Episode 1

The first episode of the Stars Align series. It premiered on October 10, 2019.

## Plot

Maki and his mother, Aya, move into their new apartment. Their new apartment is located on the 8th floor. As Maki is impatient to wait for the elevator, he uses the stairs and runs vigorously while carrying his belongings.

At Shijo Minami Junior High, the Boys’ Soft Tennis Club is having a practice match against the Girls’ Soft Tennis Club. It is a completely one-sided match where the boys are unable to even score a single point during the match. While all the other members of the Boys’ soft tennis club are unmotivated, Toma Shinjo, the captain of the Boys’ soft tennis club is the only member who gives it all during the match. However, Toma and his pair, Takuto, are unable to score a point from Kei Takada and Namie Ameno. After the match, Toma and Takuto come back to the other members. During their conversation, Takuto abruptly releases his frustration of the constant lose streak and he leaves the club.

In a meeting between the student council and school club president, Kinuyo Kasuga, president of the Student Council Board announced that funding will be cut from clubs that do not meet the appropriately required results and capabilities, since not all clubs share the same value. Toma tells the rest of the members that the Boys’ soft tennis club will be disbanded if they don’t win the Summer National Championship.

The next day, Maki is seen doing household chores and cooking for himself and his mother. At Toma’s home, Ryoma (Toma’s brother) tells Toma to give the book to Maki, Toma’s old friend. In the classroom, Maki becomes the center of attention as he is the new transfer student who will attend the class. When Toma enters the classroom, he gives Maki the book and greets him. Maki recognized Toma as his old friend.

During the break, the Boys’ soft tennis club are looking for new recruits. While Toma is desperately searching for new members, he notices a commotion in the class. A cat is causing amok in the classroom and some of the students fail to catch it. When the cat makes a jump in front of Maki, he manages to catch the cat leaving all the other students  in class amazed by his reflexes.

On his way back home, Maki encounters Toma who tries to convince him to join the soft tennis club. Maki rejects this proposal stating that he has no interest in joining a club. Even though Toma mentioned the threat of club disbandment, Maki still rejects the proposal.

The next day after school time, Toma tries to convince Maki to join the Boys’ soft tennis club once more. With the help of Yuuta, Toma learned about Maki’s situation and started to make a bargain with him. Toma offers to help Maki with his chores and shopping, provides soft tennis uniforms and equipment ready for him, and even tells him that Ryoma approved of him joining the club. Still unsatisfied with this offer, Maki tells Toma to pay him to join the club, stating that he’s not made of free time and agreed to join if he’s willing to pay him. Just as Maki about to left him, Toma shouted

Surprised because he didn’t expect Toma to take his bargain, Maki suddenly stopped walking. In addition, Toma said that he’ll even throw an extra payment if that’s still not enough. With no further reaction from Maki, Toma assumes that Maki accepts his offer to join the soft tennis club. He then asked Maki to come to the locker room near the tennis court the next day in order to provide him with equipment and uniform needed to join the club. Satisfied with the deal, Toma went sprinting back home with a smile on his face.

At the end, we see Maki’s father arrive at their apartment, asking for money. Maki refuses to give it which causes his father to beat him up. After searching the apartment, Maki’s father finds an envelope with money that Maki had hidden inside the air conditioner. After taking it, he then leaves the apartment.

## Matches

**No scored matches occurred in this episode**

## Quotes

* It’s not hilarious. They’ll totally get crushed, bruised, and broken. – ***Mitsue Kanako***
* Effort and passion always produce results. And having results is what deserves compensation – ***Kinuyo Kasuga***
* If we don’t win a match at the summer tournament, the boys’ soft tennis club will disband! – ***Toma Shinjo***
* Give me money if you want me to join. I’m not made of free time, you know. But if you agree to pay me for it, I’m fine with joining. Think of it as payment for manual labor. I won’t be joining clubs for fun, because money’s a problem. – ***Maki Katsuragi***
* 10,000 Yen…. That makes 30,000 to July and if we win the tournament, I’ll add 10,000. That makes a total of 40,000 Yen! – ***Toma Shinjo***

## Characters in Order of Appearance

* Maki Katsuragi
* Aya Katsuragi
* Kanako Mitsue
* Shingo Takenouchi
* Taiyou Ishigami
* Takayuki Sakurai
* Sakura Murou
* Rintaro Futsu
* Tsubasa Soga
* Itsuki Ameno
* Nao Tsukinose
* Kei Takada
* Namie Ameno
* Toma Shinjo
* Takuto Murakami
* Kinuyo Kasuga
* Ryoma Shinjo
* Toma's Mother
* Yuta Asuka
* Kenji Kyobate

## Trivia

* The song Suisou made its debut in this episode.
* As Maki walks back to his apartment the Moon and Venus are seen together in the sky with naked eye. This pairing usually happens once in a month.