Cosmic Princess Kaguya Is a Perfect Example of Vocaloid-Driven Mythology for Today’s Fans

Vocaloid songs have been in the entertainment industry since the early days of the 2000s, but a noticeable growth was observed during the 2020 pandemic. Generally known as the “Goodbye Declaration” boom, the people stuck at home during this time were exposed to a plethora of digital content.

Social media platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and Nico Nico Douga amplified this boom, where users shared covers, animations, and remixes, creating participatory fan communities. At times when concerts were cancelled, Vocaloid’s fully digital performers felt especially relevant.

The catchy high-energy pop sound and relatability brought a change in those mundane lives, and instantly, the Vocaloid music scene was changed. This digital-first appeal is also evident in contemporary works like Cosmic Princess Kaguya!, where Vocaloid technology is used to merge futuristic storytelling with emotional expression beyond human limitations.​

What is Cosmic Princess Kaguya about?​

Directed by Shingo Yamashita, also known for Chainsaw Man (2022) and Jujutsu Kaisen, Cosmic Princess Kaguya! is his first full-length original animated film. It is about a 17-year-old high school student, Iroha Sakayori, and a princess who came from the sky. A glowing telephone pole sends a rapidly growing baby, Kaguya, who persuades Iroha to help her create music and become an aspiring idol.  

While Iroha is struggling with her life between school and part-time work, Kaguya’s high-spirited energy could not prevent her from becoming what she had thought. However, Kaguya’s lunar origins and the ominous forces that want to separate them make things harder for them.​

Watch the trailer here:

Though there have been takes on this story before (like Studio Ghibli’s The Tale of Princess Kaguya in 2013), this one focuses more on recent media. Virtual worlds and huge live performances with famous idols seem to be the focus of this movie.

Mythology meets modern media: Ne Zha, K-Pop Demon Hunters, and Kaguya​

Modern Asian animation is now using its respective mythologies aggressively in the stories, which has definitely resonated well with the audience. Ne Zha, a beloved figure in Chinese mythology, is a rebellious warrior deity who symbolizes courage as he fights powerful foes like the Dragon Kings.​

The film became a global sensation, especially its sequel, Ne Zha 2, as it now sits at the top of the global box office toppers in 2025. Its modern animation, visuals, and strong storytelling made the film a timeless symbol in the entertainment industry.  

Similarly, Korean anime like Netflix’s K-Pop Demon Hunters is also based on Korean mythology, where the singing and dancing of female shamans is believed to drive away spirits, a mirrored concept in Huntrix’s musical battles against demons. Thriving on this belief, the Honmoon barrier is the protective shield, powered by fans and music energy, whose roots are again found in shamanistic beliefs.  ​

Cosmic Princess Kaguya capitalizes on the very notion, in accordance with the Japanese mythology. Japan’s oldest surviving folktale, The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, talks about the story of Kaguya-hime, a mysterious princess from the Moon. The narration focuses on her beauty and earthly attachments as she gives her suitors impossible tasks, her gloomy gaze at the moon, and her eventual departure to where she belonged.​

The themes of natural beauty, purity, and connections with nature are found in the original myth, written in the 10th century. These elements are translated into a modern context shaped by digital culture and sound. Cosmic Princess Kaguya replaces the traditional courtship and poetic longing with music as emotional language, using Vocaloid-inspired songs, likely to make it more appealing for modern audiences.

According to the BBC cultural analysis on Gen Z media consumption, anime is a big part of Gen Z culture, in the same way Beyoncé was for Millennials. It further goes on to explain,

​“Gen Z-ers, with 54% of them globally being anime fans. Meanwhile, Spotify reported a 395% increase in global streams of anime music between 2021 and 2024, as well as 7.2 million user-generated anime playlists on its site (at the time of writing). A Spotify spokesperson also tells the BBC that users under the age of 29 account for nearly 70% of global anime music consumption.” [Source]

Keeping these stats in mind, the modern Asian anime industry has identified the huge untapped potential, creating a fusion of Vocaloid and myth as an emotional spine of the story. Keeping the adaptation relatable for the modern audience is the alignment that clicked well with the viewers as soon as Cosmic Princess Kaguya’s trailer was released.​

The film successfully bridges the gap between the myth of the celestial princess and modern Vocaloid and digital music culture, allowing the story to resonate with fans who engage more deeply through sound and technology than through traditional narrative alone.  ​

Why does Vocaloid feel special in Cosmic Princess Kaguya?

Japanese animation has its origins dating back to the early 20th century, with endless stylized stories focused on sci-fi warfare, sports action, martial arts, romance, and mythology. With a rapidly advancing digital age, elevated action sequences with vividly evocative snappy themes paired with what is now a major musical force known as “Anisongs” have a massive fanbase of their own.​

Aside from the spectacular visuals, its few trailers and songs have taken the Vocaloid and anime community by storm.

And you just KNOW the entire movie and the rest of its soundtracks are going to be absolute BANGERS when they’ve got such an amazing lineup of Vocaloid producers, such as:

Ryo (Supercell): Every new and old Vocaloid fan knows this guy. Why? For one particular song: Hatsune Miku’s most iconic song, “World is Mine,” released in 2009, has all the rapturous fans screaming “SEKAAAAAAAAI DE” at the top of their lungs whenever they hear it! So, of COURSE people flipped when they heard a cover of this very song in the first few seconds of Cosmic Princess Kaguya!

Yuigot: Best known for their remixes of popular Vocaloid songs, most notably their 2019 remix of “Lost Umbrella.” Though the song is originally by INABAKUMORI, Yuigot’s remix gave the song a lot of attention, too!

Aqu3ra: He has been around since the iconic era of 2018. First song: Sleeping Awake (Ft. Hatsune Miku). Produced the song “Crystal Snow,” which was the theme for Snow Miku 2025.

HoneyWorks: It would be an absolute crime not to include HoneyWorks in this movie. It is the famous Japanese musical group known for writing and producing Vocaloid songs. The group started uploading their songs to Nico Nico in 2010 and released their debut album in 2014; well known for the song Kawaikute Gomen. They have their own anime, too.

Was Vocaloid used before Cosmic Princess Kaguya, too?

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This feels like a major step for anime feature films on platforms like Netflix, where Vocaloid-inspired music and collaborations with top Vocaloid producers take center stage in a Netflix-exclusive release. The film not only reimagines an ancient Japanese folktale but also brings the soundtrack and spirit of the Vocaloid scene to a global audience.

While it is still relatively rare for a direct Vocaloid-synthesized voice to be used in a main, high-budget anime opening, it has happened in the anime industry before. Several anime, manga, and light novels are adaptations of stories told through Vocaloid songs, such as Mekakucity Actors (2014), Black Rock Shooter (2010/2012), Mikagura School Suite (2015), and Actors- Songs Connection (2019).​

Some Vocaloid songs featured in anime include Watamote, Akikan! (2009), Meguriau Sekai (2013), and Dropkick on My Devil! (2018). The catchy tunes of these songs were specially designed to feature fast-paced “bombarding” rock sounds, aimed to go viral online. The instant hype, similar to Ado’s success in One Piece Film: Red (2022), establishes these tracks as fast emotional ballads, fitting well with the anime’s requirement of a high-octane emotional story plot.  

Why did Vocaloid become a global sensation?​

Vocaloid songs have experienced a massive surge in popularity and are now increasingly used in anime films due to a combination of technological advancements, a shift toward online native music culture, and the “Vocalo-P” producer scene.​

Since most of the Vocaloid songs are character or story-driven, they provide rich and thematic content for animators to create stories along the lines of an emotionally intense character. It blends well with visually stunning scenes of the music-led modern anime films, irresistible to the new generations who are in love with anime-style, high-fidelity music videos. 

Genre: Japanese anime, hand-drawn animation, drama, fantasy, music, sci-fi

Cast: Yuko Natsuyoshi, Anna Nagase, Saori Hayami

Directors: Gavin Harrison, Shingo Yamashita

Writers: Saeri Natsuo, Shingo Yamashita

Producers: Studio Colorido, Studio Chromato, Twin Engine Partners

Release date: January 22, 2026, on Netflix

Movie runtime: 2 hours 23 minutes