KALEIDO STAR

is an anime series produced by Gonzo Digimation and licensed in the United States by ADV Films. It was a joint venture involving Japanese studio Gonzo Digimation Holding, Korean studio G&G Entertainment, and American studio ADV Films.^[1] The series is about a young girl named Sora Naegino who comes from Japan to the United States in search of her dream. She wants, with all her heart, to be a member of the acrobatic circus that performs at the famous Kaleido Stage (similar to the Cirque du Soleil) located in the fictional city of Cape Mery, California (which is roughly analogous to San Francisco). With the help of her friends, Sora struggles to make this dream come true. The series doesn't put much emphasis on love relationships (though there are a few hinted at), because only achieving one's dream is important. The series was aired on the Anime Network during 2005 in the United States.

Contents

Plot

1st Season

2nd Season: New Wings

1st OVA: The Amazing Princess Without a Smile

2nd OVA: Legend of Phoenix ~Layla Hamilton Monogatari~

3rd OVA: Good day yo! Goood!!

Characters

Episodes

Episode list

Season 1

Season 2

OVA

DVD List

Season 1

Season 1 (ADV Slim Case Release)

Season 2

Reception

Season 1

Season 2

OVAs

Staff

Theme music

Manga

Novel

Trivia

References

External links

Plot

1st Season

Sora Naegino, a young Japanese girl, comes to America full of hope to audition to perform at the Kaleido Stage, a world famous circus that she was mesmerized with as a child. However, no sooner does she arrive then she runs into trouble. She gets lost on her way to the Stage, has her legs peered at (without permission) by a mysterious stranger, and her bag is stolen by a fast-moving thief. After chasing down the criminal using her acrobatic talents, a kind police officer gives her a ride to Kaleido Stage where she finds she has missed her audition and is told to go back to Japan by the star performer (and Sora's idol) Layla Hamilton. A performer is injured, however, and Sora is given an opportunity to perform by the owner of the Stage, Kalos (who turns out to be the mysterious man who had eyed her legs earlier). After a faltering first performance, Sora is dismissed from Kaleido Stage and prepares to return to Japan. At the last moment, Kalos decides she can stay and proclaims to Layla that someday, the audience will come just to see Sora's performance.
Sora spends the beginning of the season as an outcast, as the other performers believe that she had relations with the director to gain her position. Layla is particularly cold towards her, and sees her alternately as either an annoyance or a threat. With the help of a friend, Ken, and a lot of hard work and determination, Sora begins to earn the respect of those around her. Her incredible personality wins her a variety of friendships (including that of a baby seal) as well as several increasingly major roles in the productions. Over time, she even manages to form a friendship with Layla. However, things begin to go astray as Layla's father pressures her to leave and insiders plot to take over and shut down Kaleido Stage. Sora must rely on her winning personality, hard work and close friendships to keep the stage afloat.

2nd Season: New Wings

In the second season Sora returns to the stage after attempting the Legendary Great Maneuver with Layla. This leaves Layla's shoulder injured and unable to perform. The absence of her co-star, having retired to further a career in Broadway productions, prompts a slight decline of the Kaleido Stage. Because of this Khalos brings in a new recruit, Leon Oswald (a lofty trapeze artist). It seems at first that Leon is reminded very much of someone due to Sora's presence, and at times this causes him to get very frustrated with Sora, or very loving. Despite this, however, Leon does not accept Sora as worthy of being on the stage with him. This leads to a new recruit (May Wong of China, who is a master on Ice) to question and challenge Sora's position as Leon's partner and star of the show. Sora's first goal in the season is to attend the circus festival in Paris, but the competitors will do anything to attain the title of 'festival winner': betray, deceive, or even attack their opposers. The atmosphere and attitude this creates does not bode kindly to Sora's carefree, optimistic outlook. It inturn causes her to withdraw from the competition in the middle of her act (or the Angel Act), leaving friends, family and, worst of all, Layla confused and otherwise disappointed with Sora. Most of the season concentrates on Sora finding and pursuing her new dream. After many trials and rejections Sora aims to become a "True Kaleido Star" while creating a fun, conflict-free stage, the complete opposite of what she experiences at the festival in Paris.

1st OVA: The Amazing Princess Without a Smile

The first OVA looks at a new production in the works that follows the Kaleido Stage's success with ''Swan Lake'' about a female princess that is unable to smile and a jester of hers that is hoping to bring her smile back. The idea for the production came to Mia from a painting that featured a character that looked very similar to Rosetta and a jester in the background that looked surprisingly like Fool(the stage spirit witch can be see only by very talented students). Rosetta is assigned the lead role as the princess. Unfortunately, despite the likeliness of her being able to comprehend the role fully as she herself never carried a smile when she first came to Kaleido Stage, she has difficulties acting out the part and leaves the rehearsals mid-way frustrated. Will Rosetta be able to play the role right? What ties do Fool have with the painting of the princess and the jester?

2nd OVA: Legend of Phoenix ~Layla Hamilton Monogatari~

Layla and Sora are about to launch different interpretations of the same show "Legend of Phoenix" on opposite coasts. Layla is preparing at the Broadway but is dissatisfied with her performance. She feels that she cannot perform the role properly if she is not truly reborn as a new Layla Hamilton. In a desperate attempt to be reborn, she runs off on a solo bicycle trip to upstate New York in hopes of rediscovering herself. Meanwhile, Sora is also attempting to find her own Phoenix, but when she learns of Layla's disappearance she, Ken and May run off to New York to find the former Kaleido Star who at that instant was on a bike journey with no set destination. Layla meets various strangers and reminisces memories of her childhood along the way as she thinks of how she can change herself. But while she tries to find a new self, she spends her entire time alone thinking about Sora until she comes to realize just how much Sora has been a muse to her. Once she realizes that, she is reborn. The nature of this revelation, though speculated in different ways by various fans, is up to interpretation. During the end credits, we are shown two different Phoenixes.

3rd OVA: Good day yo! Goood!!

''Good day yo! Goood!!'' is a TV episode length OVA that is rendered by computer graphics. All of the characters are presented super deformed. The OVA is split up into three parts. The first part is a lesson in Chinese cooking presented by May Wong; the dish that is presented is mapo doufu. The second part is a lesson on how to use the diabolo by Rosetta Passel. The final part is a lesson in seal lingo presented by Marion and Jonathan to Sora.

Characters

Main articles: List of Kaleido Star characters

Episodes

Episode list

Season 1

Ep#	English title	Japanese title
1	My Amazing Stage Debut!	初めての!　すごい!　ステージ (''Hajimete no! Sugoi!'' Stage)
2	My Amazing & Lonely Challenge!	孤独な　すごい　チャレンジ (''Kodoku na Sugoi'' Challenge)
3	The Amazing Distant Stage	遠い　すごい　ステージ (''Tooi Sugoi'' Stage)
4	Try Hard & You'll Get an Amazing Chance	がんばれば　すごい　チャンス (''Ganbareba Sugoi'' Chance)
5	My Amazingly Distant Family	いつも　すごい　遠い家族 (''Itsumo Sugoi Tooi Kazoku'')
6	The Amazing Seal	小さくて　すごい　オットセイ (''Chiisakute Sugoi Ottosei'')
7	The Amazing Girl Who Doesn't Smile	笑わない　すごい　少女 (''Warawanai Sugoi Shōjo'')
8	An Amazing Star Even in Tough Times	つらくても　すごい　スター (''Tsurakutemo Sugoi'' Star)
9	My Amazing Challenge for the Lead Role	主役への　すごい　挑戦 (''Shuyaku e no Sugoi Chōsen'')
10	Facing an Amazing Wall	主役への　すごい　壁 (''Shuyaku e no Sugoi Kabe'')
11	Anna's Not so Amazing Father	アンナの　すごくない　お父さん (Anna ''no Sugokunai Otōsan'')
12	An Amazingly Hot New Production	熱い　すごい　新作 (''Atsui Sugoi Shinsaku'')
13	The Amazing Competition Calls Up a Storm	嵐を呼ぶ　すごい　競演 (''Arashi o Yobu Sugoi Kyōen'')
14	Mysterious Amazing Circus	怪しい　すごい　サーカス (''Ayashii Sugoi'' Circus)
15	The Diva's Amazing Love	歌姫の　すごい　愛 (''Utahime no Sugoi Ai'')
16	An Amazing Sinister Rumor	黒い　すごい　噂 (''Kuroi Sugoi Uwasa'')
17	Fire It Up! Amazing Mia	燃えろ!　すごい　ミア (''Moero! Sugoi'' Mia)
18	Yuri's Amazing Trap	ユーリの　すごい　罠 (Yuri ''no Sugoi Wana'')
19	Amazing Family Ties	家族の　すごい　絆 (''Kazoku no Sugoi Kizuna'')
20	An Amazing Change From Zero To Hero	ゼロからの　すごい　スタート (Zero ''kara no Sugoi'' Start)
21	The Amazing Mystery Star	謎の　すごい　仮面スター (''Nazo no Sugoi Kamen'' Star)
22	The Amazing Resolve Beneath The Mask	仮面の下の　すごい　覚悟 (''Kamen no Shita no Sugoi Kakugo'')
23	The Legendary Amazing Maneuver	幻の　すごい　大技 (''Maboroshi no Sugoi Oowaza'')
24	The Amazing Intensive Training Continues	まだ続く　すごい　特訓 (''Mada Tsuzuku Sugoi Tokkun'')
25	An Amazing Bond	ふたりの　すごい　絆 (''Futari no Sugoi Kizuna'')
26	An Amazing Comeback	傷だらけの　すごい　復活 (''Kizudarake no Sugoi Fukkatsu'')

Season 2

Ep#	English Title	Japanese Title
27	Amazing Prologue to Stardom (Part 1)	スターへの　すごい　プロローグ（前編） (Star ''e no Sugoi'' Prologue (Zenpen))
28	Amazing Prologue to Stardom (Part 2)	スターへの　すごい　プロローグ（後編） (Star ''e no Sugoi'' Prologue (Kōhen))
29	An Amazing New Rival	新しい　すごい　ライバル (''Atarashii Sugoi'' Rival)
30	The Amazing Newcomer	もう一人の　すごい　新人 (''Mou Hitori no Sugoi Shinjin'')
31	The Amazing Passionate Rival	情熱の　すごい　ライバル (''Jōnetsu no Sugoi'' Rival)
32	Amazing Match On Ice	氷の上の　すごい　対決 (''Kōri no Ue no Sugoi Taiketsu'')
33	Amazing Rosetta of Sweat and Tears	汗と涙の　すごい　ロゼッタ (''Ase to Namida no Sugoi'' Rosetta)
34	The Ever Amazing Miss Layla	やっぱり　すごい　レイラさん (''Yappari Sugoi'' Layla''san'')
35	Marion's Amazing Debut	マリオンの　すごい　デビュー (Marion ''no Sugoi'' Debut)
36	Amazing Training With Leon	レオンとの　すごい　特訓 (Leon ''to no Sugoi Tokkun'')
37	The Two Amazing Demons	二人の　すごい　悪魔 (''Futari no Sugoi Akuma'')
38	Amazing Angelic Counterattack	天使の　すごい　反撃 (''Tenshi no Sugoi Hangeki'')
39	Cruel Amazing Festival	惨酷な　すごい　祭典 (''Zankoku na Sugoi Saiten'')
40	Amazing and Sad Homecoming	絶望の　すごい　帰国 (''Zetsubō no Sugoi Kikoku'')
41	My Amazing Fresh Start	再出発の　すごい　決意 (''Saishuppatsu no Sugoi Ketsui'')
42	An Amazingly Humiliating Performance	屈辱の　すごい　共演 (''Kutsujoku no Sugoi Kyōen'')
43	Mr. Policeman's Amazing Proposal	ポリスの　すごい　プロポーズ (Police ''no Sugoi'' Proposal)
44	Launching An Amazing Smile!	笑顔の　すごい　発進! (''Egao no Sugoi Hasshin!'')
45	Leon's Amazing Past	レオンの　すごい　過去 (Leon ''no Sugoi Kako'')
46	The Amazing Fated Duel	宿命の　すごい　決斗 (''Shukumei no Sugoi Kettō'')
47	Flight of the Amazing Angel	舞い降りた　すごい　天使 (''Maiorita Sugoi Tenshi'')
48	The Amazing Injured Swan	傷ついた　すごい　白鳥 (''Kizutsuita Sugoi Hakuchou'')
49	Our Amazing Futures	ひとりひとりの　すごい　未来（あした） (''Hitorihitori no Sugoi Ashita'')
50	A Most Amazing and Inescapable Showdown	避けられない　ものすごい　一騎討ち (''Sakerarenai Monosugoi Ikkiuchi'')
51	To the Amazing Promised Place	約束の　すごい　場所へ (''Yakusoku no Sugoi Basho e'')

OVA

English Title	Japanese Title
''The Amazing Princess Without a Smile''	笑わない　すごい　お姫様 (''Warawanai Sugoi Ohimesama'')
''Legend of Phoenix ~Layla Hamilton Monogatari~''	Legend of Phoenix ～レイラ・ハミルトン物語～ (''Legend of Phoenix ~Layla Hamilton Monogatari~'')
''Good day yo! Goood!!''	ぐっどだよ！ぐぅ～っど！！ (''Good da yo! Goood!!'')

DVD List

Season 1

Vol#	DVD Title	Episodes	Release date
1	Welcome to the Kaleido Stage!	1 - 5	May 11, 2004
2	All Things Great and Small	6 - 9	June 22, 2004
3	Great Expectations	10 - 13	August 3, 2004
4	Fall From Grace	14 - 18	September 14, 2004
5	Masquerade	19 - 22	October 26, 2004
6	Reach for the Brass Ring!	23 - 26	December 7, 2004

Season 1 (ADV Slim Case Release)

Vol#	Episodes
1	1 - 5
2	6 - 10
3	11 - 15
4	16 - 20
5	21 - 26

Season 2

Vol#	DVD Title	Episodes	Release date
1	Eclipse of the Star	27 - 31	January 17, 2006
2	A Tale of Two Rivals	32 - 35	March 14, 2006
3	The Better Angels of Our Nature	36 - 39	May 16, 2006
4	Return to the Rising Sun	40 - 44	July 18, 2006
5	Angel and Anathema	45 - 48	September 19, 2006
6	A Kaleido Star is Born	49 - 51	November 07, 2006

Reception

''Kaleido Star'' was generally well received by critics, with the majority of acclaim paid to the first season.

Season 1

In a review of the first Volume, Anime News Network called the series "heartwarming fluff without too many sugar calories" and praised the Japanese voice cast for stellar performances, with particular emphasis on Ryo Hirohashi and Takehito Koyasu.^[2] Anime On DVD also noted Koyasu's performance, the quality of the animation in the performance scenes, and the fulfilling climax of the final episode.^[3][4] Underland Online noted Kaleido Star as being "...an extraordinary series is in a class all its own."^[5]

Season 2

Despite being put off by the recap episodes, Anime New Network positively reviewed the first Volume of ''Kaleido Star: New Wings''. While critiquing the story as "straight from the shojo drama playbook," the review held praise for the visuals, stating that "the best thing about Kaleido Star is, far and away, the amazing animation and production values. The circus scenes are wildly original and sometimes breathtaking; the animation quality hasn't dipped at all in the second season." Cynthia Martinez also won notice for developing her performance as Sora.^[6] Anime Advanced also looked at the first volume and praised it highly, noting that "Kaleido Star gets my highest possible recommendation. This is a show that dreams are made of."^[7]
Summing up the series, Chris Beveridge of Anime On DVD said that "Kaleido Star has been a great series overall with a somewhat weak second season that really took its time to find its own voice," but that "it's still a series that's very easy to recommend on a whole and one that is very much worth showing to a younger audience."^[8] ActiveAnime's Holly Ellingwood commented that "The finale is climatic and fulfilling." and summarized the series as being "An anime that is a pure joy to watch. Exhilarating, Kaleido Star is a stirring series that is both inspirational and remarkable.".^[9]

OVAs

''The Amazing Princess Without a Smile'' (also known as ''Kaleido Star: New Wings Extra Stage'') was included on Volume 6 of the American ''Kaleido Star: New Wings'' and was thus reviewed with the final batch of TV episodes. Anime On DVD proclaimed the OVA to be "a beautiful piece of work and the best way to close out things for awhile as it is much more oriented on the comedy and the lighter side of the characters... It's a great little self contained story that plays strong in a similar fashion to the last episode of the series but without quite so much angst and hardship associated with it. It leaves you laughing and really smiling at the end of the disc."
Thus far, ''The Amazing Princess Without a Smile'' is the only ''Kaleido Star'' OVA to be released internationally.

Staff

★ Planning: GDH & HAL

★ Original creator & director: Junichi Sato

★ Associate producer: Toyo Ikeda

★ Series story editor: Reiko Yoshida

★ Character design & animation director: Hajime Watanabe, Fumitoshi Oizaki

★ Art director: Junichiro Nishikawa

★ Sound director: Yota Tsuruoka

★ Composer: Mina Kubota

Theme music

;Opening:
1. "Take it Shake It" by Sugar (eps 1–13)
2. by Chihiro Yonekura (eps 14–26)

★ Lyrics: Chihiro Yonekura

★ Music: Chihiro Yonekura
3. "Tattoo Kiss" by r.o.r/s (eps 27–51)

★ Lyrics: Mizue

★ Music: Dream Field

★ Arrangement: Keiji Tanabe
4. "Blanc et Noir" by Ryō Hirohashi and Kaori Mizuhashi (''The Amazing Princess Without a Smile'' OVA)
5. "Ray of Light" by Sayaka Ōhara (''Legend of Phoenix ~Layla Hamilton Monogatari~'' OVA)

★ Lyrics: Yuki Matsuura

★ Music: Mina Kubota

★ Arrangement: Yuki Matsuura
;Ending:
1. "real Identity" by Sugar (eps 1–13)
2. by Sophia (eps 14–26)
3. "Escape" by r.o.r/s (eps 27–50)

★ Lyrics: Mizue

★ Music: Keiji Tanabe

★ Arrangement: Kenji Tanabe
4. by Chihiro Yonekura with Kaleido Stars (ep 51)
5. "Tattoo Kiss" by r.o.r/s (''The Amazing Princess Without a Smile'' OVA)
6. by Sayaka Ōhara (''Legend of Phoenix ~Layla Hamilton Monogatari~'' OVA)

★ Lyrics: Kaleido Stage

★ Music: Hitoshi Sakimoto

★ Arrangement: Hitoshi Sakimoto
;Insert:
1. "Ray of Light" by Layla Hamilton (Sayaka Ōhara) (ep 50)

Manga

A manga entitled Kaleido Star ~Wing of Destiny.^[10] began serialization in Shōnen Fang's April issue and was released on February 19, 2007.^[11] The story takes place fifteen years after the events of the anime series and it revolves around Sora's younger sister, Yume. Because Sora has not visited her family in years for reasons unknown, Yume joins Kaleido Stage in hopes to meet her. At this point, one can only speculate as to what has become of the former Star of Kaleido Stage.
Though various new characters have been introduced, old ones have also come back including Yuri Killian, May Wong, Marion Benigni^[12], Mia Guillem^[13], and Rosetta Passell^[14]. Other characters, including Sora and Layla, have yet to appear in the manga as their present selves.
Unfortunately, it was revealed during summer of 2007 that Shonen Fang will cease its publication for good in September.^[15] This will leave the Kaleido Star manga temporarily without a home.

Novel

A novel named was released on February 10, 2006.^[16]

Trivia

★ The first episode of the English adaptation appeared on the January 2004 edition of Newtype magazine.^[17]

★ Luci Christian voices both Sarah and Kate in the English speaking version. She stated in an interview that when this occurs that "voice patterns can really set your voices apart".^[18]

★ In a few episodes of ''Kaleido Star'', it is shown that the sun sets behind the Kaleido Stage. In episode 51, the sun is shown rising above the ocean behind the stage.

References

1. Retrieved on 2006-07-07.
2. Reviews - Anime News Network - Kaleido Star Volume 1 Leslie Mitsuko Tokiwa
3. AnimeOnDVD.com >> Disc Reviews >> Kaleido Star Volume 1 Chris Beveridge
4. AnimeOnDVD.com >> Disc Reviews >> Kaleido Star Volume 6 Chris Beveridge
5. Kaleido Star Amazing Collection Mike Lewis
6. Reviews - Anime News Network - Kaleido Star New Wings Volume 1 Zac Bertschy
7. Kaleido Star: New Wings Volume 1 Vincent Del Vecchio
8. AnimeOnDVD.com >> Disc Reviews >> Kaleido Star: New Wings Volume 6 Chris Beveridge
9. Kaleido Star New Wings: A Kaleido Star is Born (Vol. 6) [Advance Review] Holly Ellingwood
10. Kaleido Star Manga Cover Scan
11. Shōnen Fang
12. Kaleido Star Manga Scan 2
13. Kaleido Star Manga Scan 3
14. Kaleido Star Manga Scan 4
15. Comic Press
16. Product information for the novel
17. Bound by Blood
18. Voice actors in bed

External links

; Japan :

★ Kaleido Star Official Website
; USA & Canada :

★ ADV Kaleido Star Website

★

★
; Korea :

★ Tooniverse Kaleido Star Website

★ Daum Cafe Kaleido Star Korea Fan Club Website