Starmyu. My first Japanese anime.
I’d watched anime on T.V when I was much younger, but hadn’t known that it was anime (I didn’t know much about animation and T.V series in general back then). Also, they were dubbed into English. Thus, Starmyu was my very first Japanese language anime (which had a rather interesting ‘journey’ to ‘get’ to it, but I won’t bore you with that story now).
Initially, when I first saw Starmyu on another T.V show, I was dubious about the description of these characters being ‘cute’. I didn’t have an affection for the anime style back then (2017). However, this anime was said to have music in it and be about musicals… I grew up on Disney musicals and love it whenever a series has songs in it… After doing a little more research on the series (A.K.A checking out the wikipedia page on it), I decided to take the plunge and try out this ‘new’ type of entertainment called ‘anime’… and I’m so glad I did.
I watched the first three episodes to test out the series and… let me say, I was fairly sceptical about it all. This was my first series where I had to read subtitles and it was completely different to anything I’d ever watched before. The Kao Kai really weren’t helping with their first song in episode one… I thought they sounded so full of themselves. However, episode 3 was the one that completely won me over. Tengenji’s ‘change’ and his love for Tavian completely won me over and I wanted to see more of the series. (Also, Tengenji’s ‘training’ Hoshitani in how to turn caught my attention as I really love series where I can actually learn something – i.e. musicals/dance/music, in this case.)
One thing that really surprised me as I watched the series (and proceeded to re-watch and re-watch and rewatch it…) was how my perception of the characters changed as I got to know them better. I’d found the fandom wikia shortly after getting into the series and learnt more about the characters there. It really helped me understand the ‘background’ characters more – i.e. Yuzuriha-senpai, Sazanami-senpai, etc. As well as the main cast. Seriously, I was so surprised to learn that Hiragi and Otori were twins!
The characters I’d, initially, been drawn to at the start of the series, began to ‘drift’ (at varying rates) and I formed my current ‘connections’ with other characters. For example, I’d been drawn to Kuga and Otori at the start (despite the fact that Otori looked a bit like a villain to me…), but now I’m ‘closest’ to Kaito and Hiragi. The bigger of these two changes for me was going from Otori to Hiragi.
When I first met Hiragi in the series, I didn’t like him at all. It was pretty much the same for all of the Kao Kai members; except Otori, obviously. I share Otori’s view on things, more or less, so I naturally ended up ‘siding’ with him and Team Otori (they are the main characters, so I guess that’s what you’re supposed to do…). However, when I learnt more about Otori and Hiragi’s story in episode 9 and got to see the kinder (and more casual) side of Hiragi in season 2… I became very fond of Hiragi.
With Kuga and Kaito, it wasn’t as ‘huge’ of a shift. Kuga… I guess I liked him because he was quiet and hard working. However, as I got to know him more, I felt he was a little ‘boring’. (I mean no offence to Kuga saying that. I’m still very fond of him; just not as fond as I am of Kaito.) As I learnt more about Kaito’s story (his ‘rivalry’ with his brother and the pressure he’s under as a ‘Tsukigami’ ~ which is similar to Tengenji’s situation as an heir to a kabuki line) and got to know his character, the more I found myself drawn to him too.
In all honesty, for me as a writer, characters sometimes do the strangest things and… in a way, I guess Kaito decided he was going to ‘befriend’ me one way or another… We just ‘clicked’. Whereas with Hiragi, it took longer and, in a way, we both had to ‘get to know each other’, but now he has a very special place in my heart. (I know this may sound weird, but… eh. Writers are weird. ;P)
Another thing about the characters in Starmyu; for me personally at least, is there isn’t a single one you ultimately don’t like. They’ve all got something likeable about them.
Even the ‘villains’ of Akatsuki and Fuyusawa. I really didn’t like these two when I first met them (I think Fuyusawa seriously took the cake for being dislikeable…). However, as I got to know them more and understand them a little better, they became more tolerable (even loveable in Akatsuki’s case ~ he can be cute when he wants to be).
Starmyu was a real ‘turning point’ in my life. I’d been a fan of many ‘Western’ stories before finding
Starmyu, but this series gave me so many first time experiences (other than having to read subtitles). For example, I learnt something about myself that surprised me.
When I first started watching, I felt that I was most like Kaito and/or Kuga; mostly due to their quietness. However, as I learnt more about each character and observed them more, I discovered that my ‘twin’ character was not Kaito nor Kuga. It was Hoshitani. That surprised me so much, as I would have thought that we were opposites. Though, as I looked closer at Hoshitani’s actions and his way of thinking… I started to see myself in him. Looking at the others, I can see I share things in common with them (e.g. a reserved nature), but… not as much as I do with Hoshitani. I’m not identical to Hoshitani, naturally, we’re different people. Though, our way of seeing things differently than others do and the inability to give up on a dream are things we strongly share.
In conclusion, to me, Starmyu is a very special series. It introduced me to the world of anime, the culture and language of Japan and a wonderful cast of characters that my life would be poorer for if they were not a part of it.
Favourites:
• Character: Hiragi. (I love Kaito too, but… Hiragi wins…)
• Team: Team Otori.
• Episode: Season 2 Episode 3 – I love the scene with Uozumi in that trench-coat! XD (Close runner up is Season 2 Episode 6 because I love training camp episodes.)
• Song: Finale to our Chest from OVA 1. (It’s hard to choose an absolute favourite song as I love most of them ~ as well as the CD only ones and the stage production only ones. However, this song in this
episode always makes me smile, if not laugh. There’s something about the way Otori and Akatsuki sing “Let’s dance” after such a ‘serious’ moment beforehand that gets me. XD)
Recommendation Rating:
10/10. (20/10 if I’m honest, but… I’ll stick within parameters. ^-^)
One last thing, don’t forget to check out the Downloads page for the Starmyu PC and phone backgrounds I made for you. Also, let me know what your favourites are from Starmyu. You can find my Contact details on the About page.
Until next time, keep enjoying your fan side of life!
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