Project Sekai Movie: Kowareta Sekai to Utaenai Miku

At a CD store, Ichika Hoshino hears a song by Miku that she has never heard before. On the monitor, she sees a "Hatsune Miku" in a form she has never seen before, and couldn't help say it out loud, "Miku!?" Miku was surprised at the voice, her eyes meet Ichika's, but she disappears shortly after.

Later, after a live performance on the street, the Miku that Ichika saw before appears on her smartphone. Miku looks sad and downcast, and when Ichika quietly asks Miku about her story, she tells Ichika that there are people to whom she wants to deliver her songs, but no matter how much she sings, her songs are not reaching them.

Miku, who saw Ichika singing to the hearts of many people at her live performances, thought that if she learns more about Ichika, she can do the same, and came to Ichika. Ichika smiles at Miku and says, "If it's all right with me."

And a new story of Hatsune Miku and the boys and girls begins—.

(Source: Crunchyroll)

Hatsune, Miku Main

Fujita, Saki Japanese

Hoshino, Ichika Main

Noguchi, Ruriko Japanese

Kagamine, Len Supporting

Shimoda, Asami Japanese

Kagamine, Rin Supporting

Shimoda, Asami Japanese

Megurine, Luka Supporting

Asakawa, Yuu Japanese

Akiyama, Mizuki Supporting

Satou, Hinata Japanese

Kaito Supporting

Fuuga, Naoto Japanese

Yoisaki, Kanade Supporting

Kusunoki, Tomori Japanese

Kamishiro, Rui Supporting

Toki, Shunichi Japanese

Tenma, Tsukasa Supporting

Hirose, Daisuke Japanese

Hata, Hiroyuki Director

Aketagawa, Jin Sound Director

Ueda, Reina Theme Song Performance

Kusunoki, Tomori Theme Song Performance

Reviews

Apr 18, 2025

Inorichi

Recommended

Great movie for ProSeka players and a decently good movie for anyone new.

The ProSeka movie can really be summed up as an interesting standalone movie which could have used 10 to 20 more minutes of runtime to truly stand out.

Notes: End Credits exist (short, not very important), Post End Credit exists (3d aftershow), Paper/Pamphlet with Code exists (US theaters / 4 times for all 26 in-game bonuses)

Strong points - Animation, Visuals, Editing, Songs.
Weak points - Pacing, Side Characters, Script
Neutral - Directing, Plot, Music, Main Characters

... +++ ] Strong Points:
Visuals are excellent. The character designs which I thought looked strange in the PVs actually blend incredibly well with the backgrounds and draw out the charms of each character. Every character has at least 2 or more outfits and I was actually impressed mid-movie at how intricate some were, especially since all the dance choreography was fully 2D. Animation throughout the movie was pretty good, but not necessarily a sakuga fes or anything.

Environment is a strong point, where a lot of thought was given into the atmosphere of each setting & Sekai, such as the shooting stars in the School sekai or extra angles of WEG, Kanade & Ena's rooms, Tenma siblings house, etc. Seeing all the different angles of each of the in-game locations was quite interesting as a player and a good blend of close and far shots are used to depict the scale and atmosphere of the world.

Songs, all great as expected from an all star lineup of vocaloid producers. Standout songs are Fire Dance where you can feel Giga's influence on the arrangement and is the first insert song to play, instantly setting the tone for the climax, The Light That's There or Soko ni Aru, Hikari the closest in terms of the movies theme and setting the tone very well, and the final group insert song SToRY where you can most definitely feel and hear kemu's arrangement on DECO*27s melody, making for a very memorable and one of L/Ns best songs.
FUN!! and Smile*Symphony are well suited for MMJ and WxS but don't stand out relative to the movie or their other songs. Partially used insert song Kimikoi Quest was unexpected and quite an amazing song on it's own, and the movies theme song Hajimari no Mirai serves as a good climax song. In general, they all play relatively safe to their respective groups and appealing to a broad audience while building up excitement, just go listen to them on YT or something if you're curious.

--- ] Weak Points:
Pacing was pretty poor with the movie trying to balance introducing a new concept, the plot, and 30+ ProSeka characters including the Sekai vocaloids. It's not particularly a problem throughout the movie, but does become quite noticeable at two points, the setup to the first "twist/conflict" and the setup to the climax, where the shift and stakes instantly shoot up without any transistion whatsoever. An extra 5-10 minutes at each point would have dramatically improved the overall pace of the movie.

Side characters are possibly the worst aspect of the movie and are little more than plot devices. None have noteworthy character designs or get enough screentime to have a character aside from existing for the plot. To elaborate, they have so little screentime, their actions feel jarring, with the short "introduction" showcasing a random collection of somewhat sad/depressed/disheartened characters due to some personal issue, before they're all hysterical in their next apperance for the sake of the plot. A lot of the shouting, screaming, and hysterics were over the top and broke the immersion leading more into confusion on why the movie aired this way.

Script was also quite bad. The most notable being "Kito todoku hazu" which crosses over to annoying and/or immersion breaking. The intro line to Miku's song which is "sung" in a cappella several times, over and over again within minutes of the last time. It's actually "sung" so frequently it detracts from the movie experience as a whole. Although they begin to add variations during the fourth time saying it or so, it's already become repetitive as the instrumentals do not play, and nothing more than the first few lines are ever spoken until the very end of the movie.
There's also a noticeable divide in lines relevant to the plot and lines relevant to building character, where at times a character is pretty much talking to themselves or out loud which can be summed up to "I am this type of character, this is my character trait".

=== ] Neutral Points:
Directing was fine, for an anime movie, I really wish there was a more creative or dynamic "camera" but it does it's job. Notably sticks to very close shots and character + environment shots. Good posing, captures characters well and N25 vocaloids coolness left an impression, but pretty basic other than that.

Plot was interesting, but is really held back by the movies weak points and lacks a clear and strong resolution. "Focuses" / Revolves around terrible/near-non-existent side-character plot-devices. Doesn't have enough screentime to really build up. Also uses some strange and one-time "mechanics" to build conflict and tension that are never explained and completely unknown even for a long-time ProSeka Player

Music* (OSTs) were good with a caveat. All the OSTs in the movie were original to the movie afaik and did an fine job at adding to the scene, one or two even stand out. Unfortunately, NONE of the ProSeka in-game osts made it into the movie and the runtime just isn't really long enough for any of the movies OSTs to be played more than twice and leave a lasting impression or tie an emotion to it. The songs also cannibalize into the OSTs as the entirety of the climax revolves around the insert songs.

All the main characters are fine, but really lack any real focus or development. Without prior knowledge, it's hard to associate anything more than a trait to each one, and not all characters get an equal amount of focus, with Nene, Mizuki, Shiho, Honami, Toya, Shizuku, Akito, and Airi in particular probably having the least amount of screentime and the rest getting most of their screentime from group settings, minus Ichika. None of each groups goals are touched upon in the movie, but can more or less be surmised from the conversations, however, WxS suffers due to their eccentric natures and their focus on shows, despite the lackof in the movie. Emu in particular, since her character is especially quirky and the lack of individual screentime to elaborate much more than that.

Surprisingly, aside from Miku, the character with the most development is Wonderlands Showtime Kaito with his own short conflict and resolution, fleshing out his character more than my impressions from the in-game stories.

Good: Animation 8.5/10, Char Designs 9/10, Environment 9/10, Editing 8/10, Songs 9/10
Bad: Pacing: 6/10, Side Characters: 4/10, Script 5/10
Neutral: Directing 6.5/10, Plot 7/10, Music (OSTs) 7.5/10, Main Characters 7.5/10

All in all, it's an enjoyable experience as a one-time standalone movie. Could have been better, could have been worse. There are good highlights but also some parts that hold it back. It's definitely not a "see it 4/6 or 26 times (lol) good" but I believe it's worthwhile to try in theaters on the big screen at least once regardless if you've played ProSeka.

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Apr 17, 2025

ZephyrEmblem

Recommended

Throughout its nearly two-hour runtime, the Project Sekai movie explores how music can help us reconcile with our negative emotions in a relatively surface-level manner (which is fine; it's a kids/family movie after all). The film also has an auxiliary message: How people, even strangers, can assist each other in a world that often feels dark and uncaring. Some of these elements are presented in a genuinely touching manner, but the narrative fails in many other aspects.

When I first heard about this movie, I was doubtful a coherent narrative could be weaved between five groups while authentically presenting the characters dealing with their struggles (something ... Project Sekai excels in). My predictions were correct; this movie barely touches on the characters or their internal and external conflicts. Instead, the focus is solely on the Fragmented SEKAI Miku and how she interacts with the rest of the cast. This choice is simultaneously extremely disappointing and the only method by which it could be even somewhat enjoyable to those unfamiliar with the source material.

Even with these compromises, it is questionable if the story will fully resonate with individuals unfamiliar with the source material. Sure, they might understand the series' message from afar, but the emotional weight is lost. They might appreciate moments of high-budget animation, but they won't perceive the artsy MVs often filled with symbolism and esoteric references. Most importantly, though, they won't have any attachment to the characters, which is a problem when many Project Sekai fans simply derive enjoyment from their interactions with one another.

Fundamentally, Project Sekai is about characters struggling in their youth—struggling with themselves, struggling with their parents, and struggling with their peers. So, this film perfectly summarizes what Project Sekai is about, but it fails to tell a story about these conflicts as powerfully as its source material. There is no moment where you feel intimate with any of the characters like you do in the game.

How could the creators have fixed this? Well, honing in on one of the five groups and loosely retelling their stories in a sort of "alternate timeline" could have fully conveyed the essence of what Project Sekai is. This premise could appeal to newcomers by removing all the baggage while also appealing to fans by being a sort of "what if" scenario for their favorite characters. That being said, I also understand the outrage that would follow a movie with a one-group focus. For example, if this movie had been exclusively Nightcord-focused, it would have felt unfair to the other groups' fans.

These conclusions bring us to the core of my review: The Project Sekai movie attempts to attract and entertain too many audiences at once. It tries to ride off the contrails of Miku's popularity while also using characters that have, in many ways, outgrown the Vocaloids originally used to sell them. However, the Colorful Stage movie also has moments that will touch the hearts of those watching; it demands attention despite the repetitive hammering of its themes through the viewer's skull and even through the abysmally cringe Vivid BAD SQUAD rap song. The reason for this is simple: Most of us love music; music has helped almost all of us to some degree—it is something we all have a genuine connection to, so when we visually see how music affects the individuals in the story, it becomes hard for even the more cynical of us to mock in its entirety.

So yeah, this movie is pretty dumb and silly, but I feel like anyone who hates the Project Sekai movie, in its entirety, lacks a heart.

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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Apr 13, 2025

Nikitachan

Not Recommended

if youre only going with very imited miku knowledge into this: do not watch this.
its cute for children but other than that i really dont see anthing that this move has going for itself.

the music was very average, there was basically no story? and you barely actually get to see miku herself..
predictable outcome, repetetive scenes, if you dont already know the characters there isnt really an introduction to them, no development. the art was fine.
there really isnt even much to write in the review about lmao

ALSO the english title is misleading

to put this into the words of my artist friend: midku

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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	Do you need to know Project Sekai lore to watch the movie? lorextreme - Apr 6	4 replies	by Inorichi »» Yesterday, 10:38 PM
	Poll: Project Sekai Movie: Kowareta Sekai to Utaenai Miku Episode 1 Discussion AkeZZZ - Apr 10	1 replies	by _MushiRock11_ »» Apr 13, 12:19 PM
	The US release date for COLORFUL STAGE! The Movie: A Miku Who Can't Sing has been moved to April 17-20. (Originally April 11, 2025) Xanek - Mar 19	0 replies	by Xanek »» Mar 19, 4:28 PM
	GKIDS announces the acquisition of North American rights to COLORFUL STAGE! THE MOVIE: A MIKU WHO CAN'T SING. (In North American Theatres April 11, 2025) Xanek - Feb 13	1 replies	by Alaaddin05 »» Feb 14, 6:36 AM
	Ending theme song "Worlders" Xanek - Jan 29	2 replies	by Serafos »» Feb 9, 6:39 AM