Review of Stars Align

To think this would be the first anime review I wrote, I honestly would have never guessed, but I think this story captivated my attention in a way I didn't expect at all. I started this back when the first episode had aired and I didn't exactly know what to expect. After half way through the first episode I just thought simple sports anime taking place in middle school, I probably wouldn't enjoy it too much but I don't mind finishing it anyways. By the end of the first episode my mind was completely changed, I was completely caught off guard and intrigued at whatthere was to come.

I tend to rate the anime I watch out of how much I enjoyed it, not so much technical aspects and things and so for that I give Hoshiai no Sora a solid 8. I really did enjoy the twists and turns and roller coaster of emotions it had brought me on as it covered a lot of heavy hearted issues that aren't seen often in settings such as middle school. Soft tennis, the sports aspect of the anime is used almost as a blanket of comfort, like an escape for each of the characters who struggle in their home lives and their personal minds. Soft tennis becomes more than just a sport, but a place where they can let their troubles go and feel less of a burden on trying to figure out themselves in an age where it's easy to become trapped as you are not old enough to stand your own and are quite dependent on your family, even when your family is quite abusive.

The story does a really good job of discussing issues ranging from abuse, neglect, and gender identity all while normalizing mental health and mental strain. However, unfortunately, due to the limited number of episodes (a truly unfortunate matter as it was initially meant to be 24 episodes before it got axed too early, honestly it's really sad how the production team got the rug pulled under their feet after 2 years of hard work), the anime struggled to fully flesh out each of these topics. This made it a little choppy and had it feeling a little unfinished, but that's just it, it was in fact, unfinished.

I do believe with the 12 episodes it was given, I would suggest trying it out anyways to get a feel for the potential that this anime has. It may seem unrealistic as seemingly every kid on the team has some sort of issue, but I find this is more reality than most believe. We never really know what is going on in the home lives of our peers, and it is a very real possibility that a lot of kids in middle school into high school struggle with. Although choppy, I think this anime does very well in depicting the personal struggles that kids go through around that age, and their will to take a risk and tackle such issues is commendable. I hope in the future, more animes like these are able to be produced and fully fleshed out without having to be cancelled so early on.