The Kaleido Star: New Wings Vol-1 (2004)
Animation Production: Gonzo
Released by: ADV Films
Episodes: 1-5
By Jeffrey Couto

Introduction

If you’ve followed this website for any length of time you probably now that I am easily taken in by a good sports anime series, be it boxing, baseball, racing, etc. I don’t care for sports in the real world, but when the world of anime tackles these organized competitions they somehow are able to add a delicious dramatic layer that more often than not involves a character of simple of origins with big aspirations and the trials and tribulations they go through in order to achieve their dreams.

From the early stages of training to their first tests under fire and intimidating rivals we follow their progress as they get better and closer to their ultimate goals and when they achieve them we cheer for them. It’s a simple formula that’s been used since the days of Mach Go, Go, Go and Star of Giant and more recently with programs like Princess Nine, Hajime no Ippo and Kaleido Star, which brings me to today’s review subject! Kaleido Star: New Wings.

I’ve been meaning to watch this series for a long time! The basic premise of it is that our protagonist, Sora, wants to join Kaleido Stage an acrobatic performance group, where the world’s leading acrobats perform (a Cirque de Soleil type of circus/performance theater). Her road like so many past anime heroes is long and hard, but through it all she perseveres and wins the hearts of everyone along the way.

Today, we’ll take a look at ADV Films’ release of the second season of the show, Kaleido Star: New Wings.

Story

“It’s a blast from the past as the Fool reveals Sora’s journey to becoming a Kaleido Star. But Sora’s glory is short lived as two new rivals appear at Kaleido Stage and steal the spotlight from Sora. As her stage time is usurped by the dashing Leon Oswald, an Asian beauty named May Wong appears and proclaims herself the next Layla Hamilton. She is certain to win a leading role, and if she’s lucky, Leon’s attention. But they are not the only unexpected newcomers to Kaleido Stage. One little runaway will find herself in some very hot water thanks to Sora’s never-ending eagerness to help!” - DVD box

Review

This first volume in ADV Films’ release of Kaleido Star: New Wings Vol-1 contains episodes one through five in the series, which include:

Recap Episode 1
Take a look back at the beginnings of Sora’s journey into the world of acrobatics and her beginnings as a member of Kaleido Stage. From her first trials to her first rivals we’ll experience first hands those events that shaped her beginnings as a rising star.

Recap Episode 2
After seeing her humble beginnings now its time to see Sora’s biggest challenges to date as she must cope with not only changes in venues after Kaleido Stage was taken over, but also her must difficult performance yet, which involves a legendary acrobatic maneuver that’s only been performed once before.

Episode 1: An Amazing New Rival
With Layla now gone from Kaleido Stage it’s time for Sora to rise and become the star she always dreamed of being. However, there are two new challenges in her way, Leon Oswald, a veteran performer who does not wish to share the stage with our heroine and May Wong, who becomes Sora’s new young rival and proclaims herself the next Layla Hamilton. Will Sora be able to take them on?

Episode 2: Another Amazing Newcomer
Rosetta is back and this time and this time she wants to officially join Kaleido Stage, but her agent stands in her way. Will be find a way to come back to Kalido Stage in some permanent fashion? Perhaps Sora can be of assistance.

Episode 3: The Amazing Passionate Rival
A new play based on Dracula has been drafted and Leon approves of it as long as it has changes made to the story to fit his personal desires. As a result of this Sora is put up against May in a competition to determine who is best suited to be Leon’s partner for the stage. Can Sora pull it off or will May end up reigning over her seasoned competitor.

The first two episodes here as mentioned above are recaps of the previous story arches and for what they are, they’re excellent. If you are new to the world of Kaleido Stage, these will provide you with all the necessary background information that you will need to understand and enjoy Kaleido Star New Wings to the fullest extent possible. The editing and narration (provided by Fool) is well built so you’ll get some of the neat highlights from the previous performances in addition to the character and story development moments.

The first episode of New Wings opens up with Sora promoting her latest show, in which she will take the stage side-by-side with Leon Oswald, a seasoned veteran of the stage. Unfortunately as the show is about to star Leon refuses to go on stage with out young protagonist, citing her obvious lack of experience. Unwilling to have the show cancelled Sora decides to take to the stage anyway and perform not only her role, but also that of Oswald, in the hopes of giving the audience what they came for and maybe convince Leon to come back as her partner.

While her performance is a success the audience expresses its disappointment at Leon’s absence, shaking Sora’s confidence in the process. The worst of it is not over yet though as a newcomer appears on stage and challenges Sora’s performance abilities. She then shows her amazing skills and proclaims herself the next Layla Hamilton, igniting a competitive situation between the two girls. Now with a new rival in place and a partner who doesn’t value her skills Sora is in for the biggest challenge she’s ever had to overcome.

When it comes down to it this episode sets up the main story-arch going forward nicely. Now that Sora has mastered so many different skills and abilities its time to put them up against someone who is energized by the thought of surpassing her. Given Sora’s friendly can-do nature it’ll be fun to see how she takes to this and how the new rival mixes things up for the cast.

The other two episodes build up on this by positioning May as someone who for reasons that are yet to be fully explained has tremendous anger towards Sora. By the end of the 5th episode in this DVD their rivalry is setup perfectly with Leon being the center of gravity that drives both girls against each other. For Sora’s character this does wonders as it basically puts her back in the same position she was in at the beginning of the series, when she came to Kaleido Stage as a rookie that needed to prove herself. This “against-the-odds” setup made this series what it was for its first season and to see that angle make its way back into the new story-arch without interfering with everything that has been established until now is nothing short of fantastic. What can I say, I love these type of stories..

Production-wise the show is as beautiful to look at now as it was in the previous season. The theatrical segment in which Sora takes on dual roles was tremendously enjoyable and magnificent to look at. The animation is mostly speaking very good, with the theatrical segment adding an extra level of pizzazz. The soundtrack is fun and lively to listen to with several pieces that capture the spirit of Sora’s personality and spirit. The voice acting was needless to say very well done, with the English dub being particularly well directed and acted.

On the DVD front this is another great release from ADV Films, that comes loaded with many goodies! These bonuses include a small poster of Sora in front of Kaleido Stage, production sketches from the show, a short feature on the actress that voices Rosetta in the English –dubbed track, clean versions of the opening and closing theme sequences and previews for other ADV Films releases. Both the audio and video transfers seemed perfect with no visible problems to report on.

Final Thoughts

Kaleido Star New Wings along with ADV Films’ release of Macross is one of our favorite and most looked-forward to anime releases in 06. This definitely is a good show to get the year started with and I personally can’t wait to see the entire series! Kaleido Stage is going to be great and I think all anime fans should take the time to check it out.

Kaleido Star New Wings one gets one of our highest recommendations!

Jeffrey Couto