Cosmic Princess Kaguya! Is A Chaotic Delight

After what’s felt like years of handwringing over the perils of AI, internet brainrot, and the inherent exploitation of streaming, it’s nice to step into a world that finds the best in all of the above. That’s arguably what Cosmic Princess Kaguya! does best: a Netflix anime that transposes an ancient legend into a cyberpunk futurescape, it’s incredibly optimistic about virtual reality.

Loosely based on the Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, Cosmic Princess Kaguya! completely reimagines the beats of that story to craft an upbeat love letter to streamers, Japanese VTubers, and anyone who’s logged more hours than they should in an all-engrossing video game. Its scope may be niche, and its execution busy, but one doesn’t have to be chronically online to gel with its charms.

In so many ways, Cosmic Princess is an exercise in wish fulfillment. It’s easy to sympathize with the plight of Iroha Sakayori (Anna Nagase), the film’s overworked lead, who’s been on her own since moving into the city to attend high school on scholarship. While she was a piano prodigy in her youth, her overbearing mother effectively smothered her love for music. Now, she works part-time jobs to remain at the top of her class, surviving on flavorless food so she can afford her rent. The few hours not dedicated to studying or working are spent in Tsukuyomi, a virtual world where players can be whatever they want. Even there, she’s resigned to a life on the sidelines, quietly stanning an AI pop star named Yachiyo (Saori Hayami) — that is, until Kaguya (Yūko Natsuyoshi) drops into her life.

One night, walking home from work in the real world, Iroha finds a baby asleep in a glowing stalk of bamboo. Worried for its safety, she brings it back to her shoebox of an apartment — and in just a few nights it grows into an excitable teenage girl. Since she claims to come from the moon like the princess in the Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, Iroha names the girl after her. And Kaguya makes quick work of upending Iroha’s carefully-structured life. While home alone, she hacks into Iroha’s computer and uses all her funds to buy a pair of VR contact lenses. She’s something of a coding whiz, and she unlocks even more talents when she logs in to Tsukuyomi for the first time.

Faced with the task of masking her own livelihood, Kaguya opts to become a streamer. Yachiyo is hosting a competition: whoever can gain the most followers in a designated amount of time will get to “perform” onstage alongside her. Despite being at least 10 days old, Kaguya eagerly signs up — and takes to streaming like a fish to water. Cosmic Princess is at its most dynamic when cycling Kaguya through all the disparate microgenres for streamers, watching her ace new games and gain fans. But it’s at its best when Kaguya’s chaotic new quest finally gets Iroha to stop stressing and actually start living.

Iroha agrees to let Kaguya use old songs she wrote to bolster her presence on Tsukuyomi, but she’s reluctant to write anything new. Everyone can see that she’s holding herself back from her true calling, too focused on surviving her Spartan lifestyle to truly thrive. And Iroha eventually realizes as much, too, but only when her body gives out and she has to rely on Kaguya for help. The moments of genuine connection between the girls, both within Tsukuyomi and without, are Cosmic Princess’ best. Kaguya softens Iroha, forcing her to embrace her fun side, while Iroha gives the moon princess a place to hone her focus.

These are the moments that really feel like wish fulfillment. Sure, it’s gratifying to watch as these e-girls fight in gladiator matches with comically huge hammers, or face off against their biggest competition, Black onyX — whose leader (Miyu Irino) is dressed way sexier than he needs to be. The film’s visuals are nothing to sneeze at, either: this is the feature debut of Shingo Yamashita, the mind behind the delirious opening sequences of shows like Chainsaw Man and Jujutsu Kaisen. He renders the realm of Tsukuyomi with brilliant, luminescent effect, but crucially prioritizes character above all.

Cosmic Princess is an escapist fantasy, a kind of isekai for anyone who’s spent too much time in a character creator of their choosing. But it makes a wise choice in focusing on the real world and the fantastical in tandem. Its grasp on the legend that inspired the film may be loose, making this a messier kind of retelling, but a little chaos doesn’t hurt with a story this enticing.

Cosmic Princess Kaguya! is streaming on Netflix.