Chou Kaguya-hime!

To be honest, I was probably watching this against my better interests and, aura/vibe-wise, I got pretty much what I expected. But for it to clash with me IDEOLOGICALLY too? Holy shit, it's like a 2 on 1 assault on my senses. I will say you can probably knock this up a point or two if you enjoy Cutesy Girl Shows, I don't really know what show to consider this show's North Star but there's a definite Aura to this show that I think just isn't my scene or arms race. Kaguya is a total spoiled brat but you're supposed to find her charmingly annoying, moe, and quirky. Didn't work for me, could've sniped that little shit in the forehead 10 minutes in and gotten a better movie imo. (Speaking of 10 minutes, you can watch the first, like, 10 minutes and get a good grasp of what Aura I'm talking about, hell, even the trailers were giving this aura) But Kaguya being a spoiled brat, I wanna orient on that. Because it's the river from which all the misshapen, foul-tasting, ugly fruit of the poisonous tree flows from. (before I go any further, I just want to say the songs were disposable bubblegum at best, annoying crap at worst. I'd say the nadir of this movie was actually when they played World is Mine. Fine song musically [although not great] but the lyrics were so smug and self-serving the movie actually pissed me off. It actively lessened any interest I could've ever had in Vocaloids knowing this was one of their flagship songs that even a lowly peasant like I knew the title of it, if not the content. It doesn't help the context of which it played in but you're gonna have to let me ramble a bit more down below before I can elaborate on that.) I have not read the original tale. I have not seen the Ghibli movie. This is, broadly speaking, my first dive into the Princess Kaguyaverse. So, Iroha is some overworked student who is more or less self-sufficient and yeah yeah blah blah blah, *insert Japanese salaryman stand-in here* I read a summary of the original tale for this review and I'm pretty sure the OG Kaguya doesn't fall in love with anyone so why they chose, of all people, the "bamboo cutter" who raises Kaguya to fall in love with her this time, no clue. I mean, I know why, because this is escapist bubblegum corporate garbage, but like that alone automatically killed my goodwill for this movie. I guess Kaguya grew up to an acceptable age within a couple days so it's not truly like Iroha/Kaguya is filled with the problematic power dynamic that "Iroha raised Kaguya from babyhood" implies but on the other hand, she also mentally stunts out at (metaphorical) baby who throws a tantrum any time she needs to do something she doesn't want to and needs shiny jangly keys to not be bored to death. Like, I guess you can just excuse her as a bratty anime girl because I'm sure there are 100 examples of "serious anime guy x bratty anime girl" you could throw at me but it's Iroha technically having raised her that just twists that knife a little more. From there, you can pretty much extrapolate what happens here and you'd probably be correct but a lot of this movie actually takes place in Tsukuyomi, a VR world! Let's talk about escapism. I mentioned this when I reviewed Baan of all shows but I don't like isekai, like, on a conceptual level (CP Kaguya is not an isekai but just work with me here). I find it to be a Not Good message that if your life sucks, you can just escape to a better world. I will say at least CPK isn't saying you've gotta die first but "you gotta put your nose to the grindstone so you can feed this empty corporate machine money so you can spend time with your friends over the digital airwaves instead of the now non-existent Third Spaces", like... idk, man, I don't think we should be encouraging working your ass off just to blow your money on video games and Second Life x Discord (I realize the irony of me saying this all while wasting my time writing a review on some shitty movie on fucking MyAnimeList but I'm also not saying that this is a good life path and that you should also watch anime and write reviews for a hobby). More broadly speaking, they almost defiantly spit in the face of the original tale (which trust me, the quality of the movie alone was doing that, you didn't need to do it yourself) by going "uguu, we need a HAPPY ENDING, this tale's ending sucks!" I feel like, in general, it's just encouraging people to be selfish, spoiled brats. That's the message I got from the movie tbh. Iroha WAS being too self-sacrificial, granted, but Kaguya is so ~moe~ that she gets rewarded in every single instance and Iroha ends up overcorrecting by the end. (going back to the World is Mine scene, this is why I hated it so much. Kaguya is such a brat that World is Mine IS something she would sing but the problem is now World is Mine isn't just some disembodied voice singing it, it's through the mouth of someone I've already grown to dislike. If this were the villain song like Easy Street from Annie or Killer Instinct from Bring It On: The Musical or something, maybe then it'd be good conceptually [if not my favorite musically] but we're supposed to LIKE Kaguya. We're supposed to be HAPPY this scene is occurring.) The direction was fine. It was a good looking movie. Certainly not in my top 10 prettiest anime mediacontent or anything (it's not even the best this season, I prefer Fate/strange Fake or even JJK S3) but like it sure looked pretty, had nice flashing colors, it could occasionally do funny gags (I liked Kaguya's first stream, that got a laugh out of me). Like, idk man. I have a feeling I'm just being a cynic here, my oomf was watching this at the same time (separately, we weren't watching it together, it just so happens that we both started and finished the movie around the same time) and she adored it and had completely different takeaways so I'm sure there's a positive slant here, it's just that the messages that I personally took away and understood from this movie were nasty and gross and it was delivered in the most, like, Ready Player One-ass jackoff session for the idol (and specifically Vocaloid/VTuber) industry (and League of Legends for some reason? idk if this was the director auditioning to direct a battle shounen or something [he failed, by the by] but a strange amount of time is dedicated to a League match) possible. The movie pissed me off hard, to be honest, the only real reason it didn't get a 1 is because I'm trying to be nicer and I don't just wanna start throwing out 1s to every show that pissed me off. But, like, on top of pissing me off, I can't think of anything that I could take away from this movie and say that I enjoyed it. It really starts and stops at: 1. I liked the Lunarians' designs. It reminded me of Land of the Lustrous. I think Lustrous did it better but, like, did I enjoy the Lunarians' designs? Yes. So good point there. 2. It did stoke the desire to consume more Princess Kaguya media just to see if this is CPK specifically or the story. I might throw on the Ghibli movie or something soon, idk. The last show I gave a 2 was Summer Time Rendering but at least that had a hot waifu and a song I liked. Like, I'm sure there's an audience that'll adore this movie. To be honest, in that sense, maybe this should actually be a Recommended review because I'm sure it'll probably land with the audience it seeks to attract. But I gotta be free. (I gotta do what?) I gotta be me. Most importantly, I gotta believe. And I believe this movie was a waste of 2 and a half hours.

I am the type of person who will Watch anything at least once. If you Are the same, im here to tell you that you can skip this one. The storyline has some interesting aspects to it, like the princess kaguya story and the reincarnation thing, but they did it in the worst way possible. The plot was uniquely bad and all over the place, and the characters (especially kaguya) were extremely annoying. The songs were objectively ass, and very repetitive. I’ve heard the same songs a million times before, and they all sound the same. If you haven’t watched it already, i would suggest spending your time on something else, because this movie was not worth it.

Cosmic Princess Kaguya is a futuristic retelling of The Tale of The Princess Kaguya, and also a sapphic love story (which is a pleasant surprise). The movie starts off slow, but it was necessary to flesh out Iroha & Kaguya so that we'd feel more attached to them. Their bond is central to the plot and they did a good job in showing how the girls naturally became closer. Once the main characters' dynamic was established, the story began to move, their friendship started to blossom into something more, and we become swept up into their world - both in real life and in the virtual realm, Tsukuyomi. Characters: Our main character Iroha is a hardworking protagonist with many sides to her and someone you can't help but root for. She had a couple of intriguing conflicts, but most of them were surface-level. Still, Iroha had decent characterization and development, which even some series with multiple episodes have a hard time achieving. Kaguya is a genki/deredere type that you see in a lot of anime. She is quirky, cute, lovable, and a delight to watch. She had potential to become more interesting, and it's a shame that the story didn't give her more depth. The characters are pretty simple and aren't written in a deep, complicated manner, but this approach worked since the story is straightforward and doesn't try too hard to be something it's not. The girls' relationship, banter, and dialogues were also written quite well. They had plenty of sweet and heartwarming scenes, and their chemistry kept getting better as the movie went on. The side characters weren't focused on as much, but they were still enjoyable and memorable enough. Animation: One of the most visually appealing anime movies I've seen in a while! Everything was so full of life. The art style is fresh and distinct, but still familiar enough that didn't make it too jarring. It can get silly and cartoonish at times, but I found it to be charming and fitting. You could feel the characters' emotions with how their expressions and body language were animated. The character designs were iconic and unique, especially in Tsukuyomi. The virtual world was extremely detailed and stunning. They put their all in animating the action scenes which really looked like they were from a video game, but some of the fight scenes went on for too long in my opinion. What most of the viewers looked forward to were the musical performances in the movie, and the animation for them did not disappoint. Each frame looked like it came from a high-budget music video/opening sequence. The performances were smoothly and beautifully animated, especially the close-ups and realism of the angles and perspectives in some shots. Music: It seems like a lot of people had high expectations for the soundtrack since it was promoted as the highlight of the movie. A lot of well-known vocaloid producers and musicians worked on it, but unfortunately, the OST was a bit underwhelming and didn't leave much of an impression on me. I wanted to love the music, but they didn't really stick with me after finishing the movie. You would probably need to listen to the original songs and covers multiple times before they finally grow on you. But if you love idols, vocaloid, utaite, and vtuber culture, then I'm sure you'll appreciate what the movie has to offer. The downside (MINOR SPOILERS): My main issue lies with the last couple of minutes in the movie. The ending was rushed and the twists could've been executed better. The way things were explained and wrapped up near the end felt anticlimactic. There were also some pacing issues and underdeveloped plotlines. Nevertheless, the movie won me over with its amazing visuals, wholesome humor, and endearing characters. I also love that it has a lot of rewatch value, since there's so many details and realizations about the movie that you'll only notice or understand if you watch it again or if someone else points it out. Overall, Cosmic Princess Kaguya was a fun, refreshing take on the famous Japanese folklore. My favorite thing about it is how it unexpectedly ended up being a compelling romance. While watching, I couldn't help but wish that it would turn into an actual yuri rather than queerbait where they'd only be labelled as "besties", so I'm glad that the romantic tension between the two girls became strong and obvious enough by the end of the movie to the point that even the general audience wouldn't be able to deny it. Score: 8.5/10

The premise of a “normal girl” in a “virtual world” is not much of an original concept in this day and age, so it’s hard not to compare with similar shows. Let’s start with the good parts: Animation. Every frame of the characters seemed perfectly crafted, and the style resembled that of Oshi no Ko, My Dress-up Darling, or Yoneyama Mai’s style. Bright and attention-grabbing! The dance and fight choreography that mainly featured 2-D animation was very well done; there was definitely more dynamic camera movement for an animation that isn’t based on action. However, as someone else mentioned, music fell a little short of expectations. While it definitely wasn’t bad, it didn’t leave a long-lasting impression like “Belle” did. None of the OSTs or songs stood out in particular. Voice acting is… fine. Last but not least; the characters and the plot. Again, there was a lot of potential, however, it was definitely rushed towards the end. It was almost akin to an infodump trying its to tie everything together, similiar to that of wonder egg priority’s final episodes. Perhaps the show was made to cater for a teenage audience, however, to adults, the “overly bubbly, happy-go-lucky, happy-ending” type of character might not be as attractive. Moreover, there wasn’t much of a deep dive into Iroha’s apparent family issues; it seems they were trying to make it a main plot point, but it was too rushed to have much of an impact, if at all. Since it was a movie, it may have been better to focus on either the plot or character development and stick to a simple motif or idea; trying to cram in both in a short amount of time usually doesn’t turn out well. Final verdict: Animation is pretty, but otherwise, it’s not a particularly memorable movie that stands out in any aspects. Yay Yuri, I guess?

Watching this felt like eating pop rocks for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Only pop rocks. All day. My senses are overstimulated, my belly still wants proper food. That's not to say that pop rocks are bad, no, these pop rocks (visuals) are the highest quality I've ever tasted, but even the most awesome things are only good in moderation. I wish there was either a better plot, or better characters, sometimes just one of those is enough to carry a movie. Loud and quirky gremlin characters can be done well (see Nimona, Konosuba), but every character in this movie is astoundingly stereotypical and forgettable, it's kind of impressive how they make the plot seem okay in comparison (it still was meh and made me feel nothing). I don't expect a writing masterpiece from an anime, still I feel like they could've taken some budget from that animation, slowed some scenes down a little, and spent more on writing. I'm doing this review because I spent months looking forward to this, the animation's excellent, I just wish it didn't lack in the other aspects so that I'd give it a 10 as I was expecting to.

Watched it because of hype And as you can see this is a negative review, so i will start with the bad This anime is a literally a dumb comedy, Kaguya is asbolutely annoying, the pace is too fast, the jokes are unfunny and stupid Also it was supposed to be yuri but here i didnt see any yuri chemistry or subtle feelings between the main heroines, only bad jokes and rush I didnt see any real girl love here, Iroha and Kaguya are more like roommates or friends Yes, there are a lot of yuri bait here, but it just didnt work I can even say that many non-yuri anime have much more yuri emotions and it looks much better Maybe its because Kaguyais too annoying or maybe its because the pacing is too fast - something always shaking, running or exploding on the screen And a few good sides of this movie: i really hate how high-quality and expensive the art style is in this anime (it would be better to have art like that in some good anime) I liked how colorful and bright it looks, i liked japanese aesthetic, i liked that overall its not a cliched anime and there are some interesting ideas and moments, but that doesnt save this anime Also their secret gesture looks very yuri and a little vulgar, but i liked it If only there had been some good yuri chemistry between them, it would have been perfect And also this is literally a musical movie - im not a big fan, but this is pretty rare in anime My rating 5/10 If you, like me, have seen many art and edits of this anime i highly recommend stopping there - this movie is not worth your time, it may seem beautiful and interesting, but in reality it is a high quality emptiness, just a mass product with no soul

You're all going to hate me for this, but...I honestly don't understand why this movie is so popular. I originally wanted to check this out because it was directed by the guy who directed the Pokemon: Twilight Wings webseries, which I really liked. I guess now I ought to realize that even good directors don't always put out good stories, and unfortunately, I wasn't big on Cosmic Princess Kaguya. It took me a long time to even finish it, that's how much I couldn't stand it. The story centers on beleagared high schooler Iroha Sakayori, a girl who is living by herself, going to school, and working after getting into a fight with her perfectionistic mother. Adding to her already hectic life is the discovery of a baby glowing from a magical bamboo in the utility pole outside her apartment. Not having the heart to leave the baby unattended, Iroha takes it in, and in a matter of days it grows into a girl of about Iroha's age who claims to have run away from her home on the moon. Naming her Kaguya after the moon princess from The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, Iroha gets driven up the wall by her free-spirited unruliness, but nevertheless keeps a roof over her head. Iroha even brings Kaguya along on one of her visits to the virtual world of Tsukuyomi—and that very evening, Yachiyo Runami, an AI streamer/singer who Iroha idolizes, announces a competition she calls the Yachiyo Cup, with a collab concert with her as the grand prize! Kaguya immediately sets to work on a streaming career of her own in order to compete, dragging Iroha into using her songwriting talents to help out — but what kind of ending will her story actually reach, especially as her attachment to Iroha only grows stronger and more mutual? Man, that plot summary really tells you how bloated this movie is, doesn't it? Seriously, the movie tries to tackle a bunch of different plotlines all at once, and none of them manage to make any lick of sense if you spend more than two seconds thinking about it. We have alien girls, VTubers, VR metaverses, MMORPG battles, Iroha's half-baked family drama, copious amounts of songs that take up screentime that could have been used to flesh out the characters, I felt like I was watching Gundam Wing all over again what with how much it tries to cram into an almost three hour movie! Cosmic Princess Kaguya tries to do way too much in a short amount of time, and it really shows. None of these plotlines mesh well, and the story could have benefited had it limited itself to just one or two subplots and fleshed them out. I did hear somewhere that Cosmic Princess Kaguya was originally pitched as a TV series, but that was shot down and was truncated into a movie instead. Somehow, it wouldn't surprise me if that was the case. This needed way more than just two and a half hours to flesh out everything it tried to do in here, and because it tried to do too much, the movie's narrative comes out a bloated, directionless mess. Plus, because the movie wanted to rush through all its subplots, it raises a ton of questions that it just doesn't want to answer: What exactly is Iroha's deal with her mother? Why are Iroha and Mikado so estranged? How the hell does Mikado have enough money to buy Iroha a whole-ass apartment complex? The movie's complete lack of interest in anything except J-pop songs and sakuga also affects the characters. It really wants you to invest in Iroha's relationship with Kaguya and all these other characters. However, I could not give two shits about any of them, mainly because anyone who's not Kaguya, Iroha, or Yachiyo has all the depth of a shallow puddle. The side characters all seem to only exist to advance the plot rather than have anything to offer on their own. Mikado's two flunkies are such complete non-entities that you could cut them from the movie entirely and nothing would be lost. Iroha would have been a perfectly fine character if the movie had bothered to flesh out her family troubles beyond random exposition dumps, but even her arc is dampened by the movie favoring overwrought sentimentality over actually bothering to develop her as a character. Not to mention I absolutely couldn't stand Kaguya as a character, as she spent most of the movie being an annoying entitled toddler with absolutely no respect for Iroha's space, boundaries, or property, and is constantly causing her no small amount of grief, yet this movie wants me to think her friendship/romance with Iroha is the bestest thing ever. No, movie, you cannot convince me that an overgrown Manic Pixie Dream Girl who intrudes on Iroha's life and throws tantrums like a brat is someone worth caring about and investing in, so as a result, you did a terrible job at trying to get me to invest in any relationship they could have had. Seriously, why does this movie think shipping Iroha with an overgrown woman child makes for good romance? Because it doesn't! For a movie with a big focus on music, many of the songs are just generic VTuber bubblegum pop that are just there to pad out the run time and not add anything to the already convoluted narrative. I did like that the English dub actually bothered to dub them. The actual soundtrack itself is fine, probably better than the actual songs. But what does Cosmic Princess Kaguya have that's actually good? Well, Studio Colorido strikes again with their great animation, and they wasted no effort here...though I think they overdid it with the sakuga and visual effects here. The movie has dynamic animation, yes, but sometimes it got so bright that it got a bit too visually overwhelming for me to handle. I do find it kind of weird that it was reported that Studio Colorido was contracted to make three movies for Netflix, but wound up making four of them, this being the fourth after Drifting Home, A Whisker Away, and My Oni Girl. I guess Netflix liked them enough that they wanted a fourth movie out of them, and sure enough, this one proved to be the big hit. Sorry guys. I didn't jive with this one, and it's a shame, because it does have interesting ideas that it could have executed well had it not tried to do so much in a format that didn't leave room for any of its ideas to breathe. I wonder how Cosmic Princess Kaguya would have turned out had it been a TV series like it was originally planned to be? I may not have liked it, but it did bring in a lot of money, so hopefully its success will allow Shingo Yamashita to do other things he wants to do. Hope it works out for him. Cosmic Princess Kaguya may have made him and Colorido bank, but being successful doesn't translate to it being a quality product.

First 23 minutes started off with a good combo of SoL and comedy. By the time you reach the virtual world of Tsukiyomi, everything goes downhill. This movie is nothing more than a mishmash of moe characters and vocaloid synth pop music. If you expect this film to be a modernized retelling of the classic Japanese folklore, then prepare to be disappointed. Cosmic Princess Kaguya uses 'The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter' as a premise so it can promote its vocaloid synth pop OST and its half-baked lesbian romance plot. The film felt more like a 5-episode anime squished into a 2 hour movie. You can literally see the timestamps where you can pause and take a break. The scenes cut so fast you barely have time to keep up with the dialogue or understand what's even happening. There is so much Japanese text, chatboxes, and infographics popping in the background, Netflix's localization team couldn't be bothered to translate anything beyond the dialogue. Scenes from the tournament section ran so fast it felt like a trailer for the next hero shooter. There are so many concerts in this movie they might as well advertise the name of the artists who wrote the songs. Overall, this is less of a film and more like an moe advert for a variety of stuff. There's also this confusing ending that adds a layer of complexity to what the original story was about. The ending was written so poorly I had to google forums just to understand what exactly happened. If you want to learn about the Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, then just watch Studio Ghibli's version. If you're into moe, yuri, and vocaloid synth pop music, then this film is right up your alley.

There's no real good reason for me to give Cosmic Princess Kaguya a mixed review. It hasn't done anything wrong. In fact, all of it is pretty damn decent and some of it is genuinely good. So I'm fully ready for this review to get 8 little shocked emojis in the corner and be universally hated by everyone, but I have to say my piece. MANDATORY PLOT SPIEL: Kaguya follows a regular girl named Iroha whose life is changed forever when she… raises a girl from the moon who becomes her lover / business partner in a virtual world of idols? Think VTuber Ready Player One, or like a really weird Bocchi the Rock. None of my issues are with that. The plot is a little strange, sure, but somehow also a bit predictable and unoriginal in parts, and definitely serviceable. Certainly not the worst thing about the movie. No, my problem with Kaguya is something far less concrete. An intangible, growing, burrowing feeling that wriggled its way inside of me as the nearly 2 and a half hour movie played on. By the middle of the movie, I was able to place this discomfort. It grew from the impossible-to-get-by, inhuman, unnatural smoothness of the product in front of me. The glossy animation. The time-tested humor. The choice of song covers. It all felt too… safe, in a weird way, too rehearsed, too slick. It feels soulless, just barely functional enough that the hollowness doesn't immediately gnaw away at you, but you can certainly feel it in the slower parts of the movie. That sense that there's nothing behind the eyes, so to speak. The energy of passionlessness dripping off of it is only covered by the effort put into the animation and voice acting. But, then again, is the animation and voice acting that impressive? Or is it merely made to look impressive when not thought too hard about, to give off the vibe of something well done without actually being well done? For a movie that preaches so much about how a fulfilling life is lived wild and free it feels so measured and carefully formulated, not to be the best possible movie but to be the most widely appealing. This movie has been called a "celebration", but it was as I listened to Kaguya mangle a cover of Happy Synthesiser, and later all the vocaloid staples, that I had to stop to ask myself, a celebration of what? Why are there femboys, and VTubers, and furrys, and nekomimis in this movie? Why is it yuri in the first place? The cynic in me knows the answer is because that's what’s popular right now, and that's what sells anime movies. The people are starved for good yuri, and love an anime femboy, and throw themselves at VTubers and furries, and so that's what the movie does. Not because it has any real respect for these things, but because anime fans are easily ‘bribed’ into throwing money at trash. It just feels like yurislop. I mean, hell, I'll take yurislop over the regular mainstream garbage anime executives push down our throats any day, but that doesn't make it any better. There's something off about this movie, something holy impure just behind the screen, that means I simply cannot enjoy it. But now I'm really losing myself in my criticism. Look, this is by all regards a good movie. It's well animated, it's well voice acted, it's nicely put together. Who am I to judge a perfectly good movie? I mean, go take a look at my profile, behold the trashness of my taste in yuri. How can I, of all people, call this movie bad? But, at the end of the day, when I consume yuri media, I want to feel the pure emotion behind it. I want to feel the creator's joy and sorrow and excitement, the things that make this strange little genre so important to me. And when I watch kaguya, I can't feel anything but the excitement of an executive getting a pay check. Until we larp again, omgkawaii2

This movie is horrible. Why? This movie has literally no content. 99% of this movie consists of moe. It's only well animated and full of cute girls making foolish gestures. This movie clearly only appeals to hardcore otakus/neets who simp for such shallow, meaningless characters. Dont listen to the reviews recommending this movie and pointing out that this movie is based on 'Princess Kaguya' whats so over and using this argumentation to justify the non-existing plot. The characters are horrible and basic in every way. If you like hyper-active e-girls, you will love it. if you are an actual adult and usefull part of society, you will hate them. This movie is literally wasting 2h of your life, so don't watch it.

Chou Kaguya-hime! has some very pretty animation and art styling, and some charming and cute moments, but across the over two hour runtime it feels less like a cohesive movie, and more like someone did a poor job of cutting together and pacing a story that might have been better served by a 6-8 episode ova series. The first act runs for almost exactly an hour of enjoyable but somewhat slow slice of life, before suddenly dropping us into ten minutes of sustained, frenetic battle that feels totally out of place and doesn't really seem to have any point other than to provide clippable scenes that made the trailer look cooler. Nothing up to this point has set us up to expect this level of action/fighting and there's only the flimsiest attempt to establish stakes or any reason to be invested in the outcome. It just ends up feeling like we get dragged away from the cute story about the evolving relationship between the two main characters and forced to watch a ten minute video game compilation (with admittedly great animation). After this climax and the subsequent resolution I genuinely thought the movie was wrapping up and was totally surprised to see that we were only at 1hr25 of the total 2hr10 runtime... The back half of the movie feels so disconnected from the front half and also so rushed that it makes the front half feel like a total waste of time in retrospect. The vibe changes and becomes more serious and heartfelt (good in isolation, but making the front half feel even more disconnected) and it's just all to rushed. Then the final resolution of the story seems like just too much of a perfect "happily ever after" and undercuts any emotional investment they managed to cram into the previous half hour. I really do like a lot of the individual parts of this movie, but the way it's all put together just feels so disjointed. Maybe breaking it up into episodes would have helped to balance out the pacing and make the swings between genres feel less extreme, but really I think they needed to dial back the action, or spread it out more evenly throughout the story. The animation and art is beautiful and the two main characters are charming and compelling, and that just makes the overall experience of watching the movie even more frustrating because there's so clearly some magic here! It just gets so absolutely squandered by the pacing and plot structure. What a waste!

Cosmic Princess Kaguya! is a distinctive anime that blends visual elegance, emotional storytelling, and mythological inspiration with modern science-fiction elements. Drawing inspiration from the legend of Princess Kaguya, it transforms this familiar tale into a cosmic-scale narrative about destiny and choice. Rather than being a simple space-fantasy, the anime explores themes of loneliness, belonging, free will, and sacrifice with surprising depth. One of the strongest aspects of the series is its character development. Kaguya is not portrayed merely as a “mysterious and powerful princess”; her inner conflicts, sense of alienation from both Earth and the cosmos, and the difficult decisions she must face are revealed gradually and convincingly. The supporting characters are also well-written, each contributing meaningfully to the central themes and helping the audience better understand Kaguya’s emotional journey. Visually, the anime truly shines. The cosmic landscapes, combined with lunar imagery and a carefully chosen color palette, create scenes that feel almost painterly. Lighting is used especially well during dramatic moments, enhancing the emotional impact without feeling excessive. The soundtrack complements the visuals perfectly, shifting between melancholic and epic tones to sustain the atmosphere throughout the series. From a thematic perspective, Cosmic Princess Kaguya! successfully examines the tension between an inescapable fate and the power of personal choice. Instead of presenting these ideas directly, the anime allows them to emerge naturally through its narrative, encouraging viewers to reflect on questions such as identity, purpose, and where one truly belongs. In conclusion, Cosmic Princess Kaguya! is a mature, visually striking, and emotionally resonant anime that leaves a lasting impression. It is especially recommended for viewers who appreciate mythological influences, thoughtful storytelling, and strong aesthetic presentation.

A modern retelling of the tale of Princess Kaguya this is a visual delight as it follows a story of friendship, love, and growing into who our stars want to be in their future. The story embraces both the old and the new as it quickly establishes itself in a near future world where people have easy access to a fully immersive virtual space and can easily. Sakayori Iroha is moving her life at a mile a minute doing everything to meet expectations she and her mother have put on her shoulders, only a few scheduled moments with friends and the concerts of Yachiyo Runami, an AI idol to give her a reprieve. Then she finds a baby in a glowing hole in a telephone pole and everything suddenly changes in her life. Genuinely the journey is lovely, and the medium used to tell it is great. Transforming the magical-realism setting of many myths into a digital space where people are acting as their game avatars is a grand idea, but it is also nice to have those moments where they are back in the real world and Kaguya and Iroha are able to just be teenagers. The visual language is detailed and really shows the passion for both the story being told and the stories it is retelling. Kaguya's digital avatar has bunny ears and a moon hair pin, some of the characters show up as peaches streaking across the sky before coming down to the ground, using concert light batons as actual defensive batons. Everything shot in a cinematic style that embraces not just the animation medium but the reality of the world they are in, scenes on earth are framed in simple shots to convey the story of day to day life while those in the virtual use camera tricks that can only be done in a space not constrained in the same way. The movie might not be for everyone, but if you like this kind of thing, if you can appreciate vtuber and idol culture, and if you like the classic stories then you will hopefully enjoy it almost as much as I did.

The story and characters didn't do much for me personally, but I have to admire what an ode to modernity, arguably the past decade, this movie is. Some memes, VTuber culture, MOBAs, Apex, Vocaloid, it pours unironic love towards all that otaku culture has been since the late 10s to this year of 2026. In that sense, it truly is a movie to be watched now, because in the past it'd really feel too convenient, and in the future it might be too outdated. And to achieve all of this using the formatting of classical literature almost feels like a challenge towards the march of time, as if trying to state my previous affirmation was wrong, and this (meaning our present times) won't be outdated and forgotten in the distant future. It is a love letter and a time capsule to those who lived this decade in this subculture, and I love this aspect of it. Despite understanding it, I can't really forgive sacrificing the characters for the sake of writing down references to pop culture. There are pivotal conversations to Iroha that happen semi-offscreen, and I feel loving her was more necessary to solidify the movie. Kaguya is lovable but also very annoying, which feels more like a 2000s character than a 2020s one, personally. If you can care for them despite the shortcomings of the story, the movie will be pretty pleasant. To me, the weakest part that is on the forefront is the music. The promotional material and the structure of the movie all puts great focus on the music, but none of the tracks truly stood out to me, nor did I instantly go seek them on streaming when the movie was over because I had to bask in it again. They aren't offensive or skipcore, just nothing special. One could say that also captures our times well, as pop often repeats itself without being too bold, seeking to fill spaces in the most markets possible and be "listenable" to the largest crowds possible, but I'd say that was an aspect of modernity they didn't need to embody. There are and will be better movies to watch, but this is a great movie to watch now, and think of how we've lived the past years, and what we feel towards the times we live in.

There are 3 main points I wish to cover: animation/presentation, broad themes on fate, and music. I’ve avoided any major plot-related spoilers unless you care whether the work ends as a tragedy or a comedy. The greatest strength of the film is arguably its character animation. While it is generally stellar throughout, the animation shines best in the many fluid character emotes, which are complemented by creative and humorous camera transitions. The obvious effect is that characters feel much more alive and the film becomes all the more engaging, which is especially important when its runtime nears 2 and a half hours. And since it’s based on an old tale that’s passed down orally, I found it appropriate for a stereotypical rakugoka to narrate the opening and subsequently funny when she too gets caught up in the absurdity of the story. The final point on presentation is to do with the film’s indirect storytelling method. The development of the protagonists’ relationship in the first half is expressed through somewhat subtle changes in Iroha’s reactions and actions. Do expect some possibly excessive montages, though this may have to do with the limitation of the medium (a film vs a TV series). I appreciate how Iroha’s past is never part of a dreary exposition. Instead, the writer allows us to piece together the story ourselves through flashback fragments. There is one scene that only shows Iroha’s keyboard but implicitly associates it with her mother, efficiently conveying the topic of the scene without being on-the-nose. The idea of breaking free from fate is the film’s core message. We see this in many forms, the most obvious being Kaguya’s inevitable return to the Moon. However, we also see it between Iroha and her mom and in Iroha herself. There are many instances where Iroha stops herself from repeating the words of her mother because she wants to protect the innocence and childlike wonder in Kaguya that she never got to hold on to growing up. Iroha prevents Kaguya from becoming the workaholic cynic she, in an attempt to prove her self-worth, had turned into, averting a generational cycle of fate. It is satisfying to see Iroha grow from someone who accepts being just another slave to society, to someone who rejects bad endings, the way Kaguya in all her whininess and obnoxiousness, inspired her to. If we take Kaguya to represent Iroha’s repressed childhood version of herself, then by the end of the film, Iroha has conquered her own fate by changing that of Kaguya; our two protagonists are really just two sides of the same person. Finally, let’s talk about music, which is what attracted me to the film in the first place. To be honest, I don’t really get why it got so many classic Vocaloid Ps together to compose the insert songs, but they do add a touch of modernity to the soundtrack which complements the VR world setting and character designs. I enjoyed the songs, but this will obviously be subjective. The concerts they are part of, however, are objectively well-animated, which is a treat. Music is also one of child Iroha’s main interests. The completion of the song Reply is symbolic of the acceptance of that part of her. For certain reasons, another song Remember actually shares the same melody of Reply’s chorus in its B melody (pre-chorus). Once you finish the film, I think the title of those songs and how they symbolise Iroha and Kaguya’s bond are self-explanatory. The use of a musical motif between different songs for plot-related purposes is rare outside of Western animations. It’s even more awesome that the two songs have different composers (yuigot and kz), which is story-accurate. When it comes to modern-feeling anime, there are a number of identifiable characteristics: a focus on character animation and emotes, integration of social media, music and dance into the plot, city life and yuri. Cosmic Princess Kaguya ticks all those boxes. However, most important of all, in an increasingly stressful world, where it is easy to give up and resign yourself to being a cog in the machine, it encourages the one thing everybody secretly hopes for: a happy end.

The most fantastic anime movie I watch during the first month of 2026, it's uniquely on its own and maybe hinting a little Yuri in the way the story told but i like it The modern way to told the classic Princess Kaguya is just amazing I mean in alot if ways the animation is very solid and well done,the setting inside the vitual world it's like the more advanced full dive system and concept I saw similar to Sword Art Online, maybe that's the reference and the inspiration after all The Relationship of Iroha & Kaguya is very chaotic but in the fun and heartwarming vibe, I have mix feelings about their relationship but overall it's very fun and amazing. My opinion in this movie maybe be subjective to other people but I think what amazing about his anime movie is the music added the complexity to the story, how that joy,sadness and laughter, and madness mix into a chaotic fun heartwarming way possible, I think people should rewatch this again if they have time to enjoy such colorful movie.

This is so peak, I loved the animation and the songs. It’s been a while since I was really drawn in by the movie!! All I can say is the ending was great cool plot twist but happy totally not what i’ve thought It was gonna be 👍 I also cried idk why prob just because i’m weak🪦 The voice actors did their job really well i’m so happy I got to watch this!!! Please give this a try and you’ll definitely won’t regret it👍 is funny how they made the characters look so funny in some scenes with their faces lol

I just wanted to say that the studios really went all in for this one. The songs are great, the plot takes one big loop into completion. Animation is amazing, everything is fluid, effects are so good that i don't even know if they drew everything by hand. The most satysfaying part is the happy ending. I really liked this one and I recommend watching this. Action, development, music and animation, everything was very well delivered with nothing lacking. Honestly 9/10 seems really fair, but for this one i go with 10/10, because in it's own genre there is nothing clearly better. The only contender would be "Vivy: Fluorite Eye's Song", but Cosmic Princess Kaguya packed a stronger punch with it's more condensed plot (because it's a movie).

It's like that one Studio Ghibli movie if it was melodramatic yurislop mostly set in a metaverse-esque virtual reality, with extremely generic and repetitive music. About half-way through the movie, inside of the virtual reality thingy, there's a match of what's basically League of Legends that takes up like 20 minutes, that's kind of important to the plot. It's kind of random, and it just happens, and that's basically how most the movie is. It's not even one of those movies where you can turn your brain off and enjoy it, simply because it has no redeeming qualities besides the animation. The plot is unbelievably all over the place, especially the last 30 mins. The characters are mid at best, and annoying at worst. To top it all off, this makes for the longest animated movie I've seen at 2h 22m, which to be fair was kind of necessary for the bloated storyline. I don't know how, but this movie managed to feel too slow and too fast at the same time. I'm convinced this site will eat up any well produced movie with a lesbian romance plot, though this movie is not bad because of the generic romance, it's bad because it's just bad.

Style versus substance is a debate as old as time. It doesn’t really matter which one prefers, but it helps to know of which a work is most constituted. Chou Kaguya-hime! is a retelling of the story of Kaguya-hime, the princess of the moon found in bamboo. Here she’s still a princess, but she’s found instead inside a glowing lamp-post, by Iroha. Iroha is a high school student balancing her first taste of independence, her studies, and her part-time job. On top of that, she’s heavily invested in the virtual world of Tsukiyomi – a virtual space that features gaming, streaming, music and more. In particular, she’s a big fan of Tsukiyomi’s AI… owner? administrator? mascot? Yachiyo. Though initially a baby, Kaguya quickly grows into a teenager (skipping over what probably would have been a more interesting movie) – but regardless of her age, Kaguya becomes a financial burden for Iroha. She even uses Iroha’s money to purchase the very expensive equipment necessary to join Iroha in Tsukiyomi. This sets the stage for the rest of the movie, however. Not only can players make money in Tsukiyomi, from its various activities, but Yachiyo conveniently launches a popularity contest. The winner will join her for a musical performance. Kaguya, ever the trouble maker, boldly declares she and Iroha will enter. Chou Kaguya-hime! is far more than the story, of course. In my opinion, the movie’s biggest draw is its animation. Some of the fight sequences in the middle section are quite stellar. I don’t know if they can be called innovative, but they’re exciting! And more than that, they’re well-choreographed! Every action the characters take is not just gorgeous, but has a logical progression that maintains interest. I could see myself revisiting some of those sequences years later. Even beyond the fight sequences, the art is beautiful, and many of the regular animation sequences are a joy to watch. The musical performances later in the movie are great, as well. Even if the music wasn’t exactly to my taste, the music during the performances is also quite strong. In the character of Yachiyo there’s a strong intersection of streamers, v-tubers, and idols, and the movie plays to these strengths. A lot of movies would go for somewhat cheaper, or more generic music, but the songs feel like things these characters would be singing, and feel like they’re of a piece with the world. I don’t think you would have to be a fan of this movie to enjoy them. But, a movie is far more than animation and music. A movie needs a good story. Stories usually need good characters. Iroha… is a lot. She’s studying to be a lawyer, wants to be a musician, has family problems, is a pro-gamer… She manages, really, to be whatever she needs to be in order to meet the needs to the plot. There’s an impression of depth, but just an impression. Really, there’s a bit too much happening in her life, making it hard to remember it all, and making certain moments feel a bit cheap. It’s not even that she doesn’t struggle – we see a bit of her money problems at the movie’s beginning. However, most of her struggles exist at the edges, and those that don’t aren’t given the room to matter. Kaguya is a bit better, despite being an ostensibly shallow character. She’s single-minded in her love of freedom, and simplistic in her love of Iroha, but she’s made all the more charming and compelling because of it. Kaguya wants to be happy, and wants Iroha to be happy, too. It’s very believable, and the humor involving Kaguya is great. I wish, perhaps, some of the early tension between her and Iroha had more pay-off. It feels like once Yachiyo’s contest starts, Iroha’s annoyances disappear. Really, if there’s a problem with Kaguya, it’s the same one Iroha has, but writ large: she’s a bit too competent. Things go a little too well for her, and it robs the movie of a lot of tension. Without going into spoilers, I’ll just say that the contest, which constitutes the middle of the movie, lacks a lot of the weight that it should have. Characters are compelling when they have a struggle, but I’m not convinced these characters do. The movie’s ending also deserves mention. I feel that the movie continues well past its natural end-point. The ending itself is also not very good. The production team try to do something different with the Kaguya-hime legend, which is fine; it’s well-trodden material. But, they push things a bit too far, with the aim of trying to achieve a certain type of ending. Given who Iroha was at the start, the ending isn’t at all satisfying, and only serves to make a joke of the plot. Chou Kaguya-hime is not a terrible movie, but it’s over long. It’s two hours and twenty minutes, and it really doesn’t need to be. If they wanted to go with an older Kaguya, they could have skipped the baby moments at the start of the movie. They could have eschewed the rather pointless contest in the middle, perhaps focusing instead on the relationships of characters and some of Kaguya’s backstory. Things like this would have streamlined the runtime whilst simultaneously making the narrative stronger, and would still allow for great moments of music and animation. As-is, it’s hard to say this movie isn’t worth watching. The animation and music are the stars, and are worth the price of admission. The humor’s good in places, and Kaguya and Iroha are likeable. The length is a bit of a problem, but if you’re watching this with your friends or with a phone in hand, it won’t be too daunting. But unless you identify heavily with either of the leads, I don’t think this movie is substantive enough to really be called good. It’s not junk food, but it’s not fine dining, either.