AI-Made Feature Hoshi no Uta ga Kikoeru Released Free on YouTube
The release is pitched as a demonstration of what a three-person team can finish with generative AI, not a commercial product, which puts the claim of commercial-level feature production up for public inspection rather than private pitch.
Reporting from 1 source: Anime Anime.
Hoshi no Uta ga Kikoeru, a 117-minute anime film made with generative AI across roughly 1,500 cuts, went free on YouTube on October 22, 2026, Anime Day. A three-person team did about three months of actual work, starting in April 2026 and resuming in August after a suspension. Director Hirotaka Yuno based the story on his own experiences and says the film is not aimed at profit.
The team behind it was three people, and the work ran about three months of actual production time. Each of the roughly 1,500 cuts averaged five or more retakes, and the film was finished after more than 10,000 rounds of trial and error. Video generation used multiple AI tools, including Seedance and MiniMax. Voice actors recorded the audio, with AI voice used for some parts.
Director Hirotaka Yuno, whose real name is Shohei Imai, wrote the story from his own experiences as an entrepreneur. He describes the film as a record of improving prompt technique, not a cost-cutting exercise, and says it will stay free.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.