Kaleido Star

This review is based on the first 26 episodes. Kaleido Star is about a girl and how she joins a stage in America and performs. Kaleido Stage is about performance, so the trials and tribulations of the character were centered around how she struggles to pull off a series of acrobatic maneuvers and interfaces with the audience. The series took this very seriously, which can feel slightly strange at times, reminiscent of Yakitate Japan which is incredibly serious about breadmaking, but I found that disconnect a bit more entertaining.

Kaleido Star falls into the comedy/drama genre, however it's mostly drama. There are a few humorous ... interactions and a number of other parts that attempt to get the viewer to laugh, but end up falling on their face. Most of the comedy is related to the "stage spirit". It took me some time to get used to him, it's basically a weird little man with a card covering half of his face, with a deep voice and long curly hair. The stage spirit was responsible for reading tarot cards to predict the outcome of the conflict the main character was going through. It's hard to say whether this added or detracted from the series. The comic relief of the stage spirit generally comes from the main character trying to disable it from peeping at her during a shower, which seems too cliche to be entertaining.

Watching the first 5 episodes of Kaleido Star was painful for me. Trying to adjust to the subject matter and it's importance was quite a difficult proposition. Eventually I got used to it, and there was enough happening toward the end that I didn't have to take breaks every couple of episodes. [mild spoiler] The last episode was lacking in conflict, and it felt like it didn't have enough resolution. [ end of mild spoiler]

Overall I have to say that the series didn't really pull me in. I know I'm not really the perspective audience for this type of show, but good direction can usually overcome this. I can say that the animation and effects were top notch. There were a few instances of a frame being out of focus, but it wasn't enough to get upset about. The sound was decent, and the intro music for the first 13 episodes is strangely unique. If you have a special place in your heart for performing arts and can take the subject matter seriously, this is probably worth a watch.

I had high expectations for Kaleido Star, considering that the last early 2000s anime that I avoided for a long time despite having lots of positive feedback, Hikaru no Go, truly was a good show. Unfortunately, Kaleido Star is a typical early 2000's show that fails to show anything spectacular.
I think that many people who watched this show, me included, don't care much about circus performances, and the fact that Kaleido Star decides to focus on such a niche form of art is bold. However, I'll be honest, my lack of interest in circus performances is hardly a negative thing. Take Hikaru no Go: ... I did not care about Go at all, yet it entranced me all the same. Kaleido Star definitely is not bad because of the focus on circus performances, in fact, it helped set it apart from its competition.
Sadly, Kaleido Star is not great all the same. Kaleido Star features a pretty good beginning, one where the protagonist is new to the performance scene, yet is eager to learn, a sponge of knowledge. She lands a performer's job at a prominent Circus through dubious means, substituting someone else last minute. That isn't the problem that I have with this show, it's just that the show doesn't know how to continue its solid beginning.
As you progress through episodes, it's pretty clear that each arc has its blatant obstacle and theme, spoon-fed to the viewer. Oh look, a difficult maneuver, drama between circus members, and the strained relationships between a star performer and her family. On paper, these themes are good, but the thing is, these episodes are too clean cut and short. Each episode will present a problem, and it WILL take at most, a few episodes for the arc to be wrapped up quite neatly. It gives some depth to the characters, but I would have liked some more natural characterization. Anna's one of my personal favorites, but rarely do these characters get the actual focus that they need for them to be developed properly. Instead, they're forced into some archetypes and you're never able to see them act naturally. You're forced to watch episodes where the goal is extremely clear: finish this complex maneuver in 7 days, hand out all of the toys before the performance starts, create new maneuver with this group of people, etc.
Wouldn't it be nice if instead of a concrete obstacle or goal, you were instead, just given time to see the characters play out naturally so that when they do come across an obstacle or problem, the viewer will actually care about the outcome?
Now, this was not enough reason for me to drop the show completely, but what really made me definitely drop was Jonathan. He's a pet seal that Sora adopts, and the episode introducing him is just...nothing. If I didn't know this was an original series, I would have thought this episode to be filler. Sora brings in a seal, and she doesn't want to abandon it because of a not so subtle projection that if she abandons the seal, she loses a part of herself, since it would be akin to turning her back on her younger self. But seriously, Jonathan is not even a comic relief character in the series. To my knowledge, he barely appears at all, so why introduce such a meaningless character?. His squeals are annoying, and the entire episode revolving around Sora feeding and caring for him is just filler. There's nothing you really know more about Sora through Jonathan. Oh look, Sora and her friends enter a juggling contest to help pay for Jonathan's food! Wow, real relevant.
So no, Jonathan's episode was not the only reason I dropped this show, but it definitely was the last push that gave way. Kaleido Star fails to make me invested in any characters since all of the episodes are dull and formulaic to a tee. There's no long story arcs that make me invested in either the circus performances themselves, or the characters.