"Star-Crossing Skies" is a Japanese original [[anime]] television series written and directed by [[Kazuki Akane]] and animated by Eight Bit. The series aired from October 10 to December 26, 2019.
On January 31, 2020, it was announced that there would be a Special Collaboration Movie and a Special Fan Movie.
Characters
- Katsuragi Maki
- The main protagonist, a transfer student who becomes the best player in the soft tennis club despite being a beginner. He lives with his mother after his parents got divorced and spends his time doing household chores.
- Shinjō Tōma
- The captain of the soft tennis club. He is the only player on the team who took the sport seriously prior to recruiting Maki.
- Ameno Itsuki
- A member of the soft tennis club partnered up with Rintaro. He has a burn scar on his back as a result of his mother pouring boiling water on him when he was an infant.
- Futsu Rintarō
- The vice president of the boys soft tennis club and Itsuki's partner. He is an illegitimate child that resulted from a teen pregnancy who was put up for adoption. While he is loved by his adopted parents, when he learns about the truth regarding his birth he began to doubt himself. His academic skills are the best among the boys in the club.
- Soga Tsubasa
- A member of the boys soft tennis club partnered up with Shingo. He is the youngest of three children in his family. He played soccer up until middle school when he quit the sport to take up tennis instead much to his father's disapproval.
- Takenouchi Shingo
- A member of the boys soft tennis club partnered up with Tsubasa.
- Tsukinose Nao
- A member of the boys soft tennis club partnered up with Taiyo. He plays tennis much to the disapproval of his mother as she sees tennis as being a distraction that negatively impacts his academic performance.
- Ishigami Taiyō
- A member of the boys soft tennis club partnered up with Nao.
- Asuka Yū
- The manager of the soft tennis club. They question their gender identity and identify as neither a boy nor a girl, although they haven’t found a label that fits them yet. Their name is technically Yūta Asuka (飛鳥 悠汰), but they have said that they prefer Yū. They seem to have a crush on Toma.
- Mitsue Kanako
- Maki's neighbor and a classmate. She is often seen watching the boys soft tennis club practice.
- Takada Kei
- The captain of the girls soft tennis team, and ace of the team. She is sympathetic with boys team efforts, and sometimes playing with them.
- Ameno Namie
- Kasuga Kinuyo
- The student council president. She is strict and results-oriented. Her philosophy leads her to issuing an ultimatum to the boys soft tennis club to field a competitive team or be dissolved.
- Murakami Takuto
- Sakurai Takayuki
- Muroi Sakura
- Katsuragi Aya
- Maki's mother. She got a divorce when Maki was very young and has been working long hours to support him.
- Kyōbate Kenji
- Maki's father and Aya's ex-husband. He is unemployed and abusive towards Maki. He is the main antagonist of the series.
- Shinjō Ryōma
- 柊真の母
- 田中 丈塁
- Takeru is a student of the Misaki Academy boy's soft tennis team and friends with Masato Nagano.
Production and release
On April 5, 2018, studio Eight Bit announced via
Twitter that it was collaborating with
Kazuki Akane to produce a new original
anime.
Akane is writing and directing the series, and Itsuka is providing the original character designs.
Yūichi Takahashi is serving as the series' chief animation director, character designer, and series animation director.
Additionally, Miki Takeshita is in charge of scene setting, Shiori Shiwa is serving as art director, and Jin Aketagawa is serving as sound director at Magic Capsule.
FlyingDog is producing the series' music.
Instrumental band
Jizue is composing the series' music.
The series is listed for 12 episodes.
performed the series' opening theme song "Suisō", while AIKI from bless4 performed the series' ending theme song "Kago no Naka no Bokura wa".
The series aired from October 10 to December 26, 2019, and was broadcast on TBS, BS-TBS, and other channels.
In October 2019, two dancers accused the show of plagiarizing their choreography for the ending sequence, and their posts went viral on Twitter. In response, TBS Entertainment issued an apology to the dancers.
After the final episode, Kazuki Akane revealed that the anime was originally planned to be 24 episodes, but the production committee had decided to cut down the length of the series last minute. Akane promised that he would find another way to wrap up his original story through a sequel.
In April 2021, Kazuki Akane said he has been unable to find a company that will fund more episodes of Stars Align.
Reception
This series was received positively. In the fall 2019 preview guide, by Anime News Network, of the anime's first episode, Rebecca Silverman was concerned that the series may not be able to weave together a sports drama and a "story about dysfunctional families" and the character's designs, but wanted to continue watching it. Theron Martin said he couldn't see himself continuing to watch this series, and seemed to be a "pretty typical sports show title" at first, but has a possibility of "deeper meaning." Nick Creamer was more positive, praising the visual effects, method of conveying drama and information through animation, and its lightly illustrated but "truly biting family drama."
Michele Liu, of the same site, said that although the series touches on "various kinds of trauma and abuse without much subtlety," She argued that the series excelled at showing that the struggles of Yū Asuka were not different from struggles by their peers from parental pressure, and called Yū a "wonderful character" and an "absolute angel."
ANN reviewers would also praise the series for its "stellar character writing" and having one of the most "heartfelt and sincere representations of LGBTQ+ youth in a long time."
The series would also be listed by ANN reviewers as among the best anime of 2019. For instance, Jacki Jing and Lynzee Loveridge listed the series as the best anime of the fall 2019 season, and said that the series is "bound to be a tear-jerker." In another post, Loveridge praised the series, saying its "real heart is the players and their personal struggles" when authority figures box in the team, and noted that the emotional core of the series resonated with her, and said the series "humanity is its greatest strength." Creamer would also list it as one of the best anime of 2019, saying that the series' director, Kazuki Akane, turned his "consistent passion for messy character stories to a fairly grounded premise," and praised it for mixing character and sports drama effortlessly, becoming "one of the best sports anime of recent years."
External links
