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Sora Naegino
The main protagonist of the series. Sora has dreamt of becoming part of the Kaleido Stage ever since her deceased parents took her to see a performance as a child. With her adoptive parents' hesitant approval she travels to the United States to audition. Although she can't make it to the audition, the owner Kalos becomes interested in her skills and lets her join the Stage after he has her perform in an actual show. Most of the cast are dissatisfied with Sora due to the special circumstances through which she joins, but they accept Sora due to her persistence and hard work along with her magnetic personality.
- All-Loving Heroine: This girl has almost unlimited love and kindness towards everyone, no matter what happens.
- Butt-Monkey: She is never safe from the world's abuse, whether it's being ridiculed by her fellow performers in Kaleido Stage.
- Desperately Looking for a Purpose in Life: In the second season, where she begins to have actual doubts about her talent.
- The Friend Nobody Likes: Almost everyone at Kaleido Stage has expressed dismay about her quirks.
- Genki Girl: When not in self-deprecating moods, she's energetic and spirited.
- Happily Adopted: After her biological parents died, she was taken in by her dad's cousin and his wife, who loved her as much as if she was their real child.
- Heroic Self-Deprecation: The girl tends to have a pretty low self-esteem and at times can fall in crippling depression.
- Leg Focus: The camera tends to focus a lot on her long, shapely, lovely legs.
- Oblivious to Love: She's so oblivious to Ken's crush on her that she keeps treating him as just a friend and missing the obvious signs that he loves her.
- Parental Abandonment: Her biological parents died before the start of the series.
- Plucky Girl: Things can get harsh at the stage for her and there's times it can get her down, but she always gets right back up.
- Rose-Haired Sweetie: She's got dark pink hair and a cheerful and optimistic personality.
- Ship Tease: Mostly with Ken, Layla and Rosetta.
- Stock Shoujo Heroine: Sora is an enthusiastic Naïve Newcomer to the Kaleido Stage with a big dream to become a great performer. There's a lot of harsh training and unpleasant people she must deal with to succeed, but she manages to pull through with her determination and good attitude.
- Town Girls: The Neither to Mia's Femme and Anna's Butch. Sora stands in the middle of Mia's femininity and Anna's tomboyishness, as she's girlier than Anna yet more athletic and energetic than Mia.
- Unskilled, but Strong: Sora has lots of stamina and strength, but next to no skills since despite having been a Passionate Sports Girl, she hadn't specifically trained in acting and gymnastics. Hence why she has to go through Training from Hell.
- Wide-Eyed Idealist: She has to go through lots of hardship as the performing world isn't half as pretty and rose-tinted as she thought it was. Fortunately, she manages to overcome most of her trials without completely losing her positive outlook.
Layla Hamilton
Voiced by: Sayaka Ohara (JP), Sandra Krasa (EN), Mónica Valencia (LA)
The daughter of Laura and Kevin Hamilton, Layla is accomplished and seasoned, but arrogant and perfectionist performer of Kaleido Stage. At first rivals with Sora, Layla becomes friends with her. Layla has a strained relationship with Kevin, who attempts to force her to become an actress and is frequently trying to push her into doing so. However, Layla joined the Kaleido Stage due to her fondness for the Stage, as Laura has gone there during her youth.
- The Ace: The prima donna of the Stage in every sense of the phrase.
- Broken Bird: At the time of her introduction, Layla's deeply scarred by Laura's death as well as her subsequent estrangement from Kevin.
- Brutal Honesty: She is always blunt with her words and actions.
- Calling the Old Man Out: She calls out Kevin after returning from London to participate with Sora and her allies in Vancouver.
- Career-Ending Injury: Performing the "Great Legendary Maneuver" with an almost broken shoulder injured Layla so badly that she won't be able to perform again in the Stage. She's next seen in Broadway.
- Defrosting Ice Queen: She starts out rather icy to Sora when they first meet, but by the end of the first season, they've become true friends.
- Dislikes the New Guy: She has no trouble expressing how low her opinion is about Sora when they first meet.
- Icy Blue Eyes: Matching her aloof demeanor.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: She seems at first to be an arrogant, ultra-perfectionist who won't let newbies catch a break, but soon we see that she's as hard (if not more) on herself as she is with others and that she loves the Kaleido Stage as much as Sora does.
- Knight in Sour Armor: As seen above, Layla is a sad and almost embittered young woman who loves the Stage with all her heart but has lost her initial joy. Sora helps her regain her more idealistic side.
- The Lancer: She becomes Sora's best ally during the first season.
- Lethal Chef: Can't even handle a coffee machine.
- Mentor Archetype: She becomes Sora's mentor by the time the second season rolls around.
- Ojou: She's the only daughter of an incredibly wealthy family and has the majestic aura befitting of her social position.
- The Perfectionist: She demands nothing but perfection from others, especially from Sora, and herself.
- Plucky Girl: She's as stubborn as she's skilled.
- Took a Level in Idealism: After spending most of the season wallowing in depression, Layla's idealism is restored thanks to Sora's efforts.
- Took a Level in Kindness: By the time of the second season, the kindness Laura's had when she was a child returns to her once again.
- "Well Done, Daughter!" Girl: Laura is dead, and Kevin is kind but always at work. Young Layla swore to make her dad proud.
Fool
Voiced by: Takehito Koyasu (JP), Jay Hickman (EN), Carlos Villegas (LA)
The mysterious spirit of the Kaleido Stage. He appears to Sora shortly before she appears on the Kaleido Stage for the first time.
- Butt-Monkey: He tends to be ignored, punched, yelled at by Sora.
- Cool Mask: A really cool-looking half-mask.
- Fairy Companion: A Deconstructed Trope. Sora thinks she has lost her mind when she starts seeing him, his advice isn't exactly flawless, and when Sora goes into borderline
Wangst status she actually stops seeing him for a while. - Fortune Teller: In the first season, he reads the future by drawing a single tarot card. In the second season, he reveals the hidden workings of inter-character relationships, associating each character with a sign of the zodiac and stating how some signs are dimmer or brighter.
- Lovable Sex Maniac: He's a pervert who tries many times to see Sora, and sometimes her friends, naked (usually by suggesting that they should take a shower). Sora is quick to prevent Fool from peeking in any given situation by trapping him somewhere or rebuking him forcefully.
- Invisible to Normals: He's invisible to everyone but those who are destined to do great things on the stage and/or whose heart is completely dedicated to the stage.
Mia Guillem
Voiced by: Chinami Nishimura (JP), Nancy Novotny (EN), Alejandra Ramírez (LA)
A close friend of Sora's. Mia is passionate about writing the scripts for Kaleido Star's performances and she has a keen interest in introducing literature into Kaleido Star's acts.
- Badass Bookworm: She's a really Cute Bookworm, yes, but has also lots of genuine atheltic skills
- Girlish Pigtails: She arranges her hair in pigtails and is the girliest of Sora's friends.
- Smart People Wear Glasses: She's usually seen wearing glasses when she's working in a script.
- Town Girls: The Femme to Sora's Neither and Anna's Butch. Because of her long hair and cute dresses, Mia is the most feminine of the trio.
Anna Heart
Voiced by: Akeno Watanabe (JP), Kira Vincent-Davis (EN), Klaudia Kotte (LA)
Another good friend of Sora's. Anna is talented in many areas and frequently plays more serious parts. Anna truly wishes to perform comedy and usually tries to get Mia to write comedy into her parts.
- Bifauxnen: She's tall and pretty, but in a boyish way. She often takes up boyish roles as a result, and has MANY female fans specifically for this
- Boyish Short Hair: Sora and Mia are girlier than she is, and unlike them she keeps her Messy Hair short.
- Calling the Old Man Out: Anna expresses her disappointment in Jack when she finally confronts him, but they quickly reconcile shortly afterward.
- Cannot Tell a Joke: She tries really hard to be funny, but her attempts at comedy always turn out very lame.
- Cross-Cast Role: She plays male roles sometimes.
- Disappeared Dad: Jack "Baron Jack" Heart.
- Even the Girls Want Her: Has BUTTLOADS of female fans in-story, specifically due to her Bifauxnen-ness.
- Like Parent, Like Child: She and Jack are very similar.
- Sad Clown: She cracks (bad) jokes and seems to have a talent for comedy, but Jack's disappearance has left her really sad.
- Town Girls: The Butch to Sora's Neither and Mia's Femme. Out of the trie, Anna has the most masculine look because of her short hair and wears pants in all of her outfits.
Rosetta Passel
Voiced by: Kaori Mizuhashi (JP), Serena Varghese (EN), Renata Vargas (LA)
A world champion diabolo performer. After her first performance at Kaleido Stage, Kalos kicks her off the stage because her act was unsatisfying: he explains that despite being perfect in the technical field, she lacked passion at what she was doing, so everyone was bored by her act. Feeling this wasn't fair, Sora takes the girl under her wing, teaching her how to put audience enjoyment before technical perfection. In return, Rosetta teaches Sora diabolo, which Sora returns to when she needs help learning new acts. Later in the series, Rosetta returns to join the Kaleido Stage in a permanent way.
- Calling the Old Woman Out: She calls out her Stage Mom.
- Defrosting Ice Queen: It took her only one episode to melt.
- Fiery Redhead: As soon as she befriends Sora, she lets her more hotblooded side arise
- Lethal Chef: A Justified Trope: she's at much 14 years old and has never lived alone.
- Tomboy and Girly Girl: She's the Tomboy to Sora's Girly girl.
Marion Benigni
Voiced by: Fumiko Orikasa (JP), Kim-Ly Nguyen (EN), Rocío Bermúdez (LA)
A young girl living near the Stage. Her father is a designer and engineer and works on the sets, but her mother Cynthia was a trampolinist who died due to an accident. In the second season Marion begins to perform with the group on the Children's Stage.
- Bratty Half-Pint: Also for one episode.
- Circus Brat: Her dad is the lead of the stagehands, her dead mom was a Kaleido artist. In the second season, she officially joins the Stage.
- Tagalong Kid: The youngest of Sora's friends, and she isn't an official part of the stage until later.
- "Well Done, Daughter!" Girl: To her Missing Mom.
Jonathan
Voiced by: Etsuko Kozakura (JP), Tiffany Grant (EN), Ximena Medina (LA)
A baby seal that Sora picked up one day. Unable to keep pets, Sora tries to hide him. However, the secret is revealed and instead of kicking him out, Marion's father builds a tank for him. He is capable of doing many tricks and sometimes seems more coordinated than Sora, creating comical performances that the attending children love.
- Empathy Pet: His reactions are often in synchrony with Marion's.
- Head Pet: He usually rests on top of Marion's head.
- Sweet Seal: A cute little baby seal that Sora adopts.
- Team Pet: He becomes the pet to Sora's group of friends at Kaleido Star.
Yuri Killian
Voiced by: Susumu Chiba (JP), Illich Guardiola (EN), Leonardo Salas (LA)
An experienced performer who usually performs with Layla.
- Big Brother Mentor: To Sora, after his Heel–Face Turn.
- Disappeared Dad: His father, Aaron, died on-stage. His death was Yuri's Start of Darkness.
- Reformed, but Rejected: Considering that he did pull lots of shit on the Stage, this is understandable. Thankfully this is later subverted.
- Sixth Ranger: Second season.
- Token Evil Teammate: First season.
- You Killed My Father: Believes Kalos to be responsible for his father's death.
May Wong
Voiced by: Mai Nakahara (JP), Hilary Haag (EN), Luzgeyle Poveda and Claudia Chavarro (LA)
A Chinese-American new recruit who challenges Sora's position. She became jealous of Sora because of the bond she formed with Layla.
- Break the Haughty: Not only she falls victim to Leon's "curse" when he deliberately injures her to knock her off her pedestal, but later she gets called out more than once on her arrogance - especially by Layla, her own idol.
- Brutal Honesty: She has even less of a thoughts-to-words filter than Layla.
- Child Prodigy: Subverted. May was an ice skating prodigy as a little girl, as revealed by her coach Meredith, but ultimately decided to ditch skating (thought she still skates once in a while) to focus solely on the Kaleido Stage.
- Cool Big Sis: She has multiple little brothers and sisters who see her this way. She would even teach her brothers wrestling moves.
- Don't You Dare Pity Me!: She never takes it kindly when she thinks others, especially Sora, are taking pity on her.
- Driven by Envy: Her dreams were to "defeat" Sora and perform one day alongside Layla. Said dream was unintentionally "destroyed" by Sora when she and Layla performed together for the last time when Layla was injured, which was followed by Layla's retirement. Angry and envious, May seeks to beat Sora and take the position of Layla's successor from her.
- Hot-Blooded: She's very headstrong and aggressively competitive.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: She starts as a mean and competitive girl who antagonizes Sora over petty jealousy. After she's induced to a harsh Break the Haughty, she becomes more humble and eventually befriends Sora.
- Large Ham: She likes to loudly call her techniques.
- The Resenter: She's jealous of Sora because not only did she perform the legendary maneuver with Layla, but that Layla calls Sora "her dreams" and has faith that Sora will succeed her as a true performer.
- The Rival: She acts as Sora's rival for most of the second half, as she wants to compete with Sora for the position of Layla's successor.
- Small Name, Big Ego: When she first shows up at Kaleido Stage, she thinks that everyone will just hand her all of the starring roles and she'll become a big name without even trying. Needless to say, a brutal Break the Haughty puts a stop to that.
- Spoiled Brat: At first, her status as a Child Prodigy has gone to her head and convinced her that everything should be handed to her on a silver platter. After she goes through a Break the Haughty process, she gets over her bratty behavior.
- Supreme Chef: The large buffet she prepared for Sora in episode 50 serves as a demonstration of her great cooking skills.
- Took a Level in Kindness: Her Break the Haughty moment helps her realize she has to work to obtain what she wants, and she consequently becomes a better person and another friend of Sora's as a result.
- Tsundere: Harsh type. She's initially hostile and rude to Sora because she sees her as a rival, but does gradually get over her dislike for Sora and even starts acting more like her friend.
Leon Oswald
Voiced by: Takahiro Sakurai (JP), Mike MacRae (EN), Orlando Arenas (LA)
A very famous trapeze performer who arrives in the second season. He comes off as arrogant, refusing to perform with Sora, because she is not skilled enough for him. He tries to terminate his own contract very early on, but after seeing Sora and May Wong fight on stage, he decides to remain in hopes that one of them can become his true partner.
- Broken Ace: On one hand, he's famous, skilled and handsome. On the other, he's an arrogant Jerkass who practically tortures his potential partners to see their worth and is still traumatized by his beloved sister's death.
- Cynicism Catalyst: Horribly losing his Morality Pet sister Sophie drove him over the edge and very close to the Despair Event Horizon.
- Freudian Excuse: He looks and acts like a perfectionist, cruel, ice-cold Jerkass who practically tortures his potential partners to see their worth, but is later revealed to be deeply traumatised by the tragic death of his sister and partner Sophie, who went through exactly the same Training from Hell he subjects his partners to - and actually was successful, therefore both May Wong and Sora Naegino have to struggle hard to get his trust.
- I Let Gwen Stacy Die: He still blames himself for his sister's death.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He starts off as a jerk to Sora, but overtime he becomes true friends with her.
- Kick the Dog: No matter what you think of May, not even she deserves to have Leon deliberately dropping her on-stage and causing her to get seriously injured. It's also mentioned that May is not the first one he's done this to, and his actions have crippled one of his former partners and killed another.
- Long-Haired Pretty Boy: He has gorgeous silver hair falling down his back.
- Took a Level in Kindness: Compare the jerkass Leon from the second season beginning to the much less constipated one from the last episodes.
- Two First Names: His surname Oswald can also be used as a given name.
- White Hair, Black Heart: He has long silver hair and is introduced as a very cold and antagonistic character.
Kenneth "Ken" Robbins
Voiced by: Hiro Shimono (JP), John Swasey (EN), Wolfang Galindo (LA)
The stage manager for Kaleido. He used to want to perform onstage when he was young, but claims to have a weak heart and decided that it was best to be backstage. He has a huge crush on Sora, something she's completely unaware of.
- Cannot Spit It Out: Two where Anna and Mia spend an episode trying to get him to confess to Sora.
- Dogged Nice Guy: To Sora, though he's not as pushy as others.
- Dream-Crushing Handicap: He's the busboy because his heart illness doesn't let him train and become a performer.
- Everyone Can See It: That he has feelings for Sora.
- Hopeless Suitor: Sora is far too dense to think of him as anything more than a friend, and nothing hints that will ever change.
- Love Hurts: His crush on Sora brings him more angst than anything, since she genuinely sees him as just a friend.
Sarah Dupont
Voiced by: Aya Hisakawa (JP), Luci Christian (EN), Martha Ginneth Rincón (LA)
The main singer of Kaleido Stage, as well as the building manager for the dorms where everyone lives. Many want Sarah to sign on a record label because she is so gifted in singing, but she stays true to Kaleido Stage. She is an avid fan of martial arts, and frequently proposes bizarre alternative methods to help Sora achieve her objectives.
- Career Versus Man: She dreamt of becoming a world-famous singer, but after Kalos' Career-Ending Injury, she decided to become Kaleido Stage's singer so she could stay near him despite Kalos' protests.
- Idol Singer: She sings on the KS stage, and it's mentioned she's been offered CD contracts many times but has refused all of them.
Kalos Eido
Voiced by: Keiji Fujiwara (JP), Rick Burford (EN), Harold Leal (LA)
The head manager and boss of the entire Kaleido Stage. He gives Sora many helpful pieces of advice throughout the anime. He also maintains high expectations of everyone he encounters.
- The Atoner: For something he didn't do.
- Break Her Heart to Save Her: In one episode, when Kalos felt as if Sarah should pursue her own dream, he tells her to leave with their old friend Andy since she's "no longer needed", leaving her in tears. His plan is ruined when Sora intervenes and forces him to confess his true feelings.
- Career-Ending Injury: He used to be a Stage Magician, but he injured his fingers and now can't perform magic tricks.
- Characterization Marches On: When we're introduced to him, his actions give the impression that he has a genial, Cloudcuckoolander sort of personality, but that impression does a very quick 180, and his tough-as-nails, Ice King sort of demeanor is revealed. It's practically a subversion of Establishing Character Moment. Though interestingly, his initial reactions towards Sora are brought back up later on.
- Engineered Public Confession: In order to let Sarah know how he truly feels, Sora goes to Kalos's office and teases him to reveal his true feelings. In the meantime, the others bring Sarah to the stage, and she listens to Kalos's words via Sora's hidden microphone.
- Hidden Heart of Gold: He exhibits stone-cold authority towards his crew, but almost no one matches his passion for showmanship.
- I Was Quite a Looker: Invoked by Sora when she sees a photo of his younger self (alongside a teen!Sarah and their companion Andy) and can't believe the baby-faced youth in the picture is him.
- My Greatest Failure: Has blamed himself for more than 10 years for the death of Yuri's dad.
- Self-Made Man: He started as a self-taught Stage Magician who performed in the streets. 20 years later he's the owner of the world-famous Kaleido Stage.
- Sink or Swim Mentor: While he sees potential in Sora, he's pretty relentless in pushing her beyond the limits of her experience.
- Team Dad: A rather stern one at that.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: He believes himself to be such, since he asked Aaron if he truly was up to performing the very dangerous Fantastic Maneouver... a few hours before Aaron failed to do it and died, which is the reason why Yuri is pissed off at him enough to try buying out the Stage as revenge.
Jerry, aka Mr. Policeman
Voiced by: Unshō Ishizuka (JP), James Reed Faulkner (EN), Eleazar Osorio (LA)
A tall, muscled African-American policeman and Sora's self-proclaimed "1# fan".
- Childhood Friend Romance: With Kate the doctor.
Mr. Kenneth
Voiced by: Mitsuo Senda (JP), Jason Douglas (EN)
An elderly man and representative for the Stage's stockholders. He is often portrayed as a producer, seemingly giving him executive powers often rivaling or superseding that of Kalos. He has great experience in show business and often aids Sora.
- Obfuscating Stupidity: Seems to be a Cloud Cuckoo Lander, but is much sharper than you'd think.
Sophie Oswald
Voiced by: Miyuki Sawashiro (JP), Jessica Boone (EN), Diana Beltrán (LA)
Leon's deceased little sister.
- All-Loving Heroine: Very sweet and kind, could never ever say a bad word about anyone.
- Fangirl: Of Yuri.
- Look Both Ways: How she died. Yuri tricked Sophie into being late for her and Leon's audition for a very important contest, and when she was running towards the stage with less than five minutes to spare... she carelessly crossed the street without glancing around and got fatally hit by a truck.
- Morality Pet: To Leon.
- Plucky Girl: She was as strongwilled as she was gentle.
Cathy Taymor
Voiced by: Kotono Mitsuishi (JP), Shannon Emerick (EN), Tirza Pacheco (LA)
The writer and director of "Salome In Vegas", an off-Broadway stage-play.
- Cool Big Sis: To Sora and especially to Mia.
