My Review of "Kaleido Star"!
Look at Sora, man. So inspirational.
Story
The story focuses on the development of a new performer by the name of Sora. Although she makes it into her favorite place, Kaleido Stage, she isn’t welcomed due to how unprofessional she seems and how much she sticks out. However, she perseveres through to make her dream of becoming the next huge star of Kaleido Stage come true.
Characters
Sora is a very energetic and dedicated performer. Despite her struggles physically and mentally, she chooses to persevere with her psychic perverted partner, Fool. Certain stars and performers try to push Sora down for various reasons, including the initial Kaleido Star Layla Hamilton, the highly talented but also reserved Leon Oswald, and an annoying newcomer with the dream to perform with Layla, May Wong. However, many other characters are there to support Sora, including the comedic Anna Heart, the creative Mia Guillem, and a staff member named Ken.
The Good
This anime was definitely a grower for me. I knew that it was going to be a good anime, but the more I watched it, the more interested I got in the story. This story was able to capture that motivational and inspirational vibe that a show like this should present. Even with its focus being on circus-like acts and acrobatics, the show definitely presented some of the struggles stars go through as well as its good moments. Alongside its hints of comedy, the anime was paced pretty well. Most of the characters were enjoyable too, having their own unique personalities and skills to stand out. Speaking of characters, I love how the characters aren’t one offs. Even after their main purpose has been completed, they still show up in future episodes and support the other main characters.
The Bad
Despite how good the show was, it had its weak points throughout the story. It was quite a rollercoaster seeing the anime go from something that I’d call peak to something I’d end up despising in the moment of seconds. There were a lot of times where the initial introduction of new characters left a sour taste in my mouth. Most of the time, the anime was able to come up with ways to make them seem more enjoyable to watch, but there were still two that I really disliked. Those two would arrive past the halfway mark of the show as May and Leon. Leon was just a douche overall, but he did seem to find his groove and become very enjoyable to watch. May, on the other hand, was just an absolute annoying brat. I had to fight the urge to skip her parts every time she spoke. It does seem like a compliment to the writers in making dislikable characters, but they were written so well that I ended up disliking the show when they became a main part of the story.
The Downright Ugly
Apart from the failed insertions of a few characters, I didn’t find anything else downright ugly about the anime.
Is It Worth The Watch?
If you’re willing to watch 50+ episodes, I’d say that Kaleido Star is a good show to watch. Sure, it can be a bit annoying at times, but those 50 episodes really go fast because of its interesting storylines and characters.
Thank you for taking the time to read my review. I hope this helped you with your decision on whether to watch this anime or not! If you already have watched it, I hope that you can agree with me with some of the points I made. ^^
