| Revue Starlight | |
| Ja Kanji: | 少女☆歌劇 レヴュースタァライト |
| Ja Romaji: | Shōjo☆Kageki Revyū Sutāraito |
| Genre: | Music, battle royale |
| Creator: | Bushiroad, Nelke Planning, Kinema Citrus |
| Type: | manga |
| Butai Revue Starlight: Show Must Go On | |
| Illustrator: | Tsubaki Ayasugi |
| Publisher: | Bushiroad |
| Demographic: | Shōnen |
| Imprint: | Bushiroad Media |
| Magazine: | Monthly Bushiroad |
| First: | January 6, 2018 |
| Volumes: | 2 |
| Type: | manga |
| Yonkoma Starlight | |
| Illustrator: | Makimaki Mawaru |
| Publisher: | Bushiroad |
| Demographic: | Shōnen |
| Imprint: | Bushiroad Media |
| Magazine: | Monthly Bushiroad |
| First: | January 6, 2018 |
| Type: | manga |
| Shōjo Kageki Revue Starlight Overture | |
| Author: | Kanata Nakamura |
| Illustrator: | Sora Goto |
| Publisher: | ASCII Media Works |
| Demographic: | Seinen |
| Imprint: | Dengeki Comic NEXT |
| Magazine: | Dengeki G's Comic |
| First: | January 30, 2018 |
| Volumes: | 2 |
| Type: | TV series |
| Director: | Tomohiro Furukawa |
| Producer: | Akane Taketsugu Yūki Katayama Teppei Nojima Atsushi Iwasaki Sayaka Shimoizumi |
| Music: | Tatsuya Kato Yoshiaki Fujisawa |
| Studio: | Kinema Citrus |
| Licensee: | Sentai Filmworks |
| Network: | TBS, CBC, BS-TBS, MBS, RKB |
| First: | July 12, 2018 |
| Last: | September 27, 2018 |
| Episodes: | 12 |
| Episode List: |
|
| Type: | film |
| Revue Starlight: Rondo Rondo Rondo | |
| Director: | Tomohiro Furukawa |
| Producer: | Akane Taketsugu Yūki Katayama Teppei Nojima Atsushi Iwasaki Sayaka Shimoizumi |
| Music: | Tatsuya Kato Yoshiaki Fujisawa |
| Studio: | Kinema Citrus |
| Runtime: | 119 minutes |
| Type: | film |
| Revue Starlight | |
| Director: | Tomohiro Furukawa |
| Producer: | Akane Taketsugu Yūki Katayama Teppei Nojima Atsushi Iwasaki Sayaka Shimoizumi |
| Music: | Tatsuya Kato Yoshiaki Fujisawa |
| Studio: | Kinema Citrus |
| Licensee: | Sentai Filmworks |
| Runtime: | 120 minutes[1] |
| Portal: | yes |
is a Japanese media franchise created in 2017 by Bushiroad, Nelke Planning and Kinema Citrus. It primarily consists of a series of musicals, debuting between September 22 and 24, 2017 at the AiiA 2.5 Theater Tokyo;[2] a 12-episode anime television series directed by Tomohiro Furukawa which aired between July and September 2018; and two animated films, released on August 7, 2020, and June 4, 2021, which abridged and continued the story of the anime. It has received three manga adaptations, all of which began serialization in January 2018.[3] A smartphone game titled Shōjo Kageki Revue Starlight: Re LIVE, developed by Ateam, launched in October 2018.[4]
The Revue Starlight franchise includes stage musicals, a musical animated series, musical films, and a mobile game each telling original, interconnected stories about the training, personal lives, and growth of several groups of female performing arts students, who are distinguished from their peers as "Stage Girls" by their exceptional zeal for stage acting, ambition for stardom, and competitive nature. Over multiple school years, the characters are drawn together by these shared qualities despite their greatly different personalities and talents, while also coming into conflict in their pursuit to surpass each other.
The Stage Girls invariably settle their conflicts by performance in an otherworldly underground theatre in the round, where the "brilliance" that embodies their passion for acting empowers them to stage impromptu musical theatre revues without stagehands or audiences. In these revues, the Stage Girls sing seemingly spontaneously composed musical numbers, clash in largely hand-to-hand combat, and may even act out dramas, on an ever-changing set constructed by unmanned stagecraft. Though the Stage Girls are depicted as using real weapons, the battles end harmlessly with the removal of a piece of the opponent's stage costume, and victory is declared by standing at a taped T-mark dubbed "position zero". The franchise portrays the spectacle of these revues both on stage using choreography and stage combat, and in animation.
A talking giraffe, as well as, eventually, other denizens of the underground theatre, preside over the revues, all seeking to witness the unpredictable scenes that will play out on stage each time. The Stage Girls join some of these revues by enticement and others by their own volition, but always to fight for consequential stakes in their theatrical pursuits.
In each revue, the characters perform an original "revue song" in duets and ensembles. The franchise further includes a discography of albums and singles collecting these and other original songs, composed in various show tune styles.
The franchise also chronicles the Stage Girls' backstage exploits during school theatre productions. The plots of these plays, most prominently the fictional play Starlight, are often recounted as a story within a story.
As the same characters appear in both staged and animated media, each character is performed live by her voice actress in stage shows and concerts.
The franchise launched in 2017 with a cast made up of nine students from Seisho Music Academy's 99th graduating class, who have since appeared as the main casts of three numbered stage plays, an anime series, two animated films, and several manga. They have also received prominent focus in a mobile game. In addition, they have recorded most of the musical discography of the franchise under the billing of Starlight Kuku Gumi (スタァライト九九組, lit. Starlight 99 Group), and have performed the franchise's music live in three numbered concerts, as well as two orchestral concerts.
Five students from Rinmeikan Girls School, an institution specializing in traditional theatre of Japan, debuted in 2018 as additional main characters in the mobile game. They have also released one single and performed alongside Starlight Kuku Gumi in their third concert.
Five students from Frontier School of Arts, an unconventional, modern school, debuted in 2018 as additional main characters in the mobile game. They have also released one single and performed alongside Starlight Kuku Gumi in their third concert.
Five students from Siegfeld Institute of Music, an elite school fostering strong competition, debuted in 2018 as additional main characters in the mobile game. They have also released two singles, performed alongside Starlight Kuku Gumi in their third concert, and starred in a Siegfeld-focused stage play with guest appearances from each other school.
Three students from Seiran General Arts Institute debuted in 2018 in the franchise's second numbered stage play, before being added to the mobile game as additional main characters. They have also released one single, starred in a Seiran-focused stage play, and played central roles in Siegfeld's stage play.
The series began as a stage play performed at the AiiA 2.5 Theater in Tokyo.[2] The first performances, titled Shōjo☆Kageki Revue Starlight: The LIVE #1 were held from September 22 to 24, 2017, and a re-run titled Shōjo☆Kageki Revue Starlight: The LIVE #1 revival took place from January 6 to 8, 2018.[5]
A stage play focusing on the students of Seiran General Art Institute and a spin-off of The LIVE #2 Transition, titled Shōjo☆Kageki Revue Starlight: The LIVE Seiran BLUE GLITTER, was performed at the Galaxy Theater in Shinagawa from December 21 to 27, 2020.[10]
A stage play based on the Shōjo☆Kageki Revue Starlight: Re LIVE game and focusing on the Edels and Junior High students of Siegfeld Institute of Music, titled Shōjo☆Kageki Revue Starlight: The LIVE Edel Delight, was performed at the Galaxy Theater in Shinagawa from February 18 to 27, 2022.[11] A spin-off stage play focusing on the Junior High students of said school, titled Shōjo☆Kageki Revue Starlight: The STAGE Junior High Regalia, was held at the Hikosen Theater in Taito from October 14 to 24, 2022.[12]
A manga adaptation of the musical drawn by Tsubaki Ayasugi, titled, and a 4-panel manga series by Makimaki Mawaru,, both began serialization in Bushiroad's Monthly Bushiroad magazine from January 6, 2018.[13] A third manga written by Kanata Nakamura and illustrated by Sora Goto,, began serialization in ASCII Media Works' Dengeki G's Comic magazine from January 30, 2018.[14]
A 12-episode anime television series produced by Bushiroad, Tokyo Broadcasting System Television, Pony Canyon, Overlap, Nelke Planning and Kinema Citrus aired in Japan between July 12 and September 27, 2018.[15] The series was directed by Tomohiro Furukawa, with Tatsuto Higuchi handling series composition and writing the scripts, Hiroyuki Saita designing the characters and Yoshiaki Fujisawa and Tatsuya Kato composing the score.[16] In addition, most episodes feature musical numbers by various composers, with lyrics by Kanata Nakamura. The series was released on three Blu-ray Disc/DVD volumes, each containing additional original video animation shorts, between October 24, 2018, and February 27, 2019.[17] [18] The opening theme is, while the ending theme is "Fly Me to the Star", both performed by Starlight 99-gumi, the series' voice actors. Sentai Filmworks has licensed the anime and is streaming the series on Hidive with English, Portuguese and Spanish subtitles, and is also dubbed in English.[19] MVM Entertainment acquired the distribution rights for the UK and Ireland via Sentai Filmworks.[20] A spin-off comedy series, titled, was announced on March 31, 2019.[21]
On November 3, 2019, during the "Revue Starlight 3rd StarLive 'Starry Diamond'" concert, it was announced that the series would receive two new films. The first is a compilation film titled Rondo Rondo Rondo that was slated to premiere on May 29, 2020, but was delayed to August 7, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[22] [23] [24] The second is a brand-new anime film, entitled after the series itself, was planned to premiere on May 21, 2021,[25] [26] [27] but was delayed to June 4, 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the extension of Japan's state of emergency period.[28]
Rondo Rondo Rondo is an abridged theatrical presentation of previously broadcast content from the anime series, re-edited and expanded with a few new scenes. Many dialogue scenes are removed, and several of the revue scenes segue directly into each other. Dialogues between Nana and the giraffe are added, commenting on the audition and the surrounding events.
All songs from the series appear in the film, some with new musical arrangements, except "-Star Divine- finale" and "Fly Me to the Star". The former is replaced with "Star Diamond", while the new song "Hymn to Rebirth" plays over the end credits. "The Star Knows" and "Pride and Arrogance" exchange order of appearance.
Before the end credits, Nana, in the underground theatre, notices the red star props suspended overhead as a portent of death. After the end credits, the fallen Tokyo Tower is seen in the underground theatre, and the sound of an oncoming train is heard.
Revue Starlight the Movie (Gekijōban Shōjo☆Kageki Revyū Sutāraito) is a sequel film continuing from the ending shared by the anime and Rondo Rondo Rondo. The film includes 50 minutes of musical sequences featuring six new revue songs, as well as the new end credits song "私たちはもう舞台の上" (Watashitachi wa Mō Butai no Ue).
Having performed Starlight together, Hikari defeats Karen in a chaotic revue. Both the Starlight tower and Tokyo Tower fall to cataclysmic ruin in a desert as Hikari declares their parting.
As they enter their graduating year, all but a few of the Stage Girls of Seisho's 99th class intend to apply to the top national theatrical troupe. Karen, mourning Hikari's return to London, is without future plans.
On their way to visit the troupe, the Stage Girls are waylaid in a surprise revue when their subway train and the city landscape transform into a stage. Detached and without exertion, Nana dispatches nearly everyone, posing cryptic questions about their future that only Maya seems to comprehend (Revue of Annihilation, "wi(l)d-screen baroque"), and leaving them playing out a graphic tableau of death.
After receiving the unfinished Starlight script for their graduating performance, featuring new lines calling for change and rebirth, the Stage Girls arrive at understandings of Nana's exhortations. On another train, the giraffe, appearing in the form of vegetables, drops tomatoes which each of the Stage Girls bites into.
Karen, oblivious to all this, is left alone in a solitary train car heading through a vast desert to Tokyo Tower. In extended flashbacks, Karen's childhood since meeting Hikari is shown: once shy and withdrawn, Karen became outgoing and found her love for the stage with Hikari's encouragement. Receiving from Hikari a Starlight poster folded as an envelope, Karen kept the envelope as a lifelong possession. Even over years of theatre training to reunite with Hikari on the stage, however, Karen repeatedly shrank from learning about Hikari's activities.
In the underground theatre, Kaoruko, as a bakuto, deals a game of chō-han at an illicit gambling den in a Shinto shrine complex. She faces off against Futaba, as a sukajan-clad delinquent, as both crash dekotora trucks through the walls (Revue of Malice, "わがままハイウェー"Wagamama Highway). Squabbling over Kaoruko's resentment for refusing to return to Kyoto together, Futaba offers rationalizations but cannot face Kaoruko when the scene changes to a seductive cabaret club. Atop high scaffolding, they mount opposing trucks and race head-on with weapons drawn, only to fall off together. In resignation, Kaoruko acquiesces to Futaba's victory and receives Futaba's motorcycle as a gift.
Spurred by the giraffe to search for Karen, Hikari boards a London Underground train, arriving beneath the underground theatre. Hikari finds instead Mahiru opening a multi-sport event in a track and field stadium. Forced halfheartedly into a revue that instantaneously morphs into a variety of sport competitions (Revue of Competition, "MEDAL SUZDAL PANIC◎〇●"), Hikari is defeated by Mahiru, then further menaced in a frightening pursuit through the deserted backstage. Browbeaten into tearful contrition for leaving Karen, Hikari is solaced by a once-more encouraging Mahiru in a medal ceremony and is sent on her way.
Nana coldly scorns Junna's retreat from performance to study theatre in university, offering a blade as if to prompt seppuku. After futilely attempting to ensnare Nana in a labyrinth paved in famous quotations while raining down arrows and copies of the character 星 (hoshi, lit. star), Junna, reduced to tears by Nana's contempt, claims Nana's blade as her own and fights back, renouncing the quotations for words of her own (Revue of Hunting, "ペン : 力 : 刀", Pen:Chikara:Katana). Battling obstinately through spotlit haze, Junna steps onto an unseen position zero and defeats Nana through her shocked denial. They reconcile and part without looking back.
Confronted by Hikari on a train platform high above the clouds, the giraffe drops a tomato before bursting into flame and falling to the desert far below.
Maya and Claudine perform a play on the stage of a conventional, empty theatre (Revue of Souls, "美しき人 或いは其れは", Utsukushiki Hito Arui wa Sore wa). The Devil in human guise (Claudine) wagers for the soul of a stage performer (Maya) by the signature of a contract. They trick each other, in turn, with artifices as the Devil seeks to take the performer's soul in return for a display of brilliance. Discarding their roles, they goad each other into a frenzied, passionate duel across a web of aerial pathways and platforms. Claudine defeats Maya, fulfilling the contract as the stage set burns down in a towering conflagration. Holding hands, they commit once more to their rivalry to come.
Arriving on Tokyo Tower, Karen finds Hikari with a half-eaten tomato. Still speaking of only Hikari, Karen is unnerved by suddenly seeing the stage and the audience anew. Denied of another stage with Hikari, Karen falls dead as an uneaten tomato explodes. Weeping, Hikari confesses to running from her own admiration of Karen.
Hikari drops her envelope and Karen's body through a chute, beckoning Karen to return. A position zero-shaped metal box with Karen's face lands on a rail car, which carries the box through a fierce sandstorm by igniting rocket engines and launching off a ramp. The rocket exhaust incinerates, in its wake, Hikari's envelope and scenes of Karen's past life. A reborn Karen emerges from the box in front of Hikari, and both are paraded in ostentatious displays of stage lighting (The Final Lines, "スーパー スタァ スペクタクル", Super Star Spectacle).
Hikari's radiance, visible for miles, awes Karen and snaps her sword in two. Both thrust their weapons, and Hikari stabs Karen squarely in the chest. A geyser of position zero-shaped boxes erupts forth from Karen, tearing Tokyo Tower in two. The tower's upended tip plants into a vast position zero swathed across the desert. The Stage Girls, including the others watching from afar, cast away their pelisses as the revue ends. Unharmed, Karen looks forward to her next stage as Hikari gives her a tomato.
Over the end credits, Hikari encounters the Stage Girls at their new professions and studies across the world. Karen is seen at an unspecified audition, her destination unrevealed.
A smartphone game titled Shōjo Kageki Revue Starlight -Re LIVE- developed by Ateam and Bushiroad[29] was released for Android devices on October 22, 2018, and an iOS version was released on October 28. The game features gacha gameplay elements.[30] A worldwide version of the game, localized into English, Korean, and Traditional Chinese, was released on April 22, 2019.[31]
In the game, players collect Stage Girls performing a variety of roles from literature, history, mythology, legends, and original stories, then build parties to challenge a growing variety of single-player and multi-player activities, most featuring leaderboards. Players can select songs from across the franchise to use as revue songs during battles.
The game story, continuing after the end of the auditions in the anime series, introduces the Seisho Stage Girls to the Rinmeikan, Frontier, and Siegfeld Stage Girls in new revues in the underground theatre, as their four schools prepare to participate in the Performance Festival, a high-profile event.
At first, the Stage Girls battle collectively against forces causing Starlight, as well as other plays treasured by each school, to be forgotten by the general public. They then discover that these battles were manifestations of the writings of a five-year-old girl, Elle, who wishes to witness the Stage Girls perform those plays. The Stage Girls decide to continue to perform Elle's stories in revues.
In late 2019, after the game cast performed the real-life "Starry Diamond" concert, including six original revue songs by mixed ensembles between the four schools, the game launched stories, events, and characters depicting the Stage Girls competing in a series of Greek mythology and constellation-themed revues using these songs. However, the Starry Diamond story did not continue past its first two parts.
The next phase of the story, Arcana Arcadia, is written by Tatsuto Higuchi, the scriptwriter of the anime series, and remains ongoing. In Arcana Arcadia, the Stage Girls return to the underground theatre, performing in a new audition to inspire a future play yet to be written by Elle, and to compete for the yet-unknown leading role. At the same time, the Stage Girls are all cast in an original ensemble cast play for the Performance Festival, performing roles based on the Major Arcana, and become driven to outperform each other despite the lack of a leading role. Each part of the story debuted an original revue song.
The game also launched time-limited cross-promotional events for franchises including Hatsune Miku, BanG Dream!, Love Live! Sunshine!!, Symphogear, Steins;Gate, Pacific League baseball, and Sakura Wars. Crossover characters from the Sakura Wars franchise were added to the game as playable Stage Girls.
A visual novel which serves as a sequel to Revue Starlight the Movie, titled Revue Starlight El Dorado (Shoujo☆Kageki Revue Starlight Butai Souzougeki Harukanaru El Dorado) was announced in January 2023, developed by Frontwing, with scenario written by Tatsuto Higuchi. It is set to be released on August 8, 2024 in both English and Japanese for Nintendo Switch and Windows.[32] [33]
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