Reviews

Shoujo Kageki Revue Starlight is an offering from director Furukawa Tomohiro, who worked closely with director Ikuhara Kunihiko on Mawaru Penguindrum and Yuri Kuma Arashi. The aforementioned works are best known for their surrealist style coupled with Yuri/Class S settings, features which are prevalent throughout Ikuhara's work. Having been familiar with these, it would be impossible not to draw comparisons to Revue Starlight's artstyle and tone, and as such I went into the series slightly guarded. While there is a lot of depth to be found in the aforementioned works, they walk a very thin line between "highly artistic and symbolic" and "unnecessarily complicated to the point of being pretentious." I believe a great work of surrealism should clearly demonstrate to the casual viewer that there is more to it than meets the eye, even if the concepts cannot be immediately grasped fully.

Thankfully, Revue Starlight seems to have accomplished this, taking the best parts of the weirdness, symbolism, and pure artistic awesome of Yuri Kuma and Penguindrum and balancing them masterfully. The connections between the "real" and the "metaphysical" landscapes are much easier to understand here. Just as importantly, the show is both fun and fascinating to watch, answering old questions while simultaneously deepening the mystery every episode. The artwork and sound are top-notch; very impressive for a TV anime. Particularly the "auditions"... I don't want to spoil what these are exactly, so let's just say I thought I understood what was happening until "the moment she pressed the button", and then I basically lost my mind. And loved it.

Some additional general information:

-Furukawa has included all of Ikuhara's calling cards in spades. Surrealism is here. Yuri is here. Strange ruler of the metaphysical world who you're not sure whether or not you can trust is here (voiced by the same actor, too).

-I said earlier that the symbolism is easier to understand, but I don't mean to say it will be fully understood in one watch. My recommendation to get the most out of this show is to watch it and then read reviews by those who are taking the time to analyze it. I recommend /u/'s thread (if you don't mind or, perhaps, enjoy wading through explicit Yuri content) as well as the For Me in Full Bloom blog.

-No, this is not another idol anime. Whoever truly thought this after watching the first episode, please wear a collared shirt so I can grab it and take your lunch money.

In conclusion, I would call this show the underrated potential sleeper hit of the season. For fans of Furukawa's/Ikuhara's previous works, this is a no-brainer; you absolutely don't want to miss this show. For those a bit more wary of this surrealist style of anime, I would still recommend watching the first 2 episodes to see what you think before dropping. There is much more here than simply visual flair if the viewer chooses to indulge themselves, and I believe Revue Starlight is far easier for the casual viewer to grasp than was Penguindrum or Yuri Kuma.

Note: When I originally wrote this review, I had mistakenly thought that Ikuhara was the director until a couple MAL users pointed out my error. I will use that to reinforce the point that it is very similar in style, sound, and tone. Furukawa has taken many big cues from his colleague here, but perhaps the improvements I noted can be attributed to his influence as well.

Overall - 8/10