Star Driver: Kagayaki no Takuto (Star Driver)

Deep beneath the surface of Southern Cross Isle, a mysterious organization known as the Glittering Crux Brigade frequently gathers in their underground fortress. The group is particularly interested in "Cybodies," stone giants which can transform into massive fighting humanoids but only in a realm known as "Zero Time." By finding and shattering the seals of the island's four seal maidens, Glittering Crux hopes to break free of Zero Time and use the Cybodies anywhere they please.

One night, a young man named Takuto Tsunashi washes up on the island's shore and is rescued by Sugata Shindou and his fiancée Wako Agemaki, one of the island's seal maidens. After he awakens, Takuto quickly befriends the two and proceeds to enroll at the local academy, where many of his fellow students are secretly members of Glittering Crux. However, Takuto holds a secret: when in Zero Time, he can utilize a Cybody of his own—the Tauburn. In the forthcoming battle, Takuto and the Tauburn will be the key to preventing Glittering Crux from shattering Wako's seal and realizing its nefarious ambitions.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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Background

There was an advance screening on September 16, 2010. The regular TV broadcast started on October 3, 2010.

Episode Videos

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Related Anime

Adaptation:	Star Driver
Summary:	Star Driver the Movie

More characters

Characters & Voice Actors

Tsunashi, Takuto

Main

Miyano, Mamoru
Japanese

Shindou, Sugata

Main

Fukuyama, Jun
Japanese

Agemaki, Wako

Main

Hayami, Saori
Japanese

Watanabe, Kanako

Supporting

Niina, Ayano
Japanese

You, Mizuno

Supporting

Hidaka, Rina
Japanese

Miyabi, Reiji

Supporting

Ishida, Akira
Japanese

Hyou, Matsuri

Supporting

Tomatsu, Haruka
Japanese

Nichi, Keito

Supporting

Koshimizu, Ami
Japanese

You, Marino

Supporting

Hirohashi, Ryou
Japanese

Fukubuchou

Supporting

More staff

Staff

Furukawa, Shin

Producer

Maruyama, Hiroo

Producer

Oyabu, Yoshihiro

Producer

Igarashi, Takuya

Director, Episode Director, Storyboard

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Opening Theme

	1: "Gravity Zero" by Aqua Timez (eps 1-13)
	2: "SHINING☆STAR" by 9nine (eps 14-24)

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Ending Theme

	1: "Cross Over" by 9nine (eps 1-13)
	2: "Pride" by SCANDAL (eps 14-25)

Reviews

Apr 4, 2011

Cobbles

Recommended

Star Driver has been one hell of a polarizing anime since day 1. Some people were initially on board because it looked like a throw-back to old school mecha. Some watched it because it looked like a full on parody of 90's anime with the ridiculous nature of the show combined with the over-the-top style. And even more watched it because it was penned by the same guy who did the composition for Revolutionary Girl Utena, Yoji Enokido. Yet when the credits rolled at the end of episode 25, it was obvious to me and to anyone who stuck with the show that Star Driver ... was its own beast so to speak. It incorporated elements of the things I mentioned above yet it never really followed through with any one idea. Surely a mish-mash of these ideas would create schizophrenic anime which tries to do everything and succeeds at nothing, correct? Any other circumstance, I'd tell all of you yes, because there's absolutely no way an anime like that could ever be good. Yet against all odds, I found myself enjoying Star Driver more and more as the weeks went along until I reached the startling conclusion that hey, Star Driver was good! Not just good but pretty damn awesome and compelling! I wrapped my brain around why I was enjoying it so much, when virtually every aspect of the show was working against it. I mean what kind of anime has the audacity to take itself seriously when the main character's title is "Galactic Pretty Boy"? The answer is: Star Driver, an anime that somehow manages to pull it all off, and pulls it off with a healthy dosage of fabulousity.

SD's story isn't really something out of the ordinary. A secret organization made up of high schoolers are bent on taking over the world with giant robots that are sealed in a pocket of space/time while some random Mary Sue shows up to thwart them with his own ridiculous giant robot while sporting an equally ridiculous costume and Mahou Shoujo-esque transformation scene. While this is the basic premise of SD (and pretty much every episode), many people will think it gets repetitive pretty soon (and believe me, it does). So why would anyone like it? Well my answer is derived solely from one aspect of the show and that's primarily the subtlety of the execution. The subtle way exposition is fed to the audience, the subtle way characters are presented and written, it makes for a really compelling style. Its one of aspects that made Utena as good and popular as it was. Now I know BONES' anime have a notorious reputation of not holding the audience's hand at all when it comes to story-telling and much of it becomes read in-between the lines or not addressed at all. Star Driver also does this, but only to a degree. It's not so vague that it becomes frustrating but its mysterious enough to compel the audience to continue watching. It gives the audience a chance to think about the plot and characters by themselves and tactfully delivers the answers later at an appropriate time. This is a grand form of storytelling not because the story itself is good but mainly because of the way its presented. Unfortunately while the storytelling borders on masterful, there are some really annoying pacing problems with the whole package. Case in point, most people will drop this in the first 5 or so episodes. I wouldn't blame them because the show has very weak start, where characters are very slowly introduced and the show pretty much relies on the mecha fights to carry it for 20 minutes. Didn't help that the fights were usually only 1-2 minutes long. It slowly builds itself up and it really gets better after episode 7 but I can't really look favorably at the beginning since it could have played up the shows strength which is characterization instead of lolhijinks and boring-as-hell mecha fights. The show also drags towards the end which is honestly baffling to me since there was plenty of material they could have used to make things interesting. Yup, around the end it sort of reverts back to the formula used at the beginning, but thankfully gets its shit together and ends on a strong note.

Now like I said earlier, SD's characters are its strongest point. Even when nothing but high school antics are happening on the screen, there is a sense that everything that happens has some meaning behind it. So when characters often start talking about inane or seemingly pointless topics, it can turn out to be euphemism or a metaphor that has relevance to the plot. Now I don't mean all the antics and comedy have some ulterior theme to them, sometimes there really are comedy scenes to make the audience laugh but more often then not, you'll be thinking about some lines of dialogue long after they've been said. This brings me to another element that SD does really well and that's character interactions. Instead of long flashbacks about something or other, character's personalities are revealed through the way they act around each other, especially when the tone becomes serious. And these are probably the best parts of the show, Sugata's conflict with Takuto, Mizuno general interactions with her sister, Kanoko's demeanor and attitude towards the Glittering Crux and Wako's internal struggle between Takuto and Sugata are all great. Even more impressive is the fact that SD goes out of it's way to characterize minor characters as well as major characters. You can probably argue that Takuto himself is the Mary Sue and isn't characterized worth shit but at the same time you could probably write papers on how his real personality is implied in juxtaposition of the Mary Sue front he shows to all the characters and even the audience. Hell you could even write an essay on how his first phase ability makes him the main character of the show with his catch-phrase "Dazzling the stage" as proof of how meta things can appear. It doesn't go as far as Utena does but it certainly isn't a slouch slouch in that regard.

As per all BONES anime, the art and animation is done very well. There are loads of awesome sakuga cuts for all the animation fans out there. Generally the fights can be very repetitive with Takuto winning all the time but the animation can make them very exciting sometimes. It doesn't happen too often since I can count the number of times where everything aligns on one hand but when the art, animation, plot and music are all synched in excellence, it becomes very awesome. But be warned, this isn't really an anime where the mecha fights are the most important part of the show, most of the backlash towards the beginning happened because the mecha bits were actually the worst parts. Mostly because the fights are nothing more than a tool for characterization in the end and you're enjoyment of it will revolve around how much you care for the character that fights Takuto. I won't say the mecha aspect is downright terrible, but I honestly think they could have better implemented the Cybody fights to coincide more with the plot than the characters. Some of the best episodes in the show don't even have any fights in them. The sound on the other hand is really good and is strong throughout the show. SD has some of the best insert songs I've heard in quite a while (like Monochrome) and uses them very efficiently. The other tracks manage to keep up with the vocal ones as well, so its not like the rest of the OST is bleh in comparison. The voice work is also typically good, the best performances come from Jun Fukuyama as Sugata, Ayano Niina as Kanako and Akira Ishida as Head. Can't say I'm not sick of Mamoru Miyano after watching a lot of animu but he pulls off Takuto's happy-go-lucky attitude well enough and still manages to convey his more serious moments with the appropriate tension.

Star Driver really turned out to be that one show you liked but couldn't really point out why. Kudos to all those people who stuck with it through thick and thin, god knows it tried our patience many times. But for all its apparent shortcomings like derp pacing, flaky mecha moments and wasted potential, it still manged to be one hell of an anime, and a great ride. I'll definitely miss the Saturdays where I stayed up all night into the wee hours of Sunday morning discussing the newest episode and whatnot. If you haven't watched it, I recommend really pushing through those first couple episodes because they're not the best this anime has to offer. Star Driver offers a really unique experience that I haven't seen in much-if any anime, so I strongly recommend it.

oh and

(ﾉゝ∀･)~キラ☆ KIRABOSHI!

because it had to be done.

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Apr 4, 2011

Archaeon

Mixed Feelings

Adaptations are becoming a bit of a thorny issue in anime these days, which is a bit odd considering how many are produced every year. The constant conversion of stories from other media is a pretty lucrative business as there's already an established market for the end product and its merchandise, regardless of how good the show actually is. Like anything in life though, there's a price to pay, and there are increasing concerns about the impact adaptations are having on original works. The resulting negative effect on script and screen writers is beginning to be felt throughout the industry as studios everywhere are finding ...

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Dec 15, 2013

Lt_Surge

Not Recommended

WARNING SPOILERS OF A SHORT REVIEW (NOT REALLY JUST EXPRESSING MY OPINION)

i mean seriously, i watched this off a hunch from a bit i saw on youutube, was expecting a parodic mecha anime of some sorts, but after ep 25 credits rolled i just stood up, turned 360 degrees and left. the characters, go literally nowhere, there is no backstory. the battle scenes are just the same thing. there is no implied shipping or room for any shipping, all the characters are petty and not to mention, the transformation scene, is the same EVERY SINGLE EPISODE.

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Poll: Star Driver: Kagayaki no Takuto Episode 16 Discussion ( 1 2 3 ) HawthorneKitty - Jan 23, 2011	130 replies	by HerdianElang »» Apr 8, 8:28 PM
Poll: Star Driver: Kagayaki no Takuto Episode 5 Discussion ( 1 2 3 ) stevewiess01 - Oct 31, 2010	135 replies	by Etherius_ZS »» Jan 17, 5:33 PM
This anime have some kind of boys love? Kuku_Kill - Feb 11, 2023	6 replies	by Ronninn »» Feb 11, 2023 4:20 PM
Poll: Star Driver: Kagayaki no Takuto Episode 17 Discussion ( 1 2 3 ) HawthorneKitty - Jan 30, 2011	102 replies	by notbraxten »» Sep 1, 2022 1:56 AM
Poll: Star Driver: Kagayaki no Takuto Episode 25 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ) HawthorneKitty - Apr 3, 2011	242 replies	by Alvie48xi »» Aug 30, 2022 8:02 AM

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Tsunashi, Takuto

Shindou, Sugata

Agemaki, Wako

Watanabe, Kanako

You, Mizuno

Miyabi, Reiji

Hyou, Matsuri

Nichi, Keito

You, Marino

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Star Driver: Kagayaki no Takuto

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Streaming Platforms

Synopsis

Background

Episode Videos

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Characters & Voice Actors

Staff

Opening Theme

Ending Theme

Reviews

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