and a sincere belief that music can still function as emotional truth in a hyper-mediated world.

Directed by Shingo Yamashita in his feature-length debut, COSMIC PRINCESS KAGUYA! reimagines ‘The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter’ with a modern, tech-infused lens, replacing imperial courts with virtual stages and celestial beings with online influencer-like fame. It’s a bold conceptual leap, and for long stretches, the film’s confidence in that leap is its greatest strength.

At the center of the film is Iroha, a teenager stretched thin by school, work, and the exhaustion of modern life. Her refuge is Tsukuyomi, a virtual space where creativity, performance, and identity can be reshaped at will. When she encounters Kaguya, a mysterious being who enters her life through surreal, unmistakably mythic means, the film quickly establishes its core relationship as both a creative partnership and an emotional dependence. Iroha produces; Kaguya performs; together they build something that feels like a beating heart in a space that’s otherwise curated and transactional.

Yūko Natsuyoshi voices Kaguya (Jeannie Tirado in the English dub) with a mix of charm, volatility, and self-absorption that feels intentionally off-balance. Kaguya isn’t written as a pure or benign figure; she’s impulsive, demanding, and sometimes frustratingly unaware of the cost of her desires. That choice is crucial, because COSMIC PRINCESS KAGUYA! isn’t interested in sanctifying its heroine. Instead, it frames her as a force of inspiration that’s also inherently unstable. Anna Nagase’s Iroha (Dawn M. Bennett in the English dub), by contrast, grounds the film. Her performance captures the quiet satisfaction of creating something meaningful alongside the creeping fear of being eclipsed by it.

The film’s musical backbone is one of its most distinctive elements. With contributions from prominent producers like Ryo, Kz, HoneyWorks, and others, COSMIC PRINCESS KAGUYA! treats its songs as narrative aspects rather than interludes. The performances within Tsukuyomi blur the line between concert and confession, often revealing character motivations more than regular dialogue.

Yamashita’s camera work and fluid transitions give Tsukuyomi an intoxicating sense of possibility. The contrast between the grounded, somewhat muted real world and the incandescent artificiality of the virtual space reinforces the film’s themes without needing to spell them out. Tsukuyomi isn’t just an escape; it’s a temptation, offering validation, connection, and identity at the cost of stability.

At nearly two and a half hours, the film sometimes struggles to justify its length. Certain emotional moments feel like they repeat with diminishing returns, especially in the middle stretch where the central relationship cycles through creation, conflict, and reconciliation without significant evolution. The ideas remain compelling, but the pacing occasionally blunts their impact. A slightly leaner edit might have allowed the film’s strongest moments to resonate more.

The film’s final act reasserts its purpose in a meaningful way. The late twist, which reframes Kaguya’s fate and the cost of her existence, and more, is genuinely effective. Rather than defaulting to tragedy or sentimentality, COSMIC PRINCESS KAGUYA! chooses something high-risk: a conclusion that challenges the audience to reconsider what fulfillment actually means in a world built on visibility and applause. It’s a moment where the ancient folktale and the modern setting finally lock into place, and the result feels earned.

Emotionally, the film works best when it acknowledges the discomfort at its heart. Iroha and Kaguya’s bond is loving, but it’s also asymmetrical. One creates; one consumes. One sacrifices; one shines. COSMIC PRINCESS KAGUYA! doesn’t pretend those dynamics are healthy, but it also doesn’t condemn them outright. Instead, it observes how easily artistic collaboration can slip into emotional dependency, especially when validation becomes currency.

COSMIC PRINCESS KAGUYA! is an ambitious, visually striking, occasionally indulgent debut that wears its heart on its sleeve. Its ideas are bigger than its structure can always support, but its sincerity carries it a long way.

COSMIC PRINCESS KAGUYA! offers a new and memorable anime experience, one that values emotion over efficiency and expression over restraint. It may not fully reconcile all the elements it introduces, but it leaves behind striking visuals, powerful musical moments, and a final turn that lingers longer than expected. As a first feature, it welcomes Shingo Yamashita as a filmmaker willing to take real risks, and that alone makes this cosmic fairytale worth the journey.

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[photo courtesy of NETFLIX, CHROMADOG STUDIOS, STUDIO COLORIDO CO., VSI]

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