History Manga / KagekiShoujo

Not to be confused, but inevitably to be compared, with ''Anime/ShoujoKagekiRevueStarlight'', seeing as both franchises take inspiration from the Creator/TakarazukaRevue. ''Kageki Shoujo'' is [[SlidingScaleOfRealisticVersusFantastic considerably more realistic]], and does not contain massive underground stages, sword battles, or a talking giraffe[[note]]except, of course, Sarasa[[/note]]. The amount of [[ShipTeasing yuri hints]] among the main cast is also considerably lower, in line with Takarazuka's official disapproving view of such relationships among its actresses; a likely schoolgirl lesbian appears in a backstory part of an episode but she never joins Kouka. ''Kageki Shoujo'' is ''not'' an "answer" to ''Revue Starlight'', as the manga was created a few years before that franchise. Also, it not to be confused with the Creator/{{Taito}}'s arcade and [[UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis Genesis/Megadrive]] brawler, ''VideoGame/{{Kageki}}''.

Not to be confused, but inevitably to be compared, with ''Anime/ShoujoKagekiRevueStarlight'', seeing as both franchises take inspiration from the Creator/TakarazukaRevue. ''Kageki Shoujo'' is [[SlidingScaleOfRealisticVersusFantastic considerably more realistic]], and does not contain massive underground stages, sword battles, or a talking giraffe[[note]]except, of course, Sarasa[[/note]]. The amount of [[ShipTeasing yuri hints]] among the main cast is also considerably lower, in line with Takarazuka's official disapproving view of such relationships among its actresses; a likely schoolgirl lesbian appears in a backstory part of an episode but she never joins Kouka. ''Kageki Shoujo'' is ''not'' an "answer" to ''Revue Starlight'', as the manga was created a few years before that franchise.

* AllLovingHero: Sarasa is pretty close, consistently supporting everyone aroiund her, including Sawa Sugimoto when they became rivals for a role.
* ApatheticTeacher: Mamoru Andou, "The Phantom". Previously a good actor, he had to retire from acting following an accident and now is... not that good at teaching other people to act. He tries to teach the [[MethodActing Stanislavsky System]] as pure theory, which is guaranteed not to work; because of a student suggestion, he finally lets the class ''act'', but does not provide much in the way of support. Later Sarasa learns key ideas of the System from Ai (who heard them from her actress mother); only then does Sarasa remember that Andou-sensei "mentioned something like that". Eventually Andou TookALevelInJerkass to the point of [[spoiler: taking a lead role in a student audition skit and playing it so forcefully that the student participants are thrown off course]].

* NoCommunitiesWereHarmed: Kouka is very obviously Creator/TakarazukaRevue, complete with the building and the street it is on (Hana no Michi). It is transplanted from Takarazuka City into Kobe, in a possible ShoutOut to the 1957 movie {{Film/Sayonara}} where the FictionalCounterpart to Creator/TakarazukaRevue is also located in Kobe. The internal system of the theatre and school is re-created in painstaking detail, with some notable exceptions (the Takarazuka Music School uniform is not a SailorFuku). Troupes Snow, Flower, Moon, and Star are renamed to Winter, Spring, Summer and Autumn; the recently-created fifth troupe, Cosmos, does not exist in this world.

** In a work about theatre, this trope comes with the territory. Notably, Manga/TheRoseOfVersailles, in which Sarasa wants to play the role of Lady Oscar one day, is basically the RealLife Creator/TakarazukaRevue show.
** Kouka's production of Theatre/RomeoAndJuliet utilizes a translation of the original Shakespeare text, while the version more often performed in Takarazuka is actually [[Theatre/RomeoEtJulietteDeLaHaineALamour the musical by Gérard Presgurvic]]. This is most likely a homage to the [[https://www.takawiki.com/tiki-index.php?page=Romeo+and+Juliet+99+%28Flower%2C+1999%29 1999 Flower Troupe]] production of ''Romeo and Juliet'', which did the same thing, or several other Zuka adaptations of the same material.

* {{Moe}}: [[DiscussedTrope Discussed]] in Episode 13, where a senior teacher, Ohgi-sensei, explains how a Kouka performance appeals to the audience. For a Western audience, this is a [[DeconstructedTrope significantly different]] "moe" from the one they are used to, because this is the "moe" in playing a male character for a female gaze[[note]]in modern parlance, cishet female gaze, but the teacher character would not use this wording[[/note]].

** {{Woolseyism}}: In the English subs, "moe" was rendered as "fangirl potential" and then just "fangirls". While not a literal translation, the meaning in context is conveyed brilliantly.

-->''"Everyone must have noticed it in that moment. Without thinking, they looked up in the sky and saw themselves there. But did they see what I saw? That amongst the sea of glimmering stars, there was one bright star, shining above all others?.. That star was Sarasa Watanabe. That was where she belonged. Where I belonged. I want to see the world from up there."''

Not to be confused, but inevitably to be compared, with ''Anime/ShoujoKagekiRevueStarlight'', seeing as both franchises take inspiration from the Creator/TakarazukaRevue. ''Kageki Shoujo'' is [[SlidingScaleOfRealisticVersusFantastic considerably more realistic]], and does not contain massive underground stages, sword battles, or a talking giraffe[[note]]except, of course, Sarasa[[/note]]. The amount of [[ShipTeasing yuri hints]] among the main cast is also considerably lower, in line with Takarazuka's official disapproving view of such relationships among its actresses; a likely schoolgirl lesbian appears in a backstory part of an episode but she never joins Kouka. ''Kageki Shoujo'' is ''not'' an "answer" to ''Revue Starlight'', as the manga was created a few years before this franchise.

Not to be confused, but inevitably to be compared, with ''Anime/ShoujoKagekiRevueStarlight'', seeing as both franchises take inspiration from the Creator/TakarazukaRevue. ''Kageki Shoujo'' is [[SlidingScaleOfRealisticVersusFantastic considerably more realistic]], and does not contain massive underground stages, sword battles, or a talking giraffe[[note]]except, of course, Sarasa[[/note]]. The amount of [[ShipTeasing yuri hints]] among the main cast is also considerably lower, in line with Takarazuka's official disapproving view of such relationships among its actresses; a likely [[SchoolgirlLesbians Schoolgirl Lesbian]] appears in a backstory part of an episode but she never joins Kouka. ''Kageki Shoujo'' is ''not'' an "answer" to ''Revue Starlight'', as the manga was created a few years before this franchise.

* [[SchoolgirlLesbians Schoolgirl Lesbian]]: [[spoiler: Asuka Yano. We do not know if she is ''lesbian'' in the strict sense of the word, as she did date many guys and we can't know what was for show and what was for real; but she was clearly into Ayako Yamada, and tragically got rebuffed by Ayako's pure ignorance.]]

* GeniusBonus: Creator/TakarazukaRevue fans can spend hours unpacking references to real life actresses, shows, and other facts about the theatre and school. One of them [[https://twitter.com/i/events/1441866229770301442 published a lot of research on Twitter]].

A manga by Kumiko Saiki, originally serialized from 2012, with a rare demographics change (started in a {{Main/Seinen}} magazine then transferred to a [[Main/ShoujoDemographic Shoujo]] one), this work got adapted into an anime in the Summer-Autumn 2021 season.

Not to be confused, but inevitably to be compared, with Anime/ShoujoKagekiRevueStarlight, seeing as both franchises are based on Creator/TakarazukaRevue. Kageki Shoujo is [[SlidingScaleOfRealisticVersusFantastic considerably more realistic]], it does not contain massive underground stages, sword battles, or a talking giraffe[[note]]except, of course, Sarasa[[/note]]. The amount of [[ShipTeasing yuri hints]] among the main cast is also considerably lower, in line with Takarazuka's official unapproving view of such relationships among its actresses; a likely [[SchoolgirlLesbians Schoolgirl Lesbian]] appears in a backstory part of an episode but she never joins Kouka. Kageki Shoujo is ''not'' an "answer" to Shoujo Kageki Revue Starlight, as the manga was created a few years before this franchise.

* PowerCopying: Sarasa is very good at copying other people's theatrical performances. [[spoiler: She learned this in KabukiTheatre as a child. However she is told that, to have a chance at becoming a Top Star in Kouka, she needs to be more original and not just play a character exactly like a previous top star did.]]

* {{Moe}}: [[DiscussedTrope Discussed]] in Episode 13, where a senior teacher explains how a Kouka performance appeals to the audience. For a Western audience, this is a [[DeconstructedTrope significantly different]] "moe" from the one they are used to, because this is the "moe" in playing a male character for a female gaze[[note]]in modern parlance, cishet female gaze, but the teacher character would not use this wording[[/note]].

* VariationsOnAThemeSong: The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bC6d7AyKHeE ending]], which is a Takarazuka-style song (unlike the peppy "typical anime" opening). In [[ADayInTheLimelight episodes focusing on characters other than the protagonists]], the ending is [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSkECVCQ8bo sung by these characters]] and has [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAEwPDiVKaw different lyrics]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJowuHDWDT0 modified visuals]]; the melody stays the same.

* {{Moe}}: [[DiscussedTrope Discussed]] in Episode 13, where a senior teacher explains how a Kouka performance affects the audience. For a Western audience, this is a [[DeconstructedTrope significantly different]] "moe" from the one they are used to, because this is the "moe" in playing a male character for a female gaze (in modern parlance, cishet female, but the teacher character would not use this wording).

Not to be confused, but inevitably to be compared, with Anime/ShoujoKagekiRevueStarlight, seeing as both franchises are based on Creator/TakarazukaRevue. Kageki Shoujo is [[SlidingScaleOfRealisticVersusFantastic considerably more realistic]], it does not contain massive underground stages, sword battles, or a talking giraffe[[note]]except, of course, Sarasa[[/note]]. The amount of [[BaitAndSwitchLesbians yuri hints]] among the main cast is also considerably lower, in line with Takarazuka's official unapproving view of such relationships among its actresses; a likely [[SchoolgirlLesbians Schoolgirl Lesbian]] appears in a backstory part of an episode but she never joins Kouka. Kageki Shoujo is ''not'' an "answer" to Shoujo Kageki Revue Starlight, as the manga was created a few years before this franchise.

* GeniusBonus: Creator/TakarazukaRevue fans can spend hours unpacking references to real life actresses, shows, and other facts about the theatre and school.