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 22 and 24 September 2017 at the AiiA 2.5 Theater Tokyo; a 12-episode anime television series directed by Tomohiro Furukawa which aired between July and September 2018; and two animated films, released on 7 August 2020, and 4 June 2021, which abridged and continued the story of the anime. It has received three manga adaptations, all of which began serialization in January 2018.
A smartphone game titled Shōjo Kageki Revue Starlight: Re LIVE, developed by Ateam, launched in October 2018. Six years after the game's launch, the game ended service for all servers in September 2024. A visual novel game titled Shōjo☆Kageki Revue Starlight Stage Musical Impression Drama: Distant El Dorado was launched on 8 August 2024 for the Nintendo Switch and PC via Steam. The visual novel is a sequel to the franchise's second animated film, Revue Starlight: The Movie. A new anime sequel has been announced.
Premise 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 and 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.
Characters 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.
Seisho Music Academy 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.
Karen is straightforward and carefree. Years ago, after watching a performance of Starlight with Hikari that left them both spellbound, she exchanged a promise with Hikari to one day perform Starlight themselves, which motivated her to pursue theatre to the present day. Despite this, Karen lacked the competitive drive to become a Stage Girl until Hikari's return to Japan, after which she resolved not to yield her desired roles to others. Though her impulsiveness causes trouble for the other Stage Girls, her guileless nature makes them ultimately fond of her. In the revues, she uses a spadroon.
In London, Hikari enrolled in an exclusive theatrical school, cultivating her talent under world-class tutelage for the sake of returning to Japan to perform Starlight with Karen. A reserved girl, Hikari is slow to open up to Karen upon arriving at Seisho, and even slower to speak openly to anyone else, making her easily misunderstood. Weak to Karen's overwhelming affection, Hikari sometimes keeps at arm's-length, but privately takes great pains to protect Karen even at her own expense. She habitually leaves her room in disarray, until reined in by Mahiru. She fights using a rope dagger, the blade shrunken down from a full-length sword.
The eldest child of a farming family in rural Hokkaido, Mahiru earned many awards in middle school recognizing her performance and baton twirling talent, and enrolled in Seisho at her grandmother's behest. Exceedingly modest, Mahiru fell into an inferiority complex amidst the assembled talent at Seisho, but became smitten with Karen's personality, and found new self-esteem attending to her needs. Mahiru comes to understand that she can find fulfillment in helping everyone, not just Karen. She possesses strong domestic skills and physical strength from family and farm life. She fights using a mace.
Born to a Japanese father and French mother, Claudine acted professionally from a young age and was lauded as a theatrical child prodigy. Entering Seisho, Claudine immediately found herself only second-best next to Maya, dashing her former privileged self-image. Ever since, Claudine has turned her full efforts to measuring up to and surpassing Maya in all endeavours, putting on haughty airs all the while, but she is often frustrated when Maya imperturbably meets her challenges. After working hand-in-hand on stage with Maya, her one-sided rivalry finally becomes a mutual partnership. She fights using a longsword.
Recognized by her peers as the 99th class's top student and even addressed deferentially as "Maya-sama", Maya possesses a superior physique and voice and industrious work ethics, inherited from a primadonna mother and stage actor father and honed over a lifelong stage career. Though cordial with the other Stage Girls, Maya is clear-eyed as to their aptitude and limitations. She noticed Claudine's aspiring rivalry with her from their first meeting, eventually acknowledging Claudine as a rival and partner worthy of mutual respect. Privately, Maya harbours imperious and seething jealousy toward all who threaten her dominance on stage, the product of bitter competition in performances past. She fights using a long rapier.
Raised to study hard and excel in academics, Junna discovered her passion for theatre on her own. Against her parents' wishes, she enrolled in Seisho and vowed to not return home until after graduation. Endowed with top scholarship aptitude but little advantage in performing, Junna still pursues her unclear path to stardom, and is preoccupied with overcoming the gap in talent between her and the other Stage Girls. While her fast thinking and reserves of knowledge in friendship and competition alike, she is prone to over-thinking. She fights using a bow and arrow.
Nana excels in performance with her tall stature, cooks numerous beloved recipes for the other students, and even helps in backstage work. She is kind and caring to others in the 99th class, and often takes photos for posterity. She is nicknamed "Banana" by Karen due to her name, her distinctive hairstyle, and her fund of bananas. As Junna's roommate, Nana often accompanies her. After a year in the acting department, she surprises the class by moving to the stagecraft and playwrighting department in her second year. She fights dual wielding both a katana on her right and a wakizashi on her left.
Growing up with Kaoruko at her family's traditional dance school in Kyoto, Futaba became resigned to coming to the aid of the pampered, unworldy Kaoruko from an early age. Remaining by Kaoruko's side out of admiration for her genuine talent, Futaba even followed Kaoruko in enrolling at Seisho on a whim, arduously training to barely pass her own unplanned admission. At Seisho, Futaba further bought a motorcycle and became licensed solely to carry Kaoruko to, and from school. Let down by Kaoruko's lackadaisical track record at Seisho, Futaba begins pursuing her own ambitions to become a star performer, even knowing her roles would be limited by her small stature. She is skilled at stage combat, action scenes, and kendo. She fights using a halberd.
Born into a privileged Kyoto family as the granddaughter of a Japanese dance master, Kaoruko grew up assured of inheriting her family's dance school, and carries herself presumptuously as a master to-be. Trained in not just dance but the classical Japanese arts, Kaoruko is proud of her traditional artistry and has taken her training to the heart; however, she has come to rest on her laurels, spurning having to prove herself further at Seisho. Taking Futaba's unconditional help for granted, Kaoruko becomes stuck in a rut of complaining and scheming to get her way before finally understanding her responsibilities to Futaba. While Kaoruko remains quite self-centered in some measure, she joins the rest of the Stage Girls in competing and contributing in school and life. She fights using a naginata.
Rinmeikan Girls School 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.
Kaoruko's childhood friend who greatly values tradition. She holds a unique fondness for the school and its performance department as her grandmother and mother both graduated from it. With the department facing closure, she fights ardently for its survival. She fights using a tachi.
Although her surname means "silent", she's actually a frequent troublemaker. She isn't a deep thinker but is straightforward and friendly. While she can be clumsy, she is willing to work to become a better stage girl. She was an idol in junior high before her group got disbanded and still aspires to be one. She loves pulling pranks on everyone, especially Fumi. She fights using a Japanese war fan.
A student who transferred from Siegfeld to Rinmeikan under enigmatic circumstances. Fumi is a serious, strong-headed, and determined person. Initially, she refuses to participate in Rinmeikan's Performance Department, but Tamao's kindness and her determination influences her to return to the stage. She works a part-time job at Tamao's family's restaurant to support herself and is obsessed with ponzu. She has a younger sister, Shiori, whom she is fond of but currently estranged from. She fights using a swordbreaker.
Tamao's underclasswoman since junior high. Although she frequently gets nervous and doubts herself, she's training to be a stage girl because of her longtime admiration for Tamao and her desire to have a place where she can express herself. She is especially proficient in stage fighting. In addition to theater, she practices kendo and is noted to be fairly good at it. She fights using an odachi.