Kaguya-hime (1972)

This 1972 anime is a distinctive puppet animation adaptation of the revered Japanese folktale, The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter.

It follows a humble bamboo cutter who discovers a tiny, luminous girl within a bamboo stalk. He and his wife raise her as their daughter, Kaguya-hime, who blossoms into a woman of ethereal beauty.

Her radiance attracts noble suitors, each aspiring to marry her, but Kaguya-hime devises profound trials for them. The anime beautifully explores themes of love, destiny, and the conflict between mortal life and otherworldly origins, all conveyed through its captivating puppet artistry.