On October 22, coinciding with Japan's official Anime Day, independent project studio DELINE PRIME released Hoshi no Uta ga Kikoeru (Hear the Song of the Stars) as a full-length feature film available for free streaming on YouTube. Spanning 117 minutes, the original production stands as a rare technical experiment in long-form animation, created by a core team of just three individuals over three months of active production following an initial hiatus.
Directed and written by entrepreneur turned filmmaker Hirotaka Yueno (also credited as Shohei Imai), the narrative serves as a modern allegory inspired by Yueno's personal corporate experiences. The plot follows Rei Shinomiya, an entrepreneur who lost his parents at a young age and learned to define his personal worth strictly through commercial success. As business triumphs alienate him from his colleagues and family, Rei embarks on an emotional journey in the scenic region of Aso, Kumamoto, rediscovering his human connection through a local traditional prayer to the stars.
AI-Assisted Workflow
The production process presented substantial hurdles regarding narrative continuity and visual coherence—two major roadblocks historically limiting AI animation to short clips and music videos. The team utilized generative video tools such as Seedance and MiniMax, executing over 10,000 total iterations across roughly 1,500 cuts to maintain character stability and background fidelity inspired by real Kumamoto landscapes.
Director Yueno emphasized that the methodology treated AI as an extension of creative partnership rather than a shortcut or replacement for artistic labor. Crucially, the production avoided feeding existing anime imagery directly into model training, opting instead for custom text prompts, original musical compositions, and performances by human voice actors for primary cast members.
Rather than treating AI as a cost-cutting tool or relying on style copying, this project records our refinement of prompt engineering to expand creative scene direction. Believing that emotional resonance requires human craft, our scripts, prompts, and main vocal performances were created intentionally from scratch.
Hirotaka Yueno, Director
Production Credits
- Title: Hoshi no Uta ga Kikoeru (星の唄が聞こえる)
- Runtime: 117 minutes
- Director / Original Story / Screenplay: Hirotaka Yueno
- Lead Voice Cast: Hayato Sakurai (as Ray Shinomiya), Rio, Iori Takamoto, Tomokazu Yajima
- Production Studio: DELINE PRIME (SPEED EFFECT Inc.)
- Distribution: YouTube (Free Stream)
