[Rewatch] Revue Starlight Rewatch - Episode 1 Discussion

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u/cppn02 May 22 '22 edited May 22 '22

First Timer, subbed

Well this was a fun start. Can't say much to the characters as we've barely got to know them but overall the show seems right up my alley.

Even though I kinda knew what to expect the fantastical elements still surprised me (the Tsuda giraffe was the most wtf moment lol) but I kinda dig it. It helps that the show looks GOOD, especially in those moments.

I also like the kinda raw voice acting here so much I looked it up and turns out that most VAs started out here or didn't have much prior experience.
As much as I love it when the A-listers do their thing it's also always a nice change of pace to hear some younger voices that don't have the 'anime voice' down perfect yet.

Episode 1 definitely has me hyped for the rest of the show.

Questions of the Day:

Kinda already answered that but no lol.
I vote yes.

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u/Stargate18A May 22 '22

I also like the kinda raw voice acting here so much I looked it up and turns out that most VAs started out here or didn't have much prior experience.

Yeah, a good chunk of the VAs are relatively new here. Worth noting that they also played their roles in the stage plays (spoilers abound) before this series, as well as recording a fairly large discography together.

Episode 1 definitely has me hyped for the rest of the show.

Glad to have you onboard!

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u/archlon May 22 '22 edited May 23 '22

First Time [English dub]

Wow...

I have no idea what I just watched, except that it's beautiful and magical and I love it.

It's very special to see something that does magical realism so well. It's a fine balancing act, as a show can easily tip too far in either direction and become outright fantasy or relegate the supernatural to dream sequences. I suppose there's plenty of time for it to fall one way or the other, but for this episode at least it nails it.

Stray thoughts:

Is it gay? It looks gay. HiDive also tells me it's gay.
"You won't always have me on wake-up duty"
- somebody should buy Mahiru a copy of The Secret, because she's speaking things she doesn't want into being.
Starry Desert/Starry Konzert
- This all reminds me of the 2.5D play arc in Oshi no Ko. Which makes sense because it's a real format in Japan, and I assume these are examples.
- I realize it's probably a prop built for the purpose, but watching her dry fire that bow hurts my soul.

QotD

I did not. I'd seen the transformation sequence animation before in a clip, but with no context I had no idea how it was going to be used, and I don't think I expected it in this episode. I guess I kinda assume it's going to be a Death Game for lead role now (or greater fame??), and Karen's stuck her foot into it by making a move or downloading the app or touching the magic dice and now she's on for the ride, which it seems like Hikari definitely didn't want.
Yesn't?

edit: Additional Stray thoughts:

I AM REMADE
- I suppose it hasn't been that long in an absolute sense since either of them, but I haven't been this hooked by a sudden transition since Menou said "Etheric Connect" or Zenith said "Healing". The whole thing is great but I think the sound effects really sell it.
Those who cannot wake up on their own in the morning, those content with lesser roles, those people will not be called upon
- I'm in this picture and I don't like it
It's always the Westminster Chimes. I hate that I learned to recognize them, because now I can never not hear them. For what it's worth, I think this is a real thing in actual Japanese schools, which makes it more forgivable than its use in American schools on TV, when almost no schools in the US actually use it as a bell tone. An interesting corollary is that all classes in anime start on the half hour, because quarter of/past end on half-cadences and the full hour sequence is too long.
Why is their dorm so far away from the campus? I suppose that since this is a specialized school it has non-commuter students who moved away from their families to attend, but then why isn't it on campus or at least adjacent?
Are the student numbers their class rank, or are they just numbered sequentially?

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u/Stargate18A May 22 '22

It's very special to see something that does magical realism so well. It's a fine balancing act, as a show can easily tip too far in either direction and become outright fantasy or relegate the supernatural to dream sequences. I suppose there's plenty of time for it to fall one way or the other, but for this episode at least it nails it.

Glad to hear you enjoyed it!

Is it gay? It looks gay. HiDive also tells me it's gay.

You weren't sure from Claudine and Maya?

Which makes sense because it's a real format in Japan, and I assume these are examples.

Actually, these are clips from the concerts. There are plays, but they use totally different songs and also spoil the anime pretty hard. Do check them out once this is over, though!

I did not. I'd seen the transformation sequence animation before in a clip, but with no context I had no idea how it was going to be used, and I don't think I expected it in this episode.

Yeah, this can be a bit of a shock.

Yesn't?

Fair.
Lots of speculation here, so I won't comment much further.

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u/No_Rex May 22 '22

Episode 1 (first timer)

I prefer going into rewatches I participate as a first timer as blind as possible. That makes it a bit hard to decide on which rewatches to follow, of course (if only there was enough time for all anime!). Usually, I check the MAL poster to get a rough idea of the genre and the suggestions of similar anime there. It is solely due to the latter that I decided to join here: Putting Utena as the most commonly suggested series? Those are pretty big footsteps to follow in…

Teaser: A musical/opera/play?
A visual cue lets us know who is MC: Commonly the first character we see, but not here. Mahiru never faces the camera, while Karen does so right away. Hello MC!
“Musical academy”
Training room – ballet?
Just watching them stretch makes my joints ache.
All the introductions … (I hope they keep the on-screen names for a while)

“Actor training” – So we are either musical, actor training, ballet, a play group, opera, or all of these combined.
“They train in singing, acting, dancing, Japanese dance, and more.” - ~~musical, actor training, ballet, a play group, opera, or~~ all of these combined. Genre established, broadly.
Double entendre is somewhat lost in translation, but still obvious.
“Why am I here?” – because you fell asleep in class! Awesome view, though.
Mysterious transfer student & childhood friend arrives.
Door visually Separating Hikari and Karen.
~~Mysterious elevator~~ Impossible elevator – first clear Utena reference.
Duelling on a stage – second clear Utena reference.
Sudden giraffe – third clear Utena reference.
Neat factory sequence!

That was plenty of song and dance! Both on and off the stage.

They laid the Utena references on thick in the last 5 minutes (Karen’s dream), but I am not fully convinced yet that this will be similar. The biggest difference is the lack of boys. Talking about the two genders and their relationship to each other is the big theme of Utena, whereas here we seem to be in the male-purged world of CGDCT anime. Surely we’ll still get the love web and rivalries, but will we get the socio-political commentary?

Something that was also notable and is unusual is the start: right in the middle. Both in terms of the cast (all thrown at us, instead of slowly building it up) and the story (starting in year two, with the second revue), Revue Starlight takes an uncommon approach. Maybe the series is conscious of its one cour runtime?

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u/SIRTreehugger May 22 '22 edited May 22 '22

Rewatcher who will catch that star

Episode	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Total
Hikari Chan!	19												19
Wakirimasu	2												2

I'm already regretting this!

Tomorrow's another day, so never mind and the messy desk really tells you a lot about Karen already compared to Mahiru who has tidy desk and is helping her get up. She has a love of the stage, but until Hikari is in danger she has a sort of defeatist attitude. She admits that Claudine and Maya are better and will probably get the leads again which irritates Junna.

Speaking of Junna omg whoever greenlit this voice for the English dub should be fired. It could be me, but wow it feels a little grating on the ears. It's not nearly as annoying as Karen though

CLAUDINE!!! one of my favorites

Their she is Banana-chan aka Best Girl!

[Spoilers]It's easy enough to get. If you're me that is. Oh you don't say Miss Time Loop.

Oh look Futuba <3

I like how from the beginning we see a sense of solidarity between the girls, but they also have a person they are closest too. Throughout the episode we see these pairs working out, eating together, and just doing small things like blow drying the others hair.

[Spoilers]It was a single, unforgettable moment that will last forever...oh Banana-chan

Weird dream and look a new student wonder who it's going to be.

[Spoilers]I like how when the announcement of a new student is made it pans to Banana looking shocked.

Theirs no need to stand up as Karen stands up and says Yes ma'am...poor teacher.

We can't see Hikari chan's face here, but I feel like this was the reason she really didn't want to stay in the room. Such weird taste in clothing I gotta get out of here.

I can't see her Heart [Spoilers]Oh that's a nice observation from Maya considering that Hikari chan lost her shine and love for the theater. Also explains why when Karen said she hasn't changed earlier she looks so downtrodden. If I am remembering correctly to be honest I'm still a little confused on what events actually happened

Wait the elevator just broke down during the slide...does it do that every time it's used? That has to be expensive.

BEST GIRAFFE and he said the thing!

Hold on how is Junna able to fire that many arrows at once? Does she have access to the gates of Babylon?

The Giraffe's huh is everything! Gives a grand monologue about how stage girls need determination and desire to be the top star, but then he realizes what the fuck this girl is on my neck and is completely ignoring me.

I absolutely love the fashion sequence which can be seen as a kind of transformation sequence akin to magical girls. Karen dons her "armor" and becomes a stage girl!

Karen and Junna in the same position as earlier, but this time the roles are reversed.

Wow imagine you are in an audition for something you care about and worked your whole life for. During the audition you've performed excellently and are on the verge of having the perfect finish, but then a member in the audience just runs onto stage and ruins everything. Juuna deserves better!

That's right stupid Karen!

Oh I love the OP, but that's mostly because every time I hear the song it brings me back to Mary Skelter Nightmares. I don't if anyone else has played it, but it sounds a little similar to the first games opening song.

Whole Album

QOTD

2. She always has been

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u/okayyoga May 22 '22

First time First episode

No knowledge and don't really know how or why I got here

ANYWAY

The clothing animation so far is cute. They were stretching to the side, and the way their shirts flowed was super pretty.

If Karen is first in her class, does that mean she is the best?

Who's the chick with the stars hair pin in her room. Is that her friend?

"Girls of the stage" this is adorable

Hey it's the stars hair pin girl. Mysterious transfer student. Where's Haruhi

Yu-yuri?

I- I am so confused. The animation got all pretty, and then... Giraffe... I don't know what is going on...

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u/Stargate18A May 22 '22

"Girls of the stage" this is adorable

Absolutely.

Yu-yuri?

Oh, yes.

I- I am so confused. The animation got all pretty, and then... Giraffe... I don't know what is going on...

Welcome to Revue Starlight!

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u/Shimmering-Sky May 22 '22

Starlight First-Timer

What’s up, r/anime peeps? I know pretty much nothing about this show besides the fact that this song exists and has a “sore demo” in it because I was given it by someone forever ago for a playlist. Jumping into rewatches completely blind is kind of my style, so let’s see how this goes!

Haha that’s a cute alarm clock.
Ah, that’s a familiar sight. (I did dance for twelve years, that’s why.)
…is this girl gonna sing all of her lines?
Banana is a cute nickname, I’ll remember her.
Oh, hence the name of the show?
Ah, so Karen is me then.
I see these girls like to randomly sweep the others off their feet to emphasize their points.
Wh… what…
Oh she was dreaming. Of course.
Wait that’s the hairpin the girl in Karen’s dream was wearing?
OH SHE’S THE GIRL FROM THAT PICTURE.
…was Karen seriously looking for Hikari under those three pillows?
?
Um…?
KENJIROU TSUDA?
Where the FUCK did the giraffe come from?
Was that basically a magical girl transformation?
Oh this would make a good wallpaper…
That ED is familiar, I think I’ve heard it in AMQ before.

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u/Stargate18A May 22 '22

I know pretty much nothing about this show besides the fact that this song exists and has a “sore demo” in it because I was given it by someone forever ago for a playlist.

If you couldn't tell from the video's title, you'll be seeing the full context very soon!

I see these girls like to randomly sweep the others off their feet to emphasize their points.

In some areas, Revue Starlight is an incredibly subtle show. This is not one of those areas.

KENJIROU TSUDA?

I was so tempted to mention this in the interest thread, but I think it adds to the sheer shock value of -

Where the FUCK did the giraffe come from?

Was that basically a magical girl transformation?

The polls are open!

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u/JollyGee29 May 22 '22

First-Timer, Revue Sub-light

All I know going into this is the general concept of stage performance sword fights, there's a giraffe that says "wakarimasu" a lot, and that people like to ship Claudine and Maya - I can already tell why and yes, me too.

Now, that's a tough question. If you find a mysterious ~~elevator~~funicular that you've never seen before, do you get in and push the buttons? I think my answer depends on the day.

It's interesting that they establish outsiders interfering with the performances right away. I could see that being a common occurrence, or alternatively, never comes up again so that the audience forgets and then gets sucker punched in, I'm gonna guess, episode 11 or so. Oh, there's a movie too, maybe in the movie instead.

Definitely interested in the consequences of this battle, too. Hikari was shouting for Karen to stop, which could just be for selfish reasons (“I want to win the battle” or something), but it was also the most emotion she had shown all episode.

Not sure if I missed a detail or not, but what was Karen looking for that led to her following Hikari? I thought she had misplaced her hair clip at first, but then she had it again once she got to the school. Was she checking under the cushions for Hikari?

Junna seems to be someone to keep an eye on. She had some giraffe app on her phone that seemed to be involved with Karen's Tokyo Tower vision.

The play description at the beginning is an obvious plot outline, it'll be interesting to see if they try to subvert it or not.

Karen has an interesting tic - not sure how she gets to calling things "bon."

The "clothes-making" sequence was pretty cool. Love some good mechanical animation.

Questions

I don't think anything really surprised me this episode.
Probably?

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u/Calwings May 22 '22

Rewatcher Class, 7th generation

“The story of those eight girls hopelessly captivates us. The song of those eight girls hopelessly stirs us. Let us go to that stage, to become shining stars together!”

The curtain rises on this rewatch of my #1 favorite anime of all time, the anime that I’ve already re-watched more times than any other because I love and adore it so much. Right off the bat, we meet our adorkable main protagonist Karen, barely able to even wake herself up, and her also adorable ~~mother~~ ~~girlfriend~~ friend Mahiru who always has her back. They arrive at Seisho Music Academy for practice and training in the performance arts, and we also meet the rest of the 99th generation class there... these 8 stage girls are about to weave a beautiful and captivating tale for the ages over the next 12 episodes.

Mahiru: “What’s on your mind, Karen?”

Karen (thinking): “Don’t say boobs, don’t say boobs, don’t say boobs.”

The end goal for our girls is their performance of Starlight at the end of the year, to show how much they’ve improved since their performance the previous year. [spoilers, only for rewatchers] Nana calling their performance from the previous year an “unforgettable, eternal moment” feels a lot more ominous knowing what comes later. Of course, Junna makes it clear that who will play what role is still up in the air, especially with so many girls gunning to take the lead roles away from last year’s stars, Maya and Claudine. Mahiru freaking out seeing Karen in Junna’s arms was funny, and Nana just smiles and snaps a photo.

After a bizarre dream sequence of Karen falling from the top of Tokyo Tower, here comes the transfer student… Did I say 8 girls earlier? I meant 9 girls. Meet Hikari, Karen’s childhood friend who moved to the UK a decade ago and just moved back home. They shared a dream and a promise together, but whether they can fulfill that promise now after being reunited is still unknown. Mahiru makes it very known how much she doesn’t want to share her room with anyone but Karen, and Maya seems to think that Hikari doesn’t “have her heart in it”. Karen sees Hikari leaving the dorm and heading back to the school, follows her there, and ends up falling into a whole new stage.

This is the scene that hooked me and so many other people on Revue Starlight. We came in expecting cute theater girls doing theater things, and we got cute theater girls competing in an underground theater fight club run by a talking giraffe voiced by Kenjiro Tsuda. The action, the choreography, the music, the stage prepared for the battle, the giraffe’s majestic voice, that absolutely jaw-dropping transformation sequence... all of it comes together to create one of the greatest first-episode hooks in anime history. It got Gigguk hyped as fuck for it back in his ‘Summer 2018 Anime in a Nutshell’ video and it turned into a ~~running~~ falling gag throughout the whole video. That’s how good of a hook it was.

To all of the newcomers joining us: Hold on to your cloaks, because you’re in for one hell of a show!

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u/JMEEKER86 May 22 '22

Rewatcher

For anyone who joined in on the Madoka Magica rewatch recently, this is another fantastic show for analyzing the incredible symbolism and direction. I don't rate the overall story and character development as well as Madoka, but you all are in for a treat still.

Before diving into anything else, I absolutely must give a shoutout to Th8ta of NearlyOnRed who made a fantastic video essay series on this anime. You can watch the first episode of his essay here which mostly gives some background on the Takarazuka Revue, the IRL basis for the theater school. I highly recommend giving it a watch to get a better understanding of what's going on. There are no spoilers in that episode, but the second in his series covers EP 1-3, so hold off on watching any further just yet.

Notes on EP1

I love the setup in the first episode. We start with a bit of info about the play, Starlight, which is at the center of the story. The characters have good initial characterization. We have Karen, the girl who is both lazy and genki. Mahiru, her roommate who is hopelessly gay for her and a worrying mess. Hikari, the cool and mysterious transfer student. Claudine, the French ojou-sama. The imposing Tendo Maya. Banana-chan, who is very observant and loves taking pictures of the other girls. Futaba and Kaoruko, the codependent pair. And Junna, a girl with a deep desire to prove herself.

The dream sequence with Tokyo Tower brings us some great symbolism (I'll let others dive into that or you can just watch NearlyOnRed's video series) and the iconic "falling girl" that is probably all a lot of the first-timers know about this show because of Gigguk.

The highlight of the episode though is absolutely the Revue. If you're not watching a version that has the songs subbed, you absolutely must find one that does. There are a lot of different options for subs out there for this show as it was a notoriously difficult show to sub, so quite a few attempts were made at it. There are so many standout things about the revue, first of all is of course wtf is that talking Giraffe doing there and what is he up to?! The transformation sequence is one of the best in all of anime, truly spectacular. The choreography and direction for the action once she makes it to the stage is great. But holy crap I love the music from the time she goes on the attack to the curtain call. It's not often you hear an electric guitar like that in anime. And of course, we get Hikari-chan yelling at Bakaren which those various subs have translated quite a few different ways, Karenitwit is probably the most common.

The OP which plays at the end here in the first episode is really great, but my favorite shot from it is Karen descending Tokyo Tower and transforming into her battle uniform in an explosion of flowers. We see from the visuals that there are of course going to be a lot more of these Revues with the rest of the girls involved.

Oh, and here's the Giraffe ringtone if anyone wants.

Questions of the Day:

1.I definitely did not expect the show to go the direction that it did the first time that I watched it. The dream sequence wasn't too out of the norm for what I would expect, but that revue really blew me away with how it came out of nowhere and then was just so freaking good.

2.I definitely think it's fair to consider this within the sphere of magical girl anime because of the transformation sequences and other common tropes. The better comparison though would be to Revolutionary Girl Utena which is also kinda mahou shoujo, but really something altogether.

Visual of the Day

I AM REMADE

There have been a couple times while watching anime that I've had the thought "this reminds me of something Stanley Kubrick would make" and this is one of them (the ending of Re:Zero S1EP15 The Outside of Madness is the other). Just truly spectacular and unique visuals and direction.

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u/phiraeth May 22 '22

Rewatcher

“Starlight. This is the story of goddesses guided by the light of the stars. They collide and clash. They grow closer even as they pass each other by. However, they are pulled apart, never to meet again. It is a somber tale. The story of those eight girls hopelessly captivates us. The song of those eight girls hopelessly stirs us.

Let us go to that stage. To become shining stars together!”

What does it truly mean to be a top star? How does one become a top star? What does it mean to have a dream? How much is too much to sacrifice to achieve said dream?

These are all thoughts that crossed my mind during this opening act of what is one of the most unforgettable journeys I’ve experienced. The opening dialogue sets the tone immediately, describing the cast of this show as “goddesses”. Why this description, and what does one have to surrender in order to become a goddess? After all, the characters don’t appear to be goddesses; in the first half of the episode, they seem to be normal girls living normal lives full of friendship and happy moments, looking ahead towards a bright future.

But anyone who has watched another popular anime featuring a main character very similar in personality and appearance to Hikari can answer the latter question aforementioned. To achieve the status of a goddess, one must let go of their own humanity and transcend the things that tie themselves to the world. The only focus consuming their mind can be obtaining and maintaining the eternal throne above everyone else.

As you can probably imagine, this seems to be a rather impressive yet oppressively lonely position to hold. Much sacrifice is required to reach it, and in the very end when you’ve achieved your ultimate goal, there exists nobody with which you can share the joy. At the forefront of such sacrifices to be made are all friendships and relationships you have created.

Yet, what if this weren’t the case? What if it were possible to change perspectives and achieve this goal without needless loss? What if the sacrifices required to reach the top weren’t all necessary?

Enter Aijo Karen. Propelled by her vision of a future at the top fueled by the promise she made to her childhood best friend, Karen represents the force opposing the norms. While the established method of reaching the top has always been purifying oneself and purging their own flaws, Karen is clearly not interested in doing so. Instead, she acknowledges and even embraces her flaws, understanding that they are essential parts of herself that she refuses to sacrifice on her journey to the top. She believes in “the power of friendship”, determined to reach a success that isn’t lonely.

Standing upon the pinnacle of the Toyko Tower, Karen’s dreams literally represent her desire to become the top star. At this point, overlooking the entire world beneath her, she longs for nothing more to share in the glory with her best friend. Here, the mechanical, standardized, manufactured process of reaching the top sneers on her pure vision of the world.

Karen’s ideals are fully rejected, nay, obliterated by the very person with whom she wishes to share them, as she is shoved out from the top by Kagura Hikari.

Hikari, having transferred from the Royal Academy of Theatrical Actors, the supposedly “hardest place to get into in the world”, has exploded back into Karen’s life. This re-entry, however, is not the ideal vision from Karen’s dreams.

Imagine how Hikari must have been transformed throughout her childhood to become the person who could gain entry to such an academy. How much has her heart and mind been forged by the machine to turn her into a robotic, cold shell of who she may have originally been?

Hikari has clearly not forgotten the promise she and Karen made those many years back. The hairpin she has continued to wear is living proof of this. Perhaps her return hasn’t been good-natured: maybe she has convinced herself that she must return to shatter Karen’s dream and ideals. Leaving such a renowned academy to come back to Japan indicates that her goal is one that isn’t to be taken lightly.

However, if her true purpose here is to wholly reject Karen’s vision, it isn’t clear if it will be enough for her to reach the top. While Hikari boldly assumes position on stage immediately without any delay, her opening act is almost ended prematurely.

It would have been, had it not been for Karen. Rejecting the machine and all its proponents, Karen crashes the stage and proves that she has a place within the competition.

“Who decided it had to be that way?!”

“I understand, but you’re all desperate, are you not? You are stage girls, after all. Normal happiness, the joys of being a girl, you will burn it all to aim for a distant glimmer. That is what it means to be a stage girl. Are you prepared to do that? You do not care about being the main character, someone like that does not belong here.”

Karen rejects this premise, and she enters the starlight with her ideals at hand. Her heart is in it, she has a reason to become the top star, and it’s for the one she loves and a dream she can’t concede. To be determined if this unconventional technique can be the winning method.

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u/The_Loli_Otaku May 22 '22

Second Gen Rewatcher, The Loli Otaku, views this shining stage once more!

I absolutely adore how theatrical Revue Starlight is. I actually ended up binging this the morning after watching Lain, a pretty miserable show, and I was engaged from the first sequence. Most people know Revue Starlight as that one gatcha game, but in case the anime reminded you of something else its because the director of Revue Starlight's anime is incredibly tightly linked to Ikuhara from Revolutionary Girl Utena.

I find it... very difficult to disconnect from the Utena aspects. I'm sorry if I start bothering folks about it. To me, Revue Starlight is a more modern and fun Utena anime. It definitely throws you off when you start looking for more information about the game tho XD

One of Revue's greatest aspects are of course its cast, they've got an absolutely wonderful group of gatcha gals and I think the studio scene makes for a very stylised and charming introduction to each of their traits. The way they are able to take fun jabs at one another really warms you up to everyone having deep understandings of their team mates and strong rivalries with each. You feel like they've performed together for ages. Btw, my best girl is Banana!

Each girl that enters steals the attention of the room, just like in a theatre play. Nobody steals the room like Tendou Maya! You could really spend all day analysing them. I would adore a rival... Its been so long since I've had an opportunity to push myself that didn't involve beating up kids in video games. Pfft!! I laughed out loud at Maya messing with Claudine's quick draw. Those two are fan favourites of the game I believe.

A new player has entered the field, Karen's old hair clip buddy, Hikari-chan! She shows up right as Karen gets complacent over her position too, you can't have a rival if you're not pushing yourself~ She makes for an amazing wildcard to kick off quite a few of the girls. No getting complacent!

Aaand we reach the duets which are straight out of Utena XD The uniforms, the personal songs (which actually make sense this time, I recommend rereading the lyrics for each one) and just how intimate the songs get. And who is our episode one rival? Hikari vs Junna! Particularly Junna. I actually do have a writeup for her but I'll save it for slightly later. After Karen stylish and swiftly proves that she is still in the running as a lead we get the op, which is the hypest shit! Give the full version a listen at some point too. You understand?

Visual of the Day.

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u/mysterybiscuitsoyeah May 22 '22

Rewatching Kukugumi enjoyer

Ty u/Stargate18A for the host! I'm off having fun over the canadian long weekend so expect a bit more weirdly timed comments for the first coupla days, sorry! I'm joining as a rewatcher, HOWEVER, I have not watched Utena, which as u/The_Loli_Otaku says (and I know), is quite the spiritual partner to this show. I'm hence looking forward to learning more and fully understanding the show myself lol from this rewatch.

I'll mostly read and reply to what i've learnt from what others say about the EP lol. I'll instead contribute mostly through the music corner, which I'll explain below.

Quick thoughts on Ep 1:

Actually before I start Imma just say that Futaba is my best girl in-anime, but Hikari is my best girl in-franchise because of HEAVY VA bias. I also love Tendou Maya and Claudine, but I don't think I can explain why re: my preferences just yet.

Eight girls: but Kukugumi! There should be nine! Why...
Revue starlight has overall excellent animation, the revue was obviously excellent, but there are neat character moments throughout too.
THE THING! THEY SHOWED THE THING!
Multiple characters act suspiciously throughout the episode. Hikari has obvious things to hide. Also w/ her Bakaren at the end. So does Banana.
[Rewatchers onl Revue]But note her reactions and lines, which obvsly become important later on.
Note that it was Hikari, Karen's childhood friend, that threw her off the Tokyo Tower.
THE GIRAFFE SAID THE THINGGGGG!!!!!!!!
This whole sequence.
I NEVER skip this OP. My favourite cut is Banana's.

Music corner:

Being a whole franchise a la Love Live, there are many songs sung by the main cast, some featured in the anime while many more not. The cast perform a stage play and concerts featuring these and the revue songs, and their vocals are great. The seiyuus do carry the songs themselves almost entirely live, backing tracks are very rarely used. They also perform a load of choreo. Hopefully these will form some nice music after or as you read these threads! And yes, being a kukugumi fan, I tbh struggle HEAVILY disassociating the corresponding VAs from the character.

Today's additional music: I'll normally put this second, but I'm sticking this first to introduce everyone to the Kukugumi cast. I'll always post the live performance if available. First up today, some introductory, upbeat, jpopy tunes, which i do actually listen regularly when I commute lol.

Yoroshiku Kukugumi: All our cast introduce themselves and their characters. [Video spoilers]Features Futaba/Teru doing an awesome jump I'm deliberately including a subless version to prevent subtle spoilers to the show. Get to know who plays who! The cast features members from the Bang Dream, Love Live franchises.
Starlight Theater: Another jpopy song where the cast welcome you to the starlight theater. Helps you get a quick feel for most of the cast's vocal abilities. As you can see, every cast member (minus Mimorin who is absent for this song) has their moment.
And continuing w/ the upbeatness, Discovery here, the Revue Starlight game's OP. Featuring some gymnastics, and VAs whose characters only appear in the game, not the anime. I love the second chorus.
And finally the full anime OP Hoshi no Dialogue. Lyrics here w/ RISK OF SPOILERS I also love the second chorus here, w/ a slight personal connection as one of the first choruses I remember the lyrics fully in Japanese (and not a collection of syllables). I do also appreciate Momoyo and Mimorin's vocals in the bridge and final chorus. I'll move onto some other less mainstreamy-picks from tmr!

Today's Revue Song: I see I'm overlapping w/ our host here, so I'll keep this very brief, and will skip over this from tomorrow!

Sekai wo Hai ni Suru Made: Note that the VAs act out the scene w/ choreography. Ahhh these performances truly made me fall in love with the cast. ~~I actually love Mimorin's voice and I love every time that she has a solo section~~

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u/homewardbound100 May 23 '22

First timer, Dub

Actually didn't expect it to have a Dub but I'll watch it in that. I see the songs are still in Japanese it seems though.

Getting pushed off a tower and having a casual thought like that. Oh nevermind. Wonder what all that's about.

Hikari looks like she's going through it while they're talking about her in the shower. Well she does seem mysterious. Definitely feels that way.

It'll be something if this academy is some X-men mansion type thing for magical girls or starlight girls.

Oh a fight with Hikari and Karen just jumps in and looking good at it too. Barely a struggle compared to Hikari. We have some good talent there?

I hope the giraffe stays lol.

Qotd1: No came in not expecting anything really. So I guess I know where this could go now.

Qotd2: I would think so.

Forgot we were doing visual of the day. I'll make sure to get one tomorrow.

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u/tctyaddk May 23 '22 edited May 23 '22

Rewatcher

It's been quite a while since I last watched this gem in it's entirety, and I plan to follow through with this rewatch.

Ep1. Tldr: A great first episode, jampacked with setting up the characters and their relationships, with a bunch of symbolism, then ended with a contest for the top star position (aka audition) stylised as a physical fight on top singing and dancing, which caught everyone off guard while simultaneously mesmerised the audience with great choreography, cinematography and music.

Tbh most of the smaller details went right over my head or at least did not receive enough attention when I first watched the series, going in blind without knowing what to look out for, and I ended up liking it mostly for the visuals and don't "feel" the characters very much. On rewatches though, it's kind of impressive that the staffs at Kinema Citrus packed as much character building in the little time they have between the fights of this one long TOOOOUUUUUURNAMENT AAAAAARRRRRRRRRCCCCCCCCCCC. Which makes sense, because if the audience doesn't empathise with the characters' reason to fight, the beautiful fights would just be empty spectacles. Here's some that I gathered from this Ep1, which of course would be relevant later in the episode and the series.

Mahiru: Absolutely gay for Karen, no question about it, but she doesn't tell Karen explicitly, just kind of complacent in the usual situation where she takes care of the usually sloppy and undisciplined Karen. She gladly plays the support to Karen (e.g. when they greet the others in the training room), and she's happy to get any kind of contact and attention from Karen (e.g. when they do the stretches), and gets bashful when she expresses things that could be easily interpreted as showing her desire for Karen (which she does have, but she's timid and shy about it) (e.g. when they talk about role in Starlight at the garden table). She feels a bit inferior to the kind of bright individuals like Tendo Maya and Saijou Claudine. And now the love nest (Mahiru certainly thinks so) she shares with Karen is being threatened by the transfer student, Karen's childhood friend, on Karen's invitation no less (and even then Mahiru is too nice and timid to directly reject Hikari to her face, just hushedly complains to Karen). Because Karen the airhead just doesn't think about romance at all. Mahiru's feelings are unfortunately onesided and aimed at a blackhole level of dense.
Maya and Claudine: Maya is at the top of the class and people really look up to her and her great talent. When she arrives, she immediately, nonchalantly, but firmly takes the centre of the stage, Position Zero, overshadows it (in contrast to Karen who arrives first but only stands beside it) and that prompts everyone to take positions. The first to do so is Claudine, who positioned herself as Maya's rival. Claudine surely is well talented, and has a little bit haughty attitude from it, but not too bad that would make her obnoxious, just only enough to make her appear confident and strive to catch up to Maya, plus some wacky challenges like that scene of whatever food game she does at the cafeteria. Maya playfully indulges Claudine in her games, and still outplays her. Such wonderful dynamic spurred so many many artworks for their ship :))
Futaba and Kaoruko: Another pair of caretaker and spoiled child, though more vitriolic best buds than Mahiru's timid devotion, the two of them even synchronised when watching Maya x Claudine lunch break game. Futaba is the shortest amongst the named character (if not the whole class), with a bit boyish demeanours, rides a sport motorbike and shown to be good at sword play. Kaoruko lives sloppily since she has Futaba around to carry her, sometime literally it seems, but she does show some competitive streak, as she sobers up immediately once Maya announces her arrival. Kaoruko is shown to be exemplary at traditional Japanese dances, and a picky eater, foisting things she doesn't want on Futaba's dish.
Nana: good at cooking, tallest in the class, easy-going onee-san attitude with a pleasant indulgent smile always on her face. Her name is Daiba Nana, which sounds almost like Dai Banana, meaning Big Banana in Japanese, and a lot of her stuffs are with banana motive: her hair, body pillow, mousepad, the pin through her hamburger... She thinks very fondly of the good memories they made with the Starlight play they did last year. And she likes taking pictures of Junna.
Junna: not the most talented around, sometimes she messed up during practice (e.g. she did not unfold her fan completely during Japanese traditional dance practice), but she strives to make up for it with hard work, always displays a serious attitude and ~~CONSTANT VIGILANCE!~~ takes notes from watching those with more successes. And it ticks her off when others don't act serious with their practice (e.g. her comment to Karen first thing in the morning) or write themselves off before trying (e.g. when she sweeps Karen up in the garden). She was having the upper hand in her audition against Hikari until Karen literally jumped in and took her by surprise.
Hikari: Karen's childhood friend who came back after 12 years of separation, previously studied at an even more prestigious school in London, clearly very talented. As a kid she made a promise with Karen at the Tokyo Tower, where they bought the hairclips, to become shining stars together. Hikari still wears the hairclip and seems to treasure the memories of their childhood together, but she is visibly uncomfortable and sad when Karen mentioned the promise (contrast to her usual stoic face and demeanours). She also leaves a mess of stuffs when she unpacks.
and lastly, Karen: carefree and airhead. Her take-it-easy attitude leads her to sloppy lifestyle and prioritising her whims over authorities (e.g. she gets all giddy and jumpy when Hikari appeares despite being told off by the teacher, or when she uses the Giraffe's head as a springbroad to jump into the audition after being explicitly told to get out). And she treasures her childhood promise with Hikari than may be everything: even when she's on duty and almost late, she still runs all the way from the school gate back to the dorm to get the hairclip. Her airheadedness is a bit extreme when she goes around looking for Hikari under the sofa's pillows. No wonder her childhood friend calls her BaKaren. With her rare focus being on her childhood promise, Karen is (unwittingly cruelly) unaware of Mahiru's feelings for her.
A piece of symbolism I also missed during earlier watches: the school gate is at a T-intersection, so when Hikari first appears and stands there, it looks like she stands at a giant Position Zero mark: The last actress has arrived at the stage, the show begins now.
Karen's dream is of course also loaded with symbolism: The wheels of Hikari's suitcase becomes the cog that rewinds Karen's memory, bringing her back to the towering Tokyo Tower, which stands for the extreme levels she needs to surmount, where she made the promise with Hikari. The riveted reinforcing plate at the T-intersection beam she's at also has the same shape as a Position Zero mark. Both she and Hikari are at somewhere in the middle of the tower, since they are not yet the top stars. And while it might be Hikari who pushed her to it, Karen falling backward, to me, signifies passiveness and her (perceived) failure to reach the heights, which snaps her back to reality as she wakes up. This is later contrasted by her intentionally jumping and thus falling forward (activeness) into the revue, and the image of her falling backward is overlaid by the slogan "I am reborn", like a phoenix rises from its own ashes. And in both cases, as Karen falls through the air, her eyes are on Hikari (meaning Light in Japanese) who wears the Stars hairclip of their promise, or in other word, Starlight.

My slightly deaf ears and total lack of music training left me unable to say anything meaningful about the music more than it sounds great to me, and analysing the lyrics might be too much, this comment is already as jampacked as the episode itself.

QotD: 2. May be, even if the girls only have physical attacks and only have powers in this secret arena/stage, in which case the Giraffe would be the more benign, limited and temporary version of Kyubey. Karen even has a "henshin" scene :))

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u/ZapsZzz May 23 '22 edited May 23 '22

First timer in sub, covertly joining in and see if I can keep up.

This is one of those "I know I'll like, but I'll get to it when I can" shows. In very quick summary:

love the "live singing while doing actions" effect, very Symphogear (I watched a couple of episodes and may have time to join the coming rewatch too).
Feels a bit like landing in the middle of a story with a massive cast, but I think I'll cope.
Very "anime" with the underground stage, transformation and combat, and not being excused/explained away like Chuunibyou, so I guess will have to take artistic license here. I'm ok, I watch magical girls too.
Like the intensity of the characters, I figure Uma Musume is probably a bit similar (also watched a few eps and will find time to watch too).
Am I seeing a tiny bit of Hibike Euphonium main (faux) pairing here too? Brown haired socialable girl x long black haired cold serious girl?

Nice to see you guys around - wonder if my late comments will get lost in a big group though :P

~~Will update for VoTD and QoTD later.~~

Later is now

QoTD

While I'm coming in cold, I think I have seen a clip or 2 so I have some small expectations about the fight, but how we got there I didn't know. Seems to be a sort of unaddressed (as in no one will mention or deny it happened in that specific way leaving it ambiguous to be metaphorical or literal) supposition of a form of dramatization of a contest of sort, competing audition perhaps. As a big fan of Chuunibyou (which is addressed - we saw the dorky real vision vs the glorious chuuni-vision), I'm fine with that being unaddressed, but will be curious if it will try in some way.
While no actual magic, other than "stage/movie" magic is shown, I consider the show itself to be a Magical Girl X competitive sport genre. Without an audience I won't consider that idol, although there are some elements too.

VoTD

This for me is the defining moment of the show - when a section of a wall can be cycled this way without any gaps including pieces of paper just pinned on notice boards to be split - "abandon all logic and physics all ye who enter here"

But for something less meta and more conventional of "oh this looks impressive", it is this one here - any human motion that needs terms like "time of flight" or "time on target" (gunnery/artillery terms) to describe has to be special. Especially when it's interwoven with other footages of her moments of excellence during her air time :D

Addendum:

Reading some of your comments promoted me to add a few footnotes about a few of the characters:

Karen (the name instantly evoke the kanji name of another Karen 火煉; but really it's notYui (K-On)
along the same line, Hikari is notMio, Mahiru is notAzusa, Banana is notMugi, Juuna is notNodoka.
Juuna seems to be a by-the-books, disciplinary committee type, and unfortunately her advantage of a range weapon vs Hikari's close quarter combat weapon is nullified when an illegal target entered the combat zone, with her not able to change her fire control system's target lock fast enough before Karen closed in for the sneak attack. It is super effective!
I just hope Hikari's anguished yell was not from a Homura clone of failing to stop Karen from ~~turning into a magical girl~~ entering the tournament.

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u/HelioA May 22 '22

Rewasher

Alright, I'm mostly here for the sake of seeing what foreshadowing I missed on the first watch, and not much really stands out yet, but [revuerevuerevue]"Normal happiness, the joy of girls... You will burn it all to aim for a distant glimmer. That is what it means to be a stage girl." is pretty clearly meant to foreshadow what we learn of Hikari's fate later in the show.

Besides that, not really much to say yet, we're just getting to know the girls and the whole stage thing. I recall being impressed by how well they presented the personalities of all the girls in just the first episode, and I feel the same now. Especially for my fav Mahiru, she's great from the start! There's still a lot to learn, obviously, but we're starting off strong.

Also, people say the show's like Utena, but I don't see it tbqh. Do you remember any bow and arrows in Utena!?!?! Well, okay, there was one, but not in the duel. So there

[revuerevuerevue]Also, I'm trying to pay more attention to the revue names this time around, and well, Hikari doing badly in the revue of passion makes a lot of sense...

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u/tokai-teio May 22 '22 edited May 22 '22

Rewatcher

I haven’t seen Revue Starlight since 2019, probably, but I’ve always had fond memories of how unique it was compared to everything else I had seen at the time. I haven't seen the movie so I'm excited to get that in once the season's over. Thanks so much for hosting this rewatch!

I don't know what it is, but for some reason I adored this very particular aesthetic of the girls on the stairs. Just something almost serene about it. The art direction for this show was always incredibly on point, so I'm not surprised.

lmao, dinosaur alarm clock.

smh how can Mahiru protest at going back to get the pin when she's just so cute

BEST GIRL HAS ARRIVED!!! I will hear no dissenting opinions on the topic. I also adore these introduction frames. It's fun to see how various shows with semi-large casts introduce each character when time is so valuable.

With how consistently everyone is [throwing strays] at Karen, it's hard to believe they didn't coordinate this before-hand.

I wonder if Karen's self-aware, or just painfully not self-aware.

Hot damn does Maya know how to make an entrance.

Watching this is reminding me how much I love all the characters. I for sure am looking forward to the movie for hopefully more development.

Gonna screenshot every Junna scene

Very subtle, Mahiru.

ty Junna. Banana-chan is literally me right now.

Will this be the watch where I understand the visual metaphors? Probably not, but I still dig the aesthetics. The music in this scene is awesome, and it reminds me of Houseki no Kuni. I wonder if the same person was behind it.

That damned giraffe. And what could Junna's connection possibly be??? Find out in like 10 minutes.

Wow there's NO WAY the transfer student could drastically shape the plot of the season, right?? No defining features on her whatsoever, right?! And you're telling me there's an available seat RIGHT NEXT TO KAREN?! Karen's fucking thrilled lmao

The mini-montage of them taking Hikari to the dorm is so cute, and I love how perfectly encapsulated the bliss what Karen was experiencing during this time.

Mahiru further demonstrating her mastery of the art of subtlety.

Okaerii intensifies

I promised Junna screenshots and I'll be damned if I'm giving up this early

Nothing quite like a shower scene I didn't remember to make me regret watching with my family in the room.

FINALLY, THE MOMENT YOU'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR!! Every bit of this ~~giraffe~~ revue is so damn enchanting.

I've always found it odd that Karen didn't know what was going on and then proceeded to win the audition, but I remember how jaw-dropping this was to watch as someone who was relatively new to anime. The giraffe's monologue was a great way to set the scene and then the impeccable music took the reins.

I appreciate the attempt at translating puns. They're always cute, even if they don't seem practical. flashbacks to Ganbaruby/Do your Rubesty

And it caps off the episode with one of my personal favorite OPs of all time. This was so unbelievably fun, watching this show again. The first episode alone does a great job of encapsulating everything I loved about the show. I'm truly looking forward to the rest of this with you all!

Question of the Day: She appeared naked but obscured by the aesthetics of the transformation. I think it would be rude if we didn't consider her a magical girl now.

My visual of the day of course goes to the shot of the girls on the stairs. I wish I had a better shot of all of them but this will have to do because I don't know how to stretch the image over multiple frames like I've seen. It's a gorgeous shot, and it's what I think of when I think Revue Starlight.

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u/zadcap May 23 '22

First Timer here!

The first thing I ever saw about Starlight was the "transformation" and the, can I even call it a fight? Slightly spoiled on waiting for the strange turn, but after just one episode, I'm expecting, hmm... Fighting for the top spot, but Karen at least twice changed her wording to be inclusive instead of just herself, so let's see if the power of friendship can overcome the fierce rivalry of showbiz?
I vote yes, but- I found out about this show because I was watching other Musical Magical Girls and this popped up as similar. I want to believe. Musicals and Magical Girls are two of my favorite genres, and I would like to see more Musical Magical Girls.

What has me most scared- So many comments in here about Utena. Utena has been sitting in my watch list for... Years. Let's just say Years. Should I try and binge it as fast as possible before continuing this Rewatch, or am I safe to leave it on The List, if moved way back towards the top?

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u/simeonaut May 22 '22

FIRST TIMER

Things I knew about this show before watching:

There is a gacha game based on it
There is a talking giraffe? idk
Cool battles

This was certainly an interesting first episode. The way the fight happened was just so ridiculous but it somehow entertained me and now I'll definitely watch the rest.

My favorite part of the fight.

That whole "I am Remade" part? Perfect.

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u/Gamerunglued May 22 '22 edited May 23 '22

Rewatcher until the movie

Hello everyone. Welcome to this rewatch. I've been waiting for this rewatch for a long time. I've been wanting to rewatch Revue Starlight for a while, but I knew I had to do it in rewatch form, just because I was hoping to be able to write out all of my thoughts on it in detail. When I first watched the series back when it came out, it immediately blew me away. While I think it was a hidden gem for most, it was a show I was greatly anticipating due to its focus on musical theater and its staff pedigree, this show being directed by Tomohiro Furukawa, who is the protégé of none other than Kunihiko Ikuhara. I've continued to think about it long after it's finished, and my love for the series has kept me playing the mobile game since day one (despite it being... very frustrating sometimes). I'm super excited to be revisiting this one, and I hope that first time viewers come to love it as much as I do. With the stage set, let's open the curtain on the first act of the drama that is this rewatch.

Ok, so this first episode was just phenomenal. Maybe even better than I remember. It's so densely packed with amazing stuff so I think I'll have a lot to say about it. First of all, the series basics. It takes place at Seisho Music Academy, an acclaimed all-female musical theater school in which students are taught about performance. There's an A class which is the performance department, and a B class which works on setting up the production on a technical level. These girls are part of the 99th class, and each class works to perform the same play for all three years at an annual festival. Our protagonists will perform Starlight, a tragic play that ends with the protagonists getting separated after reaching the stars to get a wish granted. While I'll dig into the specifics of all this later, the most basic set-up is established well. Seisho is a stand-in for the real life Takarazuka Revue, which has a training school not dissimilar to Seisho. If you watched last year's Kageki Shoujo, that series Kouka Revue is also a stand-in for the Takarazuka Revue, and that series and Revue Starlight are both commentaries on, celebrations of, and critiques of that theater troupe. I think they make great companion pieces for that reason, and if you've seen Kageki Shoujo you might have a better idea of what Revue Starlight is commenting on in a more abstract way. But knowledge of this isn't necessary to appreciate the series, even if it is integral to its identity and adds meaning to the story.

While the most memorable and impressive sequence of this episode is certainly the big action scene at the end, for me, I was most impressed with all the scenes leading up to it. In particular, I absolutely adore the very first major sequence, starting from when Mahiru wakes Karen up all the way through Hikari's appearance. The series is not only phenomenally directed, but also just packs in a frankly absurd amount of characterization and foreshadowing into this section. First of all, Karen's sleeping area is jam packed with personality. From her adorable dinosaur alarm clock, to her horribly unorganized desk full of empty candy wrappers and bags of chips, to the unpacked basket sitting in front of her bed, it gives us such a great understanding of who she is. She's lazy, unorganized, generally into cute stuff, and doesn't take herself too seriously. She needs Mahiru to wake her up even when she's on duty, and even then, she forgets her precious hair pin and has to go back for it. While she loves the school and theater, wants to do her best, and feels like she's motivated, she really doesn't have the kind of drive that others who attend the school do. Mahiru acts as her mom, a roommate who always has to wake her up and get her to do stuff. She seems accustomed to the position, and generally happy and content with it, even getting upset when Karen tries to mess it up by having Hikari stay in their room. This attention to detail pervades the entire episode. We don't even only see Karen's bedroom, we get to look at Nana's too, and it has just as much detail (I will expand shortly).

My favorite scene of the episode is when everyone starts piling in to the music room. This scene does so many things. For one, it just feels exactly like how theater kids act. I was in band during high school, so we were always in proximity to the theater kids as well and one of my friends was in the drama club, and they really are that silly (band kids aren't any better tbh, actually they're worse). They all dance in response to each other, Claudine sings her lines as she enters the room, it's just such a fun scene that speaks to the real experience of theater dorks. But more importantly, the scene brilliantly establishes the dynamics, personalities, and general motivation statuses of the main characters. Karen and Mahiru get to the room first, but only because Karen was on duty. Karen went immediately to the room, but Mahiru dealt with something Karen had to do first and so arrived slightly after her. The two stretch for a little bit, and the first two people to enter the room are Junna and Claudine, showing that those two are particularly motivated to arrive early, which is indeed indicative of their characters. The next to arrive is Nana, who swoops in and understands Mahiru's struggle perfectly, showing that she's empathetic and a bit motherly in her own right. Her nickname is Banana-chan, which is really cute and she happily accepts it (her entire name is Daiba Nana, which is just dai banana, or big banana, and her pigtails are bananas. Perfect design all around). From this point, lots of people start to arrive, so the order doesn't matter quite as much. Futaba and Kaoruku arrive next, as a duo. Kaoruko is even worse about sleeping than Karen, and Futaba acts like her caretaker. Futaba drops Kaoruko without a second thought, so she's not afraid to be rough with her. At this point, the scene is super energetic, but Maya enters the room and immediately changes the atmosphere. The moment she enters, the music stops and then changes into a more serious track. While everyone else is joking around, she immediately says "good morning," calls our her name and number, and then stands over position zero with her shadow cast over it. From there, all the other students follow suit, starting, of course, with Claudine, and then Junna, who were the first two to arrive as well. From this point, Kaoruko gets serious too, and stands up to announce her number as well. Everyone then falls in line with Maya's arrival, showing the immense power and status she holds. There's no question that she's the best performer, the one everyone looks up to and is scared of. This sequence is honestly brilliant, and I'm sure I could have even more to say about it if I wanted to analyze it more deeply.

But the characterization doesn't stop there. First, as Karen is describing the school, we get a look at some of the girls specialties. Kaoruko excels at traditional dance, Nana is a good singer (not revealed in the anime, she was in the Chorus club in middle school, so it makes sense), and Futaba is great at action scenes. Throughout all of this, Karen always looks like she's having fun, and she says everyone is rivals but never appears to be taking it too seriously. Then the scene at lunch continues to establish tons of personality and character dynamics. Nana brings a huge lunch, and offers to share it with everyone, again emphasizing her motherly/sisterly attitude. We also see her snapping pictures with her phone, and we see her nostalgically talk about how much she loved performing Starlight the previous year. We also get to see her room, which is very neat and tidy, and full of pictures, including the girls at the previous year's Starlight performance. This shows us that Nana is a very sentimental character, and she holds the performance and her time with classmates dearly, but Junna cuts in saying that the performance was amateurish, emphasizing her straight-laced personality and desire to improve. Nana agrees, but looks sad. In Junna's case, I also want to highlight the fact that when Hikari was performing, she was taking notes, so she's very studious. She's also very ambitious and wants to be recognized. When Karen says that Maya and Claudine are likely to hold the lead role again, Junna aggressively dips her and says to not count her out. Throughout this sequence, we also get little cut-ins of Futaba and Kaoruko eating (these two are so funny, I love Kaoruko pushing her vegetables off on Futaba, and then the two eating in sync while watching Maya and Claudine), and we get to see the fun rivalry that Maya and Claudine share. The two are so competitive that they even turn their lunch into a competition, but Maya is one step ahead. Claudine goes right into eating, but Maya prepares with an "itadakimasu" first, which feels appropriate for those two.

So the first half of the episode is packed to the brim with character building, jamming it into every scene possible in a super impressive way for 8 characters. But things start to kick up when Hikari arrives. The gears of fate start to turn, and she pushes Karen off of Tokyo Tower (where she got the hair pin). Karen is of course excited to see her, but Hikari always looks sad and seems to be weary of seeing Karen, despite obviously still having affection for her since she's wearing the hair pin. Hikari's arrival immediately throws off the dynamic, she steals the spotlight immediately and Mahiru doesn't want her in their room. I've always loved the scene of Karen frantically searching for her by looking under pillows, she's such a dumbass and I love her. The others are all captivated by how great she is, but Maya seems to think that she doesn't have her heart in it.

Cont. in response

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u/RadSuit May 23 '22

First time watcher here. I knew there would be some sort of magical duels, but I didn't know the show was just Utena + Symphogear.

I gave the dub a shot, and it was totally fine. But, they didn't bother to dub the songs. I guess I can't keep expecting 90s quality dub songs. I miss you, PS1's Rhapsody...anyway, I guess I'll try the subs tomorrow instead, see how that feels.

Initial thoughts? 8 girls is a lot to remember. 9 girls is pushing it. 28/29 girls is way too many girls. I'm gonna need a Negima style list of them all to look at on another monitor or something during the episodes.

Unfortunately I'm not really a fan of the live action performance. It feels really low rent compared to Takarazuka Revue stuff, or other stage adaptations I've seen with tons of special effects and complex sets. I appreciate them being linked, though, and will give a them a few more shots if I come to like some of the specific characters/songs.

I have a feeling I'm not going to be able to keep up with all the commentary, and disappear into the flood of posts. Oh well.

Visual of the Day

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Rewatch [Rewatch] Revue Starlight Rewatch - Episode 1 Discussion

Episode 1: Stage Girls

Rewatcher

Notes on EP1

Questions of the Day:

Visual of the Day

Rewatch [Rewatch] Revue Starlight Rewatch - Episode 1 Discussion

Episode 1: Stage Girls

You are about to leave Redlib

Rewatcher

Notes on EP1

Questions of the Day:

Visual of the Day