Kaleido Star (カレイドスタ) is really a very inspiring anime despite its appearance of a bundle of girls in fairy costumes. It is the story of 15-year-old Sora Naegino (苗木野そら), who comes to San Francisco Bay, California from Japan on a mission to fulfill her dream of being a top star at the famed Kaleido Stage (カレイドステイジ). She has had no real experience on the stage up until this point but her enthusiasm for the show and her wish to bring smiles to her audience gradually draw both her co-workers and the viewers to her. By no means is she a perfect girl, and even her optimism falters at times, but despite her obstacles and what seem to be human limits, she stands back up every time she is thrust down and her strength to overcome her troubled feelings and expectations eventually reveal her to be the star she is. A truly amazing character, Sora’s greatest trait is her single-mindedness in chasing only her dream and nothing else, and such devotion will instill a desire in the watcher to pick up the broken fragments of that dream long forgotten and piece them together once again. . .
Episode 1: My Amazing Stage Debut! （はじめての！すごい！ステイジ）
Sora Naegino arrives fresh from Japan in this first episode but upon landing finds herself completely lost. She stops by a kiosk to ask for directions to the Kaleido Stage only to have her suitcase robbed by a suspicious man standing nearby and she immediately gives chase. Accomplished gymnast as she is, Sora still receives help from a little boy on the street who lends her his rollerblades and Sora retrieves her belongings while putting on a show for the pedestrians walking by. After such a hassle she receives help from the kind policeman Jerry (ポリスジェリ), who drives a high-spirited Sora to the Kaleido Stage. Unfortunately she bursts into her auditions late and is sharply rejected by Layla Hamilton (レイラ・ハミルトン), the current shining star of Kaleido Stage. Sora is discouraged from hearing these words from her idol but stays around to watch the next performance. She is still as enchanted by the Stage as she was when she was a little girl watching the Alice in Wonderland show with her mother and father, who both died in a car accident. As it turns out, a minor performer has acquired an ankle injury and cannot perform as one of the numerous pink bunnies in the background for the ongoing Romeo and Juliet show. Everyone is in a panic but Kalos Eido (カロス・永戸), the manager of the stage also known as “Boss”, suggests that Sora, though a dropped auditionee, should try to fill in the role and prove herself. Sora is up to the challenge and attempts to fill the role, but as her first time on stage she messes up considerably only to be saved by Yuri Killian (ユーリ・キリアン), Layla’s co-star. Once backstage Layla again condemns Sora’s abilities and commands her to leave immediately. Sora does so and is walking away from the Kaleido Stage when Ken Robbins (ケン・ロビンス), the young stage manager who is smitten with Sora, calls her back and informs her that Kalos has accepted her into Kaleido Stage.
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