Search - Kaleido Star New Wings, Vol. 3: The Better Angels of Our Nature on DVD

WHO'S GOING TO THE FESTIVAL WITH LEON?

Sesho | Pasadena, TX USA | 06/22/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The International Circus Festival held in Paris is a competition among all kinds of acts like high-wire balancing, trapeze artistry, juggling, basically, skills that would be useful in a circus. Up and coming performers from all over the world come to see who is really the best in a cutthroat no holds barred contest where betrayal is common and mercy towards your rivals a fool's game in which you're bound to get burned. Layla Hamilton shows up at Kaleido Stage to give a pass for entry into the festival. Her and Yuri (last season's main villain) won the competition three years ago and therefore have a reserved spot every Festival. Leon, "The God of Death", is automatically the main candidate for the ticket, so it's up to him to pick a partner. He picks Sora (May is still injured from one of Leon's stunts)....if she can put up with his training...which seems more like torture when he tells her to stand on one leg.....for DAYS! (he says to gain balance). Meanwhile, May practices a new daring manuever to win back Leon's favor, pushing her injured arm to a dangerous risk level.

The problem I have with this second season of Kaleido Star is two-fold. First, I HATE May Wong. She comes off as a despicable brat with no redeeming value whatsoever and is just a shallow caricature to push Sora's buttons. If she fell off the trapeze and landed with no safety net, I really wouldn't mourn her loss. And she takes away screen time from Sora. And that brings me to the second thing. So far, Sora is a ghost of her former self from the first season. Back then she was a happy, energetic, and creative talent. Now, she mopes all the time and is eaten up with self-doubt, which doesn't allow her character to progress. She's better than the plot that has engulfed her and it seems like her character has become warped simply to provide another formulaic season. This show could have been handled so much better. Whenever the characters from last season play a big role, Kaleido Star really shines, but the skulduggery and backstabbing that takes centerstage around them cripples my enjoyment. Notwithstanding all this, it's still pretty enjoyable 80% of the time."