Common Name: Shoujo Kageki Revue Starlight
Alternative Name: Girls' Opera Revue Starlight
Score: 7/10, 2/5
Length: 12 Episode
Genre: Action, Drama, Comedy, Musical, Magical Girl, Idol, Slice of Life, School Life, Yuri
Summary: At Seisho Music Academy, young girls hone their various performing talents to become masters of their craft. One of the school's greatest attractions, though, are the stage plays that the students put on every year. Last year, during the 99th Seisho Festival, the first year class put on a performance of the foreign tragedy, "Starlight." Now, as they are prepping for the 100th Festival, the 99th class has decided to do "Starlight" once more and even better this time. Underneath all the prep and posturing to get top billing, though, something more sinister might be going on to determine the fate of these girls and their stage. When a long-lost friend drops back into her life, Aijou Karen goes out looking for Hikari only to find her old friend and one of her classmates battling in song and dance for the entertainment of a giraffe who will decide who is this class's Top Star. Now it's her turn to take the stage.
Review: There's an old adage I love that I feel applies to this show perfectly: Better to have tried and failed than never to try at all. While I'm well aware that such a statement has little to no critical worth when it comes to the evaluation of a work, it crossed my mind several times as the prevailing truth of Revue Starlight. As part of a multimedia franchise created by Bushiroad that began as a series of stage plays and has now been adapted into an anime, a radio series, a video game, a manga, and yet more stage plays, it might be reasonable and accurate to call the anime a confused mess; a property that lost what it needed to really stand out on its own in the mix and budgetary struggles of everything else Bushiroad was plotting for the franchise. Yet, accurate as that might be, part of me feels like that isn't really fair. Though the show as a whole is full of incomplete thoughts, plotlines, and character development, it generally feels like a worthwhile endeavor. What's there is good and, when things really kick, Revue Starlight is a breathtaking sight to behold. In spite of my saying that, though, I can't deny that there are a lot of faults for me to pick out in this review that could have been avoided easily if the franchise as a whole weren't so heavy-handed. Still, to avoid getting discouraged, I should make it clear that I love this show. It's got problems aplenty but, at the end of the day, it is also one of the best idol-like and magical girl-like shows I have ever seen.
The sheer level of dramatic showmanship present in these
battle scenes are nothing short of spectacular.
To jump into things, though, I should also say that one of this show's greatest flaws it that, like many shows before it, it struggles to nail down what exactly it wants to be. Were we to analyze the show from how much time is spent on a particular idea, Revue Starlight would simultaneously just another one of your run-of-the-mill slice of life character stories along the lines of Sakura Quest and a supernatural action drama along the lines of Madoka. These two, polar ideas are almost one-to-one when it comes how much time and attention they get throughout the show and, during the show's beginning, they actually manage to balance the two in a fairly simple way. Run as if on a day-night cycle akin to the Persona games, Revue Starlight balances its two methods of storytelling based on the characters' school schedules.
Schedules filled with lots of dance practice and memeing the hell out of your classmates.
During the day, Seisho Academy's 99th class act like students and go through a lot of the interpersonal struggles you'd expect from a bunch of girls working toward the same goal. In these segments of each episode, we get to meet and are given the gist of what to expect from the show's ensemble cast. For starters, there is the main perspective character of the series, Aijou Karen, who can be generally described as unambitious. Unlike most of the cast, her only driving force is her love of watching theater and a long-held dream to share a stage with her childhood friend, Kagura Hikari, who has been studying in England for the past several years. Then there is: Karen's roommate, the resident mother figure and equally unambitious actress, Tsuyuzaki Mahiru; the class president and goal-centric stick in the mud, Hoshimi Junna; the bubbly and supportive Daiba Nana; the pampered, venomous princess, Hanayagi Kaoruko, and her ever-loyal knight, Isurugi Futaba; the child star working to regain her former glory, Saijou Claudine; and, lastly, the born and bread queen of the stage, Tendou Maya. In general, these characters have a fun and interesting dynamic going for them that plays off of their desires to have fun together as a class and their ever-burning desires to one-up each other and become the star of the stage. Then, as it often does, their shaky but friendly peace falls to pieces as a new threat joins their civil fray in the form of Karen's childhood friend, the ever-stoic and enigmatic Kagura Hikari.
Cue the drama.
During the night, however, things take a concerning turn as, unbeknownst to Karen, her classmates do very literal battle against one another in a competition to win the title of Top Star. In these segments, we see the show start running on all cylinders as the art, animation, and choreography hit a level of quality akin to the Ancient Magus' Bride movies. As far as the show is concerned, though, these battles for the title of Top Star are little more than a means for the girls' various arguments, struggles for power, and conflicting dreams to clash in a very literal sense. Throughout each battle, the characters sing their thoughts, feelings, and drives back and forth, creating a clash of ideals and dreams that ultimately end with one person "winning" their fight and climbing up the ladder to become the Top Star. Beneath all that character establishment, conflict, and development, however, there is a tinge of malice or threat to these battles. Though no one is ever physically harmed or threatened during their bouts, the fact that the girls are doing this to reach some enigmatic goal with stakes that aren't established until the very end makes their whole situation feel vaguely threatening. Granted, that tone is only further placed by the show's mascot character, a talking giraffe with a penchant for saying "I understand," that lays out a few ground rules and goals to Karen as she forces her way into the competition and onto the stage.
Truly a beast as majestic as he is mysterious.
While this format does wonders for the show's intrigue within the first couple of episodes, it unfortunately starts to muddle and lose focus as time goes on. This is no fault of the structure so much as the show's inability to maintain the balance necessary to make that technique. Almost immediately after the first three episodes various themes, established concepts, characters, and the tone of the show as a whole is either forgotten for a time or wholeheartedly discarded. For whatever reason, the first thing that the show puts on hold is its main story. To elaborate, the story of Starlight Revue is that of a romantic drama centered on two characters in particular, Karen and Hikari, as they struggle through what should have been a heartwarming reunion and ended up becoming a battle to overcome any adversity to make their childhood dream to be in a performance of Starlight together a reality. To accomplish this, however, both of them need to become this "Top Star" that the giraffe keeps mentioning which means beating out all the other "Stage Girls" (aka Karen's classmates) to achieve that enigmatic end. Yet, just as soon as this concept is introduced and Karen is forced to realize that she's at a massive disadvantage, thanks to her lack of skill and unwillingness to train seriously, the plot is functionally dropped for a while so that we might better get to know the other characters. In other words, rather than remaining focused on the main plot of this story, expounding on the purpose of becoming a Top Star, and the repercussions of breaking the rules or losing outright the show opts to drop all that and wholeheartedly pursue that slice of life mentality instead.
To be fair, their class does have some pretty great characters to work with.
Over the course of a few episodes that feel almost episodic in nature, we are introduced to the rest of the Stage Girls of the 99th class and their reasons for pursuing the crown of Top Star. While their reasons vary greatly from person to person, the intent behind these episodes is ultimately the same. We are meant to see what drives them and what makes them stand out. For some, like Junna, this is simply the best chance she has to earn the spotlight and become someone worth noticing. For others, it's the chance to finally one-up their rival and become their equal, as is the case with Kaoruko and Futaba. Regardless of who is in the spotlight, though, these episodes often do wonders to make it easier to ignore the fact that very little is changing and that both main leads have been reduced to being side characters, at best. Throughout these episodes, very little from the first handful of episodes is expounded upon. In fact, the answer of what attaining Top Star is doesn't come until the show is already over and even then the stakes of what happens if the "rules" are broken or what happens to those who lost is not explained. What's more, the "fines" for breaking the rule that the revues cannot be discussed outside of the stage aren't even brought up ever again. So, effectively, the show's initial feelings of Madoka-like threat and menace are discarded or forgotten entirely while this episodic slice of life format is at the forefront. Yet, unfortunately, the reason that the Revue Starlight starts to fall apart isn't because it takes this turn in character development. Rather, it's because it took this turn in tone and then forces itself to turn back to the main plot, leaving several characters without their chance in the spotlight.
This is Tendou Maya, the least developed character of the entire show.
By this point in the show, Revue Starlight has changed it's tone and pace twice over and has effectively crippled itself in its attempts to play catch-up. Though both Karen and Hikari haven't been entirely absent from the episodes beyond the first few, they did become sidenotes to whatever the A plot of each episode was. While they have been working hard to improve and have steadily increased their ranking in the battle for Top Star, there's little to no reason to even focus on them. After all, based on several character's losses seen in the competition thus far and their subsequent reappearances in the standings, there's no reason to fear that a loss ever disqualifies them from reaching for Top Star. In other words, the main plot was left to twiddle it's thumbs and assume that we understood the rules to this game that have never been explained. What's more, we're still supposed to root for the two main characters even though the past several episodes have offered us good reason to want the title of Top Star to go to any of the other girls So, in a desperate attempt to reinvigorate the drama that made this show stand out in the first place, Karen and Hikari are thrown back into the forefront in the hope that their ending might still be salvageable.
Before it can do that, though, the show has to throw the weirdest freaking curve ball ever.
As if to make the reinstated drama more engaging, though, Revue Starlight, again, doesn't do much to lay the ground rules of this game so much as add even more jarring concepts and ideas to the running list of misused or ill-explained plot points and features of this competition. For instance, this new movement in the show's drama starts by adding in a plot twist. To speak in general terms, this twist is that one of the show's underdog contenders is immediately set up as the show's primary antagonist and the greatest threat to Karen and Hikari's dream. Rather than earning this sudden leap from non-character to antagonist, though, Revue Starlight simply has this dark horse contender come out of nowhere and beat Tendou Maya, the show's pre-established unbeatable champ. For whatever reason, though, there is no build up to this twist. There are no leading lines that hint to this potential outcome. No one even questions how strong or threatening this character is until the moment the plot twist happens. As far as the show is concerned, this plot twist is conjured out of thin air just so the show can have some kind of antagonist character. Yet, just as quickly as this dark horse is introduced, she is immediately made out to be one of the weakest antihero characters I've ever seen and then a total non-threat.
And all the while, Karen continues to miraculously rise in
the ranks without being the focus of the A, B, or C plot.
Within the span of a single episode, we have this dark horse character become the show's greatest threat, have her reasoning explained in the barest terms, and then Hikari just takes care of it under the umbrella explanation of her and Karen being fated to win. As to how she manages to make fate work for her, we need to turn to the second addition to the second half of the show that is meant to explain why some people can be Stage Girls and others cannot. Though it is very poorly explained, the giraffe makes hints throughout the show that all Stage Girls possess something that gives them the right to participate in his competition for Top Star. This intangible thing is simply referred to as the Stage Girl's "Shine," the magical embodiment of their determination and will to see their dreams realized. This is also, incidentally, the thing that is staked by anyone who accepts the giraffe's invitation to try for Top Star. Through a flashback, these stakes are explained through Hikari's experiences abroad in which she participated in another competition for Top Star and lost, subsequently forfeiting her Shine, memories, and skills as an actress in order to feed the power that grants the wish of whoever became Top Star. Yet, in spite of her loss, she manages to regain her memories and a fragment of her determination and Spark, thus giving her a second chance to attain Top Star from competition now being held at Seisho Academy. However, as if to invalidate any threat, consequence, or rule set that the show previously laid out, it is made clear that Hikari only won against this dark horse Stage Girl because she did "the impossible" and managed to wholly rekindle her lost Shine. In other words, she sets a precedent that the threat of losing one's Shine in this competition doesn't actually have any consequence whatsoever. What's more, it makes it fairly clear that one's "Shine" isn't actually a good indicator of one's power in this competition.
So, say it with me kids: POWER LEVELS. ARE. BULLSHIT.
Once this big, climactic fight occurs, spilling all that explanatory exposition that should have been addressed several episodes ago, Revue Starlight basically starts making a mad dash for the finish line that was laid out from the very beginning. With the insane antihero taken care of and dropped from the rankings, for some reason, it's time for the final battle, a 2v2 battle of "who is the show's best couple" between Karen and Hikari versus Tendou Maya and Saijou Claudine, aka the show's weirdly competitive but effective power couple. Surprising no one, now that power levels mean nothing and fate/love is canonically established as a force that can conquer any odds, Karen and Hikari win. But, in a twist that could be seen coming a mile away, thanks to Hikari's eternal insistence that Karen should have never gotten involved in this competition, Hikari betrays Karen. So, Hikari becomes Top Star and wishes to be given a stage to herself, one that repeats endlessly, ceasing any further Top Star competitions until she dies, but only takes away her Shine to grant the wish. In proper Madoka fashion, though, Karen proceeds to "fuck the rules." In doing so, she regains her Stage Girl Shine and forces the giraffe to give them a happy ending where she saves Hikari from her self-sacrificial victory and wishes that everyone can just put on their play without any magical girl nonsense so no one loses their Shine.
One more time: POWER LEVELS. ARE. BULLSHIT.
So, in summary, Revue Starlight is basically just one, huge, contrived mess that mismanaged its tone, characters, key concepts, and narrative in the worst ways possible. While the point of the show was meant to be that hard work and love can overcome any odds, that point and narrative through line are utterly lost in the incredible power spikes and the overall reliance on "fate" as their savior. On the whole, this story should have been one of Karen working up to a level of competence as an actress that she could eventually become Hikari's equal, thus giving them the power to overcome any threat together. Yet that story is never told. The vast majority of Karen's story and rise to power are eclipsed by the show's focus on every other character's story, turning all of her battles in the middle of the show into an afterthought that has no weight or bearing on the story itself. It's just assumed that she's growing more skilled and more powerful now that Hikari has arrived to inspire her, but none of that growth is ever shown. What's more, the show barely makes any connections between one's performance skills and their abilities as a Stage Girl since each and every fight seems to be randomly assigned by the giraffe and is ultimately decided based on who is right in whatever the daily argument happens to be. Then, to make it all worse, once the show does establish characters, rules, or twists in the overall drama, everything is thrown out the window to satisfy Karen and Hikari's destiny as the matched pair foretold in the very play they're putting on. So, rather than giving us an ending that feels earned, we get a rushed and heavy-handed happy end with a pair of characters who pale in comparison to their fellow Stage Girls.
Look, I get that they're cute together, but you cannot expect me to care when you've
made every other character more likable and relatable than your fate-blessed leads.
As much as I've ripped this show to shreds and poked enough holes in its founding ideas to make it structurally unsound, I'll reiterate that I still love this show. I love it's cavalcade characters who have some legitimately compelling and relatable feelings and ideologies backing their actions. I love the concept of the Top Star competition being an allegory for the over-competitive and backstabbing nature of the theater and its giraffe overseer as being the critics who are so far up their own ass that they simply craving something novel and find anything else boring. I even love the overall concept of the show's star-crossed lovers battling the odds to save each other and make their childhood dream a reality. Had the show been managed well or at least stuck to this main story, I have little doubt that I would have loved it without any reservations. Yet, here I am with a deeply flawed show that I love in spite of itself, rather than because of it, mainly because literally everything but the story itself is a thing of beauty. While I generally stand on the principle that a show's artistic qualities should never outweigh the story they tell, this show manages to push me to a point where I legitimately believe that the sheer execution of this show makes it as good as it is. Considering how the show builds each and every conflict into a beautifully choreographed and animated battle with insert songs that just take your breath away, it's hard not to love this show in spite of itself. Still, with how well it handles most of the cast and the show's general ability to make the drama compelling, it should be said that presentation alone isn't the show's only redeeming quality. At the end of the day, though, I'm generally unsure whether or not the success of those secondary aspects are enough to salvage this show for a recommendation. It's far from perfect but still good by my standards, but I can easily see it being a particularly divisive title. So, the best I can say is to be cautious with this some. If animation, music, and theater are your thing then chances are that Revue Starlight will be up your alley. If not, then giving it a couple of episodes should be enough to tell you whether or not this show for you.