Kaleido Star: Season 1 and 2 Complete Collection

For anybody who saw The Nutcracker as a child and wanted to become a ballerina...

If you've seen the series then you understand my title--I LOVE THIS ANIME!!! The animation is cute without being overly moe, and it's a storyline I can appreciate from beginning to end (I first saw this when I was a teenager, and even now at the age of 27 I still love it). Since I first watched it dubbed, I find it hard to switch to subs and Japanese audio, but the option is available if you want it. This is the complete series (52 episodes), including a special "extra stage" episode that leaves you wondering about the history of one particular character... I occasionally got irritated with some of the characters, but overall, a great buy for anyone who's into feel-good anime with characters who fight to overcome any trial in order to make their dreams a reality.

This review will focus on the DVD packaging and releases, not so much on the actual anime. Other reviewers have already talked about Kaleido Star as an anime at length, so to save on space I won't be talking about that here.

- BACKSTORY -

I don't own this box set but I do own Kaleido Star - Amazing Collection and the Kaleido Star: New Wings True Star Collection which is equivalent to this Complete Collection Box Set. I got a huge headache trying to figure out what features were available in which releases, so I'm writing this review to hopefully save someone out there the same pain I went through.

- ABOUT THE OVAS AND EXTRAS -

In this box set you get all 51 episodes of the anime + "The Amazing Princess Without a Smile" OVA. Problem is, there are two OVAs for this anime, and buying this box set means you don't get the Layla-centric OVA, "Legend of Phoenix ~Layla Hamilton Monogatari~". You also don't get any of the extras included in the individual DVD releases - like interviews with Director Junichi Sato, commentaries with Mike MacRae (Leon) and Illich Guardiola (Yuri), etc. If you want all 51 episodes + both OVAs, you'll want to look into the Funimation releases I've linked at the bottom.

- OTHER NOTES -

A couple of my anime box sets (like this one) come from ADV Films - a now defunct company who's anime assets were taken up by Funimation. In August, Funimation will be releasing the first season in their popular S.A.V.E. format with season 2 coming in October. I've never bought a S.A.V.E. edition of anything, so I can't talk about the packaging for those, but it seems like they're bare bones when it comes to content (i.e. little to no extras). For some people that's fine, but there are those out there that want all the extras and as far as I can tell you only get that with the individual ADV Films DVD releases.

Below I'll list the options you have for owning the Kaleido Star Anime:

== ADV Films Release Sets ==

Kaleido Star - Amazing Collection + Kaleido Star: New Wings True Star Collection
Includes:
All 51 episodes + "The Amazing Princess Without a Smile" OVA
Japanese audio with English subtitles; English audio; ADV Films anime previews; no special features

Kaleido Star: Season 1 and 2
Includes:
All 51 episodes + "The Amazing Princess Without a Smile" OVA
Japanese audio with English subtitles; English audio; no special features*
* Note: Since I don't own this box set, I'm only assuming there are no extras based on the sets I do own. They're all released by ADV Films so I *think* this is a safe assumption, but if I'm wrong let me know and I'll correct this.

Kaleido Star Complete Collection + Kaleido Star: New Wings Complete Collection (Individual DVDs)*
Includes:
All 51 episodes + "The Amazing Princess Without a Smile" OVA
Japanese audio with English subtitles; English audio; many special features spread across each DVD

* Special Features: "Day With a Kaleido Star" with Serena Varghese (Rosetta), Kaleido Star Comics, Interview with Kaleido Star Manga Artist Akira Shinozaki and Series Associate Producer Toyo Ikeda, Interview with Director Yoshimasa Hiraike, Interview with Director Junichi Sato, Commentary with Mike MacRae (Leon), Commentary with Illich Guardiola (Yuri), Comments from the Cast, Interview with Kaori Mizuhashi (Rosetta), Production Sketches, Clean Opening Animation, Clean Closing Animation, Previews. ((There may or may not be more extras but this is all the info I could find.))

== Funimation Release Sets ==

Kaleido Star: Season One + Kaleido Star: Season Two with Bonus OVA
Includes:
All 51 episodes + 2 OVAs
Japanese audio with English subtitles; English audio; special features*

* Special Features: Textless Songs, Trailers

Kaleido Star: Season One S.A.V.E. + Kaleido Star: Season Two S.A.V.E. (No Amazon page yet)
Since the S.A.V.E. editions haven't been released yet, I won't try to guess what kind of features they may or may not have.

this is one anime that you will watch over and over! it inspires you to do your best always and to never give up on your dream no matter how impossible it may seem! =D The Kaleido Stage performances draw you in and make you wish they would go one forever or at least make you really wish that the Kaleido Stage was real. XD