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silverthunder) wrote2008-04-24 12:47 pm
silverthunder) wrote2008-04-24 12:47 pm
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Kaleido Star
Been a while since I updated... I've just been lazy, really.
I haven't been lazy about my anime viewing, though - and here's another one of those reviews to prove it. This time for an anime I haven't actually finished yet. I usually don't do that, but I felt like it this time.
I thought for a while about doing a review for the second season of Kaleido Star (even though I haven't quite finished watching it yet)... and realized I'd never really written anything about the first season of Kaleido Star. Which I should've, because it's a great series. Not my favorite, but it definitely has something addicting to it.
If you like shounen sports anime, Kaleido Star has all the elements of it: an enthusiastic main character with the determination and talen to be a star, lots of friendly and charismatic side characters with interesting stories of their own, a potential romantic interest who isn't really involved in the sport but provides support from the background, a rival/idol with whom the main character has incredible chemistry, and everyone being wholly dedicated to the sport of choice. Not to mention the fact that members of the opposite sex tend to be more in the background and slash potential is really everywhere. It's everything a shounen sports anime should be.
The thing is, this isn't a shounen sports anime because the majority of the major characters are girls rather than boys. I wouldn't call it a shoujo sports anime either, because the elements are different. The sport is centered around Kaleido Stage, an organization that presents stories through various circus acrobatics and special effects. The main character, Sora, decided at a young age that she wanted to be a part of it, and has dedicated a large part of her life to training herself in various acrobatics. She arrives late for her audition due to a misunderstanding and is rejected by her idol, the current star of Kaleido Stage, who treats her coldly and is continually harsh towards her through the first part of the series.
I wouldn't actually call Layla Hamilton a rival to Sora, although it seems that way at first. Rather, Sora aspires to be on stage with Layla, and eventually becomes Layla's partner. There are some rather complicated bonds between the two that strengthen throughout the series. An actual rival to Sora shows up in season two, which I guess is where I should start the review I was thinking of doing.
After I finished watching the first season of Kaleido Star, which I bought on a whim and had trouble getting into at first, I was so thrilled with the series that I immediately went online and ordered a box set of season two. After that, I started having doubts. I wondered if there was really any story left after the first season. After all, it seemed fairly conclusive. How would the second season fair? Would it just be a tacked-on addition to the first? Would it work? I also heard that there were two new characters, Leon and May, and wasn't sure if I liked the idea of them based on their descriptions.
Honestly, even after the second season arrived (late November), I put off watching it. I had other series on my mind by that point, for one thing, and I was still feeling apprehensive about it. I'd downloaded the second OVA, which hadn't been licensed, but wanted to watch season two first because the OVA was set afterwards. After a while of this, I was feeling bored and needed something to watch and finally decided that even if I wasn't ready to jump into season two, I really wanted to watch the OVA. It's called "Legend of Phoenix", and I'd heard it was supposed to focus on Layla Hamilton and her future (something which was left a bit uncertain after season one).
The reason I started watching season two is because I watched that OVA. It was good, of course, just like the series. And it gave you some closure with respect to Layla. The thing that caught my attention, though, is one of the new characters, May Wong.
I really like May as a character, although perhaps not as much as a person. It seemed to me like she made a strong addition to the cast, being a person of towering self-confidence and reckless determination. May is Sora's rival, an element which was missing in season one (although you could say Layla filled it somewhat). Unlike Sora, who is cheerful and eager to make friends with just about everyone, May has a short temper and a good chuck of arrogance that isolates her somewhat. When you start season two (after the two recap episodes), May is introduced by her direct challenge to Sora - on stage before an audience - where she blames Sora for Layla's retirement from the stage and claims that she will become the next star, pushing Sora out of Kaleido Star altogether.
As much as I like the addition of May, I'm really indifferent to the addition of Leon, the second new character. He has little to attract one to his personality, and his role seems basically to be a fixed goal for Sora and May to compete over. As usual, the male characters don't do a heck of a lot for me; some of them are all right, but the female characters have the majority of the charisma. The exact opposite of most shounen sports anime.
As far as the story continuing in season two... it does, and it does so smoothly. It appears to me that season two was planned from the beginning as a natural continuation of season one, despite the climactic events at the end of the first season. Now that Sora has achieved her dream of appearing on stage with Layla, she seems to be a loss as to what she wants to do with herself. Leon and May are both her obstacles and her stepping stones to finding out where her place is and what her dreams are, themes which were always present in the series.
The expectation of Sora has always been that she will surpass Layla Hamilton as the star of Kaleido Stage. Sora at the end of season one is nowhere close to his; she still considers Layla her idol and struggles to live up to what is expected of her. She is full of doubt and lacks experience and confidence in her skills. I would call season two the creation of Sora's Stage - through her confusion, repeated failures, and eventual self-realization.
I recommend anyone who enjoyed season one to continue with the series. If nothing else, watch the "Legend of Phoenix" OVA. The dual Phoenix performances at the end at least are worth it.
If you haven't watched this series, I recommend it to anyone who enjoys likable female characters, sports anime, pretty costumes, and endings full of inspiration and warm fuzzy feelings. It's not going to be for everyone, but I really liked it.
I watched ten episodes in one day for this series... That should tell you something about how much I liked it. I intend to watch more of it on my day off tomorrow, too. Maybe I'll even finish the series off.
Openings themes can be found here: the first half of season one, the second half of season one, and season two.
I haven't been lazy about my anime viewing, though - and here's another one of those reviews to prove it. This time for an anime I haven't actually finished yet. I usually don't do that, but I felt like it this time.
I thought for a while about doing a review for the second season of Kaleido Star (even though I haven't quite finished watching it yet)... and realized I'd never really written anything about the first season of Kaleido Star. Which I should've, because it's a great series. Not my favorite, but it definitely has something addicting to it.
If you like shounen sports anime, Kaleido Star has all the elements of it: an enthusiastic main character with the determination and talen to be a star, lots of friendly and charismatic side characters with interesting stories of their own, a potential romantic interest who isn't really involved in the sport but provides support from the background, a rival/idol with whom the main character has incredible chemistry, and everyone being wholly dedicated to the sport of choice. Not to mention the fact that members of the opposite sex tend to be more in the background and slash potential is really everywhere. It's everything a shounen sports anime should be.
The thing is, this isn't a shounen sports anime because the majority of the major characters are girls rather than boys. I wouldn't call it a shoujo sports anime either, because the elements are different. The sport is centered around Kaleido Stage, an organization that presents stories through various circus acrobatics and special effects. The main character, Sora, decided at a young age that she wanted to be a part of it, and has dedicated a large part of her life to training herself in various acrobatics. She arrives late for her audition due to a misunderstanding and is rejected by her idol, the current star of Kaleido Stage, who treats her coldly and is continually harsh towards her through the first part of the series.
I wouldn't actually call Layla Hamilton a rival to Sora, although it seems that way at first. Rather, Sora aspires to be on stage with Layla, and eventually becomes Layla's partner. There are some rather complicated bonds between the two that strengthen throughout the series. An actual rival to Sora shows up in season two, which I guess is where I should start the review I was thinking of doing.
After I finished watching the first season of Kaleido Star, which I bought on a whim and had trouble getting into at first, I was so thrilled with the series that I immediately went online and ordered a box set of season two. After that, I started having doubts. I wondered if there was really any story left after the first season. After all, it seemed fairly conclusive. How would the second season fair? Would it just be a tacked-on addition to the first? Would it work? I also heard that there were two new characters, Leon and May, and wasn't sure if I liked the idea of them based on their descriptions.
Honestly, even after the second season arrived (late November), I put off watching it. I had other series on my mind by that point, for one thing, and I was still feeling apprehensive about it. I'd downloaded the second OVA, which hadn't been licensed, but wanted to watch season two first because the OVA was set afterwards. After a while of this, I was feeling bored and needed something to watch and finally decided that even if I wasn't ready to jump into season two, I really wanted to watch the OVA. It's called "Legend of Phoenix", and I'd heard it was supposed to focus on Layla Hamilton and her future (something which was left a bit uncertain after season one).
The reason I started watching season two is because I watched that OVA. It was good, of course, just like the series. And it gave you some closure with respect to Layla. The thing that caught my attention, though, is one of the new characters, May Wong.
I really like May as a character, although perhaps not as much as a person. It seemed to me like she made a strong addition to the cast, being a person of towering self-confidence and reckless determination. May is Sora's rival, an element which was missing in season one (although you could say Layla filled it somewhat). Unlike Sora, who is cheerful and eager to make friends with just about everyone, May has a short temper and a good chuck of arrogance that isolates her somewhat. When you start season two (after the two recap episodes), May is introduced by her direct challenge to Sora - on stage before an audience - where she blames Sora for Layla's retirement from the stage and claims that she will become the next star, pushing Sora out of Kaleido Star altogether.
As much as I like the addition of May, I'm really indifferent to the addition of Leon, the second new character. He has little to attract one to his personality, and his role seems basically to be a fixed goal for Sora and May to compete over. As usual, the male characters don't do a heck of a lot for me; some of them are all right, but the female characters have the majority of the charisma. The exact opposite of most shounen sports anime.
As far as the story continuing in season two... it does, and it does so smoothly. It appears to me that season two was planned from the beginning as a natural continuation of season one, despite the climactic events at the end of the first season. Now that Sora has achieved her dream of appearing on stage with Layla, she seems to be a loss as to what she wants to do with herself. Leon and May are both her obstacles and her stepping stones to finding out where her place is and what her dreams are, themes which were always present in the series.
The expectation of Sora has always been that she will surpass Layla Hamilton as the star of Kaleido Stage. Sora at the end of season one is nowhere close to his; she still considers Layla her idol and struggles to live up to what is expected of her. She is full of doubt and lacks experience and confidence in her skills. I would call season two the creation of Sora's Stage - through her confusion, repeated failures, and eventual self-realization.
I recommend anyone who enjoyed season one to continue with the series. If nothing else, watch the "Legend of Phoenix" OVA. The dual Phoenix performances at the end at least are worth it.
If you haven't watched this series, I recommend it to anyone who enjoys likable female characters, sports anime, pretty costumes, and endings full of inspiration and warm fuzzy feelings. It's not going to be for everyone, but I really liked it.
I watched ten episodes in one day for this series... That should tell you something about how much I liked it. I intend to watch more of it on my day off tomorrow, too. Maybe I'll even finish the series off.
Openings themes can be found here: the first half of season one, the second half of season one, and season two.
no subject
BTW, if you like Kaleidostar and don't mind a sports anime about boxing, you'll probably like Hajime no Ippo (a.k.a. Fighting Spririt). There are a LOT of similarities between the character relationships in the two shows -- the Miyata/Ippo dynamic is nearly identical to Layla/Sora.
no subject
The second season of Kaleido Star is just as good as the first. The final showdown between Layla and Sora gave me shivers. And the "Legend of Phoenix" OVA is fabulous. Such a great series. I totally think you should watch it all.
no subject