“A Miku Who Can’t Sing” released in theaters worldwide on April 17, 2025, taking Miku fans by storm due to the high emotional impact of the movie. Initially, this movie was released on January 17, 2025, in Japan, but was later given subtitles and distributed to theaters worldwide following a campaign for the game it was based off of, “Hatsune Miku: Colorful Stage.” Fans of the game were incentivized to watch it, as attending these screenings allowed players to receive codes, which were then used for in-game rewards.
Expectations for this movie were low, as fans of the video game had no idea how they could turn the video game into a movie while keeping an equal amount of attention on all five of the main groups in the video game. However, as the movie progressed it was impressive how the movie managed to maintain balance between the movie’s plot line and the characters from the video game. Each character was integrated into the plot in some way (specifically the leaders from each group), and a lot of the focus was on a special Miku who ‘couldn’t sing.’
The art in the movie itself was spectacular – it’s obvious from where each character is in their development that this movie has been in production for a while, as there is a character who still lives at home in the movie that lives elsewhere in the video game. It kept to the artstyle of the game itself without being too stiff. There were silly moments from each character in the movie to keep it lighthearted as the plot got increasingly dark.
The emotional impact of the movie was surprising as well. The game focuses on five different groups of musicians striving to achieve their dreams – the movie, however, focused on a Miku trying to take care of a group of people who had given up on their dreams. The more the movie progressed, the more each person gave up and stopped composing their own music, breaking up with their group mates and deleting softwares or throwing away equipment that allowed them to create music. Miku grew more and more affected by this until she finally gave up on trying to save them, being unable to reach them with her singing. This is where each group received a specially commissioned song, which they sang in the movie to reach all of those giving up on their dreams. These songs allowed each musician to continue composing, saving Miku in the end and restoring hope to her and her world.
Each commissioned song was an absolute masterpiece, with my favorite being ‘Fire Dance’. The same message is relayed in each song; when we’ve fallen down, we need to pick ourselves back up and keep doing what we love. This impactful message was clear in each dance and song performed, allowing the audience to feel motivated by the movie as it came to a close. There was even a special ‘aftershow’ once the movie was finished, where the audience was invited to bring lightsticks as Miku gave a concert, singing the song she struggled to sing throughout the entire movie.
Overall, this movie was incredibly impactful and enjoyable to watch. Although I went mostly for the in-game reward codes, I found myself captivated by the story told, and I believe that anybody can enjoy the movie even if they aren’t a fan of the game. This movie earns a rating of 5/5.