Stars Align (星合の空, Hoshiai no Sora) is an anime directed by Kazuki Akane that aired for the first time on October 10, 2019. The boy's soft tennis club is in desperate need of new members with skill. Toma recruits the exchange student, Maki, to join.
"Stars Align Anime Reveals Visual, October 10 Premiere". Anime News Network. Retrieved September 1, 2019. ^ "Funimation to Stream Phantasy Star Online 2: Episode Oracle, Stars Align Anime". Anime News Network.
Anime News Network. Retrieved December 28, 2018. ^ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (July 4, 2019). "Stars Align Tennis Anime Has 12 Episodes". Anime News Network. Retrieved July 4, 2019.
^ Morrissy, Kim (December 26, 2019). "Stars Align Director Kazuki Akane Promises Sequel In Some Form". Anime News Network. Retrieved December 26, 2019. ^ Mateo, Alex (April 19, 2021).
So, this is a sweet friendship anime about tennis, yes. However it is far more than that too and does not shy away from serious topics. I really recommend this show, it is very very good, and talks about some very real issues that need to be discussed.
Watch Stars Align Streaming Online | Hulu (Free Trial)
Director Akane Kazuki confirms that he still has plans to continue his sports anime Stars Align, despite its ill-timed cancellation. There are still plans to continue Stars Align.
Stars Align - Watch on Crunchyroll.
12Stars Align (Original Japanese Version) / Number of episodes
Aya KatsuragiAya Katsuragi The two have a happy relationship.
After the game, Toma tries to contact his brother and instead his Mother answers it. She informs Toma that she's getting a divorce and he will now live with his Father.
On January 31, 2020, it was announced that there would be a Special Collaboration Movie and a Special Fan Movie. On May 18, 2020, it was announced that the Special Fan Movie had been completed. The Special Fan Movie was released on May 20, 2020, and takes place two years after the end of the series.
October 10, 2019Stars Align (Original Japanese Version) / First episode date
Stars Align | Watch on Funimation.
Watch Stars Align (English Audio)- Season 1 | Prime Video.
Streaming on Roku. Stars Align, a drama series starring Natsuki Hanae, Tasuku Hatanaka, and Yoshitsugu Matsuoka is available to stream now. Watch it on Prime Video or Hulu on your Roku device.
Toma Shinjou has a dilemma: he wants to save his school’s soft tennis club before it’s shut down! He seeks the help of Maki Katsuragi, a reluctant student with natural talent and other priorities. It’s going to be their last summer together as a team unless they all find a way to work together to save the club!
I really enjoyed the start of this anime, i found it intersting and even amusing at times. I enjoyed most of the tennis and grew to quickly like the majority of the characters. However, the more episodes i watched, the less i wanted to keep watching.
but apart from that it's amazing I cried so much, I love each of them and hate every parent of this show apart from Maki's mother.
Toma Shinjo, the president of Shijo Minami Boys Soft Tennis Club, finds the club in danger of being shut down due to their poor skills and lack of positive results in matches.
The anime was announced in May 2018 with the following staff and cast.
Despite being a new anime with no established fanbase, Stars Align generally received positive reviews among users in MAL and Anime News Network. It is also named one of the best Fall 2019 anime by ANN reviewers. Many user praised this anime for sharing the desperation among adolescence and discussing sensitive topics such as LGBTQ+.
‘Stars Align’ season 1 premiered on October 11, 2019 and with a total 12 episodes, the season ended on December 27, 2019. If compare it with most sports anime that have released recently, ‘Stars Align’ has been received really well and most of its fans are already anticipating its next season.
‘Hoshiai no Sora’, also known as ‘Stars Align’, tells the story of junior high school’s soft tennis club, which is on the verge of being shut down because of the lack of participation from students. Desperate to save his club, Touma Shinjou asks Maki Katsuragi, a fellow talented student, to join the team so that they can together represent their school in an upcoming championship. Katsuragi agrees, but in return asks for money to sustain himself as a player. This is when the two of them come to an agreement and set off on a quest to not only save their school’s tennis club but to also be the next state champions.
‘Hoshiai no Sora ’ is directed by Kazuki Akane, who is known for his work in ‘Escaflowne’, ‘Noein’ and ‘Birdy the Mighty: Decode’. If you aren’t already hooked on to its opening theme, you will surely be sucked into the show because of its incredible visuals. The soundtracks also perfectly fit in with the sports drama feel of the show.
Maki Katsuragi is a new student at the Shijou South Middle School and shows some promising tennis skills. He lives with his mother and also helps her out with house chores.
You must be wondering why the title literally says "Stars Align", but it's Kazuki Akane's way of foreshadowing that no human is ever perfect, and we're like the stars of the sky, when life beats us down harsh, the common interest in question (soft tennis) aligns us in the thread of fate, that is adolescent trauma (which happens to be his favourite theme). Being grown-ups, the world that they know is never a bed of roses, so the harsh reality of families growing through the different pangs and uncertainties must know how to counteract on their very own. While the school/soft tennis club part is there to help expose and alleviate their true natures of the sufferings going through with parental disabilities, or expectations as simply you would call it, all kinds of nature are laid in bare sight. What these adolescent teens (i.e. Maki, Toma and the others) must do is not to take that emotional attachment and let it be the ridiculing point of their lives, but rather, no matter how much understanding others may have on their struggles, it's the reconciliation that leads to the amalgation of their feelings and work it out to experience their joy (which again, is in the soft tennis club) as an output.
Then, the deuteragonist, Toma Shinjou, the captain of the soft tennis club. He’s talented at the sport but he struggles because soft tennis is a pair sport and the soft tennis club doesn’t have the perfect pair for him. He too, has problems at home, although this time, it’s with his mother. He doesn’t have too much else worth mentioning but he does form an interesting dynamic with Maki.
The soft tennis club of the Shijo Minami Middle School is underperforming and on the verge of being disbanded even though their captain, Toma Shinjou, is an extremely dedicated and gifted player. As Maki Katsuragi transfers to their school, Toma, sees that he might be the one to change the fortunes of the club, and not just save it from being disbanded, but also make it good enough for them to compete in tournaments. Much to Toma’s dismay, Maki has no interest in soft tennis at all, and neither does he have the time. Toma eventually managed to “buy” the services of Maki by promising him money to play, and he agrees. This might seem desperate from Toma, but the boys’ team seriously sucked. Their team is so bad that they constantly get thrashed by their girls’ team, granted the girls’ team are national champions. Thus, begins their quest to get the boys’ soft tennis club revitalized and competing in tournament while facing their own personal issues.
Of course, HoshiSora (or Stars Align in the English version) is a lot better than all those abominations, but it is still not enough to become something enjoyable. Pilot episode from this "Fall 2019 sleeper hit that isn't your average sports anime" was really well-done and gave me high hopes for something fresh in the sports genre — but this show became an average slice-of-life with horrible forced drama really soon. Sad bad true, once again. So, what went wrong?
Hoshiai no Sora could be a gem. I must admit that this series differs from other sports series thanks to its realistic setting and its themes. This series will talk about dysfunctional families, domestic abuses, difficulties about social pressure and also gender identity issues. For these reasons, Hoshiai no Sora can not leave you indifferent, whether you agree or not with the purpose of the anime, i think this show is at least thought-provoking