Kaleido Star

Kaleido Star
Volume 1 DVD cover (US release)
カレイドスター
Genre	Comedy-drama, Slice of life story, Fantasy
TV anime
Directed by	Junichi Sato Yoshimasa Hiraike (Season 2)
Studio	Gonzo
Licensed by	Funimation Entertainment [1]
Network	TV Tokyo TVB
Original run	4 April 2003 – 27 March 2004
Episodes	51
Original video animation
Kaleido Star: New Wings Extra Stage
Directed by	Junichi Sato Yoshimasa Hiraike
Studio	Gonzo
Licensed by	ADV Films (formerly) Funimation Entertainment
Released	September 24, 2004
Original video animation
Legend of Phoenix ~Layla Hamilton Monogatari~
Directed by	Junichi Sato Yoshimasa Hiraike
Studio	Gonzo
Licensed by	Funimation Entertainment
Released	December 11, 2005
Original video animation
Good day yo! Goood!!
Directed by	Junichi Sato Yoshimasa Hiraike
Studio	Gonzo
Released	September 27, 2006
Anime and Manga Portal

Kaleido Star (カレイドスター, Kareido Sutā^?) is an anime series produced by Japanese studio Gonzo Digimation Holding.[1] The series was created by Junichi Sato, who also directed the first season, and written by Reiko Yoshida. Kaleido Star: New Wings was directed by Yoshimasa Hiraike.
Kaleido Star follows Sora Naegino, a Japanese young girl who comes to the United States to fulfill her dream: to perform at the world famous Kaleido Stage.
Three original video animations have been produced, as well as a manga series and a novel.

Plot

First Season

Sora Naegino, a young Japanese girl with a great talent for acrobatics, comes to the United States in hopes of auditioning for the Kaleido Stage, a world famous circus which has mesmerized her since childhood. However, she runs into difficulties as soon as she arrives. She gets lost on her way to the Stage, is leered at by a mysterious stranger, and has her bag stolen by a nimble thief. Employing her acrobatic skills, Sora chases down the criminal.
A kind police officer gives her a ride to Kaleido Stage, but she discovers that she's missed her audition. Her idol, the star performer Layla Hamilton, advises her to return to Japan but a performer's unexpected injury provides Sora with a window of opportunity. She's given the rare chance to perform by the Stage's owner, Kalos (who turns out to be a mysterious man who had eyed her legs earlier). After a faltering effort, Sora is dismissed from Kaleido Stage and prepares to return to Japan, but then Kalos reconsiders, and lets Layla know that someday Sora's performance will be the main draw at the circus.
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 her friends (stage manager Ken Robbins, the performers Mia Guillem and Anna Heart, and young Marion Begnini) as well as 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.

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 Kalos 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 either be really rude or really sweet to Sora.
Despite this, however, Leon does not accept Sora as worthy of being on the stage with him. This leads to the most talented of the new Kaleido Stage recruits (the Chinese May Wong, who is also an ex-figure skater) 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, ultra-idealistic outlook. It in turn causes her to withdraw from the competition in the middle of her act (or the Angel Act) with the redeemed Yuri Killian, leaving friends, family and, worst of all, Layla confused and otherwise disappointed with Sora.
Most of the season concentrates on Sora finding, questioning, and pursuing new dreams. 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.

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 that can be seen 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 does Fool have with the painting of the princess and the jester?

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, Layla 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.

Good day yo! Goood!!

Good day yo! Goood!! is a 22 minutes 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 article: List of Kaleido Star characters

 

Sora Naegino (苗木野 そら, Naegino Sora^?)

Voiced by: Ryo Hirohashi (Japanese), Cynthia Martinez (English)

Sora is the main protagonist of Kaleido Star. Her parents took her to Kaleido Stage when she was young. Although they died shortly thereafter, and Sora was adopted by her father's cousin and his wife, Sora is inspired by this childhood memory to become a member of the Stage when she reaches adulthood. With her adoptive parent's hesitant approval she travels to the United States to audition. While Sora wanders around lost, her luggage is stolen. As a consequence of chasing the thief and speaking to the police, she is late to the audition; Layla shuns Sora, but the owner Kalos gives her a chance to perform in the actual show. Most of the cast initially disapprove Sora because of the special circumstances through which she joins; they accept Sora due to her persistence and hard work along with a magnetic personality, as well as performing a stunt called "The Golden Phoenix". Though Sora is a fairly talented performer, there are often huge gaps in her ability, especially on the trapeze. This is because she was never taught before joining the Stage and the so the first maneuver she learns is Layla's Golden Phoenix, an exceptionally difficult move, so she knows mostly only extremely challenging maneuvers and very little of the basics.

In the beginning of the series Sora is the only one who can see the magical stage spirit Fool. This character reveals she has been chosen by the stage. In the first season, Fool reveals only she can perform the Legendary Great Maneuver with Layla. In the second, he reveals that she has the potential to become a "true star".

In the second season, Sora had been treated unfairly by Leon, and May tries to prove that she is better than Sora, and should have been the one to perform the legendary maneuver with Layla. at first, Sora aimed for being Leon's partner, but then, while doing the Angel's act with Yuri, she realizes what she wanted was to turn kaledoio stage into the joyful and happy stage just like the one she saw when she first saw Kaleido Stage, Alice in Wonderland, along with no conflict, and stick to that dream, which she told Layla, while still wanting to be a true star.

Layla Hamilton (レイラ・ハミルトン, Reira Hamiruton^?)

Voiced by: Sayaka Ohara (Japanese), Sandra Krasa (English)

Layla is an accomplished and seasoned performer. She is a stubborn character who always gets her way in matters of any performance and initially shuns Sora, but accepts her after they become partners for Freedom (a performance that is about people who overcome their differences to be free).

Layla is the daughter of Mr. Hamilton, a wealthy hotel chain owner; he would prefer Layla to be an actress and is frequently trying to push her into doing so, and he is also very work-a-holic and had little time for his daughter. Layla eventually stands up to her father and rejoins the circus; she loves the Kaleido Stage because she clearly remembers how her deceased mother enjoyed going there.

Towards the end of the first season, Layla starts to see Fool and she becomes Sora's partner for the maneuver. While training in the Grand Canyons, both Layla and Sora start to gain each others trust and become good friends. While performing the great Mystical Act, Layla's arm becomes so severely injured that she cannot perform on Kaleido Stage again. In the second season, she becomes a Broadway actress and her new partner is a producer by the name of Cathy. She visits Sora many times and they still share that special bond till the end.

Mia Guillem (ミア・ギエム, Mia Giemu^?)

Voiced by: Chinami Nishimura (Japanese), Nancy Novotny (English)

Mia was born in Holland and is a close friend of Sora's. In the second episode, Mia accepts Sora's presence on the stage after Sora attempts to perform the Golden Phoenix. Later in the series, Mia becomes passionate about writing the scripts for Kaleido Star's performances; she has a keen interest in introducing literature into Kaleido Star's acts. She occasionally has inner conflicts between performing and tending to her sick grandmother, who is Mia's biggest fan.

Anna Heart (アンナ・ハート, Anna Hāto^?)

Voiced by: Akeno Watanabe (Japanese), Kira Vincent-Davis (English)

Anna is also good friend of Sora's. She, like Mia, comes to accept Sora after the second episode. Anna is talented in many areas and frequently plays more serious parts. Anna truly wishes to perform comedy and usually tries to get Mia to write comedy into her parts. The request is almost always denied. Anna takes her love of comedy from her estranged father Jack, a stand-up comedian; when they meet each other after several years, though, Anna is perturbed by his bitterness, but with a push from Sora and Mia they part amiably. In season two she gets paired up with two girls that find her extremely funny and help her with her comedy acts for the shows. Anna is determined to make Ken her partner in comedy but he always hates the idea of performing comedy.

Yuri Killian (ユーリ・キリアン, Yūri Kirian^?)

Voiced by: Susumu Chiba (Japanese), Illich Guardiola (English)

Yuri, like Layla, is an experienced performer, yet he's deeply traumatized by a terrible tragedy. His father, Arlon Brass, died attempting the Mystical Act, and he never forgave Kalos for letting his father die. Yuri plays a pivotal role in the second half of the first season when he betrays the stage, first by stealing away a good portion of the cast and later by buying out the stage and taking control of it. He later agrees to return it to Kalos if Layla and Sora accomplish the same Mystical Act that caused his father's death; when they manage to do so, he fulfills his promise. In the second season, Yuri helps Sora get into the Circus Festival in Paris. He appears to be a bitter rival of Leon's, and feels that he is responsible for the death of Leon's sister, Sophie who was a lot like Sora in many ways.

Fool, Spirit of The Stage (フール, Fūru^?)

Voiced by: Takehito Koyasu (Japanese), Jay Hickman (English)

Fool is the mysterious spirit of the stage. He is about the size of an action figure, and appears as a type of jester or clown. He appears to Sora shortly before she appears on the Kaleido Stage for the first time. Fool is invisible to everyone but those who are destined to do great things on the stage and/or whose heart is completely dedicated to the stage. He seems to be the spirit of a true jester who once was devoted to a princess who never smiled.

Although a ghost, Fool is a pervert who tries many times throughout the series to see Sora, and sometimes her friends, naked (usually by suggesting that they should take a shower). Sora is quick to prevent Fool from peeking in any given situation by trapping him somewhere or rebuking him forcefully, most often in a comedic, slapstick fashion. Later in the first season, Layla becomes capable of seeing Fool as well; the same happens to Rosetta at the end of the second season, who takes his advice more seriously than Sora, most of the time where Sora can tell he is only doing so to satisfy his perversion.

In his more useful moments, he acts as a fortune teller, revealing possible futures to Sora (in the first season he reads the future from tarot cards, in the second season he reads and reveals the hidden workings of intercharacter relationships via astrology). He is also the one who explains the inner mechanics of the Mystical Act to Layla and Sora in episode 25, An Amazing Bond.

Sarah Dupont (サラ・デュポン, Sara Dyupon^?)

Voiced by: Aya Hisakawa (Japanese), Luci Christian (English)

Sarah is the main singer of Kaleido Stage from the United Kingdom, as well as the building manager for the dorms where everyone lives. Many want Sarah to sign on a record label because she is so gifted in singing, but she stays true to Kaleido Stage. She is an avid fan of martial arts, and frequently proposes bizarre alternative methods to help Sora achieve her objectives.

Sarah is well acquainted with Kalos and has been with the Stage from the beginning, when she and Kalos were performing on the streets with another friend. This friend, Andy, returns once to try to persuade Sarah to leave Kaleido Stage with offering her a singing career, but she refuses.

Ken Robbins (ケン・ロビンス, Ken Robinsu^?)

Voiced by: Hiro Shimono (Japanese), John Swasey (English)

Ken is the stage manager for Kaleido. He used to want to perform onstage when he was young, but claims to have a weak heart and decided that it was best to be backstage. Ken also greatly admires Sora, in many respects, and seems to have a huge crush on her, but never has the guts to confess his feelings for her. Though it would appear that everyone else is aware of his feelings for her, in one instance even trying to help him confess to her. In one episode, he does confess to her, but Mr. Policeman misinterprets his confession and causes Sora to believe he means it as a fan. This does not stop Ken from doing everything he can to help Sora out; frequently he acts as her personal trainer, warning her of the dangers she might encounter, and acting as the voice of reason for the group on several occasions. Anna is determined to make Ken her partner in comedy, which he is equally determined not to do.

Kalos Eido (カロス・永戸, Karosu Eido^?)

Voiced by: Keiji Fujiwara (Japanese), Rick Burford (English)

Kalos is the head manager and boss of the entire Kaleido Stage and gives Sora many helpful pieces of advice throughout the anime. He also maintains high expectations of everyone he encounters. Before Kaleido Stage, Kalos was a stage magician and acrobat and used to perform on the street with Sarah and Andy; their past relationship is rather vague. Kalos founded Kaleido Stage with the money he got from the insurance company after he injured his fingers during an audition for a spot in Las Vegas. As a professional, he has strict standards when it comes to how things are run at the Kaleido Stage and how his performers should conduct themselves. While he's firm in his decisions, occasionally he'll give in and let people spread their wings as they please. Kalos is also the one who trained Yuri's father, Arlon Brass, for the Mystical Act, but sadly this failed and Arlon died, traumatising Yuri and embittering him. He is the only person who can tell Layla and Sora how to train for the act.

Mr. Policeman (Jerry) (ポリス, Porisu^?, Police)

Voiced by: Unshou Ishizuka (Japanese), James Reed Faulkner (English)

Jerry is self-described throughout the show as Sora's "#1 fan". He's a tall, muscled black policeman who has helped and supported her from episode one. He is also secretly in love with Kate, a doctor who occasionally appears to help cast members through physical injuries. In the second season, Jerry gathers up his courage and proposes to Kate.

Marion Benigni (マリオン・ベニーニ, Marion Benīni^?)

Voiced by: Fumiko Orikasa (Japanese), Kim-Ly Nguyen (English)

Marion is a young girl living near the stage. Her father is a designer and engineer and works on the sets, but her mother Cynthia (a former trampolinist) is dead due to an accident. Like many of the others, Marion does not accept Sora at first (and specially when Sora attempts to use trampolines in her acts), but is quickly won over to her side. In the second season Marion begins to perform with the group on the Children's Stage.

Jonathan (ジョナサン, Jonasan^?)

Voiced by: Etsuko Kozakura (Japanese), Tiffany Grant (English)

Jonathan is a baby seal that Sora picked up one day. Unable to keep pets, Sora tries to hide him. However, the secret is revealed and instead of kicking him out, Marion's father Jake builds a tank for him. He is capable of doing many tricks and sometimes seems more coordinated than Sora, creating comical performances that the attending children love. During the second season, Jonathan becomes closer to Marion and refuses to perform with anyone else.

Rosetta Passel (ロゼッタ・パッセル, Rozetta Passeru^?)

Voiced by: Kaori Mizuhashi (Japanese), Serena Varghese (English)

Rosetta is a Belgian-born, French-raised world champion diabolo performer. After her first performance at Kaleido Stage, Kalos kicks her off the stage because her act was unsatisfying: he explains that despite being perfect in the technical field, she lacked passion at what she was doing, so everyone was bored by her act. Feeling this wasn't fair, Sora takes the girl under her wing, teaching her how to put audience enjoyment before technical perfection. In return, Rosetta teaches Sora diabolo, which Sora returns to when she needs help learning new acts. Towards the end of the first season, Rosetta returns to join Sora after Kaleido Stage is taken over by Yuri. She joins Sora's troupe and witnesses Sora and Layla performing the Legendary Great Maneuver together. Rosetta returns in the second season wishing to become a trapeze artist, following in Sora's steps. In episode 51 she becomes able to see Fool.

May Wong (メイ・ウォン, Mei Won^?)

Voiced by: Mai Nakahara (Japanese), Hilary Haag (English)

First appearing in the second season, May is a Chinese-American ex-figure skater and new recruit who challenges Sora's position.She became jealous of Sora because not only did she perform the legendary maneuver with Layla, but that Layla calls Sora "her dreams" and has faith that Sora will succeed her as a true performer and also Leon's unusual interest in her. Sora and May have a tense rivalry for most of the second season, which aids both in becoming better performers. May turns out to be exceptionally talented and becomes Leon's partner for the Dracula show. However, during one of the performances, Leon drops her off and causes her to dislocate her shoulder; this allows Sora to obtain the spot for the Circus festival they were practicing for. May, realizing that it takes more than hard work and self-confidence to be a good star, refuses to give up her spot just like that and overtakes Sora with a new one armed trick, finally besting Sora and putting her on top. As she does so, May lays off her arrogance and becomes a better person, even accepting Sora's friendship since she now understands why Layla chose her as a successor.

Leon Oswald (レオン・オズワルド, Reon Ozuwarudo^?)

Voiced by: Takahiro Sakurai (Japanese), Mike MacRae (English)

Leon is a very famous trapeze performer who arrives in the second season. He comes off as arrogant, refusing to perform with Sora, because she is not skilled enough for him. His true desire, however, lies in a promise he made to his dying sister Sophie: to see the Angel's Act, an unrivaled and beautiful trapeze act they had developed, completed. He is a rival of Yuri Killian, whom he blames for the death of Sophie in an accident.Sora in someways is like Sophie which is why Leon became interested in her, close to the end of season 2 Leon finally accepts Sora as his partner.

Mr. Kenneth (ケネス, Kenesu^?)

Voiced by: Mitsuo Senda (Japanese), Jason Douglas (English)

Mr. Kenneth is an elderly man and representative for the Stage's stockholders. He is often portrayed as a producer, seemingly giving him executive powers often rivaling or superseding that of Kalos. He has great experience in show business and often aids Sora. He knows Ken's personality, but always calls him "boy".

Simon Park (サイモン・パーク, Simon Park^?)

Voiced by: Tomohiro Nishimura (Japanese), TJP (English)

Simon Park is highly sought as an Entertainment Industry Writer, Director and Producer. An associate of Layla's family, Simon is a likable, charming and brilliant-minded 'English Accented' Playful-Pervert who often has a wise crack to warm even the most tense of moods.

Hired during the first Season of Kaleido Star as Mia Guillem's Mentor and Script Supervisor [Episode 17]; Simon is highly responsible for Mia Guillem's Grand Success for her for her first written script and stage play "Freedom". Although criticism and the script's countless revisions nearly break Mia at one point Simon's confidence in Mia as his apprentice leads him to passionately answer calls in the middle of the night as Mia works hard night and day on her stage play "Freedom." A stage play by the way which could either make or break Kaleido Stage as Yūri Kirian begins his buyout. Much thanks to Simon Park's guidance; "Freedom" sells out for its first two weeks. Unfortunately, Yūri cancels all following shows of Mia Guillem's and Simon Park's stage play "Freedom" after he begins his blind vengeance and buys out Kaleido Star. Simon also appears in the final episode of Season One [Episode 26] to witness Sora and Layla's performance of "The Legendary Great Maneuver" and is first to stand and clap during that performance.

Cathy Taymor (キャシー・ティモア, Cathy Taymor^?)

Voiced by: Kotono Mitsuishi (Japanese), Shannon Emerick (English)

Cathy Taymor is introduced in episode 34 during Season Two [Episodes 27-51] as the Writer and Director of "Salome In Vegas;" an Off-Broadway Stage-play starring Layla Hamilton. She is also presented as Layla's "New Career Partner" who gave her the desire to perform once again after Layla exits Kaleido Stage due to an injury. Although she initially introduces herself kindly during Sora's second one week leisure from Kaleido Stage; Cathy Taymor's character is a fast-talking-fast-paced-brash-and-outspoken 30-something fireball of energy! Cathy's relationship with Layla as her "New Partner" emotionally distresses Sora at first. Later in the series, much like with Simon Park [Episode 17], Karlos once again outsources an experienced Director to mentor Kaelido Stage's budding Writer and Director Mia Guillem. This experienced Director is Cathy.

During production of "Romeo And Juliet" Mia Guillem falls in love with Cathy's direct and take-no-prisoner's-style and begins to look up to Cathy as her mentor. Later during the production of "Swan Lake" Cathy and Mia become close and trusting friends and together come up with amazing ideas for Kaleido Star's version of "Swan Lake". Cathy is not presented in the series until after Leon Oswald and May Wong are theatrically introduced and Rosetta decides to join Kaleido Stage. Although Cathy's introduction is somewhat more subtle in the second season of Kaleido Stage; Cathy is an important character who inspires and motivates nearly every character either directly or indirectly in Kaleido Stage.

Manga

A manga entitled Kaleido Star ~Wings of the Future~ began serialization in Shōnen Fang's April issue and was released on February 19, 2007. 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.
Various new characters have been introduced, old ones have also come back including Yuri Killian, May Wong, Marion Benigni, Mia Guillem, and Rosetta Passell.
Serialization in Shōnen Fang magazine ended in September 2007 when the magazine went defunct.^[7]

Novel

A novel named Mr. Policeman's Amazing Wedding (ポリスの すごい 結婚式, Porisu no Sugoi Kekkonshiki^?) was released on February 10, 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. 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. Underland Online noted Kaleido Star as being "...an extraordinary series is in a class all its own."

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 shōjo 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. 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."
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." 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."

Extra Stage

Anime On DVD proclaimed the OVA to be "a beautiful piece of work and the best way to close out things for a while 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.

External links

Official sites

Japan

• Official website (Japanese)

North America

• ADV Kaleido Star Website

Korea

• Tooniverse Kaleido Star Website

Unofficial sites

• Kaleido Star (anime) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia
• Kaleido Star at the Internet Movie Database
• Kaleido Star at TV.com