Story 7/10
Every episode, or story arc, involves Sora having to overcome some kind of challenge or learn a lesson on her way to becoming a star. What I like about the story is how the show has a lot of likable characters and funny moments, most of them with Sora, which make watching an episode a lot of fun.
Furthermore, because the show has a whole 51 episodes to work with, we get to see Sora's quest to become a star from beginning to end. In the early episodes, Sora only gets bit parts in the circus's shows and has to start from the bottom, but by the later episodes Sora's getting the lead role in shows!
Also, the show tries to answer some difficult questions you may not think of: What do I do after I fulfill my dream? What do I do if the dream I thought I wanted wasn't really what I wanted? Is my new dream even possible?
Characters 9/10
Sora: Sora's best quality is how determined she is to achieve her goals; she'll literally keep training until the soles of her feet are bruised and bleeding. Seeing how hard Sora works to achieve her goals, also, makes her more likable because when she does eventually achieve her goal I'm cheering her name and feel so happy for her because I saw how hard she work. However, the show isn't just a training montage of Sora, it also has a lot of good comedy and most of that comedy comes from Sora.
Layla: Layla is the top performer at Kaleido Stage and serves as a role model for Sora. Throughout the show, Layla serves a goal for what Sora wants to become and helps Sora achieve her dream. What I like about Layla is she may seem cruel and cold hearted, but she only acts that way to Sora to push her to do her best and get stronger. Also, as you learn more about Layla and her relationship with her father you begin to see why Layla is so cold hearted and sympathize with her.
Sarah: Sarah's another performer at Kaleido Stage and what I love about her is how there's this running joke throughout the show that Sarah loves karate which is funny because nothing about her says "karate master".
Anna & Mia: Anna and Mia are Sora's best friends and are in almost every episode, but there isn't really much to say about them. There's this running joke that Anna wants to be a clown, but can't seem to make anyone laugh, but I never thought it was funny. There basically just the token supportive friends.
Fool: Fool is the "spirit of the stage" that only Sora can see; he occasionally gives Sora advice, but mostly the writers just use him as a plot device to foreshadow what'll happen next using these magic tarot cards Fool has to predict the future. Also, they make a few pervert jokes with Fool, but because this anime is really more for kids they don't really go anywhere and feel out of place.
Art 8/10
What I like about the anime visually is how whenever the circus performs a new show the stage gets a brand new set and characters all get new costumes which both keep the anime feeling fresh and appealing to look at. Also, the performances are fun to watch, especially performance like the Legendary Great Maneuver, and make me wish there was a Kaledio Stage in real life.
However, my biggest problem with the show would have to be with the animation. It's obvious that the animators saved their budget for the performing scenes and had to cut corners in other areas. For example, except for Sora, many of the characters have extremely limited facial expressions. Especially with characters like Layla, Ken, and Marion's dad, it's like there face's are paralyzed and they'll say they're angry or sad, but you couldn't tell by looking.
Overall 8/10
At its center, Kaleido Star is about dreams and really goes through the entire cycle of having a dream: your dream is born, you fall and get back-up, you achieve your dream, you find a new dream. However, Sora doesn't instantly become a star and we see how hard Sora works to become stronger and do what everybody thought was impossible. Along the way, the show introduces a lot of likable characters and funny moments that make every episode very enjoyable.
