The second half of Kaleido Star starts off with a new opening and closing, but the fun and excitement of the series stays the same.  The story takes an unexpected twist that keeps the show interesting and has me looking forward to the next DVD in the series.

This volume starts off with a couple of stand alone episodes.  First, during Kaleido Stages' vacation, Sora is loaned out to another circus.  This smaller, traveling troupe does things in a different fashion, and they look at Sora as an outsider.  Can she win over this new group as show did with the performers of Kaleido Stage?

In the next episode, we find out some interesting things about the mysterious Karlos who runs the Kaleido Stage.  Sara, the circus' singer, gets an offer of from a record company to cut a record.  Though she really wants to stay, Karlos fires her, driving her away.

The last three shows turn a little more serious.  People start quitting Kaleido Stage on a daily basis.  There are rumors of a head hunter luring people away, but when 25 performers quit in a single day, the Stage has to cancel their show.  It turns out that there is a traitor in the troupe, luring people away one by one until there are only ten people left. No matter what the remaining acrobats do, one thing after another goes wrong, until it looks like Kaleido Stage will have to shut down.

I continue to enjoy this series.  They have done a great job of moving the plot along without changing the feel of the show.  Since Sora has captured the hearts of most of the cast at Kaleido Stage, they throw some new blockades in her way.  Raising the ante and making stakes higher has given the show a sense of urgency that it didn't have earlier, which was surprising but also welcomed.

Sora's upbeat attitude is still as infectious as every though which is really what drives the show, but the supporting cast is interesting too.  This show has done a great job of showcasing the various cast members and turning them into three dimensional characters.

Interesting characters, good stories and colorful animation all make this a series very enjoyable.

Audio:

This DVD has a 2.0 Japanese soundtrack and a 5.1 English dub. The sound quality was very good in both tracks. The voices were clear and there wasn't any hiss or distortion. The English dub was more full and rich, being a 5.1 mix, but I enjoyed the Japanese dub a little bit more.  I really disliked a couple of the voices on the English audio track.  The actress who voices Sora in the English version has chosen an annoying voice for her.  She sounds like a three year old, with a very high-pitched cutesy voice, and it gets old fairly quickly.  The dorm leader Sarah's voice had a fake British accent that sounds incredibly inane.  The other actors do a good job, but I still prefer the original language track.

Video:

I was very happy with the way this show looked.  Being a recent show, the full frame picture was very good. The colors were bright and full, and the lines were tight. There was some light aliasing but this was minor it wasn't distracting. This is a nice looking show.

Extras:

The DVD comes with a clean opening and closing, and a four-minute reel of production sketches. There are also a series of trailers for other ADV shows.
Included in the case is an mini poster and a small standee of Layla.

Final Thoughts:

The one word that accurately describes this show is "fun."  It isn't as deep or meaningful as other series, and there isn't the action that many anime shows have, but it is still great fun to watch.  An enjoyable show the is Highly Recommended.