I really enjoy finding those quite quirky, underrated and definitely not popular enough series and, lately, I've been doing that mostly, although I haven't read some of the 'big boys' of the medium. During my 'research' I've come across one such manga that has stuck with me as one of my favourite series: La Magnifique Grande Scène - the crown jewel of manga that doesn't even get a fraction of the attention it deserves. Slight spoilers ahead. I'm not much of a reviewer and definitely not much of a writer so I'll use the classic format where I unfairly dissect a manga instead of rating it as a whole, but I genuinely love it. Please, I beg you, don't skip this one. (TLDR at the bottom - spoiler-free)

Art - 2.25/3

What do you get the moment a hentai mangaka switches to a non-battle battle manga about ballet? Apparently, amazing anatomically accurate positions for characters that still pertain the classic manga art style. I would not say the art is the best in the medium, but it does the story and characters justice. It is a really great fit for those, whilst maintaining a certain grade of unicity, as you would be able to recognize panels from it based on the art style alone.
Talking about panels... They are great. Not much seems to be lost in translation (in fact, value seem to be gained) and the comfort levels are through the roof when it comes to ease to read.

Story and writing - 1.7/2

As the others have already mentioned, the true downside of this series is the start. It is rather slow and it gives you a false impression: that this is a run-of-the-mill shounen manga about ballet. Why false you might ask? Because this is a solid seinen, firstly, and secondly, because from the moment this series picks up the pace, you'll be sucked in a whirlpool, unable to let it down until you're done. I wouldn't see my 15 yo self enjoying this manga as much as I do now. The slower pace in the beginning pays off greatly later on and from the 2nd part onwards it is flawless.

It is a fairly standard weak-to-strong manga, but what makes it really stand out is the execution and the sheer realism of both the 'play' and the 'actors'. It is a true human drama, not just another soapy one. If you go to a foreign country without an at least decent knowledge of the language, you might hit some barriers. Your main problem during that time won't be what you study, but the language in which you study. Every Erasmus participant can agree on that I think. For example, if you were to go for a semester abroad in France with the knowledge you've gained in a few months, you won't be better than Kanade unless you're some very gifted polyglot. She is not a jack-of-all-trades, she is good at the things she worked really hard on. Or at least that's what we thought, because it is a really great portrayal of how a field opens up the better you get. She did it. She's the top of the world when it comes to amateurs. There's no way she will be a bit of a flop when it comes to professional ballerinas, right? Either way, she's pretty average in some other fields and it sort of teaches us that it's okay to not be the very best. It's probably the healthiest takes I've read so far regarding being the best from a mental health pov.

Moreover, the technical aspects of the story were really on point, with really great pacing besides the slower start, really good writing and really entertaining events taking place. You don't need a really convoluted story to create an amazing reading experience. A straight one can do that too, and even surpass the prior option I'd say, when the execution is on par with Kenrantaru Grande Scene's. It is a very well-researched manga, but the research is not in your face. You'll never have a 'Ha! Look at me en barre. I'm so good en barre. However, when I'm not en barre, I'm not exercising that well. TN: barre is the wooden bar'. It doesn't use the terms tone-deafly at all. It is always a natural drop.

Characters and their development - 2/2

This is why this manga earned its spot in my list. I haven't read a work of fiction with characters that felt as humane and real as this one in a really long time. Most of them are really fleshed out and they don't have moments you would think of them as unidimensional. Heck, I wouldn't even call two-dimensional some of them. Their struggles are real and at the same time they are not overdramatic. The 'we are too poor for that' trope is pulled off REALLY well, maybe the best take on it, as the story didn't seem to play with your heart strings at all to earn appreciation. The way the parents act is just about the same you would expect normal human beings to in similar situations. I cannot analyse those aspects in-depth, because I would deprive you of some of the best parts, but I can tell you to pay attention to what the characters do too, not only to what they say. Don't take everything that happens at face value, take personalities into account (real personalities, not tropes).

If we were to compare this one with Ballroom e Youkoso or Subaru, I would pick it over the other two. Subaru's a more dramatic take on ballet and I didn't quite enjoy the characters and story as much, while Ballroom e Youkoso picks it up way faster, but at the same time lacks some of the depth of Kenrantaru Grande Scene. I would argue that the slow start helps a bit with that, because we actually get to see what Kanade's gone through to get to where she is now: she is not a genius, she is a really hard worker (with maybe just a stroke of genius, as all gifted people should be). She did not struggle to become the best in the world, to save it from the demon king and return to her homeland, but instead she did that to become a professional.

Enjoyment - 3/3

3/10 points for enjoyment might seem like a lot, but I'm not a professional manga reader and as much as you'd like to hide bias, it is better to embrace it, because this way the others might actually find what they were looking for in your review.

I loved Kenrantaru Grande Scene. It was not one of the first manga I've read, not even close, but it was definitely one of the matches that reignited my passion when I was close to burning out. I really enjoy works involving stage performances for personal reasons, but I would argue that this manga is one of the works of art that can be enjoyed by a large demographic. I loved it because it did not use gritty subjects to make itself appear more mature, but instead it chose to BE mature in all the right areas.

Total: 8.95 (updated to a 10 after the last 2 volumes)

TLDR
Really great, fleshed out and realistic characters, goes in detail about ballet, but the overall plot is amazing (just a bit of a slow start). The drama feels very real and the reaction of the characters to it is natural too. Very recognizable art and although it is not the best, it is really solid. Really mature work of literature, a bit 'show, not say' at times.
Wholeheartedly recommending it.

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This manga is quite different from what I'm used to read, but I really enjoyed and enjoy it.
I really like the fact that this manga treats of something very realistic, and thus I don't get this imagined story feeling I get from other mangas (which isn't a bad thing in itself). The centre of the plot is not school life, love or anything such, but something that's a first for me in mangas: classic ballet.

Since I dance a bit myself (of course as a hobby, I am nowhere near the level of the characters), I can say that the subject is treated carefully and the mangaka really put a lot of effort in searching for the different ballets and the different choreographies in each of them. The dancers are also drawn really well, and also the costumes and the pointe and ballet shoes.
You can also clearly see the world of dancers that's hidden from the public. Whenever you watch a performance, you always think "how on earth can they do that as if it's easy-peasy?" But all the professional dancers have hours and hours of training and they suffer a lot to get the level they offer us in performances. You really get the feeling of competition and elitism of this discipline in the story.
But the story still has a clear plot of course! It follows the path of a young girl who wishes to become a dancer. That's why the whole story is filled with ballet elements.

The characters are really realistic, you can see in each of them different aspects of the world of ballet: naturally gifted or training hard, those who failed and those who kept on...
You get quickly attached to all the characters, with their different personalities, their hopes and dreams. I think they really mean something to us, we can relate to them, especially if you're a child or a teenager.

You also get to see the different jobs related to ballet performances: the costumers, the choreographer, the teachers in studios...
What I also find interesting is the fact that since it's taken from the Japanese dancer's point of view, you get to see aspects of ballet you don't when you're in Europe or America, which is the cultural wall that's evoked in the story. Indeed, for us, most of the ballet stories are well-known, since they're part of folklore fairy tales or from famous authors (Don Quixote or Esmeralda for example). And thus, with the ballet, we also get to see a bit of culture (Greek and Latin mythology for example)

I would thus definitely recommend this manga to girls who like arts, but even those who don't will like this story once they get past the different terms used for ballet positions (arabesque, attitude... which are all French terms, thanks to Louis XIV (14th)). It might, however, be a little delicate for boys to appreciate the manga, except if they dance themselves.

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