Cosmic Princess Kaguya
For decades, animated feature films—especially those not tied to an existing popular IP—have struggled to find their audience. Animation is still too often written off as cheap, disposable children’s entertainment. You can see this most clearly in the Academy Awards, where for years Academy members have openly admitted to voting in the animation category based on their kids’ favorites instead of actually watching the entries themselves.
While I’m sure many children have thoughtful and meaningful opinions about art and animation, I don’t think they’re quite as qualified to decide the best animated film of the year as an actual Academy member should be. That said, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has never been especially great at picking a Film of the Year—animated or otherwise—so take that however you like.
The point is that unless you’re a Studio Ghibli feature, it’s an uphill battle for an animated film to be taken seriously, whether it’s anime or not. That’s why I think Cosmic Princess Kaguya deserves a place on your watchlist, even if it isn’t a perfect film.
There are two main reasons for that.
First, it’s absolutely gorgeous—visually stunning and stylistically referential in a way that feels intentional rather than derivative.
Second, it has real heart and isn’t trying to hook you into a pre-existing IP. It simply exists on its own terms, and in a world where every movie seems to be the first entry in an already-planned trilogy, that alone feels refreshing—and worth celebrating.
Notes
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COSMIC PRINCESS KAGUYA!
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Type: ONA
Episodes: 1/1
Status: COMPLETED
Overall Rating: ★★★★★ (8.51/5)
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SERIES NOTES
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Rating: ★★★★★ (6/5)
Has a hosada vibe
Very Gen Z coded
Reminds me of words bubble up like soda pop
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EPISODE NOTES
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▸ Episode 1
Rating: ★★★★★
Watched: Feb 11, 2026
Very dreamy cyber punk
Full dive VR contacts
Iroha trying to stop the utility pole from opening is a great gag
An unhinged amount of energy drinks
Instantly a mother
Take of the bamboo cutter
Iroha feels a little like Misato
She ran off but she’s not a total loaf
Has really great comedic timing
Really expressive animation
Clearly influenced by belle and summer wars
Disco moon!
The concert reminds me of Macross plus
Beautiful back story delivery
Great mantoge
Kaguya Guilting the hell out of Iroha is great
The pressure will always catch up to you
The pacing is a little messed up because of the runtime
The big brother reveal is great
I like that the AI
3d is pulling a lot of weigh in the fight scene
Iroha’s brother knew that she didn’t get along with thier mother but still left most likely to protect himself somehow
It’s great that it’s who gained the most followers not who has the most followers
Her brother is cocky but not a total ass
Performance at 1hour 20 minutes is a little off it so like it’s narrowing from the world is mine at first
Then it got creepy
Moon Lantern head people can be…… good
It’s interesting that they reveal the outcome early so they make it clear that’ not the climax
The plot is a little disconnected
All the sudden Kaguya is IMPORTANT
The fake ending is a good bit
The depiction of the moon would is kinda cool
I have so many questions abou vr contacts
Time travel shenanigans
It struggles under its own story
This is about making your Wifu real?!
It’s WAY two aware it’s a movie
Needed more space
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Exported from Bento Watch
Date: Feb 12, 2026