This Week in Anime

Could Stars Align Be This Season's Ace Anime Series?

Andy

I gotta say I kinda love all the pathetic losers in this show and lets be clear, that is totally what they are as of now.

Hey, this is what happens when you put the art teacher in charge of a sports club. I do have a lot of respect for the girls coach for keeping her team in very good order, though. Can't say I've seen too many series that start with girls straight up dunking on dudes and you've gotta appreciate that.

I am extremely upset that someone found footage of me when I first joined my high school tennis team.

I'm so glad they have a character give my exact thoughts on that later on.


Boy, do I hope this one doesn't go full Gargantia on us because it's so damn tight and good so far.

I probably would've latched onto this show based on the character writing alone, but the fact it actually has real direction hit me so hard that I felt bad for how used I've gotten to the many static shots of talking heads there's been among the other premieres. Hell, the ED alone has more characterization than most shows.

Check out how each character moves! Their moods and exhaustion levels as it comes back to them! And the whole show has been that on point so far.

The boys are a wonderful mix of laziness and irony poisoning. They suck ass and have decided owning that they suck is better than trying to not suck. It's great that after watching them get trounced we hit the expected cliche outburst to start turning the team around.

But actually, no, he's just upset that being a lazy suck ass doesn't make you popular.

So he's off to the next thing he can slack off at with a higher success rate.

It's beautiful, and fits right into the idea that the reason they've chosen to suck is to fuel their fragile teenage egos in a very honest and relatable way, as it protects them from ever feeling like they've actually failed. It's totally OK to lose when you joined a team that is meant to! Collect enough self worth to feel above it and you're golden... at least until someone who actually gives a damn challenges that.

Visual language does a lot of work on that motivation change and leaves a lot of blanks to be filled in. The mere mention of Toma's brother and then this.


Lets have some fun and dissect this scene a bit. Toma's brother is facing away and looking back, meaning his attention was elsewhere. He turns back and brandishes the racket with a confident look of it being helpful in that situation, and child Maki looks upon him as a hero, then cuts back to being kind of speechless to be given one of his own in the present day.

Yuuup, and the way we learn about that was both dirty and highly effective. We have this happy moment of Maki joining the team, credits being overlaid on shots of his new school uniform and happily cooking up a meal for his mom in what we are about to learn was their new safe haven.

You think the episode is closing out on this really nice moment and leading into the future plot of the tennis club and his relationship with Toma...and then the bad dad tricks his way into the plot.

And boy, does that flashback scene make horrifying sense all of a sudden. And to clarify that earlier scene, I don't think it's about seeing an older figure being excited about tennis btw, cause that's not a court they're at. I'm pretty sure Toma's brother just chased off an abusive parent with that racket. The fact it was for tennis doesn't really even seem to click until Toma brings it back up, and Maki seems to grasp at the idea that he could be more like Toma's brother if he does join.

Either way it's a very strong hook. Especially as we learn how much Maki is trying to be a protector in his own way.

That backfires spectacularly and I can't wait for that bomb to go off when the rest of the team finds out Toma literally hired a ringer. How much of Maki's mind has been hardened by his situation and/or the views of his abusive father remains to be seen, but there's also an antagonistic "you get what you deserve" slant to him. Which isn't exactly making him many friends.

Though the confrontation quickly goes from "dude you're kind of a dick" to "oh no my baby"

Part of me was screaming STOP OFFERING HIM CANDY AND START NOTICING THE SIGNS! And another part is really hoping he, or at least the girl's coach at the desk right next to them, is good at their job and decided to wait until he left the room to discuss what just happened and what to do rather than put him directly on the spot. But hey, there's a lot of small slips for more than just Maki. We've also got to talk about Toma, and whatever is going on here.

It's one thing to be frustrated about your club being disbanded, but it's another when your mom is this upset to be alone with you.

And the earlier scene with his brother also establishes a certain lack of empathy that was a little shocking.


Which man that facial expression of pleasant shock that Toma might have concern to sad resignation that he doesn't is something.

They had a nice run that culminated in acknowledging each other! It's a step! Now whether that means as actual humans with feelings or rather as acceptable tools to achieve their goals has yet to be seen. All I know is that in this situation I wouldn't have a clue, because this would be me.

I sure hope they learn to acknowledge us lesser beings who die running.

Ah yes, the you-insert of the show.
Pictured: Micchy currently hard at work for this session of TWIA.

There's also a lack of Heybots on that desk but some liberties have to be taken in order to not inflict too much upon viewers.

But yeah, for a show ostensibly about the tennis team, there's quite a few characters outside of it who get a decent amount of screen time and I'm very thankful for that. Even if (read: especially if) they're a bit of a gremlin.

I feel like it's probably not far off the bullying we're shown. The new kid speaks to her like she exists and she's kinda into that! It's nice to have someone notice you!

Which, being bullied over boys/girls/etc is relatable and shitty. Even if it's not necessarily romantic, other kids being this obnoxious about it is enough to ruin some self-esteem and completely ruin chances at friendship.
So yeah, she's a bit misanthropic but it's understandable.

It should also be noted that she spends a lot of time on the RELATION-STEPS


Say what you want about what kind of relationship, but this has become a very clearly defined zone.

I'm so happy with how Mitsue's fellow step dweller has been treated so far. The show gets right to the point and shows us that he has to deal with homophobic bullies, but Toma is quick to stick up for him and Maki is downright supportive of his crush. That the rest of the team immediately welcomes him also gives hope that they're more plain lazy than actively shitty.
Also note: Maki says fuck gender roles.

I live for this shit-eating grin.

It's such a nice thing to see! I'm also slightly convinced there's a whole Kase-san level side-story going on somewhere on the girls team whether the story gets around to it or not.

It's got my attention the same way Run With the Wind did back when it was airing. Though the subject matter and characters are vastly different, it hits that sweet spot of compelling characters doing a thing together as they work out their emotional problems and that's totally my jam. So as long as that keeps up, and the majority of the rest of the season refuses to, this'll be me waiting for it every week.