Revue Starlight: The Movie has quite an interesting intro that really caught us off guard. Rather than being a flashback of past events—like most anime films tend to be—we get to see the girls of Seisho Music Academy’s 99th class talk about their future plans as they reach graduation. This might seem like an interesting strength to discuss but it really begins Revue Starlight: The Movie with a good starting point to see the girls and their ambitions now after their various battles. Many movies take way too long to feel like a genuine sequel but Revue Starlight: The Movie doesn’t waste time by showing you these girls are still here and their drive hasn’t changed.

There is a flashback of sorts in Revue Starlight: The Movie's first 20 mins that show Karen and Hikari as children that we found to be an adorable little return to their youth. We see how their friendship was birthed and comes across as genuine and adorable. More anime films need this type of intro to avoid feeling like an unnecessary waste of the beginning.

Maybe the stage girls thought their days battling were over but we wouldn’t have Revue Starlight: The Movie release if that was the case! Our lovely girls end up on a strange train ride that leads them to battle Nana and despite the battle being against only one girl, they quickly find themselves in a losing fight. We’re reminded of how dark Revue Starlight can be as blood begins pouring! This first battle gripped us quickly and set the stage for the remainder of Revue Starlight: The Movie!

Revue Starlight has always had an excellent OST with varying tunes and songs but Revue Starlight: The Movie takes it up several notches with an even more impressive score. Add to that, the music plays out almost perfectly with whatever scene is being shown whether it be a battle or just dialogue played out between varying girls. Revue Starlight: The Movie really has a soundtrack that feels robust and we have no doubt one song or another will resonate with you and make you want to download it as soon as you finish the movie!

One of our minor issues with Revue Starlight: The Movie is the odd transition of events within the film. We mentioned before the flashback with Hikari and Karen but that is only one of several and while they are quite important for the story—and to really show the bond of the main two girls, transitions like this and other moments can be…bizarre. One minute you’ll see the girls talking with one another about their futures and the next moment you’ll see either something gruesome or a battle beginning between another set of girls. These effects were probably made to make the movie feel like a stage play—as that would make sense given the context of the series—but it still was a bit odd.

Avoiding spoilers, let’s just say the final act of Revue Starlight: The Movie was downright jaw-dropping with some impressive animation and music. We found our mouths were wide open at the finale and that is a rare situation for us here at Honey’s Anime. Revue Starlight: The Movie made us get up from our seats and clap even if we were at home watching from our monitors and knowing no one could hear us.