STARMYU: Season One

When Yuta Hoshitani sees a beautiful high school boy dancing in the rain, he wants to meet him. To fulfill this dream he enrolls in the music school Ayanagi Academy, where he is probably the least experienced but most earnest and optimistic of the students. Senior Kao Council member Otori places Hoshitani on a team with four other misfits, where he'll prove to be the glue that pulls the underdog group together, overcoming their own weaknesses, other teams, and Kao Council politics. None of the characters are groundbreaking—including the shy motherly friend, the rude but warm Kabuki star, the cold-shouldered talent with family issues, and the quiet mysterious guy—but watching them all come together as a team is heartening. Boasting good animation and eye-catching design-work, bolstered by interesting dance numbers, STARMYU is almost entirely male—the exception being twin sisters who save Team Otori's bacon—but the yaoi romance undertones are in the background for the most part. Compiling all 12 episodes from 2015 in a Blu-ray/DVD Combo edition, rated TV-14, in Japanese with English subtitles, this is recommended. (L. Martincik)