Anime Review: Kaleido Star

Kaleido Star is one of those animes that makes you want to be in it. After watching the entire anime (51 episodes) I felt as if i needed to join a circus.

Sora Naegino, the main character, is so cute that you cant help but fall in love with her. Normally that happens to one of the supporting characters in an anime. For example: Faye and Ed in Cowboy Beebop, Orihime in Bleach, Simca in Air Gear, Misa in Death Note, Etc... I could go on for pages with these. There is something about Sora's Character that affects both those in the show and watching the show.

Sora is a 16 year old girl who, after coming to America on vacation to watch a performance on Kaleido Stage with her parents when she was 6, decided to become a performer in Kaleido Stage. By any means necessary. So after leaving her home in japan on the day of the audition, traveling by plane to America by herself, and getting lost in the city, she still does not give up. After an encounter with a thief who tries to steal her bag, she gets taken to a police station where they think that she's a runaway. They keep her there for a while so she decides to start warming up in the station. Only then do they realize that she's here for the Kaleido Stage auditions. They offer to drive her over to the stage where she, again, gets lost trying to get to the audition room. When she gets there, they say that she missed the audition and will not be allowed to tryout. This breaks her heart and she leaves the stage area and stands by the ocean. The set manager comes out and offers to allow her to stay for the performance. While backstage, Sora accidentally inures one of the cast members. The Owner of the stage tells sora that she has to be the one to substitute in the Trampoline act. She starts off very clumsily but midway through one of the audience members shouts "You can do it!" Sora realizes that she's not allowed to give a bad performance and snaps out of it to perform to the end flawlessly. On her way out, the lead female star, Layla Hamilton, stops her and tells her that it was a disgraceful Debut and that she should leave the stage immediately and never return. She runs out crying only to be stopped by the Set manager, shouting that she passed the audition. She starts to dance around and all is well. She is shown to her dorm room and inside is a strange doll like thing... That talks. he says his name is Fool. And that he is the Spirit of the stage. And thats only the first episode.

Every Episode is Packed with comedy, cuteness, drama, action, and emotion. In addition to all that, every frame of this show is a piece of art. It is beautifully directed and the writing is equally as brilliant.

If i had to come up with something bad about this series, i have two complaints.
1: It's too short. Even after 51 episodes and 3 OVAs, i wanted more.
2: A Little more variety in the Background music. Most of it is trumpet fanfares and around episode 40, that got a little annoying. but it doesn't distract.
I literally Fell in love with Sora so when the show ended, i felt like i was dumped by a really awesome girlfriend. It made me depressed that it was over. I hear that there is currently in production a Manga that takes place 15 years after this series. If you know if any scanlation teams are working on this, let me know.
I Need More Kaleido Star!!!!!

The Audio quality for the American release leaves something to be desired. The American Voice actors are one of the worst Dubs I've ever heard. And I've heard a lot of bad dubs. I think thats why it managed to stay out of the spotlight. I definitely recommend watching this anime in Japanese with Subtitles. Sora is played by the same girl who did the American version of Excel Kobayashi from Excel Saga so as you can probably tell, her voice is rather annoying. Especially after 51 episodes.














Overall ratings:

Action: 9/10
Not the main focus of the show but when it is there, it flows nicely, is well choreographed, and Looks entertaining.

Fan service: 2/10
Cuteness is all you get. Sucks to be you, you filthy perverts.

Storyline: 10/10
As strong a storyline as i've ever seen.

Artwork: 10/10
The best there is. No Doubt about it. :)

Character design: 10/10
Every Character has a strong design and personality. You won't ever forget them.

Overall: 10/10
I feel confident in saying that this is the No. 1 Anime of the last DECADE.

Final Decision:
MUST OWN. Get your ass off the computer right now and buy it. I'm serious here.

And to finish this off, I have one last thing to say.

My Wings are my Dream... And on To the Sky!

Anime Review: Ah! My Goddess!

Keichi Morisato. I really feel sorry for him. I see so much of myself in him, it makes me scared to go out every morning. But than i realize that he gets through life every day and is just fine. Oh yeah, and he has to live with 3 beautiful goddesses. Keichi goes to Nikomi Technical school and is in the Auto club. he shares a dorm with the rest of the members of the club and they have officially declared the dorm as a "No Girls Allowed, Men Only Sanctuary." So when the club decides to go out for a party they make Keichi watch the house for them and clean the place up. He Finishes Early and decides to order a pizza. However, his call to the pizza place is intercepted by the "Goddess Help Line" and the angel Belldandy does an in person consultation as she comes out of the mirror on the wall. Keichi is stunned and confused. The goddess is here to grant him a single wish no matter what it is. In his confusion, he wishes that he could have a beautiful goddess like Belldandy be at his side forever. As A Result, he is kicked out of the dorm when the rest of the club members return from their party because he had a woman over. Hilarity Ensues.

I cant really find much about this anime I don't like. I guess the only thing i can say that is negative is that it moves slowly. For those who are very strict about the christian religion, this anime is NOT FOR YOU. It makes statements about God and Heaven that would, even today, cause controversy among most theologians. First off, Heaven and earth are both run by a computer system known as "Ygdrasil" and the goddesses are in charge of maintaining and running the system, finding and fixing bugs, and balancing things out here and there. Belldandy's visit to keichi is one of those balances. As they say in the show, "Keichi was born to be taken advantage of."

High points of this show are many and significant. First off the Artwork is beautiful. It's rare to see this level of detail in animation these days. Another great thing is the sound. Not just the music, but the english dub. Yes, i do recomend watching this with the english language track. Why? Because this is a rare anime where the english dub doesnt just Not suck, but is very good. The Music from the show is fantastic, a mix between folk, Celtic, classical, and southern. It is pulled off extremely well. The characters all have strong personalities and well designed looks. The script is very well written and the actors pour all their emotion into their performances.

Ratings:

Action: 7/10
Well put together fights near the end of the series. Just not much of it.

Fan service: 3/10
Best you get is low cut tops on one of the Goddesses and very cute girls.

Storyline: 9/10
Well thought out and excecuted. It had be believing it was based on actual events... regardless of how rediculous they were.

Artwork: 10/10
Top Notch. as good as it gets.

Character design: 10/10
Again, as good as it gets. Each Characters look matches their personality exactly

Overall: 9/10
Nearly perfect. Just slightly too long.

Final Decision:
Buy Immediately. This is a Must Own.

What do you think?

Anime Review: Real Bout High School

Real Bout High School is an Anime about a girl named Ryoko Mitsurugi. She attends Daimon High School where the system they have for settling disputes is known as a "K-Fight." K stands for Kenka which translates as Streetfight. This is not only the method for solving disputes, but also the system of power in the school, and a great form of entertainment for those who chose not to fight. Ryoko is currently the Champion of the K-Fight system and because of this, she cant get a moment to herself. And it's really pissing her off. She wants nothing more than to be left alone for a few minutes a day. One day, she finds a Strange necklace hanging out of an open locker. Out of curiosity, she puts it on to see what it looks like on her. It erupts with light and Ryoko passes out for a split second. she immediately reawakens to find that she still has the necklace in her hand. She sets it back where it was and goes off to the gym where a line of challengers are waiting to usurp her title. She beats down every last one of them. Upon her Victory, she is Congratulated by her friends. Suddenly, there's a flash from her neck as she looks down to see she is once again wearing the necklace from earlier. everything goes white and she appears in a strange alternate dimension where a strange voice calls out to her calling her the "Demon Lord of Yennin" she is tasked with destroying a monster that has been plaguing this alternate reality. after her success, she is transported back to her bedroom. She calls her friends to ask what happened and they say that she just passed out after the fight and they took her home.

This Anime has Lots of everything. However, the balance is all wrong. Lots of pointless action, Way too much Mushy Drama/Love story, and lacking in any real Direction for the main storyline. Way too many panty shots and Corny Dialog. However, the character dynamics are great and the action is well drawn. There are some minor mistakes as far as technique for those of you who really pay attention to detail. For example, in the photo to the left, Ryoko's Hands are turned 90 degrees from what they should be. her sword should be flat against the naginata instead of cutting into it. These flaws do not affect the action sequences as a whole and should only bug those who pay close attention to detail like me.

On a lighter side of things, this anime has plenty of mystery. It leaves you thinking up until the end as to what everything means, forcing you to watch every episode. The ending is rather anti-climactic however. As a whole however, there is lots of humor, Plenty of fan service, and Good Artwork.

Overall ratings:

Action: 8/10
While there is a lot of it, most is not needed.

Fan service: 6/10
Way too much where it wasn't appropriate.

Storyline: 5/10
Weak with lots of holes

Artwork: 8/10
High Quality art with minor mistakes

Character design: 9/10
Cute girls and Powerful men. Just what we're all looking for in an action show.

Overall: 6/10
Again i'll say it, too much action, too much fan service weak plot, Great Characters and art.


Final Decision:
Download or Borrow. Not one you should pay money for.

What do you think?

Welcome to my reviews page

Hello everyone! If you already know me than you know the drill. Have fun, And lots of feedback!

For those of you who are new fans of me, Let me tell you a little about myself.

I'm a 22 year old anime Nut. Plain and simple. However, I'm very picky about my animes. I'm more of an anime Connoisseur. I only really like whats fantastic. and I'm Nuts about what's Perfect.
Currently, I'm studying Film and Studio Production at Frederick Community College And i hope to graduate by the end of 2008. So not only will you get reviews on this blog from a storyline and character point of view, you will also get it from an Artistic Point of view as far as Camera shots, Sound Quality, and Character Design.

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So if you see me on any of them, drop me a line and say Hey!

Now... On to the Anime!