Hatsune Miku, the global icon Vocaloid, makes her first-ever appearance in a movie. The musical drama, “Colorful Stage! The Movie: A Miku Who Can’t Sing,” is based on the video game “Project Sekai: Colorful Stage! feat. Hatsune Miku.” Within the first weekend of its arrival in U.S. theaters, it made over $2.7 million, which was especially shocking to many people since the film didn’t have much advertising.
Although Miku is already extremely popular in Japan and among Vocaloid fans, not many people expected that the movie would perform this well in the United States. In its opening weekend, it became one of the top ten movies at the box office, beating out many movies that had larger budgets and bigger advertising campaigns.
The film follows a gloomy version of Hatsune Miku who traverses through screens in Shibuya. She strives to emotionally connect with people experiencing depression through her voice, but consistently fails at doing so. Throughout the movie, the “Project Sekai: Colorful Stage! feat. Hatsune Miku” cast support her, leading to a culmination of concerts and musical performances. Even though this plot might sound simple to some, it hits home for many viewers, especially longtime fans who have been listening to Miku’s voice for years.
Special postcards are given out to people who see the movie in theaters. These postcards contain codes that can be used in “Project Sekai: Colorful Stage! feat. Hatsune Miku” to get in-game items, like collectible cards. It was confirmed that every theater showing the movie would give out these codes. However, some moviegoers online have described that their theater either didn’t have any codes or ran out really fast. In some theaters, staff lay out the codes so viewers could freely take them on their own volition. However, many people online have described that some will take huge stacks of the codes and leave none for others. These codes have even been seen being sold online, which has made a lot of fans upset.
Reddit user @Sparkysz says, “You should be considerate of the other people watching the film, and because [of people taking] a bunch of them, without even needing them at all, other people won’t be able to get those posters.”
The movie received mixed reviews from critics. Some praised the film for its colorful animation and emotional moments, while others felt that the story was more for fans of the original game than general audiences. Many found the movie difficult to focus on because of the large cast; 20 teens support Miku in her journey.
“The movie was so good, but you have to realize the fact that it is not a movie centered around [just] Miku,” TikTok user @tsukasastr88_ says, “It is a movie from ‘Project Sekai,’ which means you have to have background knowledge of [the game] to enjoy the movie.”
With how successful this movie was, we might see more movies featuring Hatsune Miku in the future. Despite being a software voice bank, Hatsune Miku is a global pop icon that continues to expand her digital presence beyond just singing.
