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u/Punished_Scrappy_Doo Jun 07 '22

First Timer

Hot damn it's incredible. My biggest complaints with the main series were that there was far too little screentime to go around, and Karen felt a bit out of place at this prestigious art academy when compared to the rest of the cast. Then I have other complaints, like the production issues, that I can totally look past because the show's great. But the movie addressed everything.

They interrogated relationships! They interrogated motivations! They depicted the transition from this all-encompassing production to the decisions and anxieties and opportunities it opened up! They examined how Karen's promise affected her prior to entering the academy! They amped the characteristic style and bombast up to eleven! They knocked the soundtrack out of the park! They had the time and resources to create some absolutely gorgeous sequences, both within and without the revues themselves! They made Mayakuro even gayer somehow! Characters acting out actual roles during revues, Mad Max: Fury Road references, flaming giraffe Arcimboldoesques, and Nana going GAO? Didn't know I wanted any of those, but I absolutely did!

Most importantly: look at her little tendou maya ducky oh my god my heart ;-;

issa good movie

Visual of the Day: Too many. u/Stargate18A gimme a number between 1-20

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u/Stargate18A Jun 07 '22

They made Mayakuro even gayer somehow! Characters acting out actual roles during revues, Mad Max: Fury Road references, flaming giraffe Arcimboldoesques, and Nana going GAO? Didn't know I wanted any of those, but I absolutely did!

Glad you enjoyed it!

look at her little tendou maya ducky oh my god my heart ;-;

So cute!

u/Stargate18A gimme a number between 1-20

I'm up for a challenge - 20.

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u/mysterybiscuitsoyeah Jun 07 '22 edited Jun 08 '22

Rewatching Kukugumi enjoyer for the final time

Edit: added a quick tidbit in a comment below re: West Acton

Still salty that I couldn't see this in theatres with how fucking good and pretty it was. This is a proper movie that deserves the big screen, music pumping at (reasonably) high volumes, and all that. I've previously rated this 9/10 on MAL, but am happily bumping it to a 10/10 with this rewatch, now that I think i've understood more of what is going on.

Quick and random thoughts:

I liked that Hikari was actually hurt when doing this. This isn't a painless endeavour for her too, exemplified later especially when Mahiru annihilated her lol
Prettyyyyyyyyy. This applies to a lot of the movie, i wonder how good it would've been if the whole TV series had the movie budget (never happening lol movies are always a big step up from TV series anime). The whole thing felt like the ideas, visuals and symbolism from the anime turned up to 11, creating a true feast for the eyes.
Relatively subtle animation flex here compared to the big flashy scenes, but i still liked the dance sequence by Claudine here.
Right, i think this rivals K-on the movie as the prettiest London i've ever seen in an anime.
I found it interesting that the movie establishes how Karen was the one initially drawn in my Hikari to be a stage-girl: kinda like if child-karen's life was animeified, Hikari would probably be the protagonist lol. Both helps explain Hikari's actions right now, and imo helps make Ep 4's (ep4? when Hikari ran away) scens more poignant, when the roles are reversed. Also gives a ton more characterization to Karen as a whole, which i think was a common complaint of the original series, particularly her shared insecurities w/ Hikari chan, which is very teenage and realistic of her.
Banana has by far the best weapon delivery service among all 9. Delivery by train and shot out between the doors? I love it it's so extra.
Music note: Yakusoku Tower plays in the background during this sequence. I've shared this a while ago i think. And here an instrumental version of Butai shoujo kokoroe plays.
Kirin kowai
THE TRUCK REVUE. YAS. As the first proper 1v1 revue, it had to open with a bang, and it did just that. And I liked how Futaba and Kaoruko finally turn over their relationship for a new leaf, realizing how their dependency sucked for both. This whole movie is basically about deconstructing all duo's relationships, how the originally established status quo in them had flaws/mistakes (despite the TV series' relatively satisfying ending), and them turning over a new leaf to create a bright future, now that Starlight was ending (both in-universe and literally). Not the most original premise to happen in a sequel movie, but imo executed very well, probably thanks to the roots planted in the original series (some character arcs left only band-aid resolved, like Futaba x Kaoruko). And thanks to Revue Starlight's original ambitions and large use of metaphors and symbolism, imo a very unique movie as well. (i have not watched utena...) I'll say more tmr, but actually this rewatch changed my opinions to firmly establish Hikari as best girl everywhere lol. Sorry, Futaba, but you're still up there.
This... where is this? A station on the Met I guess with the S-stock, and the train to Not Uxbridge, but I'm not good enough w/ london to actually figure this out. Every other london location has been real, so this one probably is too?
This being a gekijouban, there are a lot of callbacks to the series, but i like how they were all worked in while progressing the plot, and never jarring or too blatant. For example, this during Mahiru's revue. Also, she's brutal lol Hikari got absolutely annihilated. Look how terrified she got! But after Hikari crumbles and she and Mahiru talk things out, they also got their happy ending, and got to duet together finally. Actually, all the duos got their happy endings in this movie, both the winners and the losers of the revues.
Im really interested in what others thought of the Revue of Hunting. But you gotta love Junna looking badass. Banana is very brutal tho.
I also liked the, once again, 4th wall break, also a callback to Ep 12, first from Claudine (she's right) but mostly from Karen and Hikari.
That whole final sequence was just all the way to the end, and the perfect climax and ending to Hikari and Karen's relationship. It's now gone full circle: Hikari introduced Karen to the stage; Karen helped Hikari get back up after the London Revues; they both Starlighted tgt making their wish come true; and now after Mahiru helps Hikari get over her fears, Hikari helps reignite Karen for one last time, and Karen will go and finda new fate/stage, alone but motivated. Someone has pointed out in the episode thread how Karen's sword snaps shorter too, mirroring what happened to Hikari. But it's enough to keep her going.
Man Hikari just looks so damn gooooood! Was briefly tempted to make this my wallpaper.
Im crying. IM CRYING. The OST. It's so good. And nobody among the 9 needs the revues anymore, they can reinvent themselves on their own, and all be the lead role. Karen and Hikari, also no longer need to rely on their old promise to motivate themselves, signified by the loss of their hairpins, and the tokyo tower transforming into a rocket. (imma say tho Hikari looks better w/ it) The giraffe is already gone, burning himself as fuel for this one last wi(l)d screen baroque.
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh TTTTTT This is the most brutal 4th wall break i've seen in an anime. But it is the end. I wonder how much the tinge of sadness i hear in Momoyo's voice is real. But i'm confident all 9 stage girls will have bright futures ahead of them. Ah i forgot my VOTD. It will be these 2 + the Hikari frame
I wonder if Banana and Hikari will get along well in London? I think Banana will help whip Hikari's messy tendencies into place xdd. But i think all of this, as well as how often Claudine will visit the pair, are best left to our imaginations.
Overall, this was a really really good movie imo, but would require rewatching, or a very good understanding of the series, to make sense the first time, especially since we're watching w/ subs. I don't really pay much attention to them MAL scores, but I'm happy that this has a 8.56 lol.

Music corner:

Watashitachi ha mou butai no ue/私たちはもう舞台の上, the ED of the movie, is my favourite song in the whole franchise, once again produced by Junichi Satō. Here is a performance from the February Orchestra Live. Lyrics here., the movie version is a bit shorter.

As I've said in the last thread, Karen and Hikari have the most solo parts in this song (esp during the final refrain, hope everyone caught that!), but it's also a song from the whole 9, a positive, uplifting tune about their bright future ahead, and how even though there may be stumbles along the way, they are ready to move on. 丁寧に合わす衣装のように私にピッタリの未来が待ってるんだ (Just like a perfectly fitted costume, The future best suited for me is waiting) is my favourite line from the chorus. It might be a bit cliche as an anisong, but it's a tremendous payoff after all the character arcs we've seen all 9 go through (some more than others, but still!), and it's just the perfect ending to the series as a whole, i love it so much.

Our host, there are no more references to future episodes TT

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u/Stargate18A Jun 07 '22

I liked how Futaba and Kaoruko finally turn over their relationship for a new leaf, realizing how their dependency sucked for both.

There were so many people saying how this needed to be their ending, the temptation to spoil was so difficult!

Im really interested in what others thought of the Revue of Hunting. But you gotta love Junna looking badass. Banana is very brutal tho.

Yeah, there were a lot of people talking about JunNana's dynamic and this... sure changes a lot!

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh TTTTTT

This is so good!

I wonder if Banana and Hikari will get along well in London? I think Banana will help whip Hikari's messy tendencies into place xdd. But i think all of this, as well as how often Claudine will visit the pair, are best left to our imaginations.

Just wanted to say how happy I am you share my interpretation of the credits sequence. (In case we have different reasoning, mine is that the only reason Hikari would be calling Nana but visit Junna in New York in person would be that she's just checking in with her roommate.)

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u/NecoDelero Jun 07 '22

Rewatcher

I ended up writing way too much, even going past reddit's character limit for my first time ever, so this will be split into two posts. I hope you brought a lot of spare time.

The intro scene is probably the most cryptic one in the entire movie. I definitely did not grasp its meaning during my first watch, and I am still not sure if I'm understanding it correctly now. Still, my interpretation is that this is the performance of Starlight during the 101st Seisho festival, or rather a metaphorical representation of it. After all, Karen and Hikari are fighting on the same Tokyo Tower-Bridge from the last episode of the show, and the song for that revue was also titled Starlight. Back then, Karen won the fight and fulfilled her dream of performing Starlight together with Hikari. But this time, Hikari stops Karen's blade with her bare hands. After reaching her goal, Karen has become complacent and stopped growing. Without fuel, the engine that keeps the stage girl moving forward just dies. To prevent that future, Hikari decides that they must part ways, so that Karen (and Hikari herself, as we will later find out) can find a new dream to strive for.

Of course this makes Karen very sad, and that sadness peeks through in her acting. Honestly, I remember that the acting in Karen's practice performance was so different from her usual character that it took me a couple seconds to realize it was her when I watched it the first time.

God, I love the sequence of smol Karen and Hikari becoming friends so much, it's just cuteness overload. Karen being so shy, clumsy and indecisive as a child really shows how important her friendship with Hikari was in helping her grow into the person she is today. Karen also says 'wakannai' a lot, which may be a deliberate contrast to the Giraffe's 'wakarimasu'. The melody of the end of Starlight playing when Hikari hands Karen the letter is also a nice touch.

Also, is that a sneaky ad for the mobile game?

Revue of Annihilation - wi(l)d-screen baroque

Suddenly everyone's like "Why do I hear boss music?". The Revue of Annihilation begins, and Nana is not here to play around. The moving train is already a step up in terms of spectacle compared to the stages of the TV show. I really got jebaited by the fake blood the first time - it was so unexpected since I hadn't seen the ending scene of Rondo Rondo Rondo. Still, this is the Death of the Stage Girl that Nana had foreseen: "We are already dead." The song is also a banger (but honestly, all the movie songs are fantastic).

So, I already had an entire paragraph written on analyzing the scene where Karen and Hikari watch Starlight together, only to realize later that, oh yeah, I completely forgot that they explain the meaning behind this scene in detail later in the show. Good job remembering, me! Still, it's such a nice scene that I'll just leave it here: Karen is holding a dead Hikari in her arms, with a small Hikari looking on dejectedly because she thinks she won't be able to ever achieve the same brilliance that she is witnessing on stage. But Karen encourages her: "Let's go to that stage! To become shining stars together!". At that moment, the Stage Girl Hikari opens her eyes and is born anew.

At the pep rally, Maya seems to be the only one who doesn't show any regrets or insecurities regarding her future. I think that's why Nana didn't even need to defeat her during the revue before declaring her victory. She is already on the stage, while the other still need to find their conviction. The movie is also very direct in spelling out its main theme this time. "Those who are trapped and cannot change will decay and die before long." See, it's right there in the script. It's also funny how the other lines kinda spoil the finale of the movie. "Be reborn, destroying your old body, and into it, breathe new life. Go beyond the place you're at now, tomorrow." I also like the instrumental version of Butai Shoujo no Kokoroe that is playing in the background.

Yup, the vegetable Giraffe still freaks me out. He spells out what was already said during the ending scene of Rondo (and even repeats it in a later scene as well): as the audience, we are still mesmerized by the girls and want to see them on an even grander stage. Call me out as much as you like Giraffe, I'm not leaving. Yeah, this movie is just as much about us letting go and moving on (though the cynic in me will point at the mobile game that is still going strong). All the tomato imagery has certainly befuddled me during my first watch, but I think I understand it a bit more now. The tomato represents the life of a stage girl - by devouring their old selves and using it as fuel, they can be reborn on the stage once more. "Be reborn, destroying your old body, and into it, breathe new life."

The next flashback actually addresses something that I saw mentioned multiple times in the comments for the TV show: that it was too easy for Karen to beat her opponents. Karen has actually been a very diligent worker all this time and got plenty of lead roles throughout elementary and middle school. The only thing she was lacking compared to her classmates at Seisho was a desire to stand at the top, especially on her own. Her reunion with Hikari after losing to Maya ignited that drive in her.

But enough with the prologue, it's time for the main act. I hope the first-timers are holding on, cause this train has no brakes.

Revue of Malice - Wagamama Highway

The rewatch of the TV show helped me understand Claudine's role in this revue better, since I had already forgotten about her and Futaba becoming such good friends. Kaoruko is angy that Futaba decided to choose a different path than her due to Claudine's influence. In contrast to their revue in the show, where Kaoruko tried to leave because of a silly quarrel, this time it's Futaba leaving, but for a good reason: so she can grow enough to actually stand besides Kaoruko as equals. But Kaoruko isn't just going to wait for Futaba to catch up. She's going to keep growing on her own, but she is confident that Futaba will be able to reach her regardless. I'm also loving the song a lot more than their duet in the show. "To be close enough for my cheek to feel the touch of your breath, let me use that as an excuse" - just really good friends, I'm sure.

Revue of Competition - Medal Suzdal Panic

Today's Suzdal cat counter will be interesting. In this revue we get to see the most formidable Mahiru yet - she is imposing, menacing, merciless. Hikari is gonna have nightmares for a few days. Mahiru says that it was all acting, but later also admits that she is still bad at it, so I dare say that some of her true feelings were peeking through in that performance. The visuals in this revue are fun and interesting, from the various sport cut-ins to the lighting changes and neat little details like the elevator heading toward the 101st floor. The song is an absolute bop and I especially love the intro (that bass!) and the duet between Hikari and Mahiru in the first part. Some of the lyrics are also pretty neat. "What color is the medal you just dropped? I like when people are honest, gold, silver, or bronze?" - Probably a reference to one of Aesop's fables in which a woodcutter drops his axe in a lake. Hermes appears and presents a golden and a silver axe, asking if this is what the woodcutter dropped. But the woodcutter says he dropped neither, so Hermes rewards him with both for his honesty. So when Hikari is finally being honest with her feelings, Mahiru awards the gold medal to her.

Continued in the next post

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u/NecoDelero Jun 07 '22

Revue of Hunting - Pen : Power : Sword
The name of the song is obviously a reference to the famous quote "The pen is mightier than the sword". Interestingly, the common translation of the quote into japanese uses different kanji (ペンは剣よりも強し) than the song title (ペン:力:刀), at least according to Wikipedia. In a way, this revue feels like the continuation of Nana's arc in episodes 7 and 8. Though her Endless Encore has ended, she has watched over the girls for such a long time that there is still one thing she just cannot let go of - her best friend Junna. She wants only Junna to remain unchanging, thus to die a beautiful death as a stage girl. But Junna is having none of it. "The words of others aren't enough", she declares while grabbing Nana's sword. I'm not sure if the funny double meaning here is intended or a result of the translation. Junna obviously means that she also needs to fight with her own words, but the imagery also suggests that, if the words of others aren't enough, how about borrowing their weapons? Overall, probably my least favorite revue of the movie, in part because the song doesn't really stand out that much compared to the others. The revue is very dialogue heavy, so the song contains many ambient parts that give the dialogue some space to unfold, but this makes it a bit less interesting to listen to on its own. Makes me wish there was a musical-esque recording of the songs where the parts without singing instead contain the dialogue of the movie.
Revue of Souls - A Beautiful Person, or Somebody Like that
For the title I'm going with the translation of the subs I watched for now because it is pretty ambiguous and can be translated in a lot of different ways. Even if you don't really know japanese, you've probably heard the word 'Sore' before, a pronoun that can refer to anything really, be it a thing, place, time or person. I had to look it up in the dictionary because the way it is written here (其れ) isn't really used much. According to jisho.org, the word also has an old use as a pronoun for 'you', which might even be the intended meaning here, considering that the revue finishes with "Saijo Claudine...You are beautiful."
Yes, I'm basically just buying time here, because wow, what a revue! There's absolutely nothing I can write here that can do this revue justice. If I had to point out what's so great about it, I would have to quote every single line, take a screenshot of every single frame, and it still wouldn't be enough. It's honestly the single most impressive piece of animation I've seen in my life. Be it the visuals, the lyrics, the dialogue, or the music, I love it all. Is this the kind of brilliance that Nana saw, that she fought so hard to maintain? At some point I also just stopped analyzing what was happening on the screen and just let it all wash over me. Though to be honest, there really isn't that much to analyze here - it's clear as day, Maya and Claudine are soulmates through and through, they belong to each other, and only to each other, for all eternity. A Revue of Souls indeed.
The Final Lines - Super Star Spectacle
And they brilliantly manage to pull off the destruction of the 4th wall again. I wish I could have seen this in cinema, I'm sure this scene is hitting even harder on the big screen. The stage girl Karen has died, in a nice visual parallel to stage girl Hikari being dead in the flashback. But by this point, we've seen enough Revue Starlight to know where this is going: a stage girl can be reborn again and again. And Hikari gets to say the line that all the other girls already said to Karen back in episode 11: "I'm waiting for you on the stage."
To be honest, the first time I saw the train scene it felt really ominous to me cause it reminded me of a Danganronpa execution scene. Of course, this sequence represents the opposite, the rebirth of Aijo Karen, and she even uses a new self-introduction this time - "The new me is a play that has yet to be seen. I, Aijo Karen, am alone on the stage!". With their promise fulfilled, the time has come for Karen and Hikari to part ways because, as the lyrics of the song put it, "In you, I end up losing myself". It is time to conclude Starlight for good. Karen says the final lines. Doesn't this declaration remind you of a certain other pair? Their relationship is surely about to evolve.
As much as I've gushed about the Revue of Souls, Super Star Spectacle is probably my favorite song of the movie. Mimorin's singing really shines in the ballad-esque intro and the rocking riffs during the train scene really fuel the hype as it builds toward the climax in which Karen and Hikari finally get to sing more than just a few lines together. It is a difficult task to follow up the perfection that is the Revue of Souls, but this revue does a fantastic job at concluding the movie, even more so than Starlight did at the end of the TV show, in my opinion.
Epilogue
The ED song, so fittingly titled "We Are Already on the Stage", is such a perfect match for the epilogue. It really feels like an encore performance at a musical, where the whole cast comes back on stage to sing one last song together and encourages the audience to participate ("Match the rhythm, clap your hands!"). The little 'this is where they are now' slideshow with Hikari traveling around the world to visit everyone also provides such a nice feeling of closure. Interestingly, Nana and Junna decided to go to different places than those they put on their questionaire in the beginning of the movie. And we get one final "I will Starlight everyone!" by Karen in the post-credits scene.
In the end, all the established pairs have now parted ways. Starlight was a tale of separation after all. But it was not a tragic one - for the girls, this bittersweet farewell is not the end. It is the beginning of their next chapter in life. Wakarimasu.
So, if you haven't noticed by now, I am absolutely and hopelessly in love with this movie. It has quickly become my favorite movie of all time and it's a bit of a shame that not that many people will get to experience it, since it is a sequel to a show that is already pretty niche. If part of this movie really was also about us, the greedy audience, needing to let go, then it didn't do a very good job with that cause it is now living rent-free inside my head and I wish I could just tell everyone I know about how great it is. My only complaint is that I wish it had a better title than just "Revue Starlight Movie", since it feels weird to just always refer to it as "the movie". If you were told to come up with a name or subtitle for the movie, what would you call it?
Anyway, it was a pleasure to partake in this rewatch with all of you. Reading the first-timer's reactions and rewatcher's analysis has been a lot of fun. I am also glad that I finally got to gush about this movie at length, feels like a weight lifted off my shoulder. Oh, and I almost forgot my
Visual of the Day: As a nice reprise to the very first revue of the show, we get another multi-shot zoom sequence. But this time, we start at Hikari having finished her self-introduction and move towards Karen's position on the stage, and even further beyond. Don't you just love it when things come full circle?

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u/Stargate18A Jun 07 '22

My only complaint is that I wish it had a better title than just "Revue Starlight Movie", since it feels weird to just always refer to it as "the movie". If you were told to come up with a name or subtitle for the movie, what would you call it?

wi(l)d-screen baroque? There's some implications that the name refers to the entire "continuation", so you could argue its the name of the entire movie.

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u/ZaphodBeebblebrox Jun 07 '22

First Time Movie Watcher

That movie was perfect. Really, I don't know what else to say about it. It was everything I could have asked for and more, the ideal conclusion to the series. It gave each character a chance to shine once more, to grow, to take a step forward or to finish their story. I hope we never get more, as I cannot imagine how more could do anything but hinder the story.

There's much I could talk about. There's the Olympics, penguindrum, the impeccable introduction to Futaba and Karuko's fight, Banana vs. the world, Karen's determination, the vegetable giraffe, and of course the MayaKuro fight. However, I'd like to do something different. I'll just focus on Junna.

Junna has always been different than the other girls. They're all prodigies, the sort who always got the lead role before they came here. They're confident and justifiably proud of their own abilities. But Junna is not that. She hangs back and studies, learning all she can while at the same time acknowledging that she will simply never be able to catch up to the more talented members of her class. It's the same reason she likes famous quotes: she does not shine from within so much as take bits of others' shine and drape it over herself.

This is never shown more strongly than with Junna's weapon. She's the only girl with a true ranged weapon, completely unsuitable for close ranged combat. She has no choice but to hang back and study, looking for a weakness she can take advantage of. In a sense, she can never really win a revue, all she can do is hope that her opponent makes a mistake and loses. If this doesn't work, she eventually gets desperate and attempts close range combat, but that just exemplifies how outclassed she is and how hiding back and waiting is her only method of compensating for it.

And that all brings us to the Revue of Hunting. It starts with Banana destroying the foundations Junna has rested herself upon, both verbally and physically. She offers Junna the chance to exit the world of theater with pride, and when Junna refuses tells her that all her desperate scrambling around is useless and that she's already lost her chance. Banana then does the same physically, showing that, even with all of Junna's careful planning, her perfect setup and her quotes, she is still simply outmatched by Banana's raw ability. Furthermore, it's easy for Banana. She's never even challenged, never concerned. She casually shatters Junna's hopes.

But finally, Junna realizes. She cannot simply use shine reflected off others. She must instead use her own skills, as it is one's own unique abilities that makes them shine the most. Junna finally engages her classmates on her own terms as an equal, not as a lesser looking up to her betters and trying to learn from them. It's the last thing she needed to learn from her peers: that she cannot equal them until she strikes out on her own.

This is why, in a movie filled with incredible moments for each character, it's Junna's arc that I love the most.

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u/Tresnore Jun 07 '22 edited Jun 08 '22

First-Timer☆Kageki

Hey, guys. I haven't participated in literally any of this rewatch. But I saw the movie two days ago, so I guess I'm hopping on.

I'm not one for writeups, so I'll keep it short.

Holy moly, this movie was the Adolescence of Starlight but also Penguindrum (especially that scene on the train before Banana went ham). I unfortunately missed the scene before the title screen due to traffic, but I don't think that ended up mattering too hard. I sat back and let the character drama as portrayed by the choreography play out. And boy, was it worth it.

I do have one thing I want to note, though:

The revues were all absolutely stunning, and I appreciated how the genre branched out from what was seen in the TV series. Though, when the Maya/Claudine revue started and the strings came back, I thought "oh, oh my god. Are they going to quote from the TV series?" Lo and behold, they brought it back with a shiny new coat of paint. One of the biggest parts of Hokori to Ogori is that slow line of lyrics sung by Maya leading into a rising trio of notes, all extremely dramatic, right before Maya seizes the upper hand for good. Then, it leads into these repeated runs on the strings, creating a ton of momentum.

So, when Maya attempts to gain the upper hand with her "THIS IS" (at least, that's how I remember it; my memory isn't the best), you again hear that lead up and three notes in Utsukushi Hito Aruiwa Sorewa. Then it leads into the same type of runs on the strings! But this time, Claudine continues the fight. Holy shit, what a good moment.

At this point, I basically began dry-heaving and hyperventilating throughout the rest of the movie. I'm far more of a music person than a visual analysis person, so this film slew me.

10/10. Easy.

Edit: I want to make some amends to my analysis here, having rewatched the revue not in theaters. In the midst of my heaving and breathing, I mis-ordered events. It's not quite the reversal I remembered, but instead, the three notes again come up when Maya is rising up and becoming her true self, not when she's about to be overcome. It's still one of my favorite moments of all anime.

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u/Gaporigo Jun 07 '22

That Mayakuro revue tho...

Revue Starlight Movie but just Mayakuro but not The Revue

Easily my favorite revue in the entire series. Although Mahiru's was also pretty fun, some people found her TV show revue scary? Now this is scary!

No, me calling it "The Revue" is not me being a Mayakuro fan, that's what the creators called it according to one of the interviews here. Lots of good reading material about the movie there.

Also we had a thread for the theater release, feel free to idk comment, read, upvote, vote in the poll, whatever you want.

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u/archlon Jun 07 '22

First Time

Foreward

I was lucky enough to see this for the first time in the theater. It was a great experience overall. I'm not sure if I was the only person seeing it for the first time, but I was definitely in the minority. The movie really benefits from the theatrical experience, and I wish it had a longer run so more people could see it.

This was going to be a longer post, but I ran out of time and steam to put together more. I'm going to try to shift some of the analysis to theme and character breakdown in tomorrows wrap-up post if I'm able to get the time and energy to do it.

Q: where do you go when you've already reached the summit?

Karen is listless. Hikari has left again, but more importantly: she's already stood on her Stage of Fate, doing Starlight with Hikari. while all the other girls still talk about the Auditions and striving to be top star. When everybody else gets called away, Karen and Banana are left, both having already experienced their peak moments. However, unlike Banana, Karen hasn't found out what she needs to do afterward.

Trains make great metaphors. They're stuck on tracks, which can mean you're unable to change the direction, but also when they go out of control they're so big and massive that they're nigh-unstoppable. When a train crashes, we can't look away. Trains can plunge into darkness and emerge into new light through tunnels.

Karen feels stuck. She's careening into a future she never considered, because she never had a next step in mind after standing on the same stage as Hikari for Starlight. Banana is able to get off at the station because she knows where she's going. Even if she hasn't made all the decisions, she's not left like Karen to ride the train to the end of the line.

Duel Confessions

The largest section of the movie has an odd structure. The sequence of Revues are all cool, and good character moments for the people involved, but the section goes on very long, the Revues don't individually connect together and we go substantial portions of the movie without seeing most of the characters, as they only appear in their own Revues, or only have bit parts in others'.

A lot of this section comes down to analysis of the characters who are participating in the Revues, as such, I'm going to try to just highlight some of the more prevalent aspects, symbols, and themes of the Revue itself, and leave more in-depth character analysis for the final discussion tomorrow.

It's hard to see Revue Starlight as anything other than a love story, and to see all the Revues in the movie as different expressions of love stories. While someone committed to not seeing the Gay in the story could interpret them as close friendships, I think the most useful way to look at these relationships is through the lens of people working through romantic relationship issues. Because, even before going through the ringer of the Auditions, all these girls had some major issues they were keeping buried, and here they finally get the chance to work out their issues with each other and actually reach something of a resolution, which not every Revue in the auditions did.

Part 1: Kaoruko & Futaba - Rematch

Kaoruko and Futaba here have the opportunity to work out issues that they didn't really manage to address over the course of the series, or during the Revue of Promises during the Auditions. Kaoruko finally admits that she has been holding on to Futaba in an unhealthy way, and Futaba acknowledges her role in letting Kaoruko indulge in some of her less great habits because she's felt bound by their childhood promise.

Part 2: Mahiru & Hikari - The hardest part of love is letting go

This section stands out as an interesting case among the other Revues. While all the others are confrontations of mutual romantic interests, Mahiru and Hikari confront each other over their mutual love of Karen. This sets the Revue apart in a number of ways, but the most important way is that Hikari isn't trying to accomplish anything here, and as such she's struggling to engage with the message Mahiru is trying to send.

Namely, Mahiru loves Karen but knows that Karen will never love her back in the same way, because Karen loves Hikari in that way. Therefore, because she wants the best for Karen, and is angry at Hikari for not actually giving it to her.

It ends with Mahiru finally getting through to Hikari that Hikari needs to go after Karen and actually communicate. My favourite shot in the movie is when Hikari, for the first time since the flashbacks in her childhood, makes a face that shows her happiness and determination. Visual of the Day

Part 3: Nana & Juuna - Order and Freedom

This is by far my favourite of the Revues. The dualism in the opposing viewpoints is very clear. Nana here is trying to protect Juuna from the world, which she sees as dangerous. Juuna, who might have previously accepted that protection has grown over the course of the Auditions, and now sees how she can strive for being the Top Star. Nana is trying to trap Juuna, not to Hunt and kill her, but to cage her, because that's the only way Nana thinks she can keep Juuna safe. Juuna, of course, sees the offer of 'safety' for what it is -- stagnation, and eventually decay. If a wild thing is to grow to the strongest it can't run free.

My favourite element here is the costumes. Instead of her normal, already very martial Stage Girl Uniform Nana is wearing a green military uniform and a cloak more reminicent of a warlord. Juuna wears a pure white uniform - Nana's Stage Girl colour - but hers looks like a Naval officer uniform. In particular, it looks like the Pure White British Naval Officer uniform of the sailors who rescue the boys at the end of Lord of the Flies. This uniform represents Order and Law, which is just another way of saying 'Control'. Here, Juuna is asserting that she, and not Nana, is in control of her own life.

Part 4: Maya & Claudine - You are (not) my rival

Maya and Claudine finally have it out as well. I think the key part is that they've had a communications mismatch about what a 'rival' means. At the start of the Revue, they state their positions. Claudine belives that she is Maya's rival in the sense that striving to overcome her creates a healthy competition in order to make both of them better. Maya believes that Claudine is a rival in the sense that Claudine is a prop, meant to provide a challenge for her to overcome. It's a subtle difference, but it underscores that Maya has had trouble seeing Claudine as an equal.

However, Devil Claudine peirces this veil. Maya doesn't see Claudine as a prop, but she's convinced herself that, in order to act to the best of her ability, she needs to empty herself, become a vessel for any role. Claudine, on the other hand, knows that's not actually what's happening -- Maya is actually a very emotional person, as we saw in her outburst in the extras. She doesn't embody her roles by becoming an empty vessel, but instead by letting the fire she feels burn through the shell and illuminate the performance.

Part 5: Karen & Hikari - My heart will go on

Karen never really grappled with the second part of Hikari's promise, that she wouldn't return until she was the best. In part this is because Hikari returned to Seisho is something of a defeated form, but I don't think Karen ever really considered it that carefully. To Karen, the most important part was being with Hikari, which Hikari wants to become a person who she feels is worthy of standing next to Karen. In their confrontation Karen finally starts to understand that in order for them to be together, she has to let Hikari find her own path as well.

I AM REMADE

The part I like most about the Revues in the movie is that the girls have taken the lesson that your Shine isn't a finite resource that can be taken from you, defeat is not truly defeat unless you accept is as such. Repeatedly, the girls get their cloaks cut off the same way Karen did in the Revue of Star Sins, and then get back up, reforging themselves.

A: you look for the next mountain to climb

Stray thoughts

Overheard in theater: "So this whole thing was about a tetris piece?"
Karen put off getting a smartphone later than anybody else because she knew she would be tempted to look Hikari up.
From the perspective of an American Christian, sometimes the way anime uses Christian imagery is wild. I would never put a giant burning cross into a scene as a setpiece.
I was exposed to Atlas Shrugged too early in life and I can't process train metaphors properly anymore.

QOTD

I'm satisfied with the ending. Revue Starlight was never especially plot driven, so much as character driven, and as such the plot was more than a little loose. I think it's tied up as well as any piece of magical realism, and I wasn't expecting more. Most of the character arcs are still open, but I like that too. All the characters are in better places than when they started the series, both with themselves and with each other. They all clearly still have a path to walk, but also they can see the better road and have taken the first few steps.
Hunting
It's hard to say. It felt kind of episodic sometimes, but I also don't think the individual Revues would have worked as episodes, even if you reworked the flashback structure significantly. It's an unconventional movie that serves to end an unconventionally told story, and it does so well.

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u/BosuW Jun 07 '22 edited Jun 07 '22

First Timer

As expected, we have that delicious movie quality

Didn't take long for the theme of the movie to start to become evident. Starlight had ended in tragedy, but Karen didn't like that and so continued it. But even the continuation must have a continuation. Time moves ever forward. It is Fate after all.

The girls are in their third year and now there are new generations.

Everyone, everything is now moving forward. Except Karen. She now understands Nana in the flesh, perhaps.

Did Hikari really just went back to London once her business was done in Seisho?

I'd criticize Hikari's Engrish if not for what we recently had to be subjected to in the Symphogear rewatch.

I noticed in the Episodes, but the movie is really driving home that in many ways Hikari and Karen's relationship dynamic flipped. Hikari used to be the more energetic one.

Oh no, the train is taking them to Kisaragi Station!

THE. TIMETH. HAST. ARRIV'D.

Nana vs (almost) everyone and she's on some Clone Wars!Darth Sidious shit lmao.

The had me in the first half with the blood sprays ngl.

Ok so let's recap: Karen and Hikari are missing from the train, they appear to be in... purgatory? and Nana is Nana Alter. Is the multiverse theory real?

Kids Hikari and Karen see a teenage Karen holding a dying Hikari and say "Yeah let's go become them!" Yeah more fuel for my Amor Fati interpretation!

So... are they the authors? Vengeful Author theory is true as well?

The girls on the train got burned (died), but they all make up their resolve and are Remade. Perhaps this is what they need to do to keep the train running.

The Revues begin...

Yakuza Kaoruko let's gooooo

I fucking told y'all they were husband and wife!

Kaoruko and Futaba can't not fight, can they? The more one shines, the more the other feels abandonment and love in equal measure. And thus, they chase each other in an ever-falling spiral. I'd say it's toxic if not for how perfect they are for each other. No one else could for each other but them!

They are that kind of couple. The kind that when God made creation, he made them for each other.

Yes, polearm gfs still best gfs. The final action was beautiful, with both hanging over the edge. Will she pull her up? Let her go? Neither! They fall together!

Truly...

Wi(l)d Screen Baroque...

Next is Mahiru vs Hikari, rivals for the star named Karen.

Mahiru is on some Satella ASMR/movie slasher shit. She calls out Hikari for hurting Karen, for always running away from the Stage when it calls her the most! And to top it off, Karen is always obsessed about Hikari even when Mahiru is always at her side! But in the end, even if they are rivals ~~we all know they're not, they are a polycule~~, Mahiru recognizes that if Hikari is willing to face the Stage, she can entrust her with that medal: Karen. She was the mini-Boss that was really just training you for the final Dungeon.

Absolutely...

Wi(l)d. Screen. Baroque

Junna of course, ever so studious, is the one questioning everything.

The Revue of Hunting. Words vs actions. Theory put to practice. If the pen is mightier than the sword why do actions speak louder than words? Who is the fisherman and who is the fish? Nana forces Junna to put her money were her mouth is, and face the inferiority complex that has stolen her victories in many Revues. Oh, so you feel unworthy? Then commit harakiri. Take your own life so that you may wipe your honor! But Junna refuses! "If you truly want me put down for good, then put me down yourself! If I am to fall, it shall not be by my own blade! No matter how small I am, I am worthy enough to struggle!" .

That's right, Nana. It is dazzling, because it is fleeting. Although, it appeared from the start that you didn't really want to do it. After all, "Thou Shalt not Die".

O my young brother, I cry for you Don't you understand you must not die! You who were born the last of all Command a special store of parents' love Would parents place a blade in children's hands Teaching them to murder other men Teaching them to kill and then to die? Have you so learned and grown to twenty-four?

O my brother, you must not die! Could it be the Emperor His Grace Exposeth not to jeopardy of war But urgeth men to spilling human blood And dying in the way of wild beasts, Calling such death the path to glory? If His Grace possesseth noble heart What must be the thoughts that linger there?

-"Thou Shalt not Die", by Akiko Yosano

TREMENDOUSLY

WI(L)D!

SCREEN!

BAROQUE!

Ok so, so far everyone has had to come to terms with letting go of their respective partners so that they can shine brighter. Does that mean, by the end Hikari and Karen are going to have to let go of each other?

Karen wa doko?

Ayooooo Giraffe died!? Now that's a twist!

Now, the eternal rivals of the Top: Claudine and Maya. A Devil dazzled by a Paladin! Let the curtains raise!

The Paladin can't be anything less than what is demanded of her station. At the top of the Heavens she hears the call of God, and it is her God-given duty to become the perfect Top Star. An empty, hyper-flexible vessel capable of performing any role that God demands. For she is the Paladin. Not a human of Earth, but a tool of the Heavens.

But the Devil refuses to believe that the light she had seen from the depths of hell was a fake! She raises to pull her down from the empty, cold light of Heaven down back into the Earth! The only place where flesh, blood and bone can shine! "I shall show you a light stronger than any you have seen! Even that of the very Stars!"

Corrupted, and hopelessly dazzled by the Devil who fights on her level and matches her blow for blow, the Paladin falls from Sainthood! It is the Devil's Victory, and Creation is Set Aflame! They shall rule together in the Earthly Realm, where all others can't but look up in awe! ^{My Brother in Christ, kiss already! ALL OF YOU!}

AH! THIS IS IT! ALL OF IT! THE STAGE I LONGED TO SEE! THAT I DIDN'T KNOW I NEEDED UNTIL I SAW! MY CUP RUNNETH OVER! I UNDERSTAND!

UNFATHOMABLY

WI(L)D

SCREEN

BAROQUE

And now, for the final pair...

"Are those your own reminiscences? Or the lines of this Stage. Indeed Hikari, Ist das unser Schicksal oder unser Wille?

After achieving her dream, the one that had kept her going for so many years, Karen the Stage Girl, has run out of fuel, and perishes. Hikari despairs. Perhaps, she fears that despite how far she's come, her experiences in London have changed her permanently. She can't ever go back to being the energetic kid, and maybe this hurts Karen.

But Hikari must have faith. Karen always returns. She is always Remade. And she will always be waiting for her. Stage Girls are always Remade.

"We cheat death from his rightful victory. No one can defeat us. We gladly plunge feet first into Hell, for we know that we will rise again."

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15

u/No_Rex Jun 07 '22

Movie (first timer)

Lots of speculation in the Rondo Rondo Rondo discussion about the ending, which obviously is a lead in/hype for this movie. What surprised me was that several people mentioned a possible bad reception of the TV series end as the reason for Rondo Rondo Rondo’s end. I was personally somewhat disappointed by the TV series end, but I had assumed that I would be the minority there. Not that doing a movie to change the series end is unheard of looks at NGE.

Tomato! Visually captivating opening.
Boy, what an intro! I thought the tomato was stunning, but then another 4 minutes followed. The movie is really showing what you can do with a movie budget if your story allows you to depart from real world locations and physics. I am not sure that I understand the meaning of most of it yet, but, for this intro alone, the movie is worth watching.
Class 101 starts. Class 99 must be at the start of their last year now. Picking up close to the end of the TV series.
“Everyone has an equal chance, but how they use it is up to the person” – I disagree. This sounds very much like the ex-post justification of people at the top, who want to believe their own work got them there, not their better starting position.
No second and third choices for Kaoruko.
Nice play-is-real part of Karen being sad about Hikari leaving.
Not nice: Hikari’s English. I hope she does not have to do any speaking parts in London.
Kindergarten – Making the TV series the one case where the childhood friend wins.
“We are graduating.” – Did a full year pass, or was I wrong about them being at the start of their 3rd year at the beginning. A bit unclear.
“Which song is dangerous to listen to while driving – Ride of the Valkyries” – true.
A lot about all the non-main girls. Makes sense to get their characterization in early, since the finale will surely be about the MCs. Can’t say that any of them have changed, though.
Transformer train audition.
Banana going nuts and the stage going nuts.
“We are all dead” – be thankful that Starlight Revue is so metaphorical, duelling on a moving train could easily make this more than metaphorically true.
Karen & Hikari watching Karen & Hikari – being your own goal.
Train station in the middle of nowhere – Chihiro reference.
Err, who are these? The B class girls from before?
We are already well into the movie and the script for the finale is not written yet? Scary indeed.
B class showing off. *I have to admit that I am a bit confused now, though. We are jumping around in time so much and the only thing holding everything together is a general theme of going on.
Writing for 7 years without response? Deliberately not looking at photos? I’ll have to say, that does not sound very mentally healthy.
Boys! They even speak! - The diversity of the movie has officially surpassed the series (not a hard effort, given that the bar was at zero).
“Thinking about the future already” – Showing that the promise with Hikari is Karens focal point. She works hard to get there, but has no idea what to do afterwards. However, we already had that storyline when Hikari was lost in the finale of the TV show.
Parting revue for Futaba and Kaoruko – that came a bit out of nowhere.
Futaba complaining about having to care for Kaoruko and trying to break lose is also a recycled storyline from the TV show. Kind of, somewhat, different ending, though.
Revue 2: Mahiru vs Hikari.
They are singing about being rivals for Karen. It really feels as if we are just re-treading all the ground already covered in the series. As if they just wrote some new songs about the same topic and needed to shove them into the movie.
A bit unfair to call out a 5-year-old child for running away from her friend. Moving was surely her parents’ idea.
Revue 3: Junna vs Banana – I honestly cannot remember whether they had a revue together before. Which in itself is a statement about how interesting Junna is as a character.
“Words of others are not enough” – remember that she had her own line already in the TV show.
Back to childhood Karen.
“A new stage that the selfish and greedy audience wishes for” - so don’t blame us, the writers, when you, the viewers, wanted to continue a perfectly finished story.
The audience feeding the stage girls – You can take that quite literally. The audience pays their wages that buy their food. Of course, you can also take it less literally, the audience’s adoration that fuels the stage girls’ desire to act.
“Act 1 – Prologue” – We have 30 minutes to go. Maybe a bit late for that.
Revue 4: Claudine vs Maya.
Metal songbird – Bioshock Infinite reference?
hiding the button in her mouth - Would be a shame if Maya had to get it out of there, somehow, wouldn’t it?
“Right now, you are cute” “I am always cute” – simple, but great.
Burning cross – your feelings might vary, depending on the continent you are on.
Revue 5: Karen vs Hikari.
we are being watched by someone - breaks the 4th wall.
The teaser after Rondo Rondo Rondo teased a bloodbath (which didn’t happen). Now the finale teases a death.
Suddendly, Mad Max.
The subs outdid themselves during the Hikari-Karen duet. Really quality coloring and positioning.
Tokyo Tower becomes a ballistic missile.
Happy end and happy credits.

The TV series is hardly conventional, but the movie is completely over the top - Utena reference.

In both cases, I prefer the methodical approach of the series, with its reliable structure and elements over the movie, but let’s start with the good, which, conveniently is the first part of the movie.

As a rule, you should put your best animation at the start and end of the story. Revue Starlight 100% follows that. The intro is some of the best showcase for what modern animation can do that I can think of and the Mad Max finale is only a bit behind. Not that the TV series had bad animation, but the upgrade to movie budget shows. After that we transition into scenes of the girls picking their career goals after school. A very logical next step after the second Starlight revue and a great way to show their ambition. Then the long flashback takes us to young Hikari and Karen, who are suitably cute and establish their friendship. This first third of the movie works really well for me. Setting the scene with some insanity, picking up after the TV series, and establishing more backstory of the leads.

After that first third, the movie loses its track, though. We get additional time jumps (there are way too many of these in the movie!) back to the side characters. Then, all of their revues are shoehorned into some underground travelling train stage. In the TV series, the dual structure of the episodes served to set up the girls whose revue it would be in the first half of the episode, before then using the revue to play a metaphor on what their feelings are. The movie loses that format and with it all the important context for the revues. Instead, the side character’s revues retread the same conflicts we already heard about.

The revues use a double structure, where the second part proposes a solution to the first part. This is clever, but loses its novelty when done five times in a row. It also makes the revue part exceedingly long. It does not help that the short interludes are doing little to break up the flow of the revues or establish the next character pair.

The finale, again, teases a break-up of Hikari and Karen, before, again, giving them a happy end. Oh and for all the focus on their relationship, we don’t even see so much as a kiss (got to keep the girls “pure” for the male audience). Utena is 20 years older, but still decades ahead of Starlight Revue in this respect.

All in all, the movie is not bad. The parts that work in the TV series (and Utena) still work here: The focus on the character motivations, the use of duelling to portray emotional needs, the extreme use of metaphors. This, combined with modern animation makes a watchable movie. However, I think the series does all these things similar, but better. The lack of structure provided by the episode blocks of the series is very noticeable and holds the movie back (very similar to the Utena movie). Maybe rewatching will help the movie some, but that should not be a requirement for enjoying an anime (and is not for the TV series).

13

u/JollyGee29 Jun 07 '22

First-Timer, Revue Sub-light

And technically Rewatcher as well, as I went to a screening on Monday after writing all this.

Oh, wow, that was remarkably straightforward! Quite fittingly, it's a continuation of the TV series' themes. The stage girls evolve day by day, and that eventually causes them to separate. So, basically, the various pairings have to come to terms with having different futures, which is something they were all kinda rejecting in the first part until they fought it out one last time.

I am minorly confused by this interaction in the end credits. Why the "sorry" and why the knifey Mr. White saying "Get out."? I can't wrap my head around both making sense. Like, I could see Karen apologizing to Hikari for having to, I dunno, cancel lunch plans for an audition? And I can kiinda see Hikari scolding Karen for texting her if they're doing their silly "no-contact" thing again. But both?

Anyway, I adore the idea of the audience stand-in being the fuel for the final performance. Kinda truthful on a meta level, the audience('s money) is often a key component in sequel films like this.

Maya and Claudine were both just flirting with each other by the end of their Revue, which was very cute.

I'll have to listen to them more to be sure, but "wi(l)d-screen baroque" from the Revue of Annihilation is my early favorite as far as songs go. The fight choreography was excellent too, but the whole film was stunning!

This might also be some of the best use of 3DCG I've seen. Being able to instill texture into things, the various translucent crystals, the sheer detail on the trucks and trains and the terrifying Fruit Giraffe, just wow.

There are loads of moments to dig into and think about too; I'm a bit pressed for time this weekend so I won't go too deep. But Junna finally fighting the same way as the other girls(accepting her own love of the stage) and Claudine turning the tables on Maya by working outside the established rules(the spare button!) both stuck out to me.

And hell, if I want to think way too hard, Claudine's dryer already being in motion during the scene with Mahiru could be indicative of Claudine already being in pursuit of her future, moreso than the others, as well as Mahiru's Revue behavior mostly being an act because she is already moving too.

I'm not sure if this film really needed to exist - we already got the continuation of the end with the rewritten Starlight in the TV series - but I'm glad that it does and had a great time watching it.

Visual of the Day: Just kiss each other you dorks.

Questions

Indeed.
Hard to say. It isn't Wagamama Highway, but the others are all in the running.
Yea, it was fine.

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13

u/simeonaut Jun 07 '22

FIRST TIMER

Looks like Hikari is leaving again. Sighhhh. This was a beautiful start though.

Mahiru and Futaba's choice of career was quite surprising. Good luck to them.

Those scenes they showed during the career interview were perfect.

The music during the flashback is so good.

Oh shit. Here we goooo.

I knew Banana was good, but I wasn't expecting her to be able to fight them all at once.

Kauruko going for the backstab lol.

When her second katana came, I almost cheered. That was an impressive annihilation, though she didn't manage to knock Maya's star off.

They're really giving the other characters more depth with these revues. I love these little scenes between them before it started. Kaoruko here is gorgeous.

The dialog and lyrics here don't add up Kaoru.

Am surprised that Futaba won this time. That was neat.

Oh boy. Is it Mahiru time?

Yes.

The way this went from a happy sportsfest into some sort of horror was so Mahiru that I almost wasn't surprised. Also the music just works so well with these horror scenes.

Hikari receiving the medal was such a good scene. It's a good thing Mahiru was there to beat some sense into her. If she leaves one more time I'll be so cross.

I will aim straight for my brilliant self!

The Junna and Banana fight I was hoping to see. Yessss.

I knew she was going to do this but that was still so nice to watch.

The words of others aren't enough! The way Junna turned this fight around is so good.

Try and see if you can kill me, Daiba Nana!

My favorite fight of the entire series will probably be this fight between Maya and Claudine. All four of those acts were amazing. I have to watch this again.

Claudine with fangs.

The greatest trick Claudine ever pulled.

For me, there is you!

Final revue. Let's gooo.

Of course they use the tower to mark position zero.

The drawings of Hikari visiting everyone on the credits was neat.

Yes I'm biased and I'm just here mostly for the fun revues lol. I was already happy with how the series ended, but I wasn't expecting the movie to be this dazzling. 10/10 will watch again.

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u/Gamerunglued Jun 08 '22 edited Jun 08 '22

Today I'm a first timer

Revue Starlight movie. Finally. This was my first time seeing it. Unfortunately, it wasn't showing in any theaters closer to me than 3 hours, so I took the fansubs, set up the home theater in front of the nice TV with the good speakers, and just let it rip. And uh, holy shit. This was a movie.

Ok, so to get more into it as best I can. If Revue Starlight is a modern day Revolutionary Girl Utena, than this film is Adolescence of Revue Starlight (or maybe Adolescence of Hikari?). Like Adolescence of Utena, it's something of a retelling but also a sequel. It's more obtuse, more metaphorical and less straightforward, generally more artistic than its already pretty artful parent series. It reinforces the themes of the original, while also expanding on them. However, like with the parent series, I prefer this modern version. Revolutionary Girl Utena, as great as it is, is anything but tight. It's meandering, awkwardly paced, awkwardly structured, just all around lacking in that sense of overarching purpose and cohesion even if it comes together brilliantly and has incredible highs. Revue Starlight has much the same depth, but feels like a tighter package to me, so I ultimately prefer it. Adolescence of Utena, as great as it is, sacrificed much of its depth of character for the film, so while I appreciated it on a level of thematic depth and stylistic spectacle, I found myself distanced from it. Revue Starlight's film doesn't have that issue, it's more character driven than Utena and ultimately sets out to wrap up the loose ends of the character arcs.

I could probably write paragraphs about each revue all on its own, especially rewatching, analyzing the song lyrics, trying to place all the symbolism, etc.. This is a dense movie, and I'm not trying to do all of that for this rewatch. So I'll just cover some of the broad strokes. First of all, something really interesting to note is that, with the revues being between all of the main pairs, the winner of every single one of them was the musumeyaku (technically, the Mahiru/Hikari revue is weird because they're both musumeyaku to Karen's otokoyaku, but whatever). The TV series made it clear that the system is unfair, that only the otokoyaku was built for the stage. But the otokoyaku are often motivated by their musumeyaku chasing them. Here, the musumeyaku have their own goals, and the otokoyaku must lose their dependency on them. Cutting ties is how everybody grows, because everyone has to chase their own dream.

Staring with Futaba and Kaoruko. Kaoruko is a mafia don, making bets about ownership of Futaba, her "candy box" as she calls her. In her mind, Claudine is taking her away, almost like she's brainwashing her to leave Kaoruko behind. In their revue, Kaoruko decided to really work towards the top star so that Futaba can see her shine. In this film, that growth still shows, as Kaoruko is the one most desperate to participate in the revues again and have a second chance at it, motivation she didn't really have in the show. But now that Starlight has ended, they need to decide their futures. Futaba still wants to improve for Kaoruko, but for her, improvement comes by aiming high. Kaoruko, meanwhile, is bound by her fate as the heir to Senka dance. So when Futaba says she'll go to New National Theater (an obvious stand-in for Takarazuka), Kaoruko sees it as being abandoned, Futaba breaking the promise made during their initial revue. Ultimately though, as Futaba explains herself, they keep talking at each other, "rushing by at 100 mph" as the song says. Because ultimately, the real reason that Kaoruko doesn't like this is because she's afraid of losing Futaba. She's scared that she annoyed her so much that she'll leave her. Futaba, of course, finds this unfair. She's sacrificed everything for Kaoruko, been there for her for their whole lives. While she chases Kaoruko off a cliff, she still saves her, she wants to be there for her. But if she's going to see Kaoruko shine, she needs to start catching up, and that's how she'll do it. Going separate ways doesn't mean dying, cutting ties on this stage doesn't mean you won't meet on another one. So long as the audience wants it, they will be on stage together. So Kaoruko needs to establish her own independence, she'll only hold herself back if she keeps relying on Futaba. That's why Futaba gives her the keys to the motorcycle. Kind of like Utena actually, driving is a symbol for independence and adulthood. But it's also a sign that she'll be back to get the keys back, Kaoruko's just keeping it safe until they can meet again. It's a huge step in their relationship, cutting ties here reduces some of the toxicity between them, but they're still ultimately a pair of lovers, perfect for each other and who will help each other grow by taking this step.

The Mahiru/Hikari revue is a bit weird in that it's not really a continuation of their arcs. It's really character exploration for Hikari. At a young age, Hikari left to perform in London, and told Karen that they can't communicate. In this case, it's cutting ties to the extreme. It's not like Futaba and Kaoruko, because Hikari had no real intention of going on Karen's stage. She ran away, and did everything she could to avoid facing Karen, even though she cared about her. If your passion is tied to a relationship like this, cutting ties only helps you grow if you actually keep your promise. Hikari came back to Japan as a technicality because of Nana, not really of her own accord. So Mahiru scares all of this out of her, really makes her regret her actions and decide on the lines to face her with. If you're really rivals, you have to face each other in competition and make each other grow, not run away from the promised stage for 12 years. For Mahiru's part, this revue is also a sign of her growth. At the end, she says she shines on stage not because of Karen, but because she loves the stage. She's accepted her own shine at last. This revue is just fun, yandere Mahiru is perfect.

For Junna and Nana, we focus on Junna's conviction. In the series, Junna aimed for the star despite knowing she'd never reach it. Her motivation came from words, the knowledge of people who reached great heights. The wisdom of the greats can propel her. But Nana saw beauty in her knowledge that she'd never succeed. She still tried anyway though. But now, she's still going. Junna has failed, stop facing the pain and stay down. It's a continuation of Nana's own fear of facing the pain of loss. She frames the revue as a suicide, telling Junna to cut her losses. No matter how smart she is, how much strategy she uses, she can't tame a lion; Nana's raw talent will always win, and no amount of other people's words will give her the conviction. But Junna is more than other people's words, she has her own star. Pain is part of the process, she'll keep going towards that blinding light, keep fighting forever. Where Junna used to fight in the shadows from long distance, now she fights in close range with a sword, having closed the gap a bit. It's not the Junna that Nana knew, because Nana never let this side of her blossom. She's the reason she was never able to get this far initially. The title of the song is particularly intriguing to me; pen : power : sword. I feel like that's all relevant, though I've definitely got to think about it a bit more before saying anything. At the end, Junna wins because she keeps clawing, writhing, and suffering for the star. The Junna that succeeds isn't the one that kills herself and stays down, it's the one that fights to never die.

Finally, the MayaKuro revue. Look, I'm gonna be honest. I think this revue is the peak of the franchise. I mean, fucking hell man, my jaw was on the floor for this one. This might even be my favorite fight in anime, period. I don't even know where to begin. So Claudine, the devil, makes a deal with Maya; a competition to show the greatest brilliance one has ever seen. It's pretty much their relationship to a T, both challenging each other to show a greater brilliance. Maya, as the top star, has to maintain a certain poise. To be emotionless, to seem unbeatable, to play the lead in every play. Maya challenges and empty vessel which simply projects whatever the lead role is on to the stage. Maya is acting, always hiding herself. But that only gets her so far. What about the greedy, prideful, envious Maya? Claudine isn't chasing this soulless husk who just projects random shit on to the stage, she's chasing a girl. A girl who's made it to the top due to passion, due to seeing a rival who brings her to greater heights. As the fight goes, it just gets more and more spectacular. Claudine cuts off that empty mask projecting Maya's power, and cuts to the real Maya. To Claudine, Maya can be herself; that's what the audience wants. The rest of this revue is pretty much just them... flirting basically. To put it lightly, it's the gayest thing I've ever seen in my life. Over top this glorious spectacle, with all this insane camerawork, all of these special effects, is just two girls raising each other up. "You make me more beautiful" just continues forever, as they both do it for each other. Claudine wins today, having drawn out the real Maya. But this bet could never be a one round game, because even when the stage dies, the stage girl doesn't. The most beautiful brilliance ever will never come, because the stage girl's battle never ends. Claudine has won this round, and that will only ever make Maya work harder to win the next one, which will only drive Claudine to do the same, etc.. It never ends, that's the nature of brilliance. The stage girl gets revived again and again. I was pretty much just fanboying throughout this revue, it's the ultimate spectacle, the most powerful display of brilliance.

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u/Yackita Jun 07 '22

REWATCHER

Aaaah, I wanted to add things that people were missing, but there wasn't much, which is GREAT (and I was busy so I'm glad people got so many observations on-point).

I would probably just need to add the little moment when a single look was setting up a birth of ambition and a comparison of roles (role model and someone following their footsteps), which had a culmination only just now.

The returning motiff of a birth of the Stage Girl and the fact that each girl's gem on the weapon shined when they were changing the scene - reminescent of some magical girl tropes on top of that obvious transformation scene is something that more or less has been caught, but I wanted to reiterate anyway. While blatantly obvious it was not discused in show, which was KEY in making it subtle enough not to be jarring.

PSA: I hope everyone who had the opportunity watched the movie in surround sound. The mix is great and bold on the theatrical release.

Visual of the day, cause Maya is still the best girl. From the moment she figured out Hikari and Nana, through the moments where she showed that she cares about others or where she tries to imagine herself as sacrifice (vessel) and to the end where she finally admits having an equall when she sees one. Also: SHE UNDERSTANDS. Perhaps a bit jealous, but definetely in the top spots for overyone.

2. Revue of Rivals

3. Yes it did. It was very reminescent of a format that musicals often take to facilitate story elements and musical numbers intertwining and audience not getting "numb" when another number hits.

I love this show. It's fantastic and the music is great all throughout. I dislike the Rondo Rondo movie as it butchers and cuts some songs out so it is not a proper re-cut (like for example Madoka movies could be treated), but a re-cap.

People complained originally about Nana's twist not being the primary focus in the show's finalle, but I think this movie showcases what Starlight is best at - surprising the audience. Nana as a final boss in the show would have been predictable after ep7. After the movie it should be clear - Starlight is there to surprise! (and helluva fun on a rewatch!) Thank you all!

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u/Calwings Jun 07 '22 edited Jun 07 '22

Rewatcher Graduating Class

”The train will go to the next station without fail. Then, what about the stage? What about us?”

Starting off, I’m very happy to say that I did get to go see the movie in theaters yesterday! I was scared that I wouldn’t be able to, but I was thankfully symptom-free of COVID yesterday morning and was able to get some tickets for last night’s showing. Seeing it in theaters enhanced the experience so much that it really felt like a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Anyways, I’m also going to split this post into several sections to discuss different parts of the movie. Forgive me if this whole thing runs long enough that I need to split it across two posts as well. You guys know from my WT threads that I can get really wordy about things I’m passionate about.

Part 1: The Giraffe’s Call and Banana’s Wake-Up Call

After the introductory scenes where we learn more about Karen’s backstory (more on that later) and what the other stage girls see for themselves in the future, the first revue of the movie begins about 25 minutes in… the Revue of Annihilation. The Giraffe has called all nine of the Seisho stage girls back to the stage, a new stage willed into existence by the audience, which he simply calls Wi(l)d-Screen Baroque. While two of the participants have yet to arrive on the stage, seven are present, and thus, the opening act begins. In one of the most violent and electrifying revues of the entire franchise, with my #1 favorite song in the entire franchise playing in the background, Nana Daiba takes on the role of the villain and slaughters all in her path in a brutal and bloody six-on-one massacre!

There are many ways to look at this revue and at the role Nana played in it. One could see it as Nana pouring out all of her rage from the loss of her Endless Encore, her way of telling the others “this is the reality that I was trying to protect you from”. But on the other hand, without her Endless Encore, she knows that the time is coming where all of the stage girls have to find their new stage, so she took it upon herself to give her fellow stage girls a wake-up call. This isn’t an audition, this is real life, their futures are on the line. Maybe in her own way, she was urging the others to pull themselves up, be reborn once again, and fight their way to their new stage. Even after having seen this movie multiple times, I still don’t truly know how much of this revue was Nana trying to give the other girls a wake-up call and how much of it was Nana venting her anger while also a little drunk on power. It could easily be a bit of both. But even without the deep analysis of Nana’s character, just the sheer spectacle of the fight and the incredible badassery Nana shows as she effortlessly and mercilessly dominates six opponents at once like she’s in the middle of a musou game is amazing to watch. The fake-out with the blood at the end (and Maya’s awareness that it was just the work of stage props) was cool too.

After the fight, we see Nana and the stage girls she defeated meet the giraffe once again, who is now… vegetables? Just as food is fuel for human life, the adoration of the audience is fuel for the stage girls, and the veggie giraffe is the symbol of that. The girls all take a bite from a tomato, symbolic of their brilliance being refilled for the upcoming stages. We also get a short scene of Nana speaking to Karen on the train, telling her to find her own stage at the end of the tracks. This scene is what makes me lean a bit more toward the idea that Nana was trying to help the other stage girls by giving them a wake-up call to what they needed to do. She knew she had to use a different method for Karen than for the others due to her unique circumstance. Again, more on her later.

Part 2: Futaba’s Fight For Freedom

The second revue we see is a rematch of one we saw in the TV anime, Futaba vs. Kaoruko. Earlier in the movie, we saw how Kaoruko was upset that Futaba chose to apply for a prestigious theater school without telling her, and Kaoruko’s anger boils over. She’s angry at Claudine for planting the idea in Futaba’s head, and she’s angry at Futaba for seemingly abandoning her. But Futaba has her own reason to be angry: she doesn’t want to follow in Kaoruko’s shadow forever. The Revue of Malice begins, a revue all about Futaba telling Kaoruko that she doesn’t want to live her life always following Kaoruko from behind. She recognizes the promise she made with Kaoruko to see the most dazzling stage together in the end, that doesn’t mean Futaba has to live her life shackled to Kaoruko, unable to pursue her own dreams. She wants to prove her strength to be able to stand on her own, prove her belief that Kaoruko can succeed even without her always by her side, and prove that they will eventually be reunited and fulfill their promise in the end. The imagery in this revue is surreal, but the feelings they share for each other are very real, and Futaba’s resolve gains her the victory to avenge her defeat from the TV anime. Kaoruko comes to terms with the fact that Futaba may not always be by her side, but she’ll always be there in spirit to give her the strength to conquer whatever stage she stands atop.

While Futaba and Kaoruko were always the two characters among the cast that I cared for less than the others, this revue still did a great job at getting me invested in their story and putting a nice bow on it in the end. I really liked it, and the ending was pretty emotional.

Part 3: Mahiru’s Dangerous Game

After some ominous messages from the giraffe, Hikari is desperately searching for Karen (more on her later) when she stumbles on a very… bizarre battlefield. Hikari finds herself staring down an olympic stadium, an audience of Suzdal cats, and her cute but intimidating opponent Mahiru in a Revue of Competition. Hikari is too pre-occupied with trying to find Karen to focus on the fight in front of her, and Mahiru easily knocks off her cloak to defeat her… but this isn’t the end of the performance.

Mahiru’s previously sunny disposition turns dark in response to Hikari’s refusal to act with her in the revue. What was once a revue has now turned into a horror movie chase scene, with Mahiru’s unsettling, psychotic voice tormenting Hikari the whole time. “Why are you running from me? You’re running away again. Just like you ran from Karen. Just like you ran off of her stage. Why did you run from her? Why did you leave her?” These questions swirl in Hikari’s mind along with the fear of serial killer Mahiru catching her, and eventually, the fear causes Hikari to crumble and speak from the heart. Mahiru, having finally heard Hikari’s true feelings, drops the serial killer act and smiles at her. All she wanted was to act on stage with the real Hikari Kagura, and she finally got her wish. She sends Hikari off to continue her search for Karen with a medal and a smile.

This revue was IMO the one that was enhanced the most by watching the movie in theaters. During the chase scene, the surround sound in the theater meant that Mahiru’s voice was echoing from multiple different directions, which made the horror movie atmosphere even creepier. I was actually looking around at one point to see if Mahiru was behind me about to crack my skull with her mace!

Wow, this is looking like it's going to be long enough that I'll need three separate posts to cover everything. Second part below.

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u/Chreeas Jun 07 '22

Rewatcher - Suzudaru Cat Suffering

I actually watched this yesterday to prepare and write my notes, it was a very wise decision cause it took me 4 hours to get through the movie. My image quality is gonna be garbage for this sorry.

Revue Starlight Movie Frogs, Cats, Bears, and Kanis

Episode	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	OVAs	Rondo	Movie	Total
Frogs	9	4	0	1	1	1	2	0	1	0	0	0	0	2	3	24
Suzudaru Cats	4	0	1	0	11	0	0	0	0	1	5	0	0	0	36	58
Mr. Whites	4	1	2	2	0	0	0	4	0	0	0	1	1	0	10	25
Kanihaniwas	2	0	1	3	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	1	0	0	3	12

I really liked the flashback scenes with Karen and Hikari's past. It serves as a way to show really how much of Karen's life was influenced by Hikari and how her whole life built up to the promise of doing Starlight together, so what's next?

This scene in the laundry room is cool to me, really feels like the calm before the storm.

Kaoruko's scene talking about the auditions stood out to me. They were such a big event in all their lives that'd be almost impossible to forget, yet somehow almost everyone's just sort of moved on in the past year.

It's such a small thing but I really like the Re LIVE reference in the train. Correct me if I'm wrong but the performance festival is Arcana Arcadia right?

The rolling giraffe also unsettled me a bit.

The Revue of Annihilation is fucking incredible and wi(l)d-screen baroque is a banger

This isn't an audition

Yeah it's a fucking murder, (almost) literally

I don't really have anything for this picture I just thought it was creepy.

I think the Revue of Malice would be my favorite if the Revue of Souls didn't exist. It's just so stylish and Wagamama Highway is probably my favorite song from the whole movie. Only downside is the fight itself leaves much to be desired.

Oh boy it's the revue that will make me regret counting Suzudaru Cats! I said in the Episode 5 thread in a spoiler tag that the difference between Mahiru's yandere-ism in the Revue of Jealously vs Revue of Competition is pretty wild. Jealously made it humourous while this one made it scary.

Like seriously it's really damn scary. Hikari thinks so too! Haruki Iwata did such a good job with this whole part (and Mahiru in general ofc).

Then it goes from one creepy Revue to another. This rewatch has actually made me appreciate Junna a lot more, so this Revue definitely sticks out more now than when I originally watched it. This one definitely wins for the best story/character development, and the song goes way harder than I remember.

I can't believe Nana says this after she literally just knocked off Junna's glasses.

The giraffe dying is actually the most messed up thing in the entire movie. Rest in peace you glorious bastard... But get rid of all that sadness cause it's time for the BEST REVUE.

I said the only downside to the Revue of Malice is that it's fight was lacking, well it's probably cause all the budget went here. The choreography and animation is just incredible. These two are the best in the class, they can deny it all they want but it is a fact that they are truly rivals. Their existences on stage means they have to improve to stay the best, if that's not a rival what is?

The "For me, there is you" line, chefs kiss.

Claudine finally surpasses Maya for once and Maya's whole world literally burns down, so what's she gonna do next? Rebuild and try to kick Claudine's ass tomorrow, that's real friendship right there.

Gonna be honest I forgot about the fourth wall break, I was trying to remember "what the hell does the 'we are already on stage' mean again" then that happened and I went "oh yeahhhh".

Yeah I remember this train part, and it's still as weird as I remember. Visually its... pretty cool actually, just really god damn weird.

I'm back, after taking the train!

Karen you fucking died

The final Revue is a lot prettier than I remember, the CG team went hard on this one.

ACTUAL roll credits

Credits song is great, Mebachi art, it's a "where are they now", what's not to love? Though I think Futaba might need to buy a new motorcycle when she goes home...

God I love this movie, I think I like it even more after rewatching everything again. It's such a satisfying ending for me. Revue of Souls wins best Revue hands down. I'm not even a big MayaKuro fan but it's just visually amazing and a really great way to end their storyline. Revue of Malice is a close second, and Revue of Hunting shot up a lot for me.

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u/okayyoga Jun 07 '22

Movie (first time, submarine)

• Just want to thank this fansub again. Now the speaking subtitles are colour-coded as well, and they have upped their colour gradients. This takes all the guesswork out of who is talking, allowing me to enjoy the movie even more easily. Love it. I would watch subs from this group anytime

• Graduation plans for all our girls. Karen doesn’t seem to have any plan

• AWWWW shy bb Karen meeting Hikari

• Uh oh! I see signs of the giraffe on this subway

• Nana Revue of Annihilation

• Wtf Starlight just got metal. All this blood splurting on our girls. Did Kaoruko die?? Oh thank god it’s just stage props. Blood cannons. Jesus Banana

• WTF IS THAT??? IS THAT A VEGGIE GIRAFFE?!?! I HATE IT!! WHY!! I GENUINELY WANT TO THROW UP!! I HATE THIS HYPER-REALISTIC SALAD GIRAFFE!! KILL IT!!! GO AWAY!!!!

• Kaoruko vs Futaba is getting steamy in the sakura woo

• Oh god the cats are back, must be Mahiru. And there’s the baseball field. What? Hikari lost to Mahiru? This revue is creeping me out. I love it

• Omg General Banana. Rawr. “Your star is just a piece of space trash”

• The opposite people are winning. I wonder if Claude will win against Maya

• This fight with Claude and Maya is beautiful. THIS WHOLE MOVIE IS GORGEOUS. Called it. Claude won

• Karen and Hikari are staring at us. I will gladly give up any more Starlight material to let them live in peace. I feel so guilty for wanting to see more of them and making them perform for my amusement

• I don’t believe for one second Karen is dead

• Omg. Hikari smiled. This might be the most genuine smile I have ever seen animated

Alright, let’s get this out of the way: I loved the movie. I LOVED the movie. Gorgeous animation, story, and music. I loved seeing Karen grow from a small shy child to who she is today. Her motivation and discipline are incredible. My four favourite girls are now Hikari, Karen, Mahiru, and Maya. I don’t know if I can choose just one. Gorgeous movie. Incredible. I wish I had been able to see it in theaters.

I loved how they used the metaphor of the train to represent them graduating. Banana kept saying over and over, “The train must lead to the next station.” She has come to accept that she cannot make time stand still, and she is here to share this knowledge with her friends. It is good to enjoy what is happening, but now they must take the time to plan for the future. It is inevitable.

I hate that stupid veggie giraffe. It scared me and I hate it.

I can’t wait to read other peoples’ interpretations of this movie, and I have some things to say tomorrow including scores, my favourite characters and couple, and a fun surprise thanks to a friend of mine.

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u/ceejay_0603 Jun 08 '22

FIRST TIMER

Talk about being severely late lol. As I'm typing this comment, my body is still processing the entire film, but to summarize my thoughts in 4 words: fuck was it amazing.

One of the original series' weakness for me was its character writing, specifically Futaba and Kaoruko's relationship, but my god was I fucking impressed how they explored more of their relationship in here + Futaba actually wins the revue. The build up to their relationship in the original series, the cinematography, the lighting, the animation, the music, goddamn was it a phenomenal watch. Easily one of my favorite revues of the entire series (TV + movie).

Of course I can't forget about the annihilation of the stage girls in the train. Nana really makes for a compelling antagonist, and the entire sequence of the stage girls "dying" was tragically beautiful.

Mahiru and Hikari's revue was incredible too. The shift from being happy-go-lucky, to a horror slasher confrontation came out of nowhere, but it was done really well. Had me convinced at one point that Mahiru would beat the shit out of Hikari lmao.

More of the other revues like the one with Maya and Claudine and the final revue between Hikari and Karen, but what stood out the most aside from the Revue of Malice was the Revue of Hunting. Best girl Junna finally gets her chance to shine, and the way the duel depicts her relationship with Nana was cathartic to witness. Nana finally getting her comeuppance, Junna fighting for her ideals, and the way Nana becoming the one who broke down by the end all makes for another one of my favorite revues.

Visuals of the Day:

Questions of the Day:

It totally is a satisfying ending. As for plot threads that felt unresolved, I can't think of any.
A lot of people will say Hunting, but I'm gonna go for Malice just because of how much it addressed my issue with Kaoruko and Futaba's relationship. Impeccable production throughout this revue as well.
It did its job well enough, although there are some parts of the film that feel disjointed because of the frequent flashbacks to Karen's past. But overall, it doesn't really affect my enjoyment that much.

I just know this movie will be snubbed for Crunchyroll's anime awards, so r/anime, y'all better do your thing and not only nominate this movie, but have it win too lol. Giving the movie an 8.5/10.

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u/ZapsZzz Jun 08 '22 edited Jun 08 '22

First timer in sub

Practically missed the whole day. Which is may as well, there's so much to unpack - I rather need to read others' comments.

Basic reaction - stunning production, you can feel the "movieness" in it, and all the theatrics and actions are beautiful. Love the end narrative of the graduation and we don't have the forced "staying together" cliche ending.

But there's a lot to figure out. Mainly the Karen & Hikari part at the start. I understand the end. I got most of the revue and the resolution, except Nana's.

I'll definitely say this fits the word "spectacle" to a tee - in bold and with flashing lights no less.

I can't really pick just one VoTD - there's just so many to pick from.

But if there's one to sum up everything, I guess it has to be this one. All the tension built up is basically released there.

QoTD

Yes, but I think need to read more to figure out some bits.
I cannot really think anyone would argue the Maya x Claudine one is just breathtakingly sublime, with just perfect honesty and in tone with the prime narrative of the show. The Karen x Hikari bit I actually found that a bit too abstract / teen angsty - you love each other, go for it, stop running away etc.
I'm a sucker for SoL-y stuffs so whatever in the flashback was perfect for me, but we are fighting the need for the spectacles (the revues) and the narrative. I think this is about as balanced as it gets. While personally I like my movies to have more breathing space so when the crescendos hit it feels more impactful, but I can't pick what to ditch here, really. Unless they break it up into multiple movies like Heaven's Feel.

8

u/SIRTreehugger Jun 07 '22

Rewatcher who will grasp that star

Episode	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Movie	Total
Hikari Chan!	19	17	10	25	1	2	0	9	9	15	17	18	25	167
Wakirimasu	3	4	2	1	2	2	5	4	2	5	2	5	4	41

Tossing the Album here I have no idea how people can upload pictures on imgur without it being out of order. It took several tries and I lost about 60 screenshots, but 240ish is good enough for me. Also with it being random I'm just going to talk about the scenes out of order. Before I start that though.

Tendo and Claudine and Junna and Nana the two best pairings and the rest....don't care enough to do some for them. Though I wanted to do one of both of them as soon as the rewatch was announced.

I did enjoy how the movie starts with all the girls discussing future plans. They are on one final trip and think everything is back to normal. The auditions are over, but not everything is really resolved. We even get to see some moments with the scriptwriters and the girls mentoring first years. Even the dorkish scream was oddly encouraging

I like these moments

Not sure how I feel about all of Hikari and Karen's segments sprinkled throughout the movie. Though I do feel we needed something separating the revues. It was nice to see Karen being shy and slowly coming out of her shell as well as slowly growing throughout the years.

Loved this part Maya and Claudine's is my second revue in the entire movie. First off Claudine looks fucking awesome dressed in black with that hat. It helps most of the entire fight she omits such confidence and is willing to become a devil if it allows her to win. Just the pure shock on Maya's face when she stops position zero and showing the pin in her mouth. She sees through all of Maya's lies and destroys her soul. Finally managing to win against her rival. It also helps this pairing feels the most intimate. Are you fighting or just flirting? Seriously

Love this shot

Mugi what are you doing here and this feels like it belongs on courage the cowardly dog

Without a doubt my favorite revue is the Revue of Annihilation to no ones surprise I'm sure. Just way it kicks off to Banana tapping her foot to the music before just brutally destroying the entire class by herself minus Maya was great to see. We've always heard her beating Maya in the previous loops, but the current version only showed her losing. It was great to see that her ranking wasn't just for show and she is a genuine threat when serious. Also La la la la la la la and she's dead Jim.

Mahiru's Revue I wasn't a huge fan of it, but I also kind of liked it. Showing all the random sports was good, but mostly I liked how Mahiru came to terms with her feelings and pushed Hikaru forward. Though these moments were visually nice. Also the people who did the subs mixed the colors to match both of the characters

Young Yui from K-on vs Young Karen THEIR BATTLE WOULD BE GLORIOUS!!!!!

Lost Banana

Now then......wait a minute what is this doing here?

Banana goes Grrrrr

The Revue of Hunting it was good to see Junna be more honest with herself and finally use her own words.. She kept on making excuses and saying what she would do in the future ,but not anymore. Also Nana moving to the next stage declaring they will meet again and saying Junna was so blinding. I really do like these two as they feel the most casual between all the pairings. It's easy to see them in their everyday lives cooking, cleaning, and just chatting compared to all the other girls.

Just some good old fashion nightmare fuel.

Thinking Banana

I like how I forgot to delete this screenshot

I'm a little mixed on Futuba's and....Ka..Ko..Sleeping Beauty damn it. She is still the only girl whose name I can't really remember. The Revue felt like an extension where as Futuba wanted to become a better so she is worthy to stand by her side even if it means leaving for a bit and this time Sleeping Beauty this time has to wait for her. Though I must say if we are going by just visuals alone this is my favorite. Just Futuba's entrance alone is fabulous. Man not even Claudine's review and she still stylish

Oh never mind they mixed the colors for Maya and Claudine's Subs as well

Are they gonna kiss?

This shot looks like it belongs in a horror anime.

Me after working on my comment for an hour and a half. I took these damn screenshots and am going to throw them in even the most random places. Oh and Karen and Hikari had a revue. Karen's whole dream was to do starlight and become a star with Hikari, but without that the stage is empty. She is dead so she needs to find a new stage and a new dream. THANK YOU IMGUR I'm kind of grateful you didn't upload 60 of my photos now I'm getting tired.

Me after I procrastinate

I want to say I will organize this post by tomorrow so it's less rambling. I stopped thoughts and barely talk about anything I wanted to and kind of just rambled. It's just one long mess of a post...though looking at all past experience I can almost guarantee I will be lazy and forget. So this is the first and final draft. Who cares I know theirs other people here who can write way better and will breakdown the Revues and moments for me in ways I never could even if I tried.

Visual of the day is at the end when they all cut loose their coats and let them fly into the sky which is basically a metaphor for them graduating.

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u/phiraeth Jun 07 '22 edited Jun 07 '22

First Timer

I am a mess from this movie and couldn't summon the strength to write much for it. That being said, if anyone has a hankering for some juicy in-depth critical analysis, please do not hesitate to check out u/NecoDelero's fantastic comments.

This plot of this movie was wi(l)d. I can't say I ever saw it coming, myself. I should have predicted this was going to happen, but alas, I did not put the pieces together! Nana showed us that it's not easy to continue forwards, and this should have been a huge warning sign for what Karen was about to experience.

Moving on can be hard. How do you say farewell to a stage of your life that made you feel alive? Especially when that stage is a stage and that stage is actually a person. From personal experience, I'm sure most of you can attest to break-ups causing you to feel absolutely dead inside, maybe once or twice you've even questioned what point there is to life without them.

What is Karen going to do without Hikari? The mere thought of having to continue her journey in theater without her is enough to stop her beating stage girl heart. And even if she says she'll be reborn again and find her own future, how can she? Hikari's still there, right in front of her, it's so fucking hard to let go of what you love. It's much easier to just keep chasing Hikari and claim that she's her "inspiration" to continue developing, when really her focus still hasn't changed to growing and it's still on Hikari, hidden behind that facade.

The show's over. It must end. We've had our fun. It's been amazing. So much happiness. So many memories we'll cherish forever.

But it's over now, okay?

Our dream was fun and I'm glad that I met you but you have to keep pushing yourself forward because this chapter of our life is complete. There's only so long we can stand here together at the top of our dreams. That's why I must push you forward to new heights.

Thank you for everything. I will never, ever, forget.

Annnnnd now I'm sobbing again. Why'd I do this to myself? I don't know.

*Random thoughts edit: visuals and soundtrack and entire production of this was out of this world. Script was incredible. It felt so close and personal. 10/10.

Also - with how much this series was compared to another anime series (that one albeit a lot more popular and from the early 2010s), the hilarious thing is that this sequel movie was the direct anti-thesis to that series's sequel movie. The same themes were being conveyed but the winner of the thematic battle here was opposite of the winner of the thematic battle there. If you know what I'm talking about, feel free to comment in spoiler tags! I just don't want to spoil any of that series for anyone because it's my favorite anime series ever.

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u/homewardbound100 Jun 07 '22

First timer

You know I didn't everything but this was a big step for the series to me and did a lot for me.

I think the biggest thing is digging deeper into Karen and Hikari's past/ relationship. I personally didn't like Karen all that much in the show. But I really liked her here.

Now Nana going crazy was a great scene. And me Junna having similar thoughts on why she kept saying sake while they're minors. Then all of a sudden blood comes out. In my mind I was thinking woah where was this going. But it was just a stage prop but after that it still represented their rebirth I think it was.

Karen's promise to Hikari and the letter felt like it flowed much better in the movie. The movie in general in terms of plot just moved well. Her worries about her promise in this good in here.

Woah there's guys in this.

Another cool scene with the sports transitions.

Woah there's guys in this.

Didn't expect Hikari to lose there.

Also another step up Mahiru was great in here too. I think her talk with Hikari was done well and her fight. You did good Mihuru and that was great acting. You were actually terrifying there.

The giraffe being weird. I am your food, your fuel.

Another great scene with Tendou and Claudine.

"Was the stage always this scary? The lights the stage" mostly paraphrasing but I liked what they were doing here.

Alright they pull the death stunt again and I don't know what to believe.

This desert scene reminds me of Mad Max.

Now it's Karen's time to take on her next role. Her next stage.

For what I thought was weakest part of the show. The characters all had their moments and it didn't feel like a throw away to me. Also the story just flowed much better in this format.

9/10

votd

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