one of my favourite things in revue starlight is how winning a battle just does not matter.
in the beginning, it's pretty easy - you snooze you loose, your star is knocked down, and it's curtain call. whoever wins also has the emotional and narrative victory.
they start to break this down almost from the start. in episode two, karen comforts junna after beating her, and it brings them closer as friends. in episode 6, "winning" for kaoruko is ultimately secondary to gaining futaba's attention, and the two are chummier than ever after their battle.
hell, hikari's entire existence in the story is after she lost all her brilliance - by all accounts, she shouldn't even be in a condition to participate at all. but she got a second chance to fly to tokyo and to set things right, despite being severely disadvantaged. only when she's able to overcome her doubts and starts believing in her and karen's joint future, her weapon is transformed and upgraded. and of course, karen looses everything as well, but she literally claws her way back into the theater to get her rematch. for a series that tells you from the very beginning that you will loose everything if you don't win, and that there can only ever be one top star, in the end, winning the battle is secondary.
gekijouban really takes this to its extreme; every battle has a very clear winner and loser - but the loser always gains something more. futaba wins, but kaoruko not only gets her bike, but also a promise for the rest of their lifetime. hikari gets her ass beat in like, minute 2 of the performance, but is granted a literal medal and a second chance by mahiru to go do things right, for real this time. nana loses against junna, but what she gains is the brilliance she's been looking for all this time since episode 1. claudine properly defeats maya by simply besting her and knowing her weaknesses, and what does maya lose? exactly nothing - instead, they promise to play another round, and infinite rounds as partners. another promise for a lifetime.
karen dies. the protagonist literally drops dead, no heartbeat, and loses her life on stage and it does not matter in the end. she is stabbed, beaten, costume ripped apart, her body and soul emptied out completely and yet she gains her life and passion back. because it's not about winning or losing. it's about giving it your all, barring your soul to the art and to your partner. that's why the losers don't lose. that's why karen was able to "trick" the giraffe's system in the series, and also why the revues in the movie don't even abide by this system anymore.
i just really like it, and the more i realized that, you can really see the progression of the battles throughout the series.
