By Matthew Moorcroft

Weak Recommendation

• Directed by Hiroyuki Hata
• Starring Saki Fujita, Asami Shimoda, Meiko Haigou, Naota Fuuga
• PG

Colorful Stage! The Movie: A Miku Who Can’t Sing is, just like it’s long-winded title implies, a movie. It has three acts, it has characters with some semblance of personality, a clear thesis statement about it’s themes and ideas, and it even has something of a character arc for it’s seeming lead character. That lead character, which is a version of the famous virtual singer Hatsune Miku, has a bit of a dilemma – their songs can’t seem to reach the hearts of others. This is enough to send her into a depressive spiral, something many artists and creatives I’m sure will understand, and her efforts to try and fix that is the main thrust of the narrative.

Or at least, it seems that way. Colorful Stage is almost built from the ground up to be as impenetrable as newcomers as possible, complete with five different groups of cast players who are too well defined on their own terms to be more then just bit players. This is where Colorful Stage will likely live or die for most viewers; can you be on the same wavelength as a movie that is so clearly tailored made for one audience and one audience alone?

The answer is mostly… kinda? Not really? I will give Colorful Stage this, I think it’s functionally solid. There is artistry here at points, particularly when it becomes a full blown musical in it’s final act. While Hiroyuki Hata has been in the animation industry for some time, as a feature directorial debut it’s got impressive cross-cutting and montage sequences that rotate between the extensive supporting cast with ease, and it’s clear Hata has some idea of how to properly stage a musical sequence. Those musical numbers are appropriately catchy to match, and the switch between genres, while not entirely seamless, has a flow and rhythm that allows you to get into the groove of each number that screams out “if you like this genre you will like this band!”.

But it’s impossible to deny how rote much of the rest of the material is here. Thematically it’s heavier then I would have expected – this is ultimately a film about a suicidal artist who is trying to find some will to live again in a world that seemingly doesn’t respect her craft – but with a cast that is fully formed at the very start of the film and goes through little to no actual development it feels like it’s going through the motions before the music drops and you can leave the theater to buy the CD or play the game this is taking much of it’s material from. These characters are indeed likable – shout out in particular to a group that does their meetings on Discord and seemingly equally as depressed as our lead is, which is a fun idea – but who are they as people? What are their desires beyond simply making music? We never really find out, though that’s likely what the supplemental material is for. And sadly, a film that requires some level of homework is never something to aspire to, especially one like this that refuses to give context to anything outside of it’s own pocket.

I would be lying if I said that Colorful Stage didn’t move me on some level, particularly since it’s themes are resonant to me personally as a creative. And once the ball does get rolling in it’s third act, it becomes an animated concert film and suddenly leaps to life in a way I didn’t expect. But it’s impossible to deny the lackluster material in it’s first half as it meanders and slogs it’s way through that bloated cast and animation that isn’t nearly interesting enough to justify a theatrical release, at least until a blockbuster sequence halfway through that signals the rest of the film. The vocal cast is solid enough to help it never get entirely boring, but checking one’s watch around 20 minutes into a film that’s only 105 is never a good sign.

To that end, I fully recognize that I am not the target demographic of Colorful Stage. I’ve never played it’s game counterpart, and outside of a casual knowledge I know next to nothing about Hatsune Miku and whatever lore she may seem to have. For fans of the source, I suspect Colorful Stage being a celebration of it’s music and characters will be more then enough, but I can’t see anybody who doesn’t have an idea about any of this enjoying it more then on a base level. Mostly just fluff and noise.