Kaguya-hime no Monogatari (The Tale of the Princess Kaguya)

Deep in the countryside, a man named Okina works as a bamboo cutter in a forest, chopping away at the hollow plants day after day. One day, he discovers a small baby inside a glowing shoot. He immediately takes her home, convinced that she is a princess sent to Earth as a divine blessing from heaven. Okina and his wife Ouna take it upon themselves to raise the infant as their own, watching over her as she quickly grows into an energetic young girl. Given the name Kaguya, she fits right in with the village she has come to call home, going on adventures with the other children and enjoying what youth has to offer.

But when Okina finds a large fortune of gold and treasure in the forest, Kaguya's life is completely changed. Believing this to be yet another gift from heaven, he takes it upon himself to turn his daughter into a real princess using the wealth he has just obtained, relocating the family to a mansion in the capital. As she leaves her friends behind to enter into an unwanted life of royalty, Kaguya's origins and purpose slowly come to light.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Edit

Background

Kaguya-hime no Monogatari is based on the 10th century Japanese folk tale of the same title. It was nominated for Best Animated Feature at the 87th Academy Awards, the first such nomination for Takahata. The film received over 20 nominations worldwide from critics associations, film festivals, and academies, winning seven times.

Edit

Related Anime

Alternative version:

Kaguya-hime

More characters

Characters & Voice Actors

Kaguya-hime

Main

Asakura, Aki
Japanese

Me no Warawa

Supporting

Tabata, Tomoko
Japanese

Sutemaru

Supporting

Koura, Kengo
Japanese

Ouna

Supporting

Miyamoto, Nobuko
Japanese

Okina

Supporting

Chii, Takeo
Japanese

Isonokami no Chuunagon

Supporting

Kojou, Tamaki
Japanese

Abe no Udaijin

Supporting

Inbe no Akita

Supporting

Tatekawa, Shinosuke
Japanese

Sumiyaki no Roujin

Supporting

Nakadai, Tatsuya
Japanese

Kitanokata

Supporting

Asaoka, Yukiji
Japanese

More staff

Staff

Nishimura, Yoshiaki

Producer

Takahata, Isao

Director, Screenplay, Creator

Asari, Naoko

Sound Director

Pannetier, Jean-Marc

Script, ADR Director

Edit

Opening Theme

No opening themes have been added to this title. Help improve our database by adding an opening theme here.

Edit

Ending Theme

"Inochi no Kioku (いのちの記憶)" by Kazumi Nikaidou (二階堂和美)

Reviews

Dec 11, 2014

HaXXspetten

Recommended

Studio Ghibli have always been at the very forefront in the anime film industry. Their creations have been able to reach out to any and all demographics with great success for decades, and have numerous masterpieces under their belt by now. Most of these are creations of the one and only Miyazaki Hayao, however Hotaru no Haka (Grave of the Fireflies) released back in 1988, one of the most critically acclaimed Ghibli films was written and directed by the studio's co-founder Takahata Isao. But this was something that was known as a one-hit wonder, as his other works never got anywhere near the same level ... of praise and attention as his first one did. This changes now however. 25 years after Grave of the Fireflies was released, Takahata's new work titled Kaguya-hime no Monogatari (The Tale of Princess Kaguya) hit the cinemas, and this time he once again got it right, because this movie is sincerely a true work of art.

Kaguya-hime (I'll refer to it as such henceforth) is based on The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, a famous story from Japanese folklore. In this rendition, an elderly bamboo cutter finds a tiny human-like baby within the folds of a bamboo shoot one day, and takes it as a sign from the heavens that it is his duty to raise the mysterious child. However he and his wife quickly discover that the child is far from a normal human, as she grows at an insane speed. She goes from crawling to walking in a split second, she learns to talk in no time at all, and within months she's as big as the older children who used to play around with her. Meanwhile, the bamboo cutter finds even more miraculous gifts within the bamboo shoots in the forest such as gold, gemstones and expensive clothing. He comes to the conclusion that the task the heavens has provided him is not just about raising the child, but about turning her into an actual princess of the land.

The majority of the story then takes place in the capital and follows Kaguya's blistering journey through her youth as her foster parents are doing everything within their power to try to turn her into a real princess, although Kaguya herself is mildly enthusiastic about this idea. Now the idea of having a wild tomboy being forced to become a "proper" woman is nothing new, but I still think this story showcased one of the best renditions of that concept that I've seen in a while. Kaguya's character herself is superbly written and her reactions to everything going on around her feel very realistic and enjoyable to witness. She shows in full that she is very talented and fully capable of carrying out all the modest and appropriate ways of behaving for a noble woman, but at the same time very clearly gets the message across that despite all that she only really wants to live her life freely and play around. She's a very relatable character as a whole, and her enthusiastic spirit is perhaps the biggest reason as to why the film is so captivating throughout.

The supporting cast primarily consists of Kaguya's foster parents, her mentor, her childhood friends as well as all kinds of rich nobles that are interested in her. None of them feel needless in any way, but it's pretty clear that this story is about Kaguya herself and no one else, as the focus is always on her alone. In a way this can be considered a bad thing since the rest of the characters don't get very much in the way of depth and back story, but I personally didn't ever feel particularly bothered by that. Kaguya is really the only one that truly matters in this movie, and as far as that goal goes the movie executes it brilliantly.

What is definitely worth mentioning about this story though is the ending of it. While I obviously won't spoil any details, let's just say that the conclusion of this story is... unexpected. It is very unusual, spontaneous and just plain strange in a lot of ways. Was it bad then? Honestly I'm not entirely sure if I liked it or not, but it was definitely not what I ever thought I'd see in a Ghibli film at least. Personally though, I always appreciate when stories diverge from the norm and decide to go a little bit crazy, so regardless of which I respect it for what it did on principle. However I know from experience that whenever a movie comes along which takes a sudden unexpected turn close to its ending, there will always be heavily split opinions on it. Therefore I can guarantee that there will be a lot of people who will really dislike the climax. Just a warning.

As far as the production value goes, the soundtrack is for the most part rather ambient but it is very on-point for the atmosphere of the story. Some of the instrumental tracks in it however were very catchy and pleasing to listen to. In addition Kaguya also plays a little music on her own within the movie itself so it was quite diverse in that department. The voice acting is typical Ghibli in terms of feel and quality, which is of course always a great thing. I'd praise it more, but honestly I'm more or less expecting it from a Ghibli film at this point.

The animation however is where Kaguya-hime really goes way off what you'd ever expect to see in an anime movie released as late as 2013. The art style takes a very old school, classical approach which makes it feel hand-drawn most of the time. Sketch lines are intentionally left in, and at first it looks like the movie wasn't actually finished in its current state since common sense says it requires quite a lot more polishing. But this is the style the movie utilizes throughout on purpose. At first it takes a while to get used to, but once you do it's actually really captivating to witness. It makes the movie seem so much more atmospheric somehow, and helps beautify it as the icing on the cake. Where the animation really shines though is during the sequences of the movie which has a lot of rapid movement. When Kaguya runs throughout the mansion or the forests, or when the camera simply "flies" throughout the landscape, it looks absolutely mesmerizing. I'm not even sure how to explain it since it was so unorthodox; it's something you really have to see in person and experience for yourself.

As a whole, this is probably my 2nd favorite Ghibli film to date (after Spirited Away), so yes I honestly liked this more than Takahata's former "masterpiece". It's a bit hard to put into words exactly what it is that makes Kaguya-hime so loveable though, but I think it's a combination of the setting, Kaguya's character and the creative artwork. Case in point however is that I truly loved this movie from start to finish, despite its lengthiness. As with most (all?) Ghibli films, this one is most definitely watchable by all audiences, but in particular if you're a fan of beautiful landscapes and coming-of-age stories, then you better add Kaguya-hime to your repertoire as soon as possible. Not doing so would be seriously missing out.

Wholeheartedly recommended.

Open

Gift

Aug 27, 2016

Triton_330

Mixed Feelings

I'm gonna be flat out honest: this review is definitely of the minority.

I've been on a Studio Ghibli movie marathon lately and I must say this is probably the worst for me (And I love pretty much all the other ones I've seen). This movie made me *angry* most of the time. It's supposed to be sad, but when you're overwhelmed by wanting to punch the father in the face throughout the whole movie it's hard to feel sadness. EVERYTHING WAS HIS FAULT. She could have lived happy in the country. But he has to read too far into the bamboo giving gold. And think ...

Open

Gift

Jan 2, 2016

awerture

Not Recommended

This Studio Ghibli motion picture is relatively well-acclaimed outside the anime world. As of now it boasts 100% rating on rotten tomatoes and it was nominated for 87th Academy Awards. Unfortunately, for all of its praise it's a surprisingly mediocre work.

The movie has some merits - it has delightful watercolor-like visual style. It's very pleasant to watch, one can simply sit and enjoy the flow of images. Animation is vivid and the art style captures the mood of the period and atmosphere of the folk tale very well. What this movie fails to capture however, is the very point it's trying to make.

Because the ...

Open

Gift

More stacks

Interest Stacks

Long Anime Movies

by Gino99

40 Entries · 38 Restacks

One Main Character

by Gino99

50 Entries · 53 Restacks

anime archive: unique animation style✮

by shinlvrr

50 Entries · 84 Restacks

More recommendations

Recommendations

View All

More news

Recent News

North American Anime & Manga Releases for June

Here are the North American anime, manga, and light novel releases for June Week 1: June 7 - 13 Anime Releases Bem (BEM: Become Human) Blu-ray Btooom! (incl. Bakusat...read more

Jun 7, 2022 10:13 AM by Aiimee | Discuss (2 comments)

North American Anime & Manga Releases for April

Here are the North American anime, manga, and light novel releases for April Week 1: April 5 - 11 Anime Releases Grenadier: Hohoemi no Senshi (Grenadier: The Beautif...read more

Apr 4, 2022 6:07 PM by Aiimee | Discuss (4 comments)

More discussions

Recent Forum Discussion

frustrating ending bigmustache93 - Sep 13, 2016	19 replies	by downymaiden »» Mar 13, 12:46 PM
Poll: Kaguya-hime no Monogatari Episode 1 Discussion ( 1 2 3 ) Asore - Dec 16, 2013	143 replies	by UnknownGhost5 »» Dec 21, 2023 3:20 PM
I hate the father Jutin123 - Aug 25, 2023	8 replies	by AraumC »» Sep 7, 2023 11:02 AM
Revert the cover pic pls Effulgence - May 9, 2018	7 replies	by KitsuFrost »» Jul 14, 2023 7:43 PM
Nominated for an Academy Award! Samu-tan - Jan 15, 2015	10 replies	by Drumbottle »» Jul 5, 2023 9:08 AM

Recent Featured Articles

Top 20 Best Anime Movies to Kick-Start 2016

Tons of good anime movies have been made over the years. But why settle for good? We present to you a list of not 5, not 10, but 20 of some of the best anime movies in existence! Dig in and find some new and interesting Japanese animated movies to watch this year!

by samcook

345,089 views

Recommendation Collection Ghibli

60 Breathtaking Anime Backgrounds From 17 Different Anime

Great background art can really make a difference in elevating an anime to greatness. Feast your eyes on these 46 beautiful anime backgrounds.

by removed_user

314,259 views

Collection Art

Kaguya-hime no Monogatari

Alternative Titles

Information

Statistics

Available At

Resources

Streaming Platforms

Synopsis

Background

Visit MALxJapan
MALxJapan -More than just anime-

Related Anime

Characters & Voice Actors

Kaguya-hime

Me no Warawa

Sutemaru

Ouna

Okina

Isonokami no Chuunagon

Abe no Udaijin

Inbe no Akita

Sumiyaki no Roujin

Kitanokata

Staff

Opening Theme

Ending Theme

Reviews

Interest Stacks

Recommendations

Recent News

Recent Forum Discussion

Recent Featured Articles

MoreTop Anime

MoreTop Airing Anime

MoreMost Popular Characters

Kaguya-hime no Monogatari

Alternative Titles

Information

Statistics

Available At

Resources

Streaming Platforms

Synopsis

Background

Visit MALxJapan MALxJapan -More than just anime-

Related Anime

Characters & Voice Actors

Staff

Opening Theme

Ending Theme

Reviews

Interest Stacks

Recommendations

Recent News

Recent Forum Discussion

Recent Featured Articles

MoreTop Anime

MoreTop Airing Anime

MoreMost Popular Characters

Visit MALxJapan
MALxJapan -More than just anime-