Starlight.
This is the story of goddesses
guided by the light of the stars.
They collide and clash.
They grow closer even as they pass each other by.
However,
it is a tragedy where an eternal parting awaits.
Let's go, to pluck that star together!
They fail to achieve their dream.
That stage and that song...
hopelessly stir us.
Let us go to that stage,
to that shining star,
together!
Dear Kagura Hikari,
It has been cold here lately, but how are things on your end?
The stage girl Aijo Karen is feeling great as usual.
Huh?
Oh, right. The 99th Seisho Festival's Starlight.
It went off without a hitch.
It was our first performance at the Seisho Music Academy,
but we all worked together,
and I think it turned out really well!
But I can't get complacent.
I'll definitely snag the Flora role next year.
And when that happens I'd love it if you came to watch.
Or something.
Every day, I'm getting one step closer to the promise we made. I think.
So I really hope you too...
Oh, but overexerting yourself is a definite non, non!
Until my next letter.
Love, Aijo Karen.
I'm off.
Karen, thank you for all your letters.
I'm busy with lessons every day, but I'm running too.
Towards our promised stage.
So that I can become a star here.
The Royal Academy of Theatrical Actors.
Acting, directing,
playwriting, stage design, lighting, sound design...
This is a drama school where people gather who are aiming to work in the theater.
We're divided into classes, each with a custom curriculum.
From cutting edge acting theory,
all the way to production,
professionals guide us as our teachers
in high-level and specialized lessons.
We're all classmates gathered from around the world, fighting for the same dream.
You can't relax for even a second.
Every day feels like competing in earnest on the stage.
A supporting role in a regularly-scheduled play is not enough.
I have to become better, even more refined.
To aim for that promised stage...
Hikari-chan, don't go!
Karen, you can't become a star if you're a crybaby.
What?
B-But...
If you go to Dondon...
London!
I can't Starlight by myself!
I've made up my mind.
You won't go to Dondon?
I won't come back until I've become a star.
And I won't see you, either.
Why? Why?
Why, why?
Why?!
If I'm around, you'll depend on me too much.
No way... Can I call you?
Nope.
Um, well, then...
Can I write you letters?
You don't need to write anything back.
I'll just send you them one way.
Okay?
O-Okay...
Karen.
Hikari-chan?
We'll meet on the stage.
Yeah! It's a promise!
No, that's not right.
It's our destiny!
Destiny?
Yeah!
I acted cool in front of you, Karen,
but it was actually for my own sake.
If I didn't push you away like that,
I'd end up wanting to see you.
You love the stage, and you love Starlight.
That's what you told me, Karen.
And that's why I'm running.
We'll reunite beneath the spotlight.
On top of the stage where you are waiting for me.
So that we can become stars together.
I can't be satisfied with just this.
Even greater...
Even greater heights!
What's this place?
Revues are enchanting stage performances with songs and dances.
A-A giraffe?
You would prefer Japanese?
I understand.
A revue consists of song and dance woven into a mesmerizing play.
We will now be holding auditions,
and to whomever puts on the brightest-shining revue
the Star Tiara will be bestowed,
and the path to becoming the top star will open up.
Top star?
The one who will stand on the stage of destiny.
Emitting an infinite glimmer, unleashing their full potential,
they will transcend time to shine on.
The eternal lead.
The stage of destiny...
Will you participate in the auditions?
I understand.
Karen, I'll be waiting for you...
on the stage of destiny!
No way!
This marks the end of the final audition.
Huh?
What happened with Judy? It's ridiculous how good she's become suddenly.
That jump and grand fouetté were really beautiful.
What in the world were those auditions?
Oppression of the people, frequent wars.
We cannot overlook the tyranny of the emperor any longer!
What's wrong with me?
We, the Brotherhood of the Sword, will carry out justice with God as our witness!
I should be emotionally invested in the play,
but I don't feel a thing.
Neither the nervousness from standing on the stage,
nor the exaltation from singing.
My right hand—my son's sworn friend—
must even you betray me?
The glimmer I felt on stage...
Why...
is it all...
Even if I must fight him one day...
...gone?
130g lost in weight.
One jar of the usual hand cream.
A salmon sandwich from Cross Town.
A Macbeth paperback.
Eleven two-pound coins.
The weight of one kidney.
What is it that I've lost?
What's wrong with me?
I can't feel a thing.
I was in a hurry to do something.
I feel as though I was really frantic,
yet now... I can't remember a single thing.
Why was I standing on the stage again?
What was I aiming for when I entered that school?
Oh, that's right, that thing.
The promise I made with Kare—
Karen...
I can't believe it. Just now, I...
I referred to our promise as "that thing".
What's wrong with me?
What happened?
The auditions?
No, no...
Pick up already.
I said pick up.
Pick up, giraffe!
I won't stand for this.
At this rate, I'll...
To whomever puts on the brightest-shining revue
the Star Tiara will be bestowed,
and the path to becoming the top star will open up.
But if we lose, we'll have it all stolen from us.
Our precious glimmer and everything else.
I understand.
You tricked me.
The birth of a top star requires a fair amount of fuel, you see.
You mean that's the glimmer you stole from me?
I failed to predict that this much glimmer would remain.
So I present you with a new opportunity.
What?
For the next auditions...
They will be held in Japan.
To whomever puts on the brightest-shining revue,
the path to becoming the top star will open up.
You'll let me participate again?
Why?
A stage girl who has lost everything.
A stage of destiny where no one can predict what will happen.
I want to witness that.
I'll participate.
I will take care of the arrangements.
Where in Japan?
Even if you must fight that girl one day...
Hey!
I asked you a question!
Slipping through my firmly raised hands,
the vow we made that day fell into the abyss.
I once again climb towards my stage of destiny.
Even if it must end in tragedy...
99th generation, Kagura Hikari.
It is all for the sake of Starlight!
Today is the sixth day of auditions.
The Revue of Solitude is starting.
Aim to become the top star,
sing, dance, and fight to win.
I feel so bad for you, using such a small sword.
You must have been through a lot of pain.
But it's all over now.
I'll shoulder...
it all for you!
Don't be afraid.
You're already one of us now.
Sadness, partings, setback...
I'll protect you from everything that torments stage girls
using my reenactment!
Karen, what drives you so?
I made a promise with Hikari-chan!
Why, Hikari-chan?
What makes you fight this hard?
Karen... My destiny is waiting for me!
I just wanted to brag a little to Karen.
The stage, plays, musicals...
I wanted to show her that I knew more than others about a slightly different world.
I wanted to see her in awe.
Hikari-chan, let's go to that stage.
Huh?
We'll become stars together,
and Starlight everyone!
That's the moment I was born.
As the stage girl, Kagura Hikari.
I won't ever...
lose again!
Having lost everything,
my promise with Karen kept me bound to the stage.
I'll become a stage girl once again.
To do so, I have no choice but to beat all the other participants and become the top star.
I thought that was the only way to fulfill my promise with Karen.
But then that stupid Karen...
These auditions are winner-takes-all, and yet...
she sought to protect me.
We will definitely become stars together!
I can't deprive Karen of her glimmer.
But...
If I don't beat everyone, my glimmer...
In that case, we just need to pass together!
If we shine the strongest together...
We can pass together, I'm sure.
If we shine together...
I'd never even considered that before!
But!
Even so, I could feel it!
Our shared...
Starlight!
Remaking of glimmer...
Position zero!
This marks the end of the sixth day of auditions.
Do you understand, Hikari-chan?
The play Starlight is a tragedy.
You can't avoid parting in the end.
Will you fight on, even if Karen-chan...
Even if you must fight her one day...
Even so, I will...
Together with Karen...
Quickly climbing up, I see.
The destined two, is it?
I understand.
Girls' Musical Revue Starlight.
I see.