Skate Leading Stars seems great at first but as it progresses it gets worse very quickly. It has a rivalry an interesting beginning comeback and a motive. However pretty faces and odd rivalries are all there is. Whats expected is skating and stunning visuals of the teams choreography but even those aspects are barely even there. Youll see the start of a program and then it switches to the main characters talking background information and hype. Even the sub plot of Noa and his attempt to publicize figure skating is poorly executed which is a shame because there was a lot of wasted potential. The animation is mediocre as it doesnt have a chance to showcase the sport. Skate Leading Stars is what could have been another great underrated sports anime but instead its an attempt at another idol boy group from a different angle. The plot focuses on five characters overall Noa Himekawa Shinozaki Maeshima and Sasugai. From those five the ones with the most development are not Maeshima and Shinozaki despite their rivalry and main characterness. Instead Himekawa and Sasugai are shown making the greatest changes in both their personalities and background. As for the rest of the characters theyre all portrayed as underdogs who are barely able to keep up with their aces. If youre looking to watch this anime for the skating/sport I dont recommend it. The skating consists mainly of the beginning five to ten seconds the end pose and maybe some scenes of the team in the middle of their sequence. There isnt a focus on music or technicalities either. Its very hard to call it a sports anime when you dont see the actual sport in play. For those who want to see some pretty faces and team spirit I guess this could be for you. True to the cover and official arts the main characters are a mix of hot and pretty. The costumes are a little weird and over the top from a technical perspective they are crazy impractical. Team spirit is a little lukewarm theres not much to comment on. Its very hard to say what teams have good chemistry and how they work together especially since you cant see how they skate together. There is an odd focus on the coaches however and in a way you see more of their traits than with the kids. Overall I dont recommend this anime. Its poorly executed and flawed in many categories. Theres little to no skating which wastes the animation art style and over the top costumes. The character designs are appealing but thats pretty much it. Theres a lot of weird friendships and relationships dotted around the plot and the teams are barely even shown making progress as a team. As for the opening and ending sequences they suck. I dont like putting it that way but theres no other way to describe them.