Cosmic Princess Kaguya!

Iroha Sakayori, a high school student, enters a streaming tournament held inside a virtual world called Tsukuyomi. With her is Kaguya, a girl from the Moon. They compete together, and as the tournament goes on the reason Kaguya is here comes out. Shingo Yamashita directs, in his first feature, from a screenplay written with Saeri Natsuo. It was produced by Studio Colorido, Studio Chromato and Twin Engine. Yuko Natsuyoshi voices Kaguya, Anna Nagase voices Iroha, Saori Hayami voices Yachiyo. Before this Yamashita was known in animation for opening sequences: the first season of Jujutsu Kaisen, Chainsaw Man and Urusei Yatsura are his. That background shows. The design of movement and the relationship between cutting and music are the strongest things here. The source is Japan's oldest folktale, Taketori Monogatari, the Tale of the Bamboo Cutter. Yamashita does not retell it straight; he turns the moon princess into a streamer in a virtual world and builds the narrative as a musical. It went out on Netflix on 22 January 2026, with a limited theatrical run in California, and opened in Japan on 20 February, taking over 2.5 billion yen. Who it is for: viewers who like musical anime, virtual world narrative and reworked classical folktales. Who it is not for: the tournament sections are long and their rules are explained continuously, and anyone who knows the source will see the ending from the start.