Unveiling a New Era of Storytelling: AI Meets Stage in Japan
A Japanese music agency, Innocent Music, is embarking on a fascinating journey, weaving generative AI into the very fabric of its upcoming stage production, “With You Joyous Times Are Here VII 『The Promise of Eglantine』～A Story of a Small Kingdom～.” Scheduled for April 15, 2026, at Kanadevia Hall, this project is not merely an announcement of a new play, but a significant exploration into how artificial intelligence can augment, rather than replace, human creativity in the performing arts.
For 12 years, Innocent Music has captivated audiences with its “With You Joyous Times Are Here” original stage series. Yet, a consistent challenge has been fully conveying the intricate backgrounds and emotions of characters within the limited timeframe of a live performance. Composers, performers, and staff held rich narratives in their minds, but lacked a clear, visual means to share these stories before the curtain rose. This led to a pivotal shift in their approach: visualize the story first, using AI, but always with human creativity as the core.
“Human & AI” Project: Bringing Characters to Life Before the Stage
This innovative vision birthed the YouTube project “Human & AI,” launched on December 27, 2025. This project serves as a vibrant prologue to the stage play, offering audiences an unprecedented look into the world of “The Promise of Eglantine.”
The “Human & AI” project features two main components:
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Character Episodes: Short animated films depicting the lives, pasts, losses, and choices of the 23 characters appearing in the stage play are being released. While generative AI crafts the visuals, human composers create the music, with AI assisting in arrangement, and all voices are provided by the stage performers themselves. This truly creates a duet between technology and human talent.
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Two Voices, One Song: This experimental series showcases a unique collaboration where human vocalists perform alongside AI-rendered characters. Artists reconstruct their own songs using AI, creating a layered duet where their live voice intertwines with the AI character’s interpretation. This is not about replacing human singers, but exploring how the meaning of a song transforms when it crosses into the narrative world.
“Our production site has long faced the challenge of ‘not being able to fully convey what we want to convey.’ Generative AI functions as one solution to that challenge,” a member of the production team shared, highlighting the project’s core motivation. “We are documenting what happens when humans and generative AI stand on the same production floor, including the unfamiliar parts and the trial and error, to share the reality of its operation as much as possible.”
The Promise of Eglantine: A Kingdom Built on Belief
The stage play itself, “The Promise of Eglantine,” is set in the small kingdom of Cynthia, a realm that has known peace for five centuries, sustained not by force, but by the first queen’s quiet teaching: “Loved memories nurture a believing heart.” As the kingdom prepares to celebrate its 500th anniversary, ominous shadows gather at its borders, challenging the very foundation of its peace. The story delves into the theme of “Believing Heart,” exploring the clash between ideals and reality, and the journey of characters confronting their pasts. It is a tale not of heroes saving the world, but of small memories—holding someone’s hand, continuously thinking of someone—that reconnect people.
This initiative utilizes a range of generative AI tools, including ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Nano Banana Pro, Kling AI, Domo AI, VEO3.1, Midjourney, Runway, Adobe, Suno AI, Udio, and Firefly, with humans retaining ultimate judgment and responsibility in all creative processes. The project aims to provide concrete insights into the practical application of AI in creative fields, detailing both its successes and challenges.
Looking Ahead: AI’s Role in Expanding Kawaii Culture’s Reach
This pioneering effort by Innocent Music signifies a crucial step in understanding AI’s potential to enrich artistic expression and fan engagement. By creating visual narratives and musical duets before the live show, they are not only deepening the audience’s connection to the story but also setting a precedent for how AI can be integrated into broader creative industries, potentially influencing how kawaii culture’s rich narratives and characters are developed and shared globally. The project’s commitment to transparency in its AI implementation offers valuable lessons for the future of creative production, showing that the most enchanting stories might just emerge from the harmonious collaboration between human imagination and artificial intelligence.
Explore the “Human & AI” project and the stage play:
