Hoshiai no Sora

***Stars Align*** (星合の空, *Hoshiai no Sora*, transl. "Star-Crossing Skies") is a Japanese original anime television series written and directed by Kazuki Akane at studio Eight Bit. The series aired from October 10 to December 26, 2019. On January 31, 2020, it was announced that there will be a Special Collaboration Movie and a Special Fan Movie. On May 18, 2020, it was announced that the Special Fan Movie has been completed. The special fan movie was released on May 20, 2020, and takes place two years after the end of the series.

## Plot/Synapsis:

Constantly outperformed by the girls' club, the boys' soft tennis club faces disbandment due to their poor skills and lack of positive results in matches. In desperate need of members, Toma Shinjou is looking to recruit capable players, but he fails to scout anyone. Enter Maki Katsuragi, a new transfer student who demonstrates great reflexes when he catches a stray cat in his classroom, instantly capturing Toma's attention. With his interest piqued, Toma ambitiously asks Maki to join the boys' team but is quickly rejected, as Maki doesn't wish to join any clubs. Toma refuses to back down and ends up persuading Maki—only under the condition that Toma will pay him for his participation and cover other club expenses.

As Maki joins the team, his incredible form and quick learning allow him to immediately outshine the rest of the team. Although this gives rise to conflict among the boys, Maki challenges and pushes his fellow team members to not only keep up with his seemingly natural talent, but also drive them to devote themselves to the game they once neglected.

This story focuses on the potential of the boys' soft tennis club and their discovery of their own capability, while also enduring personal hardships and dealing with the darker side of growing up in middle school.

## MAL info:

**Producers:** TBS,  Movic,  Magic Capsule, flying DOG

**Licensors:** Funimation

**Studios:** 8bit

**Source:** Original

**Duration:** 24 min. per ep.

**Rating:** PG-13 - Teens 13 or older

**Score:** 7.51

**Ranked:** #1542

**Popularity:** #1459

## Characters:

* **Katsuragi Maki:** (Main) 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.
* **Shinjou Touma:** (Main) The captain of the soft tennis club. He is the only player on the team who took the sport seriously prior to recruiting Maki.
* **Asuka Yuuta:** (Supporting) 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. They seem to have a crush on Toma.
* **Mitsue Kanako:** (Supporting) Maki's neighbor and a classmate. She is often seen watching the boys soft tennis club practice.
* **Ameno Itsuki:** (Supporting) A member of the soft tennis club partnered up with Rintaro. He has a burn scar as a result of his mother pouring boiling water on him when he was an infant.
* **Soga Tsubasa:** (Supporting) 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.
* **Tsukinose Nao:** (Supporting) 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.
* **Takenouchi Shingo:** (Supporting) A member of the boys soft tennis club partnered up with Tsubasa.
* **Futsu Rintarou:** (Supporting) 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.
* **Ishigami, Taiyou:** (Supporting) A member of the boys soft tennis club partnered up with Nao.

## Official sites:

https://myanimelist.net/anime/37972/Hoshiai\_no\_Sora?q=hoshiai&cat=anime

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stars\_Align