Stars Align is ostensibly about a junior high school boys’ soft tennis club, but it’s so much more. Most of the top sports anime (I’m thinking Haikyu!, Ookiku Furikabutte, Run With the Wind) are about competition, teamwork, and striving to be the best, and though they do delve into the personal lives of the players, they rarely delve into dark places. Stars Align is different: it shines a light into the realities of growing up as the kids navigate abuse, bullying, queerness, parental incompatibility/control, social anxiety, adoption (I could go on).
The animation quality is spectacular, the soundtrack perfectly crafted, and the characters are nuanced, lovable, and relatable.
The sad thing is that the anime is incomplete as the director Kazuki Akane had intended the anime to run for 24 episodes, but it was cut short late in the process by the production company to 12 episodes.
Praying for its completion.
