The first time I went into Stars Align, I was not expecting much. On the surface, it seemed like a fun anime you'd relax to but you'd ultimately forget about and never rewatch. And for about twenty minutes, that's the image it gave.

Then it happened. The fun and light anime from the start takes a sudden dark turn, and every detail put after the event amplifies the gravity of the situation. Tiny details spread throughout the story suddenly click, and you realise that behind the cute animation and scenery lies a dark and moving story.

And then it keeps happening. This sweet show with beautiful music and scenery lovely enough to warm your heart keeps hitting you in the gut. It gets you attached to the characters in such little time, then reveals their daily struggles and the amount of pain they endure and at some point make them so human you can't help but identify with them. They have to face the adults (often more shitty than not) in their lives, and they have to learn to be there for each other and to rely on each other. In a world where everything seems to be, very realistically, against them, they have each other.

But what makes this show distinct is that having each other is not enough. They could talk together and laugh together but the pain would still be there, and that pain eventually builds up until they snap and can no longer handle the pressure, so they respond in an irrational yet completely understandable and humane way.

Depiction of abuse aside (that's a very big thing to put aside), the show also gives fantastic representation which you would not expect from the posters and plot alone. Every scene in Stars Align is short, and yet, when the revelations happen and you hear the words coming out of the characters' mouths as comfort, it feels long in the best way possible.

The sports side of the anime might be overseen because of the story line, but I found the matches to be satisfying. The animation fit perfectly with the music and the overall theme of the anime, and some of the matches actually had me nervous (probably due to my attachment to the characters). It might not suck you in as sports anime usually do and keep you on the edge of your seat to know the result, but it will keep your attention and most importantly help you oversee the characters' growth. The character development seen throughout the story is shown throughout their gameplay.

All in all, Stars Align did not deserve to have its episodes halved. But even then, despite it being incomplete and leaving you on a cliffhanger, it is absolutely worth the watch. This show will hurt you, but it will also heal you. It is comforting in the most painful way.