The BEST episodes of Kaleido Star

#1 - My Amazing Stage Debut

Season 1 - Episode 1 - Aired 4/3/2003

Sora Naegino is an enthusiastic and acrobatically talented girl with the dream of performing on the Kaleido Stage. She had traveled from Japan to Los Angeles for the opportunity. In search of her chance, she inadvertently and unknowingly meets the head of the Kaleido Stage, Kalos Eido (a.k.a. the boss). Soon afterwards, a thief runs off with her luggage; and she uses her acrobatic skills to catch up and retrieve the luggage. Combined with time lost at the police station, she ends up missing the audition. Though Sora asks Layla Hamilton for an audition, she declines. Sora persuades stage manager, Ken Robbins to grant her access backstage, where she ends up with an opportunity to perform as commanded by Kalos. In the dressing room, Sora meets Fool, a mysterious spirit of the stage only seen by her. Sora's efforts fail and she is depressed, but Kalos accepts her into the Kaleido Stage.

#2 - To the Amazing Promised Place

Season 2 - Episode 25 - Aired 3/27/2004

#3 - A Most Amazing and Inescapable Showdown

Season 2 - Episode 24 - Aired 3/20/2004

Swan Lake gets finalized. Anna trains for her special funny performance. The role of Odette and the Prince must still be decided between Layla and Yuri versus Sora and Leon. Simultaneously on the specially designed trapeze, the pairs perform in front of everyone involved in Kaleido stage. Both rivals are beautiful in their Angel's Maneuver for different reasons. Sora decides to adlib as she thinks about how to get the audience to feel their angels' hearts. The owner shares the realization that Layla is the demon that rises the angel necessary for the Angel's Manneuver. As they are fighting for the role, the audience of Kaleido performers remember important memories that motivated them to their dreams. Unable to help herself, Layla looks at Sora's act and upon the end of the act, says Sora is the winner.

#4 - The Amazing Injured Swan

Season 2 - Episode 22 - Aired 3/6/2004

#5 - An Amazing Comeback

Season 1 - Episode 26 - Aired 9/25/2003

#6 - The Amazing Competition Calls Up A Storm

Season 1 - Episode 13 - Aired 6/26/2003

With a week till the show's opening, the practice for the tight rope act is underway, and Layla and Sora have issues regarding synchronization. To address this issue, Layla looks to observe Sora's day-to-day activity, which includes living in Sora's dorm room. As a result, the two learn to synchronize with each other. Their practice improves, but the stage director looks to tone down the climactic scene. On the last practice day, Sora and Layla practice on a tight rope rigged to a boat out in open water. Layla looks to stage a "real fight", and the two duel on the tight rope using stage props, even in the middle of a rain storm. After practice, Layla shares her reason for joining Kaleido Stage. Then the next morning, they return to start the show on time, and it becomes an instant success.

#7 - Amazing Family Ties

Season 1 - Episode 19 - Aired 8/7/2003

Sora, Anna, and Mia move on from Kaleido Stage together. With their new life, they temporarily stay at Ken's home, and throughout the day, Sora thinks about her pregnant mother. They quickly find a new place to stay with the help of Mr. Policeman. In the meantime, Sora's adopted parents suddenly fly over for a visit, and after meeting up with Sora, they ask her to return to Japan. During the conversation, Sora utters some heartbreaking words and upsets her mother, but then her mother immediately goes into premature labor. With tears full of guilt, Sora fears the idea of a miscarriage, but in the end, the delivery of a newborn girl is successful. Mending with her mother, Sora is given the privilege of naming her new sister, Yume.

#8 - An Amazing Star Even In Tough Times

Season 1 - Episode 8 - Aired 5/22/2003

Before a performance, Layla receives some roses from her father, who owns a large hotel chain. As much as Layla wants his audience presence, he often has a busy reason not to attend. After the performance, Kalos, Sora, and her friends are invited to Layla's father's party. Sora makes numerous interactions with Layla and her father, and she notices the distant relationship between the two, especially when guests are paid to attend Layla's birthday and her annual cancellation of the party. After speaking with Layla, Sora makes plans and actions to bring the father-daughter pair closer together. After a public birthday wish at a performance, Layla receives a note from her father, and she receives it heartfully, despite expressing feelings of humiliation to Sora.

#9 - The Amazing Distant Stage

Season 1 - Episode 3 - Aired 4/24/2003

Fool reiterates his claim of Sora as the stage's "chosen one". For the next stage production, Cinderella, everyone is given a role, except for Sora. Disappointed, she complains but is assigned the task of distributing toys to the audience children. She feels doubtful and demotivated as a toy distributor and makes mistakes early. After one day, Fool advises her to create her own path. So, she takes up a clown outfit and treats her job as a performance. However, she makes the mistake of delaying a show, which makes her reflect upon her job. Yuri Killian tells her objective: to make other people happy. So, on the third day, she does her job well and learns the true meaning of performance.

#10 - My Amazing Challenge For the Lead Role

Season 1 - Episode 9 - Aired 5/29/2003

Kaleido Stage is presenting a new stage production, The Little Mermaid. Kaleido Stage featured this theme before, and a sponsor, Mr. Kenneth, wants someone other than Layla featured for the lead role. At the audition, Sora becomes the only candidate. On the same day, Sora makes an attempt at the featured trick: a trapeze triple somersault jump through flowing water. Her attempt fails, and she is rendered injured and fearful of falling. Consulting Fool, Sora must conquer this fear, or she will lose her ability to see Fool. So with the help of Ken and a martial arts specialist, she gradually works to restore her confidence. Still fearful, she makes one more attempt at the stunt per Kalos's remarks. For her attempt, she uses a blindfold and executes it successfully, despite almost falling again.

#11 - Try Hard and You'll Get An Amazing Chance

Season 1 - Episode 4 - Aired 5/1/2003

The Cinderella production is presented, and Sora meets Marion Benigni back stage. During practice, Mia struggles her role's trampoline portion, and Layla threatens to cancel the performance. The next day, Mia's proposes to share the fairy godmother role with her two friends. Given three days, the three friends practice their own specially designed acrobatic routine, The Triple Illusion. During practice, Marion struggles with the idea of other trampoliners replacing her dead mother. Furthermore, Layla is adamant to replace Sora and Anna with more qualified trampoliners. After talking with Marion's father, Sora practices on her own to Marion's satisfaction. Mia and Anna join the practice to perfect their routine; after the demonstration, Kalos grants them their proposal.

#12 - Amazing Match On Ice

Season 2 - Episode 6 - Aired 11/8/2003

The new Kaleido Stage production is going to be Dracula and Sora is competing with May for the role of Mina Murray. But after May shows off her impressive ice skating routine Leon decides that Mia should change the show and put it on ice, Sora who has no experience at ice skating must be able to compete with May for the role in three days time. Sora puts in a lot of effort and comes close to beating May but in the end Leon chooses May for the role of Mina Murray.

#13 - The Amazing Girl Who Doesn't Smile

Season 1 - Episode 7 - Aired 5/15/2003

At Jonathan's new pool, Marion notices the arrival of a new performer, Rosetta Passel, a diabolo expert. As a fan of her, Sora tries to befriend her, but she displays a perfectionist attitude. Despite one perfectly executed performance, she failed to gain the interest of the audience, and Kalos declines her offer to perform again. Emphasizing her own perfection, she doesn't understand the importance of the audience and runs off. After Sora pleads for another chance, Kalos assigns her as Rosetta's partner and allows six days for Sora to improve Rosetta's performance. Having never performed with a diabolo, Sora learns the skill and ends up teaching Rosetta about enjoyment on stage. After an entertaining diabolo battle performance together, Rosetta changes her attitude and returns home.

#14 - The Amazing Mystery Star

Season 1 - Episode 21 - Aired 8/21/2003

Sora and company are granted a contract with the marine park, on condition of more appearances by the masked performer as the featured attraction. However, unable to guarantee masked performer appearances, Sora disguises as the masked performer; however, the replacement performance ends as a flop. On the next day, Sora and company meet two children who sought their autographs, and this motivates Sora to perform. Prior to performance time, Mia devises a balloon themed performance, and as Sora does the rope jump, the masked performer arrives. For a better view, the two children climb a dangerous ladder. This prompts Sora and the masked performer to save them and amaze the audience in the process.

#15 - Our Amazing Futures

Season 2 - Episode 23 - Aired 3/13/2004

Everyone works on their role for Swan Lake. Mia finds that the Kaleido stage is missing something for the climax. May also thinks about her role as Odile and gets Rosetta to be the Fairy of Light for the climax move that will save Odile called Eternal Illusion. With Leon convinced to help Sora again, Sora gets another set of special training with water and weights. Layla also practices the Angel's Maneuver at her home and asks for Yuri's help.

#16 - Flight of the Amazing Angel

Season 2 - Episode 21 - Aired 2/28/2004

#17 - The Amazing Fated Duel

Season 2 - Episode 20 - Aired 2/21/2004

The Kaleido Stage reopens as Leon's injury is healed. Yuri provokes Leon that he was what made Sophie unsuccessful in order to get repentance. As Yuri and Leon fight intensely with fencing swords on the new trapeze design, Sora interferes. Leon remembers his promise to Sophie for her dream to unite a stage without competition and the audience. Layla appears because she has unfinished business, and Leon realizes that Sora will be his partner to make Sophie's dream come true. The next Kaleido stage performance is Swan Lake and the story will be made by Mia and Cathy.

#18 - Leon's Amazing Past

Season 2 - Episode 19 - Aired 2/14/2004

The Kaleido gang goes to France on contract to perform for a circus. Knowing that Sora focuses on smiles, May thinks it is important that she smiles to gain Sora's brilliance. Having gone there early, Rosetta gets Leon's old coach to train her. The coach shares with the gang Leon and Sophie's training for the Angel's Maneuver. He intensely trains Leon thinking that the maneuver requires a strong partner, but upon realizing that the female must have a natural talent for balance, he begins to give Sophie intense training. To become an angel, there must a demon. Sophie also wants to learn the maneuver in order to unite the audience and the star, the same belief as Sora's. Rosetta is able to perform the trapeze as the princess while May is the villain and Sora is the prince. Again, Sora's brilliance to perform for the audience brings out May's desire to perform better.

#19 - The Two Amazing Demons

Season 2 - Episode 11 - Aired 12/13/2003

#20 - Facing An Amazing Wall

Season 1 - Episode 10 - Aired 6/5/2003

While in cloud nine, Sora goes through her schedule as the leading role, including photo shoots, practices, etc. Via video-tape, Sora looks to mimic Layla's previous performance. After some performances, audience opinions on the Little Mermaid have been lackluster, and attendance decreases. Fearing poor reviews, this prompted Sora to study her role and experiment in order to "make the performance her own" by incorporating her personality. After upsetting the stage crew over changes, she figures out the role of a mermaid and shares her ideas. With some script adjustments, the production crew finally pleases the audience.

#21 - A Hot, Amazing, New Production

Season 1 - Episode 12 - Aired 6/19/2003

As Layla rejects a film role, Sora gets the chance to co-star with Layla in the next production, Arabian Nights. The featured act involves a tight rope act attached to a rocking ship. Immediately, Layla mounts the tight rope and tries out some gymnastics maneuvers. For the production, Kalos adds the idea of the ship surrounded by flames. Both Layla and Sora think through the idea of co-starring and dedicate a week of practice towards the viability of co-starring. With the help of others, Sora quickly learns to handle the movable tight rope, despite inexperience with the tight rope. After a locker room prank, she brings the diabolo into her routine to address the issue of falling. For the audition, Sora uses an innovative diabolos trick and demonstrates her ability to co-star with Layla.

#22 - The Amazing Seal

Season 1 - Episode 6 - Aired 5/8/2003

Prancing happily on the beach, Sora trips over an unconscious baby seal, whom she names Jonathan. With pity, she sneaks the seal back to the dormitory, with the intent upon keeping and taking care of him. In addition to her Kaleido Stage work, she fills up her daily schedule with part-time work, over Layla's objections. Eventually, the doubled workload renders Sora exhausted, and her concerned friends look to pick up some of the burden. However, Sarah Dupont shows a flyer of a juggling contest, where first prize can feed Jonathan for a month. Having never juggled before, Sora and company work on a routine. Having been gone for six days, Kalos returns and sees the juggling act. After some convincing, he allows Sora to keep Jonathan as a company mascot, under the care of Marion and her father.

#23 - My Amazingly Distant Family

Season 1 - Episode 5 - Aired 5/5/2003

Sora's adopted father makes a surprise visit to Kaleido Stage. For the debut of the Triple Illusion, the team performs poorly and receives a negative review the next day. The review spread to her worried father and among the performers. In another performance, the three continue to struggle, and Sora's father sees the negative atmosphere back stage. Worried, he suggests for her to return with him back to Japan. Soon afterwards, her father has a heart attack, and with an hour till another performance, Sora runs off to her hospitalized father. Missing a performance, she decides to return home, but before boarding the flight, she becomes depressed once again, expressing her childhood dream of performing. In turn, her father lets her return to Kaleido Stage; Sora apologizes to the stage crew and follows up with a better performance.

#24 - The Diva's Amazing Love

Season 1 - Episode 15 - Aired 7/10/2003

An old love triangle resurfaces between Kalos, Sarah, and an old friend named Andy. After speaking with Kalos, Sarah is left crying after being told to be "no longer needed". Speaking with Sora, Sarah reveals an old picture of herself with Kalos and Andy, and she talks about the beginnings of Kaleido Stage and her reasons for staying the past 10 years. Despite Sora's plea, Kalos maintains his stoic decision in front of Andy. So, just as Sarah departs with Andy, Sora and friends executes a plan. In Kalos's office, Sora teases Kalos to reveal his true feelings, while Fool looks for evidence. In the meantime, the others bring Sarah to the stage, and she listens to Kalos's words via Sora's hidden microphone. With the truth revealed, Sora leaves Sarah and Kalos alone together.

#25 - An Amazing Change From Zero To Hero

Season 1 - Episode 20 - Aired 8/14/2003

Sora and company had not worked for 2 weeks, and they attend the first Kaleido Stage production under Yuri. Soon, the three work at a seafood restaurant, which ends shortly after humiliating themselves in front of Yuri. Upon Sarah's return, she arrives with a job opportunity at the marine park. Auditioning for the job, they invite other former Kaleido Stage members, including Rosetta. On the other hand, Layla declines. At the marine park, the group is notified of a show cancellation, which brings suspicion of Yuri's intervention. Nevertheless, they perform their routines in the park anyways, and they impress the park attendees. During their impromptu show, Sarah surmises that it was actually Kalos who cancelled the performance to give them an opportunity to perform in a more open space with a bigger audience. Just before an angered park owner interrupts their performances, Dio and a mysterious masked performer arrives.