Kageki Shoujo!! is about a group of girls in their first year of one of the biggest schools of theatre and opera in Japan, called Kouka. It's an all-women school, and has about as much drama and sweet moments as you would expect. Some of the early episodes may be triggering for anyone with trauma, especially regarding sexual abuse, anorexia, bulimia, and abandonment. However, the show handles these sensitive topics with an amazing amount of awareness and care.
The two main characters really draw you in, but especially Ai Narachi. She is a very reserved girl, who struggles to connect with others because her childhood trauma. The other main character, Sarasa Watanabe, is overly optimistic and wants to be friends with everyone. She brings a good balance to Narachi's struggles and levity to each episode. She is the person we all wish we could be. And all of the supporting characters bring their own unique spice to the cast. I can't help but anticipate how each of them will shape the story.
The story so far has amazing momentum and makes me wish I could watch every episode today. The writers really know how to entangle your heart strings. You can't help but hold back the tears as you empathize with each character and their struggles, and hope they succeed! I will update this as more episodes are aired.
The art is pretty good, but nothing outstanding. Sound is the one aspect I'm hoping improves as more episodes are added. For being a story about an opera school, there is a dearth of music so far. But these early episodes have been about developing the characters, so hopefully there will be more music in the future. The snippets of music and singing we have gotten have been excellent.
Story: 9
Art: 8
Sound: 8
Characters: 9
Enjoyment: 9
OVERALL: 9
