Kaleido Star

The Kaleido Stage is known throughout the world for captivating audiences with its amazing acrobatics, innovative routines, and extravagant costumes and sets. It is a place for guests to believe in magic, and Sora Naegino wants nothing more than to be a part of that magic—by becoming an acrobat for the famed circus herself.

To realize her dream, she travels from Japan to California to audition for a place in the group. However, Sora learns that she needs much more than her natural talent to bring joy to the faces in the crowd. She quickly discovers just how difficult it is to be a professional performer where the stakes—and the stunts—are higher and mistakes spell danger! To put on performances worthy of the Kaleido Stage, she will need to endure rigorous training, unconventional assignments, fierce competition, and the antics of a mischievous spirit named Fool.

Can Sora reach new heights, make new friends, conquer her fears, and surpass her limits to become a Kaleido Star?

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Naegino, Sora Main

Hirohashi, Ryou Japanese

Hamilton, Layla Main

Ohara, Sayaka Japanese

Fool Main

Koyasu, Takehito Japanese

Oswald, Leon Supporting

Sakurai, Takahiro Japanese

Passel, Rosetta Supporting

Mizuhashi, Kaori Japanese

Jonathan Supporting

Kozakura, Etsuko Japanese

Wong, May Supporting

Nakahara, Mai Japanese

Killian, Yuri Supporting

Chiba, Susumu Japanese

Heart, Anna Supporting

Watanabe, Akeno Japanese

Dupont, Sarah Supporting

Hisakawa, Aya Japanese

Uchida, Tetsuo Producer

Satou, Junichi Director, Episode Director, Storyboard, Creator, Key Animation, Original Creator

Hiramatsu, Tadashi Director, Storyboard, Key Animation

Daichi, Akitarou Director

Reviews

Aug 1, 2007

ZJun

Recommended

Kaleido Star was a big surprise for me as I expected it to be a typical shoujo with probably many cheesy moments...
I was proven wrong..

Animation:
Overall, it was beautiful, bright colours and flowing movements that even appeared graceful, a very colorful setting that didn\'t appear too flashy....it totally captured the brilliance of a circus and the lovely performances that I just had to rewatch again. However it had its flaws, I noticed that several episodes had seemingly worse animation compared to the rest in which the characters looked distorted, thankfully this was hardly significant during the performances which kept their high standard throughout the whole ... anime.

Sound:
The opening and ending themes were ok and catchy enough but what i really loved was the background music, some tracks were sometimes quite repetitive but it totally created the magical feel for this anime and enhanced it a lot more (even though you may not realise it). So do turn up the volume whenever you watch any of their performances as \'swan lake\', \'little mermaid\' etc. would not be so astoundingly beautiful without the music

Story:
Kaleido Star can be divided into 2 parts, 1st being Sora\'s introduction to the circus and striving to be in par with Layla Hamilton. Whereas the second part introduces 2 new character, Leon and May in which might be a turn-off for most viewers due to Sora suffering the most, but of course this is only to build the wonderful finale.
The overall concept may not seem special as it is only about a girl striving to achieve her dream and encountering many hardships. But the idea about a circus and acrobats is very unique, I don\'t think there are many animes out there that have attempted this genre and managed to keep it so interesting and magical. Whats good is the emphasis on friendship, Sora gets through a lot mostly due to the help of the people around her, it is not a one-girl show, all the rest are equally important characters and do shine as well.
Even though this is a shoujo anime, romance is only hinted but barely there, truly not the highlight of the show

Character:
As mentioned above, all the characters are great, in fact it is impossible to hate either of them since even the bad ones turn good at the end. Although this seems rather idealistic, it leaves you with a warm fuzzy feeling at the end

Overall this was a great ride, Satou Junichi\'s other creation, Princess tutu had left me in a bit of a trance when it ended, apparantly this had the same effect. It is hard to describe the truly magical effect this has, you have to watch it to know, and you won\'t regret it

Reviewer’s Rating: 10

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Mar 22, 2010

Splitter

Recommended

You have a dream don't you? Of course you do. Everyone has one. A dream to do something that no one else has ever done, or maybe someone else has done it and you want nothing more than to follow in their footsteps. It could have started when you were a child, maybe even recently, but no matter what, your heart doesn't let it rest. It's something you want more than anything, even more than you think you want it.

Kaleido Star is the story of our dreams. How they all start from tiny things. Memories from days gone by that we think are insignificant, ... but at the same time, have really touched us and inspired us to become who we are today. Our dreams are not easy though. There will always be detours and obstacles in our way, and no dream can be reached without putting our own inner selves to the ultimate test, but if we can overcome these obstacles, befriend our enemies, and see the good in everyone's dreams that they aspire for as well, then your dream can come true.

Despite the formulaic way Kaleido Star goes about fulfilling the dreams of the characters, it works splendidly because of how sincere each and every character is about wanting their special dream to come true, and how the series treats the sincerity of each character with a great deal of respect to the point that the formulaic contrivances such as the cliched "special training" and running away only to come back having "found yourself" feel like genuine happenings.

Likewise, this series as it is couldn't be anything without its characters. The main focal point of the series is seeing the growth and struggle of all the members of Kaleido Stage from the primadonna to the lowly stagehands, and oh how they grow, and oh how they struggle. I credit this series immensely with how it puts each and every character through their own personal wringer, good guys and "bad guys" alike. It never lets them take the easy way out. Each and every accomplishment any character achieves is 100% earned. There are no gimmes.

And oh the accomplishments! I can't go into detail because of spoilers but this is where the technical aspects really shine! For as much as people seem to tease GONZO for being GONZO, this is arguably their opus. A setting such as Kaleido Stage requires dazzling animation to fully bring out the Cirque du Soleil atmosphere of the stage, and the animation astounds every time, especially the climaxes of both halves of the series. They are so gorgeous, that don't be surprised if you forget to breathe for a moment.

The soundtrack is also quite lovely with lots of wonderful performances, especially Ryou Hirohashi as Sora, who brings the same radiance and energy that Sora herself embodies.

With outstandingly gorgeous animation, heartwarming performances, characters that make you believe that everyone in this world, no matter how heartless or cruel they may be, are all good people inside, and a story that invokes you to believe your dreams, no matter how great or small, can all come true. Kaleido Star is one of the best anime I have ever seen. Heartwarming, heartbreaking, and inspiring to all. This is the stuff true dreams are made of.

Overall, I happily give Kaleido Star a 10 out of 10.

Reviewer’s Rating: 10

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Jul 18, 2008

HiGHFLYiN9

Mixed Feelings

Preliminary (26/51 eps)

This review is based on the first 26 episodes. Kaleido Star is about a girl and how she joins a stage in America and performs. Kaleido Stage is about performance, so the trials and tribulations of the character were centered around how she struggles to pull off a series of acrobatic maneuvers and interfaces with the audience. The series took this very seriously, which can feel slightly strange at times, reminiscent of Yakitate Japan which is incredibly serious about breadmaking, but I found that disconnect a bit more entertaining.

Kaleido Star falls into the comedy/drama genre, however it's mostly drama. There are a few humorous ... interactions and a number of other parts that attempt to get the viewer to laugh, but end up falling on their face. Most of the comedy is related to the "stage spirit". It took me some time to get used to him, it's basically a weird little man with a card covering half of his face, with a deep voice and long curly hair. The stage spirit was responsible for reading tarot cards to predict the outcome of the conflict the main character was going through. It's hard to say whether this added or detracted from the series. The comic relief of the stage spirit generally comes from the main character trying to disable it from peeping at her during a shower, which seems too cliche to be entertaining.

Watching the first 5 episodes of Kaleido Star was painful for me. Trying to adjust to the subject matter and it's importance was quite a difficult proposition. Eventually I got used to it, and there was enough happening toward the end that I didn't have to take breaks every couple of episodes. [mild spoiler] The last episode was lacking in conflict, and it felt like it didn't have enough resolution. [ end of mild spoiler]

Overall I have to say that the series didn't really pull me in. I know I'm not really the perspective audience for this type of show, but good direction can usually overcome this. I can say that the animation and effects were top notch. There were a few instances of a frame being out of focus, but it wasn't enough to get upset about. The sound was decent, and the intro music for the first 13 episodes is strangely unique. If you have a special place in your heart for performing arts and can take the subject matter seriously, this is probably worth a watch.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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