'Super Princess Kaguya!' Staff Talk Show ~What I Love About 'Kaguya'~ Report: Director and staff members talk about what they love about the show at Machi★Asobi Vol.30



The feature-length animated film '

Super Princess Kaguya! ', originally released on Netflix, was initially announced as a 'one-week limited theatrical release' in February 2026. However, as of the time of writing, there are still theaters showing the film, and it has finally surpassed 2.5 billion yen in box office revenue . The staff of 'Super Princess Kaguya!' held a ' Super Princess Kaguya! Staff Talk Show ~What I like about 'Kaguya'~ ' at the major entertainment event ' Machi★Asobi Vol.30 ' held in Tokushima Prefecture on Sunday, May 17, 2026.

Super Princess Kaguya! Staff Talk Show ~What I love about 'Kaguya'~
https://www.machiasobi.com/event/444/

The event took place at the Shinmachi Higashi Park stage, packed with spectators under a clear blue sky. Just before the event began, as MC Shoki Ota was giving his greetings, a 'Moon People' boarded a water bus traveling on the Shinmachi River behind him and passed by, creating a humorous mishap. Even the audience, who had already seen the film, couldn't help but laugh, and Ota commented, 'Today is a graduation live performance...'



In addition to Mr. Ota, the speakers included animation producer Kazuma Momohara (pictured left), director Seigo Yamashita (pictured right), VR part character designer Hechima, and real-world part character designer Akihiro Nagae. The speakers' names are listed without honorifics, and since this is based on notes taken on-site, some parts may have been omitted. Please note that this talk show is intended for people who have already seen the film, and therefore may touch upon the core of the story, so those who have not yet seen the film should be careful.



Ota:
It's been several months since it was released on Netflix, and about three months since it premiered in theaters. I imagine you've really felt the impact of this film. How do you feel about it now?

Yamashita:
You might wonder why I'm so busy (laughs). I'm grateful for it, though, because I'm still getting so many wonderful reviews.

Ota:
Today's event is the 'Super Princess Kaguya Staff Talk Show: What I Like About Me and Kaguya,' where we'd like to hear from the staff about their favorite aspects of the series. First, I'd like to ask about the story and characters, but among the characters you've created, which one are you most attached to, Director?

Yamashita:
When this project first came out, Yachiyo was my favorite character. I really liked how she seemed like a strong character but had another side to her inside. However, after I finished writing the script, I grew to really like Iroha. My initial impression of her changed, and I realized that this is a story about Iroha's growth, and I was able to depict her after she had grown, so I really came to like her.



Yamashita:
After the main story was finished, I started to think, 'Kaguya is really great!' (laughs) So now, in that sense, I really like Kaguya, including the multifaceted nature of her, such as the Kaguya after the fireworks before she goes home and the Kaguya 10 years later being different things.

Ota:
But why was the staff illustration collection given as a gift to attendees Black Oni (Black onyX)?

Yamashita:
That was something we ended up making at the last minute. We thought about using the countdown illustration that I posted on X as a gift for attendees, but then we realized it wouldn't be a good idea to use that as an attendee gift, so we decided to make another one.



Out of all the different characters that various people drew, only Kurooni remained (lol). After all, I know Kurooni's charm the best, and I'm the only one who knows his background, so I felt like I had to draw him myself.



Ota:
Which character is you most attached to, Hechima-san?

Loofah:
If I say that, it's true for everyone, but I felt a sense of closeness to Iroha from the initial plot and script stage. I told the director that, and he was like, 'That's me!' I really empathized with the part where she breaks down and cries, and I was suddenly moved to tears at that point!



Ota:
In terms of drawing, which character did you feel the most inspired to draw?

Loofah:
I feel like I've drawn Iroha and Yachiyo the most, but I've always struggled with them. Or rather, Tei was the hardest (lol).

Nagae:
Yes, it was a pretty difficult character to portray.

Ota:
I see. Which characters are you particularly fond of, Ms. Nagae?

Nagae:
I like everyone, but if I had to choose, I'd say I like Iroha because, like Hechima, I can relate to her a little in that she takes responsibility for everything from the start.



Momohara:
I think the director intended to create a character that people could empathize with, even if that was their original personality.

Yamashita:
I wonder. If you ask whether I resemble her or not, I do have some Iroha-like features, but there are times when I think I'm more like Kaguya.



Ota:
In what order were the characters created?

Yamashita:
Iroha is the last one to be created. That's for sure, because as I was developing the relationship between Kaguya and Yachiyo, I was thinking about how I could create a character that these girls would be able to save the most. So Kaguya and Yachiyo came first. However, once Kaguya was done, then Yachiyo, then Iroha would be like this, and then Kaguya would be like that... and so on, and I refined them in that way, so the characters were inconsistent and changed until the latter half of the scenario.

Ota:
Is there a particular character that you felt especially inspired to draw?

Yamashita:
No, all the characters were suffering quite a bit.

Ota:
At what stage was the image of the person 10 years later decided?

Yamashita:
That hasn't been officially established as a setting yet. Since there aren't many scenes in the anime, we don't spend much time on the setting, so we just come up with something like 'it's something like this' and work from there.

Nagae:
However, Director Yamashita did draw a rough sketch of what the Emperor actually looked like at the beginning, something like a Sakayori Asahi, and we talked about how we could make it look like it would be 10 years later based on that collection of expressions.

Ota:
Are you a fan of the characters, Momohara-san?

Momohara:
I've always been a fan of Iroha from the beginning. I'm the producer, and I also supervised the Kyoto dialect, so I feel a sense of familiarity with her. But strangely enough, when it comes down to who I've come to like after it's all over, it's Kaguya... There was that live performance in VRChat, right?

[3D Live Video] I Love Myself. – HoneyWorks / Kaguya (cv. Yuuko Natsuyoshi) from Super Kaguya-hime! - YouTube


Momohara:
During the supervision of that live performance, I was able to see Kaguya from 360 degrees, almost like in debug mode. I was on the same stage as her and saw Kaguya from Iroha's perspective. When I saw Kaguya dancing from about the same distance as the fox mask, I fell completely in love with her (laughs). I thought, 'I'm totally smitten!'

Ota:
So, you've switched your favorite character from Iroha to Kaguya?

Momohara:
I've changed my favorite member. It's a grave sin, isn't it? (lol) It's fine to like them all. I'm a fan of the whole group! (lol)



Ota:
Now, following on from the characters, I'd like to talk about the story. Is there a scene that you particularly liked? How about you, Nagae-san?

Nagae:
First of all, I was really captivated by the 'Starry Night Live' performance.

[Main Story Live Scene] Starry Sea – Aqu3ra / Tsukimi Yachiyo (cv. Saori Hayami) from #SuperKaguyaPrincess! - YouTube


Nagae:
And then there's this scene in the latter half where Iroha receives 8,000 years' worth of information, right? I'd been drawing it all this time, so seeing it finally come was incredibly moving.

Momohara:
It was actually nearing the end of production.

Nagae:
I really love that scene, especially the idea of having to share 8,000 years' worth of information. There are so many mysterious characters, aren't there? Like that wine guy I don't really know (laughs).

Yamashita:
It's Wine-niki , huh? (laughs) I search for mentions of myself online so much that I've lost touch with the distinction between fan fiction and what I actually do. Like yachi8000, for example...

Ota:
Next, let's hear about Hechima's favorite scene.

Loofah:
Yes, the fireworks scene is incredibly beautiful in terms of color, and I really love the scene; it makes me cry.

[Full video] 'Kaguya, are you leaving?' from Super Princess Kaguya! - YouTube


Loofah:
And then there were the battle scenes... I wasn't really involved in them, but the story continued throughout, so I was happy to watch it.

Momohara:
That must have been tough. It was right at the very end.

Yamashita:
Towards the very end, I was wondering if I could really do it, but the most difficult part was the battle scene (laughs). I was working on it the whole time...

Ota:
The director really did revise a lot of scenes, didn't he?

Yamashita:
If I had to pick one scene, it would definitely be the one where Yachiyo and Kaguya talk right before the final live performance. Even at the scriptwriting stage, I thought this was a really important scene. I remember thinking about what kind of conversation we should have them have, even before the characters were finalized, and I really like the scene that ends with the line, 'But I kind of liked that vibe!'

Ota:
Are there any scenes that you felt the director put particular effort into, Ms. Momohara?

Momohara:
I can't pick just one thing, it's everything. In normal anime production, there's a rule that 'once you decide this, it's fixed,' but the director would say things like, 'I'm sorry, but I really want to change this part,' or 'I want to do it this way to make the most of this part.' I was really being tossed around like Iroha, but I think he really valued everything, so I don't think he ever rejected anything.

Yamashita:
Momohara-san said 'Yes' rather listlessly (laughs). 'Yes, is it okay? Can I do it? I just need to check,' and then she did it.



Momohara:
The attention to detail is incredible, and I felt that every scene was important, so I guess it's all of them. However, my absolute favorite scene is the one at the fireworks festival, and I really love Iroha's line, 'It wasn't that I wanted to say it, it was that I didn't want to say it.' There are so many situations like that when you become an adult. I feel like there are a lot of adults who live their lives thinking, 'I don't want to say this,' and I felt like she was speaking for them.

Yamashita:
Back then, I was writing the script in Google Docs and we were exchanging comments on it, and someone just put a crying stamp on that line and said, 'I love this part!' (laughs)

Momohara:
I really loved the line 'I didn't want to say it' from the beginning, so I wanted it included here.

Ota:
After it was released, I think there were times when characters were explored in more depth or certain scenes gained attention in ways that weren't intended. ...For example, a VTuber who only appeared for a split second.

Yamashita:
Like Terelili Titotete, for example. I really want to say that (lol). We have a staff member named Fujiyama Ruri who helps with the original concept and creates the settings, and when I said, 'The world isn't expanding, I kind of need about 10 more people,' she came up with 10 names and settings the very next day (lol).

Momohara:
There were a few more streamers featured on Tsukuyomi News, right? They started by introducing around 5th place, but then it changed to 3rd place. Some people were even creating fan fiction based on just a single moment of that collaborative stream.

Yamashita:
There's a lot of creative content about Tetete (Terelili Titoteto) on X, and I laughed so hard when I saw that he was going to be featured.

The session then moved on to questions and answers. It was noted that they would not be able to answer questions regarding some topics that have sparked online debate over interpretation.

Q:
Regarding the character designs for the real world and Tsukuyomi, I got the impression that the real world characters are more stylized, while Tsukuyomi's are closer to realism. What was the initial plan like?

Yamashita:
I had conveyed to Nagae-san my intention to make it comical, but I don't think I talked much with Hechima-san about making the lighting realistic. When I thought about how to differentiate them as we were creating the visuals, I focused on making Tsukuyomi's world closer to a game world, with smooth, three-dimensional movement and well-designed lighting, while for the reality side, I prioritized subjective visuals to strike a balance.



Q:
There are slight differences in dates and other details between the novel and the film version. Can this be considered a simple mistake?

Yamashita:
No comment. Sorry about that (lol).

Q:
The story is set in Tachikawa City, and I was curious why they chose Tachikawa City.

Yamashita:
Simply put, I often take my kids to the shopping complex in Tachikawa, and I really like the location. Also, it's a good balance between being in the city center and being able to create things like gaming-themed utility poles around there.

Momohara:
Most importantly, it makes location scouting much easier.

Nagae:
Since my role was the realistic part of the story, I went on location scouting trips. I even visited the fireworks festival venue during the off-season.

Yamashita:
I remember being late and making Nagae-san and the others wait in the snow. I'm sorry about that (lol).

Q:
In the Happy Synthesizer scene, a noodle-making machine appears, but are there staff members on the production side who are actually making the noodles?

[Full Video] Happy Synthesizer (COVER) – Kaguya (cv. Yuuko Natsuyoshi) from Super Kaguya-hime! - YouTube


Yamashita:
Kaguya's character is described as someone who 'pursues what she wants to do to the very end, with the same level of dedication as a man cooking,' so I figured she'd make the noodles from scratch (laughs). I'm kind of that type myself, though I don't own any right now.

Q:
How did you decide on names like Iroha and Kaguya?

Yamashita:
Iroha's name was originally 'Youka.' The name was supposed to loop like Yachiyo, Youka, Kauya. But it ended up being all 'Ya's, so Iroha wasn't decided until the very end. 'Sakayori' can also be read as 'Sakaki,' and it was probably created based on 'Sanuki no Miyatsuko' from the original Tale of the Bamboo Cutter.



Momohara:
The director came up with the idea, and that's how the name was decided.

Yamashita:
There was a time when she had a different name, but our Fujiyama was very particular about names, so he got really angry and said, 'That name won't do.' I'm glad it was Sakayori Iroha, but I didn't really do much in naming.

Q:
What is happening in the scene where Kaguya is eating a giant Ehomaki roll?

Yamashita:
That scene depicts someone attempting to eat an Ehomaki roll in one bite, and the party blower in the background is a warning that 'doing something like that is dangerous.' That party blower is a real toy called 'Jigoku no Pihyara,' and I actually own one, so I know that it doesn't actually open like that; it opens in a sequence of 'pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa.' That kind of lung capacity isn't human (lol).

Q:
For the scenes in your music, do you draw while listening to the music?

Yamashita:
The decision of which songs to use was made quite late, so I didn't create the illustrations based on the songs.

[Main Live Scene] World is Mine CPK! Remix (Kaguya & Tsukimi Yachiyo ver.) – ryo (supercell) from Chou Kaguyahime! - YouTube


Nagae:
I think I might listen to music while drawing to get inspiration, but I don't usually leave it playing continuously.

Q:
I listened to the 'Super Princess Kaguya' collaboration episode of ' VR! ' (which aired the day before the event). In the final epilogue, you say, 'We had a fight and broke up.' Will that scene be described in more detail in the future?

Yamashita:
Nothing in particular (laughs). They reconcile in the epilogue, and it doesn't really make sense from a scenario standpoint, but that's the only thing I could think of... I just love bringing up the topic of their relationship out of nowhere at that point!

(Everyone burst out laughing)

Yamashita:
I really liked this! So, um... there's nothing in particular to say. I ended up putting it in.

Momohara:
The person who asked the question is taking a lot of notes.

Yamashita:
I felt like, 'I did it!' The script had a somewhat nonsensical flow, but I liked how it ended with a narration. I really love it.

(Finally, when we asked the audience if they had seen 'Super Princess Kaguya!' 3 to 10 times or more, more than half of the audience raised their hands.)

Momohara:
I've probably watched it about six times, including simultaneous viewings.

Loofah:
That's right! When you watch something together, you end up watching it all the way to the end, don't you?

Momohara:
They also have audience participation during the performance. I always end up crying at the very beginning, when they say, 'Thank you, Studio Chromat!' I always make sure to get a seat in the back right corner so I can see that audience participation.

Ota:
It's almost time, so do you each have a final word?

Loofah:
Thank you so much to everyone who loved the work and watched it; it exceeded my expectations. I hope it will be a work that people will remember for many years to come, wondering 'How are Aya and the others doing?', and I would be happy if you remember it for a long time.

Nagae:
Without a work like 'Super Princess Kaguya!', I would never have had the opportunity to speak in front of so many people like this. I want to express my joy at feeling that the fans cherish the work, and it truly makes me happy that the things I created are being treasured for so long.

Yamashita:
The word 'forever' was used, but in reality, there's still a lot going on, so I won't say anything specific, but I think I'll be involved, so I hope you'll continue to enjoy it. Thank you.

Momohara:
First of all, I sincerely apologize for the fact that some fans were unable to purchase merchandise or participate in the autograph session due to our underestimation. We are increasing production of the Blu-ray and, in order to respond to the overwhelming enthusiasm of our fans, we will continue to put you all first and work together to make this work a success. Thank you very much.

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