Skate-Leading Stars… I’m glad this little ice skating anime came across my path and that it’s also in dub so more people will be likely to watch it. ^-^ The characters were sweet and an interesting mix of personalities. I also enjoyed having a couple of voice actors I knew from other series in the cast. I did feel the series needed a little ‘more’, but I did enjoy it and I hope that they’ll make a second season to let us get to know this group of ice skaters a little more.
In regards to the characters, there are a few that particularly stood out to me.
Firstly, is Sasugai. Despite his sometimes ‘underhanded’ ways, I appreciated how talented he was in
regards to skate-leading; he truly has an eye for it. He’s an intelligent young man and he uses this strength to the best of his ability to his and his team’s advantage. (Here’s a fun side note. His Japanese voice actor plays another of my favourite characters in another series which I discovered after this series. If you’re curious about who that may be and what series… keep checking in or you can contact me and I’ll happily tell you. ;))
Next is Kiriyama. I really like how meticulous he is and how he uses this trait of his to take care of his team. While I like his strict personality, it also caused plenty of friction to begin with (which I totally understand where he’s coming from, but it was still hard to watch for me…). His Japanese voice actor (Tomoaki Maeno) is one of the actors I knew from another series; he played Kuga in Starmyu (as well as many other character in many other series, but I first ‘met’ him in Starmyu ^-^).
Finally, Noa. Despite being a bit of a whirlwind of a character, one thing I particularly liked about him was his desire to make figure skating fun for everyone! I also liked him ‘English-izing’ (is that a word?) Himekawa’s name (Princess River) in one of the episodes. XD That was different (and unappreciated by Himekawa). (Both of these characters, Noa and Himekawa, were voiced by ‘Starmyu actors’ – Noa’s is also Fuyusawa’s actor (Soma Saito) and Himekawa’s is Kitahara’s (Yuichiro Umehara.)
Honourable mentions for characters include: Akimitsu and Himekawa. These two did catch my attention, but… they didn’t stand out as much as the previously mentioned characters.
Now, I’m not too clued up on figure skating or ice skating, but I haven’t found anything that really looks like skate-leading out there and I wish there was. I do wonder if ‘fantasy sports’ like this and Stride (from Prince of Stride) will ever become a reality. Only time will tell, I guess. ^-^
So, in conclusion, Skate-Leading Stars is a sweet little series that brings the sport of ice skating to the fore and, as mentioned earlier, I hope they’ll bring out a second season so we can get to know these characters a little more. Though, until then, we can keep enjoying the episodes they’ve already given us. ^-^
Favourites:
• Character: Sasugai.
• Costume: Kusano Mukaibara High School’s Grand Prix Costumes. (S01E09)
Recommendation Rating:
06/10.
One last thing, don’t forget to check out the Downloads page for the Skate-Leading Stars PC and phone backgrounds I made for you. Also, let me know what your favourites are from Skate-Leading Stars. Do you also pay attention to who the voice actors are or do you ignore that and just enjoy the story? Let me know. You can find my Contact details on the About page.
Until next time, keep enjoying your fan side of life!
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