Cosmic Princess Kaguya! is set to get a small update on Netflix on April 29, more than three months after it first debuted on the streaming platform. The upcoming change will see the popular “ray Cho Kaguya-hime! Version”” music video, which features animated footage set after the movie and has more than 17 million views at the time of writing, being appended to the original viewing experience.
The move to include “ray Cho Kaguya-hime! Version” on Netflix mirrors the Japanese theatrical screenings for Cosmic Princess Kaguya!, which started showing the music video after the movie after the initial one-week screening plan was expanded. Currently, the music video that’s being screened is the more recent “Reply,” but “ray Cho Kaguya-hime! Version” is set to make a comeback with 5.1ch audio on May 1.
Cosmic Princess Kaguya!, directed by Shingo Yamashita (Pokétoon chief director, opening storyboard artist and director for Chainsaw Man, Jujutsu Kaisen Season 1, and more) in his feature film debut and produced by Studio Colorido and Yamashita’s Studio Chromato, is a near-future yuri retelling of The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter infused with elements of modern entertainment culture. The plot sees busy high school student Iroha Sakayori inadvertently becoming roommates with the extra-terrestrial Kaguya. Later, Kaguya becomes a streaming personality with Iroha as her producer, and their rise brings them into increased contact with Yachiyo Runami, the popular administrator of the virtual realm Tsukuyomi whom Iroha idolizes. At the same time, the spectre of Kaguya’s eventual return to the moon looms on the horizon.
The movie was first released on January 22 on Netflix, where it spent some time in the Top 10 movie ranking in Japan. On February 20, it began its limited theatrical run in 19 locations. After a small expansion of the film’s screening plans in late February, March saw the number of locations increasing to 100. Since the start of its theatrical screening, Cosmic Princess Kaguya! has been consistently part of the Top 10 Japanese weekend box office ranking, where it placed fifth for the last three weekends.
Last week, it was announced that the crowdfunding campaign for the movie’s online appreciation event had raised 4057％ of its target goal. The virtual venue for the event will be made with the metaverse platform VRChat. There will be a free YouTube livestream for the event as well.
Cosmic Princess Kaguya! is also available in manga and light novel form, both published by KADOKAWA.
Production credits
• Director: Shingo Yamashita
• Tsukuyomi character designer: illustrator hechima
• Real world character designer: Akihiro Nagae (Drifting Home)
• Scriptwriter: Saeri Natsuo (Sono Toki, Kanojo wa.)
• Scriptwriter: Shingo Yamashita
• Live performance director: Naoya Nakayama (storyboard artist and unit director for YOASOBI’s “Idol” music video, OSHI NO KO Season 1 and 2)
• Background art director: Taichi Shishido
• Color designer: Izumi Hirose
• Tsukuyomi concept designer: illustrator Higashi Mizutamari
• Tsukuyomi concept designer: illustrator Fujimoto Gold from Gokinjo
• Real world concept designer: Hitomi Kariya
• Compositing director: Folium’s Daisuke Chiba (Stardust Telepath and Amane Kanata’s “Oracle” music video compositing director)
• CG director: Stimulus Image’s Masaya Machida (Overtake! co-CG director)
• Music composer: Conisch
• Animation production: Studio Colorido and Studio Chromato
Cast
• Yuko Natsuyoshi as Kaguya
• Anna Nagase as Iroha Sakayori
• Saori Hayami as Yachiyo Runami
Source: Press release