
Kirarin Revolution

 is a Japanese "shōjo" manga by An Nakahara. The series ran in "Ciao" from March 2004 to June 2009, with side stories running in "Pucchigumi" in 2006. The manga sold a cumulative total of over 10 million copies and was awarded Best Children's Manga at the 2006 Shogakukan Manga Awards.
An anime adaptation premiered on April 7, 2006 in Japan on TV Tokyo and ran for 102 episodes until March 28, 2008. A second season with the subtitle aired from April 8, 2008 to March 27, 2009 in high-definition and 3D animation. The anime series stars Morning Musume member Koharu Kusumi, and during the show's run, she released music and made appearances at concerts and crossover television shows as the character. Starting with "Kirarin Revolution Stage 3", additional cast members joined her in music activities, such as MilkyWay and Ships.
Plot.
Kirari Tsukishima, a 14-year-old beauty, does not care about idols and the entertainment world because her mind is occupied by food. One day, after saving a turtle stranded in a tree, Kirari meets a boy named Seiji, who gives her a ticket to a concert to show his gratitude for her saving his pet. However, when Kirari shows up at the concert, another boy named Hiroto, tears up her ticket and warns her to stay away from Seiji, because they both live in different worlds. Kirari learns that Seiji and Hiroto are members of the idol group Ships. Finally understanding the meaning of "different worlds", Kirari refuses to give up pursuing Seiji and declares that she will also become an idol. However, being an idol requires tons of training and talent. Faced with rivals and scandals, Kirari is determined to come out as a top idol.
Media.
Manga.
"Kirarin Revolution" was serialized in the monthly magazine "Ciao" from the March 2004 issue to the June 2009 issue. The chapters were later released in bound volumes by Shogakukan under the "Ciao Comics" imprint. A total of 14 volumes have been released. Originally, Nakahara planned Kirari's name to be "Konomi Hazuki" and Hiroto's last name to be "Tsukishima."
Anime.
"Kirarin Revolution" was adapted into an anime series by SynergySP and G&G Entertainment in 2006. It aired on TV Tokyo from April 7, 2006 to March 27, 2008 for a total of 102 episodes. Koharu Kusumi from Morning Musume was cast as Kirari. Kusumi also performed the opening and ending theme songs, as well as releasing music under Kirari Tsukishima's name. Kusumi noted in her autobiography, "17-sai no Tenshoku", that the anime was originally supposed to last for one year, but due to the success of the show, it was renewed for two more broadcast years.
After the show's third renewal, "Kirarin Revolution" broadcast its second season with the subtitle "Kirarin Revolution Stage 3". The show aired on TV Tokyo from April 8, 2008 to March 27, 2009, for a total of 51 episodes. It was animated by SynergySP and SimImage in 3D animation and HD format. Noel Yukino and Kobeni Hanasaki, new original characters played by Sayaka Kitahara and You Kikkawa from Hello Pro Egg, were added to the main cast. Takuya Ide and Shikou Kanai were cast as the new actors for Ships members Hiroto and Seiji.
In addition to providing the voice to Kirari, Kusumi made crossover appearances at concerts and television shows as her character, including being a recurring guest on "Haromoni" and "Oha Suta", which made her one of the pioneers of the "idol voice actor" crossover beginning in the late 2000s. For the summer of 2007, Mai Hagiwara from Cute was cast as an anime-original character, Hikaru Mizuki, and became part of an anime-original idol subunit Kira Pika with Kusumi for a short story arc, releasing music and making in-character appearances on other television shows on TV Tokyo. During "Kirarin Revolution Stage 3"'s run, the show's new format launched a singing career for new cast and allowed crossover appearances on other television shows as their characters. On April 4, 2008, Ide and Kanai appeared on "Oha Suta" as their characters for the first time and also had their own in-character segment on the show on Thursdays from April 10, 2008 to May 4, 2009.
In 2007, Viz Media's European branch licensed the anime for European release under the title "Kilari!"
Live-action TV series.
Short live-action drama episodes were aired on "Oha Suta", with small segments aired over several days. The cast from the anime series reprised their roles.
Video games.
Several video games produced by Konami were released for the Nintendo DS during the show's run. All six games sold a cumulative total of 650,000 copies.
Trading card game.
Atlus released a set of trading cards for the series that were compatible with the "Kirarin Revolution" arcade games available from November 28, 2006 to July 2009. The first set was titled . The second, released in 2008, was titled . Along with Takara Tomy's paper doll Millefeui Cards, the Kuru Kira Idol Days cards sold a combined total of 50 million pieces.
Reception.
"Kirarin Revolution" has sold a cumulative total of over 10 million physical copies. It won the 2006 Shogakukan Manga Award for children's manga.
"Oricon" notes that while actors releasing music as their characters have been notable, Kusumi portraying Kirari Tsukishima in voice and in a real-world context pioneered the "idol voice actor" crossover beginning in the late 2000s, along with Aya Hirano from the "Haruhi Suzumiya" series. Parallels have been drawn between Kusumi and Kirari, citing their similarities in age, career, and process of becoming an idol, which led Kusumi to be closely associated with the character. In the week of December 24–30, 2007, the "Kirarin Revolution" anime series had an average viewership rating of 2.6%. Kusumi was named #17 in Daitan Map's "Top 50 Voice Actors of Popular Characters" in 2007 for her role as Kirari.
On his review of the first volume, Carlo Santos from "Anime News Network" highlighted the focus on friendship, the story's light-hearted tone, and clean artwork as attractive to young readers; at the same time, Santos mentions the story presents a wish fulfillment fantasy and advises critics of the idol industry to "avoid the series entirely." "Kirarin Revolution" was ranked #6 on "Anime News Network"'s list of "6 Idols that Fandom Forgot", with Lynzee Loveridge stating that despite the series' long run, it failed to attract an audience outside of its target demographic and was quickly forgotten after its end.