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ninoisntluka · 2 years

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A Deep Dive of the Kaoruko-Futaba Revue in the Movie, or why you should really talk with your partner before deciding your plans for the future

So the Revues in Revue Starlight are super complicated. They’re left a little vague and there’s so much visual and auditory information on screen at once, that it’s hard to explicitly say what’s going on since most of what we register is subconsciously understood.

Plus the fighting is cool and that can be distracting.

Revues are even more confusing in the movie, since unlike the in the episodic format of the original show, where we could easily set up the conflict in the school half of the episode and resolve it in the revue half, this one has all of the set up for the fights occurring for every single character at the same time, so it’d be easy to forget some important context since there is just so much going on at once. Plus the extra animation budget means they go all out on the fight scenes, so there’s even more to take in!

So this is my attempt to kinda lay out everything that’s happening and do a deep dive on each of the Revues. And since the movies start with the Kaoruko-Futaba Revue, I will too.

There’s a joke about how it’s the two of them getting a divorce, and honestly that’s pretty close to the truth.

The revue is basically a PSA about why healthy communication is important since literally everything would be solved if the two of them would just put aside their egos for a bit and listen to each other. What they really should have done is resolved this in couple’s counseling, but no, they just had to be dramatic about it and settle it with a literal duel. But they’re theater kids so it makes sense.

Anyways, the whole reason their fight escalated so far is because they were so focused on themselves that they didn’t take a moment to touch base with each other to figure out if they were on the same page.

Take Futaba for instance. She’s applying to the New National Theater Troupe.

Back when Futaba applied to Seisho, she had the lowest score of all the accepted applicants, which makes it tough since New National only has a 2% acceptance rate. That’s even lower than Seisho’s 3.3% acceptance rate! Because of all this, Futaba doesn’t think she’ll make it.

After all, Futaba still couldn’t beat Kaoruko when it counted in a Revue, even though she learned from Claudine and practiced everyday. Futaba doesn’t think she’ll actually make it into New National, this is a reach for her. The only reason she did that is so she can aim high, hit low. Futaba is constantly amazed and inspired by everyone else around her, so she knows that this is the only way she can keep up.

I mentioned the low acceptance rates of both Seisho and New National before, and I think that it was intentional that they were so similar. They are both considered the pinnacle of their fields, with Seisho being one of the best theater schools in Japan, and New National being one of the best troupes in the world! So New National is a lot like Seisho, and Seisho was great for Futaba. She did struggle, but she met so many stage girls who inspired her to be better. And it was at Seisho that Futaba found her own star, so New National is a great place for Futaba to bloom.

But despite acting like she’s fine with getting rejected, she is hyped to go to see New National on a Field Trip. And according to Mahiru, Futaba’s list of questions is even longer than her’s, which shows that they’ve been excitedly learning about the troupe together. So it’s likely Futaba does really want to get in.

On the train too, the girls who end up going to the troupe are having a blast acting out the play they’re going to see New National Perform! (A neat little detail is that they are all practicing the line the top star says! All of them are aiming to become the lead!)

But on the other hand, Kaoruko is straight up not having a good time, since if Futaba goes to New National, then they won’t be together anymore.

Admittedly, she starts off in a much better place than last year. Even though she is returning home next year, this time it isn’t a sign of failure. Last time, she was going to return in an attempt to ignore reality, but she’s grown since then. Now she’s going to take the lessons she’s learned at Seisho, and continue to apply them while she journeys to be the best dancer in the world! She’s no longer running away from the expectations put on her, both as an heir as well as her promise to Futaba, and that’s awesome to see since that was her big thing that she had to deal with in the show!

But it’s interesting that while Futaba is unsure about whether or not she can get into her top choice, Kaoruko only has one idea on her career survey, since she’s the heir, so she’s guaranteed to become the next head of the Senka-Ryu dance school. She’s so certain that that is her future, she doesn’t need backup options.

Although, despite maturing from last year, Kaoruko’s still a pretty self centered person, so if things aren’t going the way she likes, she is pretty harsh with her criticisms. And this is most prominently seen when Kaoruko plans on ditching the New National Field Trip.

She says she’s in a bad mood because today’s the anniversary of the auditions, but a part of me thinks that it’s mostly because she doesn’t want to see New National, the Troupe that Futaba would rather be with than her.

But clearly the lack of auditions this year is taking a toll on her. Kaoruko’s goal is still to be the best, as stated in her career counseling session. But I think she also genuinely missed what the Auditions made out of her. She says that the auditions and the competition to be the top star pushed all of them to be their best self, and it’s not hard to see why. After all, if it wasn’t for their Revue, Futaba may have lost faith in Kaoruko, and left her. And now that there is a chance that Futaba may leave her again, making her jealous of herself from last year who took part in the auditions, the one who could make Futaba stay. And so, Kaoruko lashes out at them for not caring about becoming the top star of the audition.

But none of them agree. They look at her with a mixture of concern and confusion. Because they aren’t aiming for that stage anymore. It’s not what they need right now. Also because winning an audition means stealing everyone else’s radiance or trapping yourself forever like Hikari. I’m not 100% sure if Nana ever explained what was going on with her time loops, but what I’m trying to say is that they really don’t want to be the top star of those auditions anymore, since they all know it only brings suffering.

So Kaoruko storms off and calls them all useless for not agreeing with her, for not wanting to be the top star from her warped perspective, but in private, Kaoruko knows that’s wrong. She admits it when she comes face to face with Claudine, who stares her down.

She doesn’t actually want to be the top star. But her promise with Futaba is that she would become the best, and that Futaba would be right by her side and would be the first to see it. Just like the rest of them, she doesn’t want to be the top star of that audition, but unlike them, she can’t explicitly say what she wants.

I think the reason Kaoruko can admit this to Claudine in particular, is because Claudine is almost a foil to Kaoruko. I know in the show they draw explicit parallels between Maya and Claudine as well as Kaoruko and Futaba, with the former of the pair being the leader and the latter being the follower. Both pairs of them push each other to be the best, with the leader having a duty to meet the follower’s expectations, and the follower having to push themselves in order to make sure the leader can’t rest.

But Claudine and Kaoruko have been in the spotlight since they were young. And while Kaoruko became spoiled, Claudine remained a hard worker, even after hitting the roadblock that is Tendou Maya. There’s also the fact that they are both teachers to Futaba, who looks to them both for guidance. Which is why, in the Revue later, Kaoruko expressly blames Claudine for Futaba leaving her, since she was the one who offhandedly suggested that Futaba aim for the troupe.

Also, earlier I said my theory that the real reason Kaoruko didn’t want to go to New National was because that’s where Futaba was applying, and my reasoning is because while Junna and Claudine talk about Futaba applying their on Claudine’s suggestion, we get a close up of Kaoruko looking disgruntled.

And then while listening to the others talking about their future plans, Kaoruko gets annoyed at them, calling the next station useless, with an overview shot of New National’s stage, or the future.

Because for Kaoruko, the next station won’t have Futaba, so it’s useless to her. She’s getting pissed because everyone’s excited for the future, but it sounds terrible to her.

Anyways, Kaoruko eventually gets what she asked for on the train, and she is ready for the audition, despite the fact this isn’t anything like the previous auditions considering it’s literally everyone against Nana, and there is no giraffe to officiate.

This incredibly lucky break for her distracts Kaoruko enough to the point where she ignores Futaba, even after Nana pins Futaba to the ground with her sword, which is a sign that Kaoruko is so hung up on the idea of the top star that she forgot why she wanted it in the first place.

This is in contrast to Futaba on the train, since she’s super concerned with Kaoruko. In fact, Futaba was worried about Kaoruko earlier too when she stormed off.

Anyways, while the stage girls are moping around at the pep rally after the train, I think it’s interesting to take a look where they are standing, since that can give a good idea of their mindset and what they want.

Futaba is self conscious about her skills as a stage girl. She doesn’t think she’s as good as everyone else. She’s watching the party from afar, and the spotlights shining on it makes it look like a stage. But Futaba’s not there. She’s in the dark. She’s the audience, who can only admire, but can’t stand beside them.

Kaoruko meanwhile, is waiting at Futaba’s bike, like all those other times they went home together. But Futaba isn’t here and she isn’t coming.

Anyways, now it’s time to get to the most underappreciated scene in this movie! When the director and scriptwriter from Class B reveal they don’t know what they’re doing, but everyone supports them anyways.

The 101th production of Starlight is a big deal for the 99th class. This is going to be the last play they put on together as high schoolers. They’re scared and they don’t want it to end here. But everyone is scared too. And by working together, they’ll make a stage that surpasses all their previous stages.

Imma level with you, I didn’t really understand this scene on my first time watching it. Mostly because I was so excited for all the homoerotic duels, so I don’t think I paid too much attention.

But this scene basically encapsulates the whole movie.

The Scriptwriter isn’t finished by her deadline, but the director doesn’t blame her. Even though she isn’t ready and is scared that her next stage won’t surpass the last one they did, the director tells her that they have to present it, since everyone is waiting.

Just like how the stage girls aren’t ready for their futures, it’s coming for them regardless.

But this is the moment that everyone listening realizes that they can share their struggles with their classmates in the revue. That they don’t have to go through this alone since everyone else is going through it too, and they all want to help each other become the best stage girl they can be.

Also, if you’re rewatching the movie, you really should pay attention to the lines of the play that are read when they focus on certain characters, since they feel significant.

Futaba’s main struggle is that she doesn’t feel good enough, and it’s this moment that helps her explicitly understand what she needs to do in the future.

And Kaoruko needs to stop idolizing the top star. Also this could mean another thing in the context of the revue, but we’ll get to that later.

And during the same speech, when they erect the new set, the start of the next stage, Kaoruko has this to say:

Despite the fact that Kaoruko is scared of the future, it still entrances her, setting up the seeds of the resolution at the end of the Revue.

So with this newfound resolution, the stage girls have the chance to take a good look at their failures. Specifically their loss to Nana on the train.

To be honest, I’m not completely sure what this is about, since it’s a little too high concept for me. But what I think is going on is that these are all dead stage girls. Like metaphorically of course. This is what happens if they refuse to move onto the next stage. I only think this because it literally happens when Karen refuses to move onto the next stage right before her revue, and she just fucking dies. Like she goes limp and it’s super disturbing, especially with how broken up about it Hikari gets.

Anyways, this is a crossroads for all of them. They are seeing the future if they continue as they are now, since currently they can’t make it to the next stage, at least according to Nana, but she’s wrong like 30% of the time so take that with a grain of salt. But the stage girls can make a choice now to determine their future.

Futaba isn’t looking at her double, but she is laying it across her back, so she acknowledges its presence. I think it’s interesting that Futaba is in the dark again, like in that scene at the party. Maybe this is showing that she can’t shine if she’s supporting someone else, or maybe that in order to shine before, Futaba had to rely on others, like Kaoruko or Claudine.

Meanwhile Kaoruko is lying down, mirroring her double. Maybe this is because Kaoruko is the closest to dying as a stage girl. After all, she came very close to giving up last time since Futaba wasn’t staying at her side and things weren’t going her way, and her current situation is mighty similar to that as well.

As for what they’re saying, Futaba talks about putting an end to it, which sounds like putting an end to her and Kaoruko’s relationship, but when you consider the next line is Kaoruko’s and she finishes it by saying “it” is her spoiled self until now.

Futaba was spoiling herself by sticking to Kaoruko. But she can’t improve if she stays with what’s comfortable. And Kaoruko lashes out like a spoiled child when she thinks that Futaba is going to leave, but the point of their next Revue is to come to terms with that.

In the end both of them bite the tomato, the first step in accepting that it’s time to move onto their next stage. And sorry that I’m not explaining why eating the tomato means that, but it really doesn’t matter much in this revue, so that’s a topic for a future essay.

Although don’t ask me why they aren’t wearing shoes. I have literally no idea what that’s supposed to mean. Maybe it’s because they were full of tomato juice so it would make their socks soggy if they put it on? I don’t know! Not everything has to be symbolic! Sometimes the curtains are just blue!

And now that we finally get to the actual revue, I feel a little bad that I’ve written so much and am only just now getting to it, but I think context is important for understanding why Kaoruko and Futaba are so completely pigheaded in this revue.

Before this fight, they have been so focused on themselves that they’ve completely ignored the other’s wants and needs, as well as the effects of their actions on each other.

Anyways, the Revue begins in typical Kaoruko fashion with her avoiding responsibility by blaming literally anyone other than herself for her and Futaba’s imminent separation. Specifically Claudine. But claiming she’s actually talking about Claudine messing with Kaoruko’s candy box.

But Claudine cuts straight to the chase and ignores the metaphor, just like before in the dorms.

Anyways, then Futaba comes in by destroying the wall, along with any hopes of a Claudine-Kaoruko revue. I mean I get it. I understand this was more appropriate for the character journeys and whatever, but let me dream!

Anyways, I’m not going to go into too much detail here, but whenever you see a character in a costume that isn’t their Revue Outfit, that means the character isn’t being genuine. They’re putting on a performance, they’re acting, it's just a front.

Like right now! Kaoruko is dressed up like the older sister of a yakuza clan and Futaba is dressed like a delinquent, a yankee specifically. Or at least I think that’s what they’re wearing. I’m not entirely sure since as an American, I’m not up to date on the latest Japanese Fashion trends.

But my point is they are both acting tough.

After they do their introductions, you can see here that both Kaoruko and Futaba are on the same page about what happens here, even though we know that neither of them actually want to let go of the other forever. I’m gonna use the assumption that after a character does their introduction, they say exactly what they want from this revue.

In this battle, Kaoruko isn’t going to try to convince Futaba to stay with her. This is them figuring out how they’ll say goodbye.

But while they both seem unaffected by this conclusion, the song they sing in the background is wistful, regretting that they have to part after all this time.

Admittedly, the reason I’m not going to go into too much detail on how the outfits are just a performance is because the two of them immediately change into their revue outfits and just ditch the betting house setting entirely to beat each other up instead. It feels like a callback to their first revue, where they completely hijacked their audition to settle their own arguments instead of fighting to be a top star.

And I guess Claudine fucks off to go play animal shoji with Maya, since they both just literally forgot she was there. Honestly, first the mobile game had the Revue of Gemini where the Yumeoji sisters make Claudine play mediator, and now Kaoruko and Futaba drag her into their revue! If I were her, I would be exhausted.

Anyways, the fight starts out with Kaoruko reminding Futaba of their promise that Kaoruko would become a top star, and that Futaba would stay at her side. Kaoruko wants Futaba to know that she betrayed her, and that Kaoruko won’t forgive her for this.

But Futaba tries to tell Kaoruko that she’s only leaving for a bit to stay by her side in the long run, since Futaba needs to be more independent if she is ever gonna bloom into a top star in her own right.

Because Futaba doesn’t think she’s good enough. That’s what she’s been struggling with since the first half of the movie. It’s what she’s been struggling with the entire series. So Futaba is desperate to do anything that can get herself up to par with everyone else. So much so that she doesn’t mind being separated from Kaoruko for a little bit while she goes on her own path, but wants her to understand why she has to go.

She understands that Kaoruko might feel saddened, but she doesn’t really understand how much her leaving would affect Kaoruko. Futaba thinks that if she left, Kaoruko would be fine, but it’s basically the end of the world in Kaoruko’s perspective.

And while Futaba was genuine in that she flat out stated what she wanted and what she needed, Kaoruko has too much pride to just lay herself bare like that, which is why when we get Kaoruko’s perspective, we switch into a performance.

So the two of them are now in a nightclub, or at least some kind of bar. Again, as an American, I am not familiar with the Japanese nightlife scene, so I can’t be too specific.

Futaba is caught on the backfoot, and is nervous, but still tries to be genuine. She talks about how she felt she wasn’t good enough. How she saw everyone else excelling around her. And how she didn't have the qualities that all the better stage girls had.

But Kaoruko acts the role of a high maintenance girlfriend who is dismissive of Futaba’s concerns, which throws Futaba off. Or maybe it’s a pair of lovers where the one in the dress caught the one in the suit cheating, since it’s Kaoruko leveling accusations at Futaba the entire time. I can’t say because I literally have no idea. This feels like a movie reference, but I’m not cultured in cinema in any way shape or form, so I have no clue what it’s supposed to be.

But I think the real reason Futaba isn’t too confident here is because she knows she messed up.

Kaoruko directly asks why Futaba didn’t talk with her about her future plans, and Futaba, like in the rest of the revue, gives the honest answer: that she knew Kaoruko would be against it.

Futaba knew her leaving would hurt Kaoruko, but she didn’t want to think about it, so she ignored it. But it’s not like Futaba can just stay with Kaoruko, since that would make her stagnate, which is equivalent to death for a stage girl.

Futaba knows that she has to go on her own. That’s the only way she can improve. If she stuck with Kaoruko, her life would be guaranteed as the aide to the head, but instead Futaba is aiming for auditions at a competitive troupe, which gives her the chance to fail, and Futaba thrives in competitions. It’s why Seisho was so good for her, because it forced her to try harder to keep up, instead of just being dragged along by Kaoruko like before.

She’s focused on herself right now, and what path is best for her, but Futaba is also accidently ignoring what this path means for Kaoruko.

Despite not talking about it with Kaoruko, Futaba was pretty open about going to New National, so it wasn’t like she tried to hide the fact. And it’s not like Kaoruko asked about Futaba’s future plans either. So while they both knew what was going on, they both put off the hard conversation which anxiety in both of them.

This is reflected in the song, where Kaoruko complains that Futaba is being self centered and isn’t properly facing Kaoruko. Meanwhile Futaba sings there’s nothing they can really talk about, since Futaba has to do this. It’s a little interesting that they echo each other's lines, maybe a sign of how they are only now starting to understand each other. Although they sing in harmony the next part, of how they long to be as close as they once were again.

And this is what led to the tense situation now, where Kaoruko is assuming the worst from Futaba, and isn’t giving her a chance to explain herself.

Kaoruko doesn’t want to let Futaba go. So she doesn’t want to listen because if she does, that means Futaba would leave her. But the fact that Futaba keeps insisting even though she doesn’t want to hear it pisses Kaoruko off, making her imagine the worst case scenario.

And that’s why it’s Kaoruko who ends the scene, telling them to take it outside, which brings us back to the beginning with the Semitrucks, but this time they are on the rooftop, where Kaoruko seems to have made up her mind.

And while Futaba says she doesn’t want that, she does agree that they can’t be together anymore.

From the beginning, they both knew this was true. It was their first statement in the Revue Outfits. This Revue is about on what terms they will part. The fact that no matter who wins this revue, it will end in them separating is in stark contrast to their previous revue, where no matter who won, they’d stay together. They were instead fighting over who would be in charge.

Actually, a lot of things in this current revue resemble their previous revue as well. There’s a scene in both revues of Futaba listing everything she does for Kaoruko. But while the first time it was to show how Kaoruko took Futaba for granted, in this Revue it was about how Futaba cared so much for Kaoruko that she was willing to do all that.

And the Revues were even caused by the same issue: Futaba becoming more independent and Kaoruko wanting things to stay the same...

But they do touch on similar themes. Futaba mentioned how inadequate she felt compared to her classmates in both revues, and unlike this time, Futaba is the one mad that Kaoruko broke her end of their promise, since she had given up on aiming to be a top star.

But honestly this entire fight is basically a word for word remake of what happened in Episode 6.

Just like when she didn’t get a spot in the audition, Kaoruko insisted that she never wanted it in the first place. So now that Futaba might leave, Kaoruko insists that actually Kaoruko is the wants to cut ties, in a pitiable attempt to save her own ego.

But just like with the train at the last second, Futaba stops Kaoruko. She doesn’t want them to cut ties. And here she insists that they shouldn’t just throw away all the good times they had together.

And just like their last revue, they are about to charge towards each other.

But in the last Revue, Futaba didn’t fight back at the end. She saw that brilliance that had entranced her when they were younger, and couldn’t swing her halberd.

So back to the actual movie this deep dive is about, if you look at Kaoruko’s semi, it says that “I am angry” and “Futaba’s become a you that I don’t know.” This is mirrored in the song in the background, with Kaoruko singing that she wants to keep that Futaba away from her. This is why Kaoruko wants to cut ties with Futaba, and why Kaoruko is taking this so personally. Because Futaba changed without Kaoruko.

The song has them both sing that they’re passing by each other at 100 km/h, and we’ve seen this in how they both have been so self centered, that they aren’t taking the time to properly listen to each other. Kaoruko alone is cutting off ties because Futaba changed, ignoring what Futaba had to say about why she’s changed. After all, at the core of it, Futaba is trying to change to become worthy of staying at Kaoruko’s side.

Meanwhile, Futaba’s song portion is about how she couldn’t be satisfied with their old dream, since only Kaoruko was becoming a star in that one, and now Futaba doesn’t want to just be near the star, she wants to become one herself. She’s changed since they attended Seisho, and now, like her own truck says, she doesn’t need Kaoruko’s opinion.

And this time, when Kaoruko charges at Futaba, she’s ready to fight back.

Kaoruko is just as dazzling this time, but still Futaba reached a point where her own convictions as a stage girl allows her to fight back with her own brilliance. Both of them can see it. And this Futaba is dazzling. So maybe that’s why Kaoruko gives up. Just like Futaba in the last Revue, Kaoruko is blinded and can’t fight back anymore.

Like that line at the pep rally, she turns her back at the top. She doesn’t fight, and instead passes Futaba by and lets her truck go over the edge of the rooftop, giving up on the top.

You can tell that it's Kaoruko truck since it’s pink and has the dragon motif.

Before, Kaoruko called them all useless for giving up their ambition to be the top star in the auditions, but seeing Futaba’s full potential, Kaoruko thinks she should give it up too. After all, the last Revue had Futaba setting Kaoruko straight in order to become a dazzling star, so this Revue is about Futaba now, and she needs to be free to become that dazzling star.

So Kaoruko lets go, but Futaba holds on.

At this point, they’re not fighting anymore. The Revue is over. They understand each other and can’t be mad anymore.

Kaoruko is regretful that she almost cut ties with Futaba, and is uncertain of their futures, leaving it in Futaba’s hands. Meanwhile Futaba complains that Kaoroku’s being unfair, like she did not too long ago before their final clash, but now it’s bittersweet.

But eventually the wooden board Futaba was holding has too much stress, and it snaps, and they fall.

Now in general, falling is pretty bad. Especially from a rooftop. You can get hurt!

But just like how no one gets hurt in the fights in Revue Starlight (physically at least), no one ever gets injured from falling! Although just like how the fights are symbolic, so is falling.

And I know this is about Kaoruko and Futaba, but I gotta talk about Karen for a bit so we can discuss what falling means in Revue Starlight.

The first time Karen falls is in the weird dream she has in the middle of class right before reuniting with Hikari. While falling Karen realizes that at her current rate she can’t fulfill her promise anymore. Although it’s vague, later on we realize that Karen is talking about her promise to be a star with Hikari. And in the first episode, we see people constantly criticizing Karen’s work ethic, and while it’s mostly lighthearted teasing from her classmates about her tendency to sleep in and give extra work to Mahiru, it’s used as a legitimate reason to bar Karen from the Auditions by the Giraffe. And we see in the second episode that Karen struggles to do stretches and hit high notes, showing that she needs to polish her technical skills more. It’s only after losing her Revue to Maya that Karen realizes she needs to make a change and sacrifice more for the stage if she wants to be a top star with Hikari.

And much later in the series, we see the role Karen wants to play in Starlight, Flora. Flora is a tragic character whose promise with Claire goes unfulfilled after Flora herself falls from the Starlight Tower, giving another signifier that falling is a sign of someone being unable to keep their promise.

And falling in general is the opposite of what a Top Star wants after all. Since they are supposed to be at the very highest point, constantly progressing upward. And if your cape falls, you lose in the audition.

But in order to join the auditions, you have to take an elevator to the basement. Karen joined the auditions by literally falling onto the stage. And everytime Karen goes through her “I am Reborn” transformation sequence, she falls from the top of the frame. And in the rewritten Starlight, Flora has to make her way up after falling from the tower. And in order to save Hikari from the Eternal Stage, Karen had to descend the stairs in the basement to reach Hikari.

So falling is both necessary to becoming a top star and keeping promises, yet it is also antithetical to it. It is a sign of failure on the path to success, but you can’t even start that path until you brave the fall.

At first it seems like the difference between the two is intent, like whether you accidently fell vs whether you meant to jump into the unknown, but later on we see Karen climbing back onto the stage even when Hikari forcefully knocks her off the stage in their final (show, not movie) revue.

So what’s really important in relation to falling is what they do afterwards, which I think sends a nice message: That even if you fail, it’s just the start of your next attempt.

I swear I’ll circle back to the meaning of falling in a sec, so I didn’t just go off on a tangent for no reason.

So luckily the two manage to land in the semi truck’s container that was carrying a bunch of flower petals, so they’re safe. And once they’re there, Futaba softly asks Kaoruko to wait (as opposed to all the shouting from before), but Kaoruko says she can’t guarantee she will. It’s a little funny that the song she’s singing in the background says the exact opposite though. That’s pretty common in this revue, especially with her.

After all, who knows how long it’ll take Futaba to come back to Kaoruko. There isn’t a set timeframe to look forward to. Plus, what if someone else is dazzling enough to make Futaba forget about Kaoruko?

But none of that matters since that thing in Kaoruko’s hand is Futaba’s motorcycle keys, with a position zero keychain.

Position zero symbolizes the end in Revue Starlight. After all, it’s the goal they’re all aiming for in becoming the top star. It’s what ends every revue, as well as the very last frame of the show.

And so as long as Futaba is a stage girl, she’ll end up with Kaoruko, who Futaba gave her position zero to.

After all, Kaoruko is Futaba’s goal. She’s aiming to become a better stage girl, since she has to do so to remain by Kaoruko’s side. It’s what Futaba had been saying all along in this revue.

Also it’s super sweet. What the heck. I’m not crying, you’re crying.

Now circling back to the falling from before, Futaba and Kaoruko give up on being the Top Star in the auditions, since instead they have their own position zero to achieve: their promise and each other. This is confirmed by the both of them agreeing that they’re useless, which before Kaoruko called anyone who gave up on the auditions.

It also shows that they’re both ready to move onto the next station, since Kaoruko also called that useless too. And the next station means their futures in this context. Just to say it explicitly.

So when Futaba wins this revue, there’s no bitterness. They don’t need to use their weapons against each other. Futaba just picks up a piece of broken mirror from the crashed truck and uses that to cut Kaoruko’s jacket. And unlike before, Kaoruko and the song don’t contradict each other.

Okay but for real don’t pick up broken pieces of a mirror with your bare hands. Futaba should know this. She’s usually way more responsible than this! You could hurt yourself since it’s hard to see the sharp parts! And also the glass fragments! Use proper gloves!

Anyways, for some closure on the Revue, here’s a friendly reminder that of the characters watching from afar at the final revue, Kaoruko is the first to throw away her jacket since being the Top Star in these auditions doesn’t matter to her anymore, which is a far cry from what she was saying at the start of the movie! After all, they’re done with the auditions. They have to go onto the next stage.

Also Kaoruko was pretty obviously lying when she said she wouldn’t wait for Futaba, and it’s nice to see her in the credits with the motorcycle that Futaba will be back for. Even though she tipped it. She’s so dumb, I love her.

And Futaba made it into New National! I knew she could do it! I always believed in her! I mean I already saw the movie before so I already knew it would work out, but still! Go Futaba!

In the end, the revue helped Kaoruko understand what Futaba needed to do, and it gave Futaba the chance to let Kaoruko know that she’d be back, eventually. Honestly if they had been talking to each other properly before this, they wouldn’t have needed a whole 10 minute song and dance number with fight choreography, but it was fun so I can’t complain.

Anyways, now that that’s over, it’s time for a bunch of cool things I found while watching that I wanted to share, but not enough to break off into unrelated tangents to explain them in the middle of my deep dive!

At the very start of Revue, there is a frame with a Hannya mask, before transitioning to Kaoruko’s face. From my 5 seconds of googling, this is a mask used to represent a Jealous Female Demon in Japanese Noh Theater, which feels very fitting for Kaoruko in this revue.

So first off, they’re betting using those buttons, which are used to clasp their jackets. And if they lose them, they lost the revue, so those buttons are the pride of stage girls.

Also I think it’s a nice touch how the knife is separating them.

And initially, it’s Kaoruko blaming Claudine for taking her candy box. Candy is pretty important to Futaba and Kaoruko. As kids, part of the deal was that Futaba would buy Kaoruko candy. Also when Claudine and Maya helped sort out their first fight in Episode 6, they were gifted candy boxes from Futaba and Kaoruko, so maybe that has some significance to the two of them. And Futaba called their relationship candied when she breaks in later. She also calls it rotten but whatever.

One more thing though, is Kaoruko referring to Futaba as her property? Kinda yikes if you ask me.

Also don’t take my word for this, but I think I heard somewhere that Futaba speaks with the same Kyoto dialect as Kaoruko. I’m not sure if this is for the entire revue or just for her introduction, but it’s still nice to hear, since Futaba is originally from Kyoto too, but sounds like she’s speaking in the Tokyo accent most of the time, probably to fit in with everyone else. But now it’s just these two, so she doesn’t need to worry about the others. Or maybe she’s talking like this specifically to get Kaoruko to understand her, to speak the same language and all.

A neat little detail is that Futaba has Tiger heads on her jacket and Kaoruko has a dragon tattoo on her shoulder. Also their semi trucks from later will also have a dragon and tiger on it, but if you look closely, you can see the other person’s animal too, showing how much they shaped and impacted each other, even when they’ve been torn so far apart in this revue. This is a longstanding thing for them too, since it’s referenced in their first duel, with their respective animals in the artwork behind them.

The Tiger and the Dragon is kinda like a yin yang thing from my quick google. They are strong in different aspects, like the Tiger is more straightforward and the Dragon is more cunning. You should look it up if you’re interested, since a ton of eastern media has pairs with this motif.

It’s interesting that they have this argument while climbing up a staircase. Since Futaba and Kaoruko are going up, with Kaoruko a little higher than Futaba, but Futaba is the one pushing them upward, kind of like how Futaba keeps Kaoruko on her toes to become a better actor as they aim to be the top star. Also interesting since staircases are often associated with the sets of Takarazuka Revue.

Anyways, minor tangent, the Takarazuka Revue is a real life, all female Japanese Musical Theater company that has the actors compete to be the all important top star. Another fun fact, Seisho is based on a real life school, which happens to be the alma mater of literally every member of the Takarazuka Revue.

In this scene, Kaoruko complains that Futaba’s reasoning is of a grown up, despite Kaoruko being more comfortable in the adult environment, showing how both of them have what the other lacks. In the end she admits they’re both just kids though.

Funnily enough, Junna and Maya beating Kaoruko in revues convinced Kaoruko to drop out of school in episode 6, so maybe that’s why she singled them out by name when complaining about Futaba mentioning other women.

Google tells me that the tower that’s being projected is called the Toji Tower, a famous landmark of Kyoto. It’s famous enough that in the end credits, this is the landmark used to show that Hikari is visiting Kyoto. No clue about the other buildings though. That’s not due to them not being significant enough, but rather me sucking at geography.

I remember hearing once that Kaoruko’s name means flowers and Futaba’s name means branch, so together they’d be the flowers on the branch that Kaoruko twirls around in Futaba’s memory of her. But it’s a little sad that they are lying on a bunch of flowers that have fallen off their branches.

I didn’t mention this before, but the motorcycle also has a position zero on it, since it’s a Tonda brand. And explicitly Futaba said she’ll be back for the motorcycle, but we all know she’s talking about Kaoruko. So the scene where Futaba tells her to take care of the motorcycle, she’s telling Kaoruko to take good care of herself, because they’re in love and Futaba wants her to do what’s best for herself.

Also I feel like the motorcycle has some symbolic meaning here, since Futaba initially got the motorcycle to give Kaoruko a ride to school since her legs get tired, but also developed bike riding skills on her own, which is kind of what happened when Kaoruko brought Futaba to Seisho so they wouldn’t be apart, but then Futaba found her own path to becoming a star.

The endings of the Revue of Malice and the Revue of Promises are pretty similar, which is nice. (They also hold hands on the right picture too, it’s the shot immidiately after!)

So yeah, that’s my thoughts on the Kaoruko-Futaba Revue! I like that their issue was very straightforward and easy to digest, since the other ones are way more vague because of all the conflicting and nebulous motivations of characters coming into their Revue. And while everyone else had to confront hard truths about themselves in order to continue being a stage girl, Futaba and Kaoruko were single mindedly focused on the issue of what’s gonna happen to their relationship in the future, and honestly that just goes to show you how important they are to each other.

Although I am a little worried I got too caught up in surface details and missed something major, so feel free to correct me or add something on if you feel like it.

But I think the straightforward nature of this match is a good reason for this to be the first revue of the movie. Like the show’s revues, it starts with the characters' introduction and ends with the loser’s button coming off. But in the rest of the movie’s revues, this format is broken all the time. And each time, It’s a subversion of both our and the characters’ expectations in the Revue, so it’s good to set the stage with a revue that follows the proper steps.

(Masterpost for the other Revues)

#revue starlight #kaoruko hanayagi #futaba isurugi #futakao #shoujo kageki revue starlight #revue starlight movie #gekijouban shoujo kageki revue starlight #revstar

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