For anime fans in general, but more specifically for fans romantic pairings, there’s a delicious moment when one of the couple starts getting very irritated at his/her reaction to the other one. Often that irritated reaction is the sum and total of their personality, spawning any number of tsun-xyz combinations. Sometimes, they move beyond that phase…but not too often.

In Volume 2 of Kaleido Star, Layla Hamilton – for a brief moment – becomes pointlessly and hopelessly irritated at Sora. It’s kind of cute, but mostly because I know it’s temporary. ^_^

In any case, there are all sorts of Yuri-esque situations floating around Volume 2, but the main plot is Carlos giving Sora all sorts of amazing opportunities, but doing it in the most assholish way possible. Of course, because Sora is our heroine, she overcomes every obstacle, and starts to create her own unique presence on the Kaleido Stage. It works. It really does. I gotta hand it to the writers, the whole “Little Mermaid” arc just – worked.

So, for Yuri, we have Rosetta gleefully piling on the Yuri-service for the Kaleido Stage audience by both hugging and kissing Sora in front of them (the latter of which prompts a juicy “whoooo!” from them.) There’s the aforemetioned tsuning by Layla, and we get to enjoy Mia’s kvelling over her princely Anna.

Speaking of Mia and Anna, one of my favorite things about Kaleido Star is how Mia, Sora and Anna all start off as a performers, but as the series progresses and Sora transforms into a Kaleido Star, Anna focuses more and more on comedy, and Mia shifts her focus to trick choreography. The tricks still remain the best thing about this series. I’d genuinely love to see a swing Diablo fight, like the one Rosetta and Sora did. Don’t you think that would be totally cool?

Ratings:

Art – 7
Story – 8
Characters – 8
Yuri – 4

Overall – 8

Once again, thanks go out to Ted the Awesome for sponsoring today’s review!

And for the person who asked me once why I watched this anime when I don’t like circuses, here’s my answer: For the same reason I watch Vampire Princess Miyu, when I don’t like vampires, or Devil Lady, when I don’t like horror, or Simoun, when I don’t like war stories. ^_^