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Plot Synopsis

Sora Naegino is dreaming of becoming a member of the Kaleido Stage since she watched "Alices Adventures in Wonderland" at Kaleido Stage with her parents. One day she starts her journey from Japan to America, however when she arrives in America her suitcase is being stolen. But with Soras awesome athletic skills she soon catches the thief and a kind policeman drives her to Kaleido Stage. Although the casting is already finished she manages to be accepted by Kalos, the owner of the Kaleido Stage, and is now finally a member of the crew. On her first day of training, only by misunderstandings, she challenges Layla Hamilton, the top star of Kaleido Stage. Now Sora has to master Laylas"Golden Phoenix" in only a few days. If she fails she has to immediately leave Kaleido Stage, but if she succeeds Layla will accept her and Sora can finally fulfil her dream to be the true Kaleido Star. Synopsis by: Chibi`kyo

Story & Characters

The story of Kaleido Star tells us about a 16-year-old Japanese girl, namely Sora Naegino, who longs to become a member of Kaleido Stage, a circus located on an artificial island in Cape Mary. She travels all the way to America in order to attend the audition in Kaleido Stage. But, troubles exist: her luggage was stolen by an unknown thief, and the policemen and policewomen thought that she ran away from home! And because of that, she is late in her audition. Ken Robbins, a staff worker that is in charge of the audition, allows Sora to audition even though the audition just finish but, Layla Hamilton, the top star or so-called Kaleido Star, doesn't give Sora the chance. As a condition in order to audition, Layla told Sora to do the Golden Phoenix in a week when she heard Sora chatting along with the other people while training and, she succeeds. But, there were unexpected surprises, especially when Yuri takes over Kaleido Stage, and when Fool told Layla and Sora that they have the potential to do the Amazing Trick, which caused Yuri's father's death. In the end, they succeed but Layla has to retire in Kaleido Stage and moves herself to fame in acting in Broadway and in finishing her movie 'The Flying Maxene'.

In the second season, because of the absence of Sora's co-star, Kalos called on a trapeze artist from France, that is Leon Oswald. Leon Oswald is a trapeze with a cold heart, at least that was people's thought. Leon was also known as 'emotionless' to most people after his sister's death. And, he is performing with other partners in order for him to find the right one to finish the Angel Act, the skill that he and Sophie, his sister, developed. And because of performing in the stage with Sora in the show 'Saiyuki', this leads to another recruit, May Wong, that says to be Leon's right partner and the next Layla Hamilton. There are a lot of trials and challenges but Sora wins them over, especially when she did the Angel Act during the International Circus Festival but fails to continue when she thinks about the people's dreams. As the matter of fact, Leon convinces Sora to be his partner in fulfilling the Angel Act, and, when Sora agreed, she was in hard trainings and practices in order to finish the skill. And, as a result, Sora gracefully performed the Angel Act through the show of 'Swan Lake', together with Leon, and on that moment, her dreams of becoming a True Kaleido Star and a conflict-free stage were successfully came true.

Sora Naegino- she is a 16-year-old girl that came from Japan to America in order to become a performer of Kaleido Stage. She has a crush on Yuri Killian (most of us knew that). She first performed her lead role in the show of 'The Mermaid' together with Anna Heart as her partner. She is also the partner of Layla Hamilton in 'Arabian Nights', 'Freedom' and in the Amzing Trick/Legendary Manuever. She is the Kaleido Star when she fulfilled Leon's promise to Sophie about completing the Angel Act.

Layla Hamilton- she is the daughter of Mr. Hamilton, the owner of the Hamilton Hotel. She is Yuri's partner since her age of 14 (not sure of the age). At first, she thought Sora as nothing but a little weakling but, Sora proves Layla wrong when Sora trains with her in Grand Canyon and in performing with her in the Legendary Manuever.

Yuri Killian- he is the son of an acrobat who died years ago because of the Legendary Manuever. And because of that, he promises for vengeance for his father's death by taking over Kaleido Stage and closing it. He also appears as the 'fault' of why Sophie Oswald died in the truck accident three years ago.

Leon Oswald- he is a French acrobat that searches for partners in order to complete his promise to Sophie. By the chance, he met Sora, then May. But, unexpectedly, Leon sees Sophie in Sora, and convinces Sora to perform the Angel Act with him. But, because of her refused answer, Leon sees what happened to Sophie when Sora crossed the street and a speeding vehicle is going to crash with her (ep. 41). And when Sora agrees to complete the skill, he places her in hard trainings but in the end, he places Sora on top and she has the title 'Kaleido Star'.

Ken Robbins- he is a staff worker in Kaleido Stage with a weak heart condition and the first man that Sora met in Kaleido Stage. He, also, has a secret crush on her.

Mia Guillem- she is a performer and a scriptwriter. She is the one to write the scripts for the shows of Kaleido Stage.

Anna Heart- she is a performer and Sora's and Mia's good friend. She is accustomed with comedy and comical acts until she creates her very own comedy group.

Rosetta Passel- she is known as 'Youngest Diabolo Champion'. She won that title when she was 9. But, because of Diabolo Cups, she wasn't able to enjoy her childhood and worse, she wasn't able to study. She, also, teaches Sora how to do the Diabolo Cups and, as condition, Sora teached Rosetta on how to use the trapeze. She could see Fool on episode 51 and on the OVA when she and Sora are the leads in the show 'The Princess Without A Smile'.

Fool- known as 'The Spirit of the Kaleido Stage'. Well, Sora first saw him in the dressing room. Fool is as large as an action figure. He said that those who could see him were chosen by the stage. But, that is not the only thing that Sora believed in. Besides being serious at times, Fool is sometimes perverted, especially the times when he peeks inside the bathroom when Sora will take a shower and the times when he'll peek on Sora's undergarments in her cabinets.

Kalos Eido- the head manager of the Kaleido Stage. He once performed tricks when he, Sarah and Andy were still young.

Sarah Dupont- the singing diva of Kaleido Stage. She sings her songs during performances. She is not only interested in singing, but also in Karate.

Rating

10 (excellent)

Art

The backgrounds of each performance and in each episode were almost true. Well, I think that the inside part of the Kaleido Stage is so detailed. It's like it's already real. The character designs were magnificent, especially when the characters are wearing their costumes and clothes. The most detailed part in the anime is the Grand Canyon (in my opinion).

Rating

9 (very good)

Sound

The sounds... well... in my country, the language used in the anime is Filipino/Tagalog and when I heard on the TV, the characters' lines were full of emotions, especially with Sora and Leon. When the animation shows that the character is sad or so lonely, the dubber also talks like a sad or a lonely person. The OSTs were splendid, especially with the video. Plus, even though I couldn't understand Japanese at all, me and my friends were great in singing the anime's songs.

Rating

9 (very good)

Presentation

It is so enjoyable, so funny, so great... so AWESOME!! It's fit for the family, especially to the parents and to the children. This anime, Kaleido Star, has a lot of moral lessons, like 'Never Give Up!'. It is also good for teens and friends because it tells us the power of friendship and teamwork.

Rating

9 (very good)

Final Verdict

9.33 (very good)

Reviewed by PrincessCathloren, 1y 13wk ago