Kaleido Star - New Wings Vol. 1: Eclipse of the Star 2003 - 2004   ADV Films Official US Website Buy It Now Official Japanese Website

The series itself gives the single best explanation of Kaleido Star that one could ever give; it is the best entertainment show in the world. There really is no other anime like it, and the first season of Kaleido Star was one filled with laughs, excitement, thrills, and heavy emotions. The series was a pure joy to watch, but Sora's rise to the top isn't over just yet. Kaleido Star: New Wings continues the tale of Kaleido Stage, and again taking perfect explanation straight from the series itself, in Kalo's own words, "Someday, the audience will come here just to see her," and Sora has already won the heart of many an anime fan.

Kaleido Stage; it's not a circus, a musical, or a magic show, but it without a doubt one of the single best and most unique anime series to come along in quite some time. If you happened to miss the original series, there's no need to fret, the new season actually begins by recapping the main events that Sora and her friends have gone through. That's not necessarily a reason to just shrug it off though, and these are simply highlights. Id' highly recommend picking up the first season to enjoy, and coincidentally, ADV has repacked it in a nice ThinPak collection so you can relive all of the joy that the series has to offer. This review however is about the new season, and after the first two episodes, the real action and story truly begins.

Sora has given Layla her word that she will carry on the tradition of Kaleido Stage and fill in for the now missing star, but that's not going to be easy. Sora certainly has what it takes to be the highlight of the show, but there are those that think otherwise. The first new character that comes into the series is Leon Oswald, a former circus performer from France with a bad attitude. The audience is what he views as the enemy; he doesn't see his performance as being for anyone but himself, and if other members of the stage need their time limited to give him more, that's fine. As the series officially starts, he's already prepared to quite because he doesn't feel that Sora is at the same level that he is. If you thought that Yuri was bad or that Layla had a bad attitude at the beginning of the first season, Leon will make them look bubbly and pleasant. He's not the only problem though.

Sora gets a new rival, May Wong, a trapeze expert from China, and May feels that Sora's rise to fame is merely a fluke. She starts out by putting her down, even taking it to the extreme of insulting Ms. Layla and most others at Kaleido Stage. I'm not going to beat around the bush with this one; May is a bitch, plain and simple. She hasn't even come to the point of actually being part of a show yet, but she's already proving how self-centered she really is. This really comes to light when her and Sora are in a battle to get a role in an upcoming show and May won't even let Sora share the same practice space.

Quite a number of follow-up series tend to be fan service, but Kaleido Star: New Wings is anything but that. You won't find fan service of any type here, but you will get the same degree of excitement as before, perhaps even more so. The new rivals and attitudes also help to make the series even more interesting. You'll also old familiar friends here as well. Mia is still writing the shows, Anna wants to get her gags in whenever possible, Jonathan the seal is always a flipper away, and Fool is trying to get in a peep or two. Rosetta, the diabolo prodigy also joins the cast as a member of Kaleido Stage. Seeing Sora and Layla perform the Legendary Great Maneuver has inspired her, and she hopes that she can be as great as they have been.

In some ways, it's the same show, but in many ways it's a new show as well. It's not just the cast members, but you'll find new shows performed with fantastic visuals and some new on-stage tricks as well. In the past, Kaleido Stage included such popular stories as Cinderella and The Little Mermaid, so I did find it amusing that the writers would include something like Saiyuki as one of the performances. Although it might be a very well-known story in Japan, very few people actually know about it here outside of what they may have seen in the Saiyuki series or the loose interpretation used in Dragon Ball. If the series was based in Japan, it would make sense, but since Kaleido Star is supposed to be set in California, I just don't see Saiyuki coming into the rotation. It is a brief moment though as serves simply as a way to get the ball rolling, introduce the new characters, and even shows that Sora can perform solo just as well as she can with a group.

One other interesting thing however that takes the series in a bit of a different direction is Sora herself. In the previous series, Sora always came out on top somehow. She's had a never give up attitude, and that's worked perfectly for her. Even the eye catches used now show this. Previously, we find a comically drawn Sora messing up somehow, but now we find eye catches with her being successful. In this new season though, you will actually see her fail, giving her a little more of a human quality. It doesn't ruin her character though, and instead brings her a bit closer to viewers.

There aren't any changes in terms of the animation. The flow between the two seasons is seamless. There still is a little computer animation used, but it's not overdone. You will find however some charming animation that becomes breathtaking and beautiful at just the right time. If you loved the first season, you'll find yourself perfectly at home with New Wings, but for those that may not have already paid a visit to Kaleido Stage, the animation is very comparable to anime like Get Backers or even Full Metal Panic. The big difference though is that no matter how fantastic those series may look, Kaleido Star just has a certain bit of magic that won't allow you to simply turn away, and in part I think that the drama that the series has helps aid the animation.

The first volume of New Wings does come with a few extra features. There are clean versions of both opening animations. The first two episodes on the disc recap the first season, and the opening animation contains scenes from it. The official opening animation for the series is quite different, but still very well done, and the new theme song is fantastic. This is the same idea for the closing animation, and you'll find both versions of it included. There is also a collection of production sketches. If you're a fan of the English version of Kaleido Star, ADV has included a day with one of the stars of the show, a day being compressed into about five minutes. Serena Varghese, the voice of Rosetta, is followed for a bit, and though I find most of the English dub features to be annoying, this isn't the case here (plus Serena is quite attractive, so that doesn't hurt.)

I've been waiting for a long time for Kaleido Star: New Wings to being, and I have to say that I'm not disappointed. Even the recap was a nice touch, and it's made me want to sit back down and watch the series from start to finish. If there's only one anime series that you plan on buying this year, it should be this one. Kaleido Star is always a breath of fresh air in a genre dominated by anime that tends to be derivative of many others.

Episode 1 - Amazing Prologue to Stardom (Part 1)

Fool recants the tale of how Sora first joined Kaleido Stage. Her triumphs and her failures are all included as she meets with Layla, Rosette, and those who would become her closest friends.

Episode 2 - Amazing Prologue to Stardom (Part 2)

Yuri begins to take over Kaleido Stage and now Sora that those loyal to Kalos and his vision fight to get it back. And what should be both Sora and Layla's most defining career moment ends in bitter sorrow.

Episode 3 - An Amazing New Rival

Kaleido Stage has a new member; world famous Leon Oswald, but when their latest production is about to begin, he's decided that he's not interested in performing. Sora decides to go it alone and perform both roles in hopes of getting him to stay, and that's when yet another new face arrives.

Episode 4 - Another Amazing Newcomer

Rosetta has run away from her manager and now she needs Sora to hide her. She only wants to join Kaleido Stage, but it may not be that easy. Leon has decided to cut everyone's stage time down so that he can be on stage more and Rosetta's agent finally shows up to try and convince her to come back, but there's a bit more to this story.

Episode 5 - The Amazing Passionate Rival

Mai has written a new script for the stage; Dracula. Leon however wants to eliminate a part and it happens to be the one Sora is to play. She still wants to prove that she can do it as does May, so the two begin practice to show what they can do although Sora may need to use different means thanks to May's attitude.

-mike-