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[setophagacerulea]

What we know about their family (so far)

a semi-comprehensive guide of the main characters' parents and relatives (w/ tiny bits of trivia here and there).

I compiled this list for myself months ago to keep track of each character's origins and find out about their early life. I do this in every fandom I invest in and now I've done it to Revue Starlight.

A few things to take note of:

All the information below are combined from various sources; more specifically the movie, stage plays (and their manga adaptations), visual novel, and mobile game so please expect spoilers of post-anime content!

Links to external sources are compiled at the end.

The only ones featured in this post are the Seisho cast. I'll make a separate one for the other schools from ReLIVE when I find the time.

Aijo

Karen's mom and her aunt Maki are very supportive of her dreams in becoming an actress, even watching performances of the troupe she was a part of during her elementary/junior high school days.

Maki was the one who suggested she'd aim for a prestigious performing arts school like Seisho Music Academy. At the same time, her mother wanted to see different sides of her as her potential grows (given the fact that Karen was a bit withdrawn as a child before she met Hikari).

Her father was mentioned for a bit in the movie. He's a hardworking fella who provides for the family. No other information about him though.

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Kagura

A full face view of Hikari's mother was never shown, only this side view from the movie that wasn't even more than two seconds long. She helped out Karen's family get settled in Tokyo when they moved there.

Even after moving to London, she kept in touch with Karen's mom, sometimes sending pictures of what Hikari has been up to nowadays.

As for Hikari's father, according to the stage play and manga adaptation, Karen thinks that Hikari moved back to Japan probably due to her dad's work. Claudine is skeptical though, saying that Hikari only moved back because her skills couldn't cut it in London.

Her dad could be the reason why they moved to the UK in the first place, then back again to Tokyo. It's not just an "on a whim" thing that Hikari had to do in order to join the auditions, right? Right???

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Tendo

Maya's parents are the ones we have the most information right now, especially her father. While introducing herself in ReLIVE, Maya talked about what her parents do for work.

Her mother is a prima donna, which is another term for a female lead singer in operas.

While her father, Yuichiro Tendo, is an actor and a renowned stage director who directed Starlight. The very same one Karen and Hikari saw as kids.

He is (or was) also the Theater Association Director who gifted Claudine the canopy bed from her performance as Arrie (with a few modifications to make it sturdier). He served as a board member in the association, maintaining a good impression on everyone there.

The "misunderstandings" and "trouble" Maya mentioned may be an indicator that he tries too hard to be well-liked by everybody in the theater industry.

Credit: 0mniessence (translation from Starry Ocean) [1]

Here is another piece of Yuichiro trivia. His name and stamp/signature can be seen on one of Claudine's certificates.

Credit: tamago_kasutera on fusetter [2] and superspicysnack on Twitter (translated) [3]

Although not canon, the "remarried many times" part is actually very plausible if you think of "making good impressions on anyone" from a different angle. I'll leave that up to you, hm?

In short, the Tendo family has a big name in the Japanese theater industry. "Sasuga Maya-sama!" indeed.

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Hoshimi

Not much information is known about Junna's parents but she did mention in the lyrics of Watashitachi no Iru Riyū that she didn't follow the path they set for her in order to fulfill her dreams as an actress.

They're strict in a sense that they don't want their daughter to end up unsuccessful. Besides, let's be honest, being an actress does not guarantee you a stable future unless you got extensive connections.

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Tsuyuzaki

Mahiru's grandmother is a big fan of stage plays and was the one who introduced Mahiru to the world of acting. She also encouraged her to apply for Seisho.

It is also plausible that the performance they're watching on TV in the panel below is from the New National Musical Theater Troupe since it was basically confirmed in the El Dorado VN that she's been a long-time fan of the troupe.

Her grandmother knows the favorable characteristics of what it takes to be a star in the troupe and even complimented Nana for possessing such qualities.

Not much is known about her mom and dad other than the fact they run the family farm, but it is evident in the Overture manga that they are super supportive of Mahiru's dreams of becoming a star as they bid her off to Tokyo.

As for her five younger siblings, they were eager to see Mahiru achieve her dream and assured her they'll help out on chores while she's away.

We were able to know their names in the El Dorado VN:

Shogo - baseball club member (not really that surprising from a family of Suzdal Cat fanatics)

Yuuhi

Asahi

Mayo

Ake

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Daiba

Due to her parents' work that makes them move from place to place, Nana had gotten used to transferring schools quite often. It was only when she got into Seisho did she make any long-lasting bonds.

Which explains a lot about her characterization as a whole.

Credit: r_starlight_en (RONDO RONDO RONDO Pamphlet translation) [4]

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Saijo

Not much to say here. What do you mean the only information we got about her parents is that they're both in the theater industry? What exactly do they do for work anyway?

Claudine did mention at some point that she and her mother have the similar hair. It's most likely that she inherited most, if not all, the physical features of her mother while imitating her sense of style growing up.

Other than the first screenshot with Amemiya from the Lovers bond story, Claudine's father was never mentioned again.

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Isurugi

Futaba wrote in her Seisho application form that her reason for learning traditional Japanese dance is to follow in her mother's footsteps, who used to be a famous dancer.

Credit: r_starlight_en (RONDO RONDO RONDO Pamphlet translation) [4]

In the Fourth Zodiac Rabbit bond story, Kaoruko told Tomoe that Futaba had already gone ahead to visit her mother.

Her mom being the favorite pupil says a lot about their relationship with the Hanayagi family. This could be one of the many reasons why Kaoruko and Futaba got along so well since childhood.

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Hanayagi

Speaking of Kaoruko's grandmother, she served as the 11th head of Senka-ryu and raised Kaoruko to be the successor. It's also worth mentioning that she and Tamao's grandmother were rivals in many traditional Japanese dance stages.

Kaoruko held a grudge against Tamao who immediately gets praised by their teacher for only mastering the basics of dance. Kaoruko has a different case though, who had never been praised before due to the burden she shoulders for being the heir of a renowned Japanese dance school. She must always be in search of something unique in order to become a worthy Suisen.

Kaoruko's grandmother is really strict on her to the point that just seeing the rehearsal room in Rinmeikan Girls School "brings back unpleasant memories."

Links to sources (in order):

[1] https://x.com/0mniessence/status/1870950849058595064

[2] https://fusetter.com/tw/Q6VuNEPa#all

[3] https://x.com/superspicysnack/status/1619232354287124480

[4] https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/u/0/d/1ZYFycfcLxmOBTIOir1DGA3FF0omdAh7GHJ-v9gmH3JE/

Miscellaneous:

All manga panels were translated by Starlight Scanlations. It can be read on almost any manga site. The titles are

Shoujo☆Kageki Revue Starlight Overture

Shoujo☆Kageki Revue Starlight - The LIVE - Show Must Go On

and all the ReLIVE transcripts were taken from the Revue Starlight fandom wiki

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Changelogs:

2025/4/27 - First draft

2025/7/24 - Posted! Happy birthday, Maya!!! 24 years of unhinged top star energy and counting. I would add a picture right here but I've reached the limit.

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If I missed out on any info, let me know! I'll add them here :)

This will be updated as time goes on. Hopefully they'll drop more lore about them soon (just crumbs will do... please).

[setophagacerulea]

she always talks so posh

like girl calm down it's just bacon and eggs

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maya?

tendo maya's bday is tomorrow??

maybe it's time to finalize that one long post from my drafts

it's been there for months ;-;

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"ᴵ ᵐⁱˢˢᵉᵈ ʸᵒᵘ."

"...What?"

"I SAID I'M SELLING YOU TO THE ZOO-"

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I feel conflicted whenever a friend asks me to recommend them anime. A part of me wants to introduce Revue Starlight to more people but at the same time I want to gatekeep it, ya know?

It's like a little treasure box of mine that I keep under my bed. It's precious but I don't think it's necessary to show it off with just anyone.

But then again, I want them to know about my blorbos karenhikarimahirujunnafutabaclaudinenanakaorukomayagiraffesakuragisenseiamemiyamasai

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Hmm... yeah.

It was intentional, sort of.

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treating this as love cobra foreshadowing

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The Revue Starlight movie is like a full blown tutorial on how to say "I love you" without ever saying it

THE GAYS CAN'T BE BEAT

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Happy anniversary to the anime that changed my life. You will forever be iconic, Revue Starlight🫶

To celebrate, here are my top 10 favorite frames from the show:

(10) Hot Pot Prep

For a school that focuses on acting and stage production, I was surprised they still need to take home econ classes. I guess learning essential cooking skills is a part of any stage girl's journey (or anyone for that matter). This frame is one of my favorites because of the coziness it brings after all that's happened prior to it. The last three episodes were very nerve wracking to say the least, so I legitimately heaved a sigh of relief when I found out we can expect cute moments like this on the last episode. A calm before the storm.

(9) Spring Break Send-off

Look at them in casual clothes! Not much to say about this other than "it's cute".

(8) Udon

Nana is so caring here. When is she not? She lightened up the mood when Junna was telling her the reason for staying at the dorms during spring break with a sad look. The way Nana readily flipped her phone to show a picture of a bowl of udon was unexpected but not unwelcome.

Fun fact: In one of the special episodes from the Blu-ray release, Junna mentioned wanting to eat udon after a conversation with Hikari and Maya, which could be a callback to this specific scene.

(7) Acknowledgement

After their revue, Karen acknowledges Junna with the performance she put on. Both of their efforts did not go unnoticed as they forge the beginning of their close friendship by calling each other by their first names. (A person with sportsmanship, we all love to see it!)

Rivals lifting each other up is one of the premises that Starlight brings to the audience, and this is a simple scene that captures that aspect really well.

Look how adorable she is!

(6) Fuzzy Childhood Memory

This is one of the most serene frames in the anime. I love how it shows the cherry blossoms' symbolism to Futaba and Kaoruko's eventual revue. After all, their insert song includes lines such as "floating petals" and "blooming flowers".

If I'm not mistaken, I think this is Kamo River in Kyoto?

(5) "This is oimo"

Attending a "Mahiru Spuds Gathering" must be a blast. They all look so darn ecstatic here! And of course, Hikari is the happiest one here.

(4) Head Turner

The slow turn she did to face Karen was so extra, I knew from that moment on that there's something more to Hikari's character than meets the eye. The slight eeriness and coldness she exuded here is what intrigued me from my first watch. "This character is about to become one of my favorites, won't she?" is probably what I said back then.

(3) Come to Light

This frame is genius! The 99th Seisho Festival stage draft illustration is in the light while the 100th's (and the board on the right) is left in the dark. It perfectly shows Nana's motives and desire to keep her Stage of Destiny running forever. In contrast to Nana, it's also a nice touch that Karen and Mahiru are looking at the new draft for the costumes, raring to perform the new rendition of Starlight.

(2) Blossom Bright

Hikari's weapon transformation is immaculate. Her newfound determination for fulfilling her shared promise with Karen is truly one of the peak moments of the show. The way the blade glows here is criminally underrated. They really went all out with it!

This scene paired with the music is enough to make me cry on every rewatch.

(1)

Speaking of transformation, let's not forget about the most iconic scene. Karen falls over many times during the series but nothing beats this particular frame. The message it conveys is straight to the point and embraces the concept of "remaking" yourself to be better day by day.

Thanks for reading this semi-long post. I hope Starlight never ends✨

And yeah happy 24th birthday to Daiba Nana my beloved

[setophagacerulea]

I like to think that Karen changed up her hair when she outgrew her hairpin phase

She kept it long for about a year or two before cutting it back to the OG length

It's kinda like a backwards process of "cutting my hair so I can start anew and make new memories" heh

[setophagacerulea]

Everybody moved on

but I'm still here

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(°ロ°)

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HE GOT THAT BOYISH LOOK THAT I LIKE IN A MAN

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i love creative people omg

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i wanna see them do a stage play that focuses on masai and amemiya post-seisho

it would be so fun to see a "backstage person" be the main character for once; ofc they wouldn't have as much oomph compared to a "stage person" (cus they are naturally dramatic lol) but it would still be interesting to see the inner conflicts of a theatre director, playwright, lighting technician, costume designer, etc in the revstar universe

the closest we ever got to this is the el dorado vn and the growth stage play (live #3 with sakura) but pls pls pls I wanna see more

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mahiru's suzdal cat kettle

hikari's red accents

karen's crown comeback

junna's twintails

nana's wink

maya's diadem

claudine's cape

futaba's glasses

kaoruko's bows

THIS COLLAB IS EVERYTHING

[setophagacerulea]

"Radiance" is 130 grams

i didnt expect that kinda info from mykr midnight revue