2026 is off to an exciting start, as the first month of the year brings an entire plethora of new and intriguing anime series and films. Netflix’s January lineup is nowhere near as massive as Crunchyroll’s, but it offers unique and visually striking series and films available exclusively on the platform. In recent years, Netflix has been investing heavily in the industry and bringing a completely new world of anime to a global audience. Each anime offers something new, beyond the realm of mainstream shows, not only in terms of story and setting but also in animation. On January 22nd, 2026, the platform began streaming an original sci-fi film, Cosmic Princess Kaguya. Right after its premiere, the film reached unprecedented popularity as it ranked 7th place in the weekly overview of the Top 10 non-English films on Netflix across the globe.
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The ranking, according to Netflix Tudum, is based on accumulated views from January 19th to 25th, and yet Cosmic Princess Kaguya still got one million views in just three days. Since there wasn’t any other major anime film released on the platform this month, Cosmic Princess Kaguya is the only anime in the entire list. The anime has only recently made its debut and continues to rise in popularity. Several renowned manga creators, including Naruto‘s Masashi Kishimoto, Jujutsu Kaisen‘s Gege Akutami, and Chainsaw Man‘s Tatsuki Fujimoto, drew new illustrations to express their support. These visuals were shared by the official X handle of the anime right after the film’s release.
What Is Cosmic Princess Kaguya About?
The supernatural sci-fi film features a reimagined version of an old Japanese folktale, The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter. Cosmic Princess Kaguya is the feature-length directorial debut of Shingo Yamashita, the director of opening sequences for popular anime such as Jujutsu Kaisen Season 1 and Chainsaw Man. The story follows two girls who form a special bond through music as they take center stage in the dream-filled virtual realm of Tsukuyomi, where dreams and hopes come together. A 17-year-old high school student in Tokyo, Iroha Sakayori, works hard day and night to maintain balance as she juggles part-time work and her academics.
Her only source of comfort is watching Yachiyo Runami, a popular streamer and the administrator of the virtual space called Tsukuyomi. One day, she comes across a suspiciously bright telephone pole from which an adorable baby emerges. Since she couldn’t bear to abandon the baby, she took her home, only to see her rapidly grow into a girl of her own age. What’s even more surprising is that the girl turns out to be Princess Kaguya, who has developed a self-indulgent personality.
As the two get closer, they begin creating music together, unaware of the fact that ominous forces are waiting to take Kaguya back to the moon. Following the film’s debut, a manga series was also released and is currently available in Comic Walker, a Japanese online portal site operated by Kadokawa Shoten. So far, there haven’t been any updates on a global serialization in English.
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Official art by Bastien Lecouffe-Deharme -
A photo of the Retrovolt Arcade taken in 2017, showing several classic arcade cabinets and stools. -
Image Courtesy of Paramount
