{"id":661622,"date":"2025-04-09T10:50:19","date_gmt":"2025-04-09T07:50:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/the-unexpected-surprise-of-starlight-revue-el-dorado\/"},"modified":"2025-04-09T10:50:19","modified_gmt":"2025-04-09T07:50:19","slug":"the-unexpected-surprise-of-starlight-revue-el-dorado","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-unexpected-surprise-of-starlight-revue-el-dorado\/","title":{"rendered":"The Unexpected Surprise of Starlight Revue El Dorado"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a417e65004dc\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a417e65004dc\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-unexpected-surprise-of-starlight-revue-el-dorado\/#Multimedia_Basics\" >Multimedia Basics:<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-unexpected-surprise-of-starlight-revue-el-dorado\/#Visual_Novel_Basics\" >Visual Novel Basics:<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-unexpected-surprise-of-starlight-revue-el-dorado\/#Main_Routes_Breakdown\" >Main Routes Breakdown:<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-unexpected-surprise-of-starlight-revue-el-dorado\/#Bonus_Routes_Breakdown\" >Bonus Routes Breakdown:<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-unexpected-surprise-of-starlight-revue-el-dorado\/#Final_Thoughts\" >Final Thoughts:<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lights, camera, and action! Last summer, the stage-girls from the Revue Starlight multi<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">media<\/a> franchise made a new and brilliant <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>earance in the visual novel, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Revue Starlight El Dorado.<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> This completely caught everyone and me by surprise back then. Since I recently binged the original <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Revue Starlight <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/anime-manga\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"6\" title=\"Anime || Manga\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">anime<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/watch-movies-tv-seriess\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"8\" title=\"Watch Movies &amp; TV Series\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">series<\/a> and movie \u2014 but had no context of the recently sunsetted <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/starira_global\/status\/1818542111647576123?lang=en\" target=\"_blank\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Re LIVE<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> mobile game<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and the supplementary material \u2014 I thought the franchise was about to just end there.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not to mention, I was skeptical since <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Revue Starlight El Dorado\u2019s <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/game\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"7\" title=\"Game\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">game<\/a> developer was <\/span><b>Frontwing<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, which is more widely known for its adult visual novels like <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Fruit of Grisaia<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Revue Starlight El Dorado<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is rated 18+ with a LGBTQ+ tag on Steam \u2014 what kind of explicit romance routes would I be expecting?! Despite my surprise, I finally sat myself down to play it with a smidgen of curiosity for what was to come. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"696\" height=\"459\" data-attachment-id=\"118429\" src=\"https:\/\/anitrendz.net\/news\/2025\/04\/09\/the-unexpected-surprise-of-starlight-revue-el-dorado\/revue-starlight-main\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Revue-Starlight-Main.jpg?fit=1200%2C792&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1200,792\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"El Dorado 7\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Revue-Starlight-Main.jpg?fit=300%2C198&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Revue-Starlight-Main.jpg?fit=696%2C459&amp;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-118429\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Revue-Starlight-Main.jpg?resize=1024%2C676&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Revue-Starlight-Main.jpg?resize=300%2C198&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Revue-Starlight-Main.jpg?resize=768%2C507&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Revue-Starlight-Main.jpg?resize=696%2C459&amp;ssl=1 696w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Revue-Starlight-Main.jpg?resize=1068%2C705&amp;ssl=1 1068w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Revue-Starlight-Main.jpg?resize=636%2C420&amp;ssl=1 636w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Revue-Starlight-Main.jpg?w=1200&amp;ssl=1 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 696px) 100vw, 696px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The main cast from the <em>Revue Starlight<\/em> anime<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Multimedia_Basics\"><\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; color: #333333;\">Multimedia Basics:<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Revue Starlight multimedia franchise begins with the anime series, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Revue Starlight<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, that features nine theater girls (or \u201cstage-girls\u201d) from the Seisho Music Academy. These girls are the bubbly Karen Aijo, the elusive Hikari Kagari, the studious Junna Hoshimi, the motherly Mahiru Tsuyuzaki, the fickle Kauruko Hanayagi, the persistent Futaba Isurugi, the sophisticated Claudine Saijo, the insightful Maya Tendou, and the distant but insanely talented Daiba Nana. They spend an entire school year battling each other in a competition known as a \u201crevue\u201d to better hone their skills as stage-girls and obtain top roles in various productions like the <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Starlight <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">play. There is drama, music, and overlapping themes and motifs that are directly inspired by the real Takarazuka Revue troupe in Japan. Throughout the various entries of the franchise, the characters\u2019 chemistry continues to deepen with each other, and new rivals rise to challenge the main characters\u2019 limits and boundaries. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"696\" height=\"345\" data-attachment-id=\"118430\" src=\"https:\/\/anitrendz.net\/news\/2025\/04\/09\/the-unexpected-surprise-of-starlight-revue-el-dorado\/revue-starlight-el-dorado\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Revue-Starlight-El-Dorado.jpg?fit=1920%2C950&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1920,950\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"El Dorado 6\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Revue-Starlight-El-Dorado.jpg?fit=300%2C148&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Revue-Starlight-El-Dorado.jpg?fit=696%2C345&amp;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-118430\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Revue-Starlight-El-Dorado.jpg?resize=1024%2C507&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Revue-Starlight-El-Dorado.jpg?resize=300%2C148&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Revue-Starlight-El-Dorado.jpg?resize=768%2C380&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Revue-Starlight-El-Dorado.jpg?resize=1536%2C760&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Revue-Starlight-El-Dorado.jpg?resize=324%2C160&amp;ssl=1 324w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Revue-Starlight-El-Dorado.jpg?resize=696%2C344&amp;ssl=1 696w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Revue-Starlight-El-Dorado.jpg?resize=1068%2C528&amp;ssl=1 1068w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Revue-Starlight-El-Dorado.jpg?resize=849%2C420&amp;ssl=1 849w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Revue-Starlight-El-Dorado.jpg?w=1920&amp;ssl=1 1920w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Revue-Starlight-El-Dorado.jpg?w=1392&amp;ssl=1 1392w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 696px) 100vw, 696px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Revue Starlight El Dorado\u2019s<\/em> promotional poster, featuring the main nine girls and other side characters<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Visual_Novel_Basics\"><\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; color: #333333;\">Visual Novel Basics:<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Revue Starlight El Dorado<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is a sequel to the animated movie, featuring a summer exchange program between Seisho Music Academy and Royal Academy of Theatre and Act. By the end of the program, the two schools are to collaborate and reenact the famous play, \u201cEl Dorado\u201d (not to be confused with <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Road to El Dorado<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Disney movie). Only eight of the nine stage-girls from the anime are fully present in the routes, with the last one\u2019s whereabouts completely unknown until the end. The visual novel features three routes that can be played in any order and a fourth secret route that\u2019s available after completing any of the first three.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Interestingly enough, none of the routes are actually explicit in nature \u2014 only the play\u2019s content is minorly explicit and warrants the 18+ tag, which I do caution if you are sensitive to themes about grooming and suicide. In fact, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Revue Starlight El Dorado<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2019s<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">routes are all completely platonic, despite the IP being known to pair up girls with romantic sub-contexts and elaborate grand themes. Each route features a pair of girls who were chosen for the leading roles in the <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">El Dorado<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> play with Route #1 having Karen and Junna (which echoes their first revue in the anime series), Route #2 with Kaoruko and Maya, Route #3 having Futaba and Claudine, and Route #4 with Mahiru and Nana. It\u2019s almost like a proper revue, without the actual in-fighting. At the beginning, these matchups looked extremely promising, but to my disappointment, the story began to fall through the cracks. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"696\" height=\"392\" data-attachment-id=\"118431\" src=\"https:\/\/anitrendz.net\/news\/2025\/04\/09\/the-unexpected-surprise-of-starlight-revue-el-dorado\/junna-and-karen-practicing\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Junna-and-Karen-Practicing.jpg?fit=1280%2C720&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1280,720\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"El Dorado 5\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Junna-and-Karen-Practicing.jpg?fit=300%2C169&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Junna-and-Karen-Practicing.jpg?fit=696%2C392&amp;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-118431\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Junna-and-Karen-Practicing.jpg?resize=1024%2C576&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Junna-and-Karen-Practicing.jpg?resize=300%2C169&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Junna-and-Karen-Practicing.jpg?resize=768%2C432&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Junna-and-Karen-Practicing.jpg?resize=696%2C392&amp;ssl=1 696w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Junna-and-Karen-Practicing.jpg?resize=1068%2C601&amp;ssl=1 1068w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Junna-and-Karen-Practicing.jpg?resize=747%2C420&amp;ssl=1 747w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Junna-and-Karen-Practicing.jpg?w=1280&amp;ssl=1 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 696px) 100vw, 696px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Junna practicing with Karen for their dramatic scene in Route #1<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Main_Routes_Breakdown\"><\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; color: #333333;\">Main Routes Breakdown:<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Story-wise, all the routes start the same: the girls are chosen for their roles, they go through similar yet different developments to further understand their strengths and weaknesses as stage-girls, and are challenged by the exchange student Judy Knightly. Unlike most visual novels that have different storylines per route and active choice-making components that influence the ending, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Revue Starlight El Dorado <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">features none of that. All of the routes have similar plot structures, scenarios, and endings, which becomes repetitive and boring, even with alternative CGs and Easter eggs. The seiyuus do most of the heavy-lifting for the story to make it as engaging and entertaining as possible, but it doesn\u2019t make up for the fact that the pacing remains awkward at best. It\u2019s also unfortunately complimented with a janky UI and tiny text font that makes the game feel unpolished \u2014 I couldn\u2019t tell you if the Steam or Switch version of the game was more pleasant to read on the eyes.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">Route #1 feels the most natural with the plot structure, since Karen and Junna\u2019s chemistry compels them to be a bit chaotic and reckless at times, which leads to shenanigans like ditching class to see the coastline and getting inspired to practice lines. I would like to think that Route #1 was written first, and the remaining routes were based off of it because Route #2 only makes small tweaks to include references to Kaoruko\u2019s and Maya\u2019s grievances from the anime. Route #3 is probably the most disappointing, due to the fact that Claudine and Futaba assumed senpai-kouhai roles instead of outright rivals at the beginning. Thankfully, the route is saved at the end when they decide to switch their roles in the play and properly respect each other, but their overall interactions still felt a bit forced and artificial. <\/span><\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"696\" height=\"392\" data-attachment-id=\"118432\" src=\"https:\/\/anitrendz.net\/news\/2025\/04\/09\/the-unexpected-surprise-of-starlight-revue-el-dorado\/mahiru-and-nana\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Mahiru-and-Nana.jpg?fit=1280%2C720&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1280,720\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"El Dorado 4\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Mahiru-and-Nana.jpg?fit=300%2C169&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Mahiru-and-Nana.jpg?fit=696%2C392&amp;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-118432\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Mahiru-and-Nana.jpg?resize=1024%2C576&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Mahiru-and-Nana.jpg?resize=300%2C169&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Mahiru-and-Nana.jpg?resize=768%2C432&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Mahiru-and-Nana.jpg?resize=696%2C392&amp;ssl=1 696w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Mahiru-and-Nana.jpg?resize=1068%2C601&amp;ssl=1 1068w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Mahiru-and-Nana.jpg?resize=747%2C420&amp;ssl=1 747w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Mahiru-and-Nana.jpg?w=1280&amp;ssl=1 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 696px) 100vw, 696px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Mahiru is so proud of Nana flawlessly performing her role in El Dorado<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Bonus_Routes_Breakdown\"><\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; color: #333333;\">Bonus Routes Breakdown:<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">However, Route #4 as a secret route is actually well-deserved because it showcases a complete change in structure. I adored Mahiru\u2019s stern nagging at Nana to recognize her as a proper actress, which continues to elevate Mahiru\u2019s character from both the anime and movie. Meanwhile, there\u2019s so much untapped potential for Nana, who despite being the most \u201cperfect\u201d stage-girl and out-competing everyone in the revues, is unable to surpass the school stage and balance her two actual desires of acting and playwriting. It\u2019s a diametric comparison in this route, and I was pleasantly surprised at how differently the entire route ended compared to the first three routes. Nana actively changing the El Dorado script to suit her as a stage-girl is a welcome change in pace, and contributes so much to the visual novel as a whole.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">Overall, it is clear that the visual novel\u2019s main routes are a hit-or-miss and cater towards the player\u2019s biases instead. Despite my gripes with the first three routes, the secret route and the additional game mode do make up for it. Dubbed as the \u201cEl Dorado mode,\u201d this special mode is only unlocked after clearing one of the main routes and the secret route, which allows the player to cast each of the stage-girls into different roles. It skips through all the melodrama of the girls preparing for the play and jumps right into the first act. It\u2019s chock full of new cut-scenes, exclusive dialogue, and funny mishaps during the play. My favorite part is hearing any of the stage-girls be cast as Miguel and being subjected to a \u201cfloundering\u201d sequence where they desperately try to swim and make blubbering noises in the water. It really breaks the seriousness of the story, and showcases the seiyuus\u2019 talents for nonsensical noises and onomatopoeia. <\/span><\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"696\" height=\"392\" data-attachment-id=\"118433\" src=\"https:\/\/anitrendz.net\/news\/2025\/04\/09\/the-unexpected-surprise-of-starlight-revue-el-dorado\/judy-knightely\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Judy-Knightely.jpg?fit=1280%2C720&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1280,720\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"El Dorado 3\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Judy-Knightely.jpg?fit=300%2C169&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Judy-Knightely.jpg?fit=696%2C392&amp;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-118433\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Judy-Knightely.jpg?resize=1024%2C576&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Judy-Knightely.jpg?resize=300%2C169&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Judy-Knightely.jpg?resize=768%2C432&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Judy-Knightely.jpg?resize=696%2C392&amp;ssl=1 696w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Judy-Knightely.jpg?resize=1068%2C601&amp;ssl=1 1068w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Judy-Knightely.jpg?resize=747%2C420&amp;ssl=1 747w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Judy-Knightely.jpg?w=1280&amp;ssl=1 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 696px) 100vw, 696px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Judy Knightly explodes onto the scene as the play\u2019s \u201cantagonist\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With the main mechanics of the story now cleared, I\u2019d like to focus on some of the finer points that I enjoyed greatly. These points didn\u2019t quite elevate my playtime experience, but it definitely made me appreciate its inclusion all the same.\u00a0<\/span><i\/><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">\u2022\u00a0<\/span>Revue Starlight<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2019s animated works usually don\u2019t have the screen time to show the play from start to finish, so you don\u2019t fully grasp the play\u2019s plot nor enjoy the characters\u2019 singing parts. Meanwhile, the El Dorado<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">play is completely fleshed out with two proper acts, an intermission, and lots of singing and monologues from the girls for the audience to properly immerse themselves. For fans who love musicals or <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/general\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"3\" title=\"General\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">general<\/a> performances, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Revue Starlight El Dorado <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">fits all of this perfectly in a low-stakes and short game.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">\u2022\u00a0<\/span>The \u201cantagonist\u201d Judy Knightly is an absolute gem in the visual novel, and is perhaps my favorite character in <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">El Dorado<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. She is seemingly flawless like Nana or Maya, but has a hidden geeky side that isn\u2019t cringey, making me fall for her all the same. To my pleasant surprise, Judy is voiced by the retired Takarazuka Revue otokoyaku veteran <\/span><b>Hiryuu Tsukasa<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, which is all too fitting for the franchise with her strong masculine voice and energy.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">\u2022\u00a0<\/span>Finally, the LGTBQ+ tag isn\u2019t for show. Despite the main routes having platonic pairings as rivals, there are still hidden mentions of girls who are exceptionally close to each other, and a particular couple that quite literally becomes canon by the end of the visual novel. I was rooting for them all throughout the novel and was so pleased with how it turned out that I smashed my screenshot button thrice on my Switch.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"696\" height=\"392\" data-attachment-id=\"118435\" src=\"https:\/\/anitrendz.net\/news\/2025\/04\/09\/the-unexpected-surprise-of-starlight-revue-el-dorado\/kaoruko-and-maya\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Kaoruko-and-Maya.jpg?fit=1280%2C720&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1280,720\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"El Dorado 2\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Kaoruko-and-Maya.jpg?fit=300%2C169&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Kaoruko-and-Maya.jpg?fit=696%2C392&amp;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-118435\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Kaoruko-and-Maya.jpg?resize=1024%2C576&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Kaoruko-and-Maya.jpg?resize=300%2C169&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Kaoruko-and-Maya.jpg?resize=768%2C432&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Kaoruko-and-Maya.jpg?resize=696%2C392&amp;ssl=1 696w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Kaoruko-and-Maya.jpg?resize=1068%2C601&amp;ssl=1 1068w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Kaoruko-and-Maya.jpg?resize=747%2C420&amp;ssl=1 747w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Kaoruko-and-Maya.jpg?w=1280&amp;ssl=1 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 696px) 100vw, 696px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Kaoruko and Maya reconcile over their differences and perform spectacularly <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Final_Thoughts\"><\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; color: #333333;\">Final Thoughts:<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Evidently, my feelings about <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Revue Starlight<\/span><\/i> <i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">El Dorado<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> are rather mixed, though leaning more positive than naught. On one hand, I was fairly disappointed by the unpolished feel of the game, the storyline, and some of the character dynamics in the routes. It felt like a missed opportunity, considering that <\/span><b>Bushiroad<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> could\u2019ve taken their time to develop it and extend the franchise even more, or use the medium as an alternative entry point to the franchise. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On the other hand, I was thrilled to covet this small, but niched visual novel that nearly catered to me, such as casting an actual Takarazuka Revue veteran voice in a Takarazuka Revue-inspired series, having a play unfold in the form of a video game, or just seeing two cute girls essentially get married on screen. I don\u2019t see myself replaying <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Revue Starlight El Dorado<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in the near future, but I can at least savor that bittersweet summer of the stage-girls acting out a major play and the sunsetting of the <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Re LIVE<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> mobile game.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script>\n                (function(d, s, id) {\n          var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];\n          if (d.getElementById(id)) return;\n          js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id;\n          js.src=\"\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.9&appId=269442613521839\";\n          fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);\n        }(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));\n        <\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMN63nwsw68G3Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more anime-manga articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/category\/anime-manga\/\" target=\"_blank\" >anime-manga category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/anitrendz.net\/news\/2025\/04\/09\/the-unexpected-surprise-of-starlight-revue-el-dorado\/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=the-unexpected-surprise-of-starlight-revue-el-dorado\" target=\"_blank\" >Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lights, camera, and action! Last summer, the stage-girls from the Revue Starlight multimedia franchise made a new and brilliant appearance in the visual novel, Revue Starlight El Dorado. This completely caught everyone and me by surprise back then. Since I recently binged the original Revue Starlight anime series and movie \u2014 but had no context&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":661623,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Junna-vs-Karen.jpg?fit=1280%2C720&ssl=1","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-661622","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-anime-manga"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/661622","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=661622"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/661622\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/661623"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=661622"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=661622"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=661622"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}