Tag Archives: Kaleido Star

Anime Credits - Dokuro-chan OP & Kaleido Star OP2

Friday, May 23, 2008 – 3:34 pm

OK, these have absolutely no similarity to each other at all. So sue me. And I used YouTube for the 2nd. So sue me again.

By Josh | Posted in Anime Credits | Tagged , | Comments (1)

Two years of Anime

Monday, August 6, 2007 – 2:18 am

Two years ago today, I received the first disc in my then-new Blockbuster Online rental subscription. I stuck the disc into my DVD player, not really knowing what to expect. This was my first time, after all.

U.S. Manga Corp’s animated M.D. Geist flashed on the screen and then the music of Blurry Eyes by L’Arc~en~Ciel started playing on the DVD menu for Volume of DNA2, and thus my journey down the road of anime began.

I went back and looked at some of the stats I wrote up in the One Year post I did, well, one year ago, and this is what I came up with:

So, how far have I gotten in 1 year? I’ve rated 17 anime series or movies (of course, this site has only been up for the last 6 of those 12 months). I’ve completed 14 others, and I’m currently watching 9 more.

If my counting is correct, in the past year I have watched 503 anime episodes or movies for a total of something around 200 to 215 hours of shows (or between 8 and 9 days).

I own 9 anime series and part of another as well as 2 movies

Well, that list of 17 reviewed series has now turned into 55 reviewed series. 31 completed anime series has turned into 67 completed series, and the 40 series that I’ve seen in whole or in part has expanded to 83 series (not including series I’ve only seen 1 episode of).

My anime library’s has continued to grow as well, going from the 9 series and 2 movies from a year ago to 21 complete series and 4 movies with 2 series in progress.

At this time last year, I estimated I had watched 503 episodes or movies, for a total of 200 to 215 hours of total shows watched. Now, I estimate that I’ve seen (if my math is correct, and not counting series I’ve only seen one episode of) 1,167 episodes or movies for a total of 470 to 475 hours (or 19 to 20 days) of total anime hours (not counting watching a series more than once).

Actually, at this pace, within 2 or 3 full season series, I should break 500 hours of non-repeated anime hours watched. I’m not sure I should be happy or sad about that though lol.

In any case, I also came up with this list last time around too:

There are also several shows on my to-get list:

Not finished, but I know I’ll buy it
Cardcaptor Sakura - Sakura Book
I”s Pure

It’s either still too expensive or I just haven’t gotten around to buying it
Howl’s Moving Castle
Princess Mononoke
Spirited Away

Licenced but not released
Rumbling Hearts (Kimi Ga Nozomu Eien)

Not licenced yet
I”s Pure
Kashimashi ~Girl Meets Girl~
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

Well, obviously Melancholy has been licensed, and so has Kashimashi, and those, incidentally, are the two series I’m in the middle of collecting. I”s Pure still hasn’t been licensed, and I have indeed bought the rest of the Cardcaptor Sakura series, as well as Rumbling Hearts. I still haven’t bought any of those 2 movies, though (the two new movies from last year are the two CCS movies).

At first, I thought my list this year would be smaller, but I guess it’s not, really:

I’m not sure if anything is in the “not finished but I know I’ll buy” category. If I had to pick a couple, I’d say Moonphase and Idolmaster Xenoglossia.

Other than that, in the “not licensed yet” category, I’d definitely put Kanon 2006, and I”s Pure would stay there, of course.

In the “too expensive to buy” category, I’d probably put Fullmetal Alchemist and Shakugan no Shana, and I just as well throw in Ah! My Goddess and Kaleido Star New Wings as well (though New Wings is coming out in a thinpack box set in September, so I should be able to afford it then).

In any case, that is my two year of anime wrapup post. I’ll probably put another post like this up next year…which will actually be the day before I would leave to go to Otakon 2008, now that I think of it. Otakon 2008 will essentially be a 3 year of anime celebration for me I guess.

By Josh | Posted in Shakugan no Shana, Various | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

Josh’s Anime Blog Podcast Episode #31

Saturday, June 30, 2007 – 8:54 pm

Josh’s Anime Blog Podcast Episode #31Josh’s Anime Blog Podcast Episode #31 is now online! In this podcast, I re-review both seasons of the anime series Kaleido Star.

This week’s Podcast Stats:
Time: 21:04
Download Size: 14.4 MB

This week’s opening theme:
“Kaze no Hana” by HANA HANA
Opening theme to Someday’s Dreamers

This week’s ending theme:
“Real Identity” by Sugar
First ending theme to Kaleido Star

You can listen to my podcasts in the following ways:

Flash Player:

Directly: http://www.joshsanimeblog.com/podcast/JABPEpisode31.mp3

You can also download or add my podcast-only RSS feed to your favorite reader or add my podcast using iTunes.

Enjoy!

By Josh | Posted in Podcasts | Tagged | Comments (0)

Anime Review: Kaleido Star - 83.5%

Thursday, February 15, 2007 – 12:00 pm

The Essentials

Kaleido StarName: Kaleido Star; Kaleido Star: New Wings (season 2)
Genre: Comedy, Action
Episodes: 52 total - Season 1: 26 episodes; Season 2: 25 episodes; OVA: 1 episode
Released: TV: April 3, 2003 - March 27, 2004; OVA: September 24, 2004
Based On: N/A
Director: Junichi Sato (season 1), Yoshimasa Hiraike (season 2)
Produced By: HoriPro, MediaNet, TV Tokyo
US Distribution By: ADV Films

Major Japanese Cast

Sora Naegino: Ryou Hirohashi
Layla Hamilton: Sayaka Ohara
Fool: Takehito Koyasu
Ken Robbins: Hiro Shimono
Mia Guillem: Chinami Nishimura
Anna Heart: Akeno Watanabe
Kalos Eido: Keiji Fujiwara
Yuri Killian: Susumu Chiba
Rosetta Passel: Kaori Mizuhashi
May Wong: Mai Nakahara
Leon Oswald: Takahiro Sakurai
Sarah Dupont: Aya Hisakawa
Marion: Fumiko Orikasa
Jonathan the Seal: Etsuko Kozakura
Policeman: Unshou Ishizuka
Cathy Taymor: Kotono Mitsuishi

Major English Cast

Sora Naegino: Cynthia Martinez
Layla Hamilton: Sandra Krasa
Fool: Jay Hickman
Ken Robbins: John Swasey
Mia Guillem: Nancy Novotny
Anna Heart: Kira Vincent-Davis
Kalos Eido: Rick Burford
Yuri Killian: Illich Guardiola
Rosetta Passel: Serena Varghese
May Wong: Hilary Haag
Leon Oswald: Mike MacRae
Sarah Dupont: Luci Christian
Marion: Kim-Ly Nguyen
Jonathan the Seal: Tiffany Grant
Policeman: James Faulkner
Cathy Taymor: Shannon Emerick

Scores

Animation: 9/10 (x 4 = 36 pts)
Story: 8/10 (x 4 = 32 pts)
Music: 9/10 (x 4 = 36 pts)
Coherency/Story Arc: 8/10 (x 2 = 16 pts)
English Dubs: 7/10 (x 1 = 7 pts)
Gut Score: 8/10 (x 5 = 40 pts)

Total: 167/200 (83.5%)

Review

Kaleido Star, and it’s second season called New Wings, is a show about a girl named Sora Naegino who has come to the United States to try to become part of the world renewed performing circus troupe at Kaleido Stage. Things don’t start out well when someone tries stealing her suitcase, causing her to be late to the audition. As a result, the current star of Kaleido Stage, Layla Hamilton, tells her to go home. However, after accidentally causing an small injury to a performer, keeping them out of that day’s performance, the manager of Kaleido Stage, Kalos, tells Sora to take her place. And so begins Sora’s trip towards Kaleido Stardom.

The first season is largely based on the improvement of Sora as a performer and Layla’s slowly growing acceptance of her on the stage until Sora becomes a star. The second season is set largely around what happens to Sora now that she is at the top and now has other performers trying to climb the ladder to chase her. Also, despite being the top star of Kaleido Stage, she hasn’t yet yet become a true Kaleido Star, at least according to the stage’s resident spirit Fool.

At first glance, a series about a girl performing at a circus wouldn’t seem all that interesting. I’m not exactly one who finds performing on trapezes and other such contraptions (some of which I never even knew existed) overly exciting. However, the story kept me watching, and after not too long, I, who cares nothing about trapeze performances, started cheering Sora on to successfully perform that trapeze trick she’s been practicing, or whatever performance she was getting ready for.

At 51 TV episodes plus an OVA, Kaleido Star may run a little long, but it does very well at finding a story line and consistently progressing that storyline from one episode to the next. Also, the two seasons have distinct story arcs, so someone can watch either season without necessarily wondering how they got there or feeling like the ending is incomplete (though obviously watching the first season is a good idea before watching the 2nd).

I consider animation to be pretty good in this series, and the music is very good as well. The English dubs aren’t spectacular, but they’re good enough to be able to listen to without flinching. Overall, I’d rate this a pretty good series.

First Watched: July 2006 - January 2007
Do I Own: Season 1
Do I Recommend: Yes

By Josh | Posted in Anime Reviews | Tagged | Comments (0)

Anime Credits - Kaleido Star Opening #3

Friday, November 24, 2006 – 9:48 pm

By Josh | Posted in Anime Credits | Tagged | Comments (0)

I’m in Fantasyland! (and long-ass series land too!)

Thursday, August 31, 2006 – 10:36 am

I appear to suddenly find myself in the middle of watching several long anime series at the moment, despite the fact that I wanted to restrict how many long series I’m watching at the same time. Also, I’ve found that several series I’m watching or just finished are more in the fantasy genre.

Long series I’m currently in the middle of include:

- Fullmetal Alchemist (52 episodes + movie)
- Fushigi Yuugi (52 tv episodes + 13 OVA episodes over 3 releases)
- Magic Knight Rayearth (49 episodes over two seasons)
- Kaleido Star (51 episodes + 3 OVA episodes)

Of course two and perhaps 3 (Fushigi Yuugi, Magic Knight Rayearth, and perhaps Fullmetal Alchemist) could be considered fantasy series. On top of this, I just finished Legend of Himiko which is also in the fantasy genre.

So, at first it was largely sci-fi anime (DNA2, Chobits, Last Exile, Angelic Layer - if you could call it sci-fi) then it was romance comedies (Ai Yori Aoshi, Fruits Basket, The World of Narue, His and Her Circumstances) and now I’ve moved into fantasy.

It’ll be interesting to see where it goes from here.

By Josh | Posted in Various | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)

Angelic Layer on Anime Network on Demand

Thursday, August 10, 2006 – 11:22 pm

Angelic LayerOK, I know there is a lot of stuff on demand, but If I ever see anything that I like or have reviewed, I’ll try to point it out. Starting today, August 10th, Anime on Demand is starting a weekly release of Angelic Layer episodes on it’s video on demand service.

As a result, episode 2 will be available August 17th, episode 3 on August 24th, episode 4 on August 31st, etc. Each episode is available for four weeks, so you’ll actually have four episodes available at a time to watch.

Of course It’s sad that I watched an episode of an Anime on video on demand despite the fact that I own it, but I kind of see it this way: it’s uncut and commercial free when it’s on demand anyway, so I don’t really lose anything, and there just seems to be something about watching an anime you like coming across your TV cable than coming out of your DVD player. Perhaps its the feeling of relief that you’re not the only person who knows about or likes that series (even though Angelic Layer is moderately popular anyway).

Of course, Angelic Layer may be the only series that I’ve completed before that I’ll see on Anime Network VOD just because it’s one of the few ADV series I’ve seen (despite the fact that they’re the largest anime licenser. Geneon/Pioneer wins hands down as the company I’ve viewed the most products from).

Other ADV products I’ve seen are The Place Promised in our Early Days and Neon Genesis Evangelion (so basically 3 out of 32 series I’ve completed). However, I have started renting Kaleido Star, which is also ADV and which is also on anime network VOD. I just haven’t caught up to it yet. I am also starting to watch This Ugly Yet Beautiful World on Anime Network VOD, though I’m not sure when episode 3 is coming, since it’s not on the release schedule for August.

The only issue I have with VOD is that, since I only got it starting a couple months ago, most series are still in the middile - there are very few series which have actually started since I’ve gotten it, and most of the ones I’ve seen the first episode of, I’ve either disliked or are lukewarm on it.

By Josh | Posted in 2001 Anime | Tagged , , , , , | Comments (0)

Ebay package 2 of 3 has arrived!

Monday, March 13, 2006 – 11:40 am

Alright, now we’re talking. The other package may be small enough to fit in my mailbox, which I haven’t checked yet, but I did get the other package at my door this morning (usually the mail doesn’t come until after I leave for work. They must have been eager to get it to me today).

This package included the thinpack Last Exile collection as well as The World of Narue collection which, while it’s not a thinpack, is still packaged to save space.

So thats complete series #6 and #7 in my anime collection.

I’m also going for a set of 5 Ai Yori Aoshi DVDs which are on ebay for pretty cheap. Now they’re set up, the shipping will end up being a little much (it’s full price for first item, and 50% off other items, which means if I get all five, shipping will still be around $20), but given how cheap it looks like the actual DVDs will go for (2 already had bids, but the other three I got with Buy It Now for $4.95 each). Unless bidding on the other two DVDs go insane, I should still save more money than most auctions over the 5 discs together.

I also got Neon Genesis Evangelion Platinum volume 4 and Dual! Parallel Trouble Adventures volume 3 from blockbuster over the weekend. Why Volumes 4 of NGE had only 3 episodes, I’m not sure, but I suppose there is a logical reason somewhere.

That means I now only have 2 volumes of NGE left and 1 volume of Dual! left. Neon Genesis Evangelion #5 was sent out by Blockbuster Thursday, so I should get it in another day. Blockbuster should send the next movie on the list to me next, which should be Dual! Volume 4, which will finish that series up.

Some other notes:
I was (finally) able to find an (English) subbed version of I”s Pure episode 2 (thank you c1anime!). They said episode 3 should be out soon, so, hopefully they’re right about that.

I haven’t really decided what anime to start watching after Dual! and NGE. After the last volume of Dual! is shipped, then the last volume of NGE will ship. Other than Volume 3 of Cowboy Bebop, which has been sitting in the #1 slot of my queue with an availability of “Long Wait” for months, I need to select 2 or 3 more series to watch.

One already on the list (just stuck below NGE and Dual!) is Cardcaptor Sakura, since it’s CLAMP. The biggest problem with this series is that it’s 16 volumes long, which means that it’ll probably take something like 4 months to start watching it.

Other series on my short list to add to the top of the queue include: Fushigi Yugi, His and Her Circumstances, Ah! My Goddess! the TV series, and Kaleido Star.

Another option that I’m thinking is to re-rent some anime which I’ve already seen but haven’t heard the English dub to (either because I didn’t listen to it when I rented before, or I downloaded a fansub which didn’t have English on it). This list would include, out of anime I’ve finished, Dears, and anime I haven’t finished, Girls Bravo.

The only thing left to say is that there is no anime review today (duh!) and tomorrow is Tuesday, thus it is the big anime DVD/manga release date of the week, so I’ll list the major releases for that. The next review may come on the 15th.

By Josh | Posted in General Blather, Various | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)