2026 kicked off with an exciting anime film on Netflix, Cosmic Princess Kaguya, which immediately became a massive hit on the platform and crossed over a million views globally in just three days. The film is praised for its gorgeous animation and sci-fi themes on top of having an interesting story. Following the major success of the film, the series announced a special one-week-long theatrical run starting February 20th, 2026, which was later extended due to the popularity. Several renowned mangaka, including Naruto‘s Masashi Kishimoto, Jujutsu Kaisen‘s Gege Akutami, and Chainsaw Man‘s Tatsuki Fujimoto, drew new illustrations to show their support for the movie. This helped pique fans’ interest even more, and the results were worth the effort.
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The film also held special screenings, including a cheer screening and talk shows. Unfortunately, the screening is limited to theaters throughout Japan for now, and there’s no update on whether there will be a theatrical release in the U.S. The official X handle of the anime reveals that the film has ranked in the top 10 for eight consecutive weeks and even hit the two billion yen milestone after selling a million tickets. Additionally, the anime is also holding a special giveaway event for the attendees, which includes photo cards and other surprises. The anime is still holding screenings in Japan, and the official X handle continues to update fans on the timings and the links to buy the tickets.
What Is Cosmic Princess Kaguya About?
The supernatural sci-fi film is a reimagined version of an old Japanese folktale, The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter. It’s the feature-length directorial debut of Shingo Yamashita, best known for directing the opening sequences for popular anime series 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 virtual realm of Tsukuyomi, where dreams and hopes come together. Iroha Sakayori, a 17-year-old high school girl living in Tokyo, works hard day and night 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 Tsukuyomi, the virtual realm. 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 and saw her grow rapidly 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 girls get closer, they begin creating music together, unaware of the fact that ominous forces are waiting to take the princess back to the moon. Following the film’s premiere, a manga series was also released and is currently available in Comic Walker, a Japanese online portal site by Kadokawa Shoten. However, there haven’t been any updates on the manga’s global serialization in English yet.
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