7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
My Wings Are My Dream and On Towards the Sky, October 9, 2007
This review is from: Kaleido Star: New Wings True Star Collection (DVD)
I remember when I first saw Kaleido Star. An anime about a circus like Cirque du Soleil? It was like somebody read my mind and decided to give me exactly what I wanted. Acrobatics, sweet animation from the people who worked on Angelic Layer, strong characters, and terrific voice acting made it well worth watching. It was however, not without flaws.
Kaleido Star's biggest problem was the VERY uneven flow of the series, and MASSIVE amounts of filler. You could of course argue that many episodes were just giving you more detail about various characters, but in reality it was just padding out a 13 episode series to 26. Several times I seriously wondered where the show was going, and not in a good way. The show pretty near de-railed when Kaleido Stage was sold and divided, and the whole Masked Star Saga in particular really bored me. What I did love though, were episodes that focused on characters I loved (like the first episode with Rosetta, and Layla's thawing out when she was first forced to work closely with Sora), and anything to do with the Great Maneuver sub-plot. And when the show finally got around to the big finale and all that led up to it, it provided some of the best anime drama I have ever seen (Sora being ready to quit on the special training and then seeing Layla out running and starving herself to lose weight to make it easier for her had me crying, to say nothing of the very end of Kaleido Star's first season when Layla gave up Kaleido Stage and told Sora that she was her dream now).
When I heard about another season (another series?) of Kaleido Star I had mixed feelings. Would it be a light-hearted continuation? Would it be uneven like the first season? I thought about it a long while and then finally got around to renting it. Oh... My... Goodness!
As I said before, Kaleido Star was a good series, but this sequel of a season blows away the first in absolutely every way. First of all, since all the Japanese voice actors from the first season are now quite comfortable in their roles, the acting continues to just get better and better. The animation, while not drastically changed, comes across as less plain, brighter and more colorful. The action sequences and acrobatics are even faster and more fluid then before. And the writing, the story, and the new music are just so GOOD! And to top it off, there is hardly any filler at all. This doesn't feel like a TV show in the traditional sense, but more like a long awesome movie. Only the best anime are able to succeed on this level (shows like Crest of the Stars, Escaflowne, Gundam Wing, and the Big O). And the story is so engrossing that it quickly hooks you, till you are absolutely dying to know what will happen next!
The story of the show picks up right where the first season left off. Layla Hamilton has left Kaleido Stage, and Sora is the star of the show. While some people are very pleased who recognize her potential, the audience in general isn't really interested in seeing her perform, because despite the Great Maneuver, she just isn't that big of a star.
Thus, right from the get-go, Sora's goal is clear. She needs to become a true Kaleido Star like her old partner Layla. To this end she once again has the advice of one Spirit of the Stage, and the support of a loveable cast of characters. If this sounds like the same old story all over again, think again. While there is a series of duel-like challenges in this season similar to those in the past one, these are much more intense, desperate even. From the first episode, a new character named Leon Oswald, (the real star of Kaleido Stage initially), makes it clear that if Kaleido Stage is going to hold together Sora is going to have to step up her game. And when Sora's best isn't good enough her real rival of the new season immediately steps in. May Wong, a prodigy who is determined that SHE is destined to be Leon's true partner is bound and determined to destroy Sora and claim her position as the top star.
The duels are great drama, as they are very well directed, intense, and use music to great effect. But don't think the whole show is going to be like that, because like the first season, they are just there to build relationships and define characters. Sora has a lot of soul-searching to do in this series, and must learn to stand up on her own and stop looking to others for life's answers. She has to figure out what her PERSONAL dream is, and where the path to becoming a True Star lies.
Unlike the first season, instead of a near de-rail when Sora loses her way, Sora's missteps only help her understand her own feelings and what she wants. No one rescues her out of situations anymore. Now every time it seems like all is lost, she finds her own way. And it makes for VERY entertaining viewing.
The real story of the show is about something called the Angel Maneuver, and how perfecting it is the path to becoming a True Star. The road is hard, and could destroy a person, but at the other side of perfecting it comes pure joy and happiness transmitted to the audience. For anyone who has ever had a dream, a hard one, one that could make or break you, I think the Angel Maneuver Saga is deeply inspiring. Because while there is some truly over-the-top drama at times, the heart of the show is always sincere and you can feel it. You WANT to see Sora succeed. You want to see her attain her dreams and bring everyone joy the way that she wants. It's downright infectious.
Another reviewer probably put it better than I ever could describing what makes this show unique. You see, there is a genre of anime that is much neglected. It's what can only be called the Gunbuster/Battle Athletes Genre, as these shows absolutely defined it. Basically in this kind of anime you have an underdog, usually a young girl, who is a total klutz, and is trying to do something very difficult, be it piloting a giant robot or winning the Olympics. Initially she is of course terrible and has to work 10 times as hard as everyone else just to survive. But then, something amazing happens, and she starts to catch up to the top star, a rivalry builds, and in the end the underdog hero saves the day. Now normally that's my favorite type of /movie/series anyway, because any introvert who has ever had had to claw their way to a decent life knows what it feels like and can identify with a hero like that. But the thing is, I don't think I've ever seen an anime that made me feel like THIS.
I admit it, at the end the first season I cried like a baby (seeing sweet, kind, good-natured Sora crying her eyes out over losing the partner she loved got to me), but what that season had occasionally this one has constantly. Even the filler episodes will move you. From the guilt of destroying another person's life, to the drive that makes someone endure the unbearable simply because they refuse to give up, from the search for a purpose in your life to a desire to built a world of peace and love and happiness for everyone, this show transcends its genre and even its medium to reach deep down in the hearts of its viewers.
In a world full where physical violence is glorified and heroes who fight dirty win the day, it's incredibly refreshing to watch a show with a protagonist who in the end refuses to antagonize, and instead wants to help, encourage, and inspire everyone. The end of episode 25 is the defining moment. It reminds me of the end of the movie Strictly Ballroom, or maybe the end of the game Space Channel 5. When you see something truly wonderful that makes you happy, you just can't stand to watch on the sidelines anymore, you want to get involved so you become part of it and it becomes part of you. You want to sing, dance, get up on the stage and perform. Watch the show all the way to the end and see if the ending doesn't make you feel the same way.
The world would be better place if there were more people in it like Sora.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Not as good as the first season, July 16, 2009
This review is from: Kaleido Star: New Wings True Star Collection (DVD)
After coming out of an amazing first season, season 2 starts off pretty badly. First off, you can skip the 2 recap episodes which don't even add anything besides a new edited ending. Furthermore we see the loss of two awesome characters, Layla and Yuri, for the first half and get some pretty bad new character replacements, May Wong and Leon Oswald.
So why did I rate this 5 stars, after all the feelings of animosity towards the newcomer characters, it just makes you more attached to the anime, because of how angry we are getting. So when we finally see Sora able to shine the feelings this anime will produce will be amazing.
We have seen Sora struggle in the first season, but her struggle this season is way greater and we see some big time failures for the first time. For a character to lose so many times, it's refreshing to see. It gets tiring to see the main character always win every battle like in all the shonen animes.
Ultimately, the first half may be a bit slow but if you believe in the build up it builds, then it will be on par with the first season. And a lot of people say this show is for girls, but I think its more for everyone. It has a girlish theme but it plays out very much like a shonen.
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