A Revolutionary Sci-Fi Anime Is Coming Back to Theaters, but There’s a Catch

The seminal music duo Daft Punk may be officially retired, but their legacy is eternal. That’s especially true for 2001’s Discovery, their second studio album, which gave us massive hits like “One More Time” and “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger.” Now, alongside a re-release of the album, Daft Punk’s revolutionary anime Interstella 5555 is headed back to theaters for one night.

Released to support Discovery in 2003, Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem serves as a stunning visualizer for the iconic album. Daft Punk chose Toei Animation (the Japanese studio behind shows like Sailor Moon, Dragon Ball, and One Piece) to craft an hour-long, dialogue-free space opera that follows the members of an extraterrestrial pop band as they’re kidnapped by a military force from Earth and transformed into a humanoid group called the Crescendolls. Songs from Discovery soundtrack their exploitation and eventual escape, while visuals overseen by the legendary Leiji Matsumoto would feature in a handful of the era’s music videos.

The film is a holy grail for both EDM lovers and fans of old-school anime, as its physical editions have become extremely rare. Interstella 5555 was released on DVD in the 2010s and was briefly available on Blu-ray, but both editions have been out of print for years. That the film will return to the big screen 21 years after premiering at the Cannes Film Festival is certainly a treat for fans, but its December 13 re-release comes with a major caveat.

Daft Punk teased the “remastered” version of Interstella 5555 on social media, but the film’s new look has given fans pause. Based on the teaser’s somewhat janky footage, it appears Interstella was updated with the help of AI, not remastered outright. Matsumoto’s visuals are known for their delicate detail, but many of the intricacies that made the film what it was have been awkwardly smoothed out.

Though Daft Punk hasn’t confirmed the true source of the remaster, their announcement quickly earned backlash. An AI upscale isn’t the smartest move even in the best of circumstances, but given the message of Interstella, where individual artistry prevails against corporate corner-cutting, it feels in especially poor taste here. It may still be worth catching the film on the big screen, but it’s a shame that it’s lost some of its magic on the road back to theaters.