From what I've heard, Hoshiai no Sora was originally going to have 24 episodes, which was then halved at the last minute. The creator decided to keep its original structure and continue the story in the next season. In my opinion, despite the shock I felt from that cliffhanger, it's a good move - people who are interested are basically hooked in for good as we wait hungrily for the second season which will apparently come out in 2021, and the creator didn't need to sacrifice anything by forcing everything to fit in 12 episodes rather than 24.

Now, time to actually talk about this show. Hoshiai no Sora, or Stars Align, is another sports anime, this time dedicated to soft tennis. Unlike the other sports anime I've watched (which, to be fair, only includes Haikyuu!! and Free!), it consists of a group of boys who are originally slackers, only to be basically kicked into shape singlehandedly by Maki, a newbie whose natural talent at the game inspires the rest of them to work hard to improve. Their goal is to win at least one game in the upcoming tournament in order to avoid the disbandment of their club. With their improvement, not only do they save their club, they also discover their true passion for the sport.

This show is rather evenly split between the boys playing soft tennis and the boys' home lives and other things in their lives. We get to see the boys struggle against their terrible parents - Maki's abusive deadbeat father, Tsubasa's father who smacked him so hard he fell down the stairs and fractured his wrist, Nao's helicopter mother, Toma's mother who admits straight up that she can't stand him and prefers his older brother, and Itsuki whose mother thankfully doesn't live with his family anymore after scarring him with boiling water as a baby. We also get to see open acceptance and thoughtfulness towards the LGBT community. There's Shou, a family friend of Maki's who is FTM, and there's Yu, who has faced bullying for liking boys and is questioning their gender identity. There's also some slight hints towards a romantic relationship between Maki and Toma, though some may prefer to see him with someone else like, for example, Yu or Arashi.

I've seen some people say that the end of the show was a bit off-putting. As in, the last 5 or so minutes. I can see why - I mean, that was a strong change in tone as we watch Maki purchase a butcher knife and start talking about how as long as his father is alive, he'll keep causing problems for his family. Perhaps we should've seen this coming with the way he and Toma threatened that man, but wow, talk about bold! However, its strong contrast compared to the rest of the show makes it rather interesting. It shows that unfortunately, at the end of the day, soft tennis and their club isn't everything in their lives. Escapism isn't going to help them cope forever, not as long as the source of their stresses still exist.

As aforementioned, considering how the show was forcibly cut in half, it really isn't completely the creator's fault. It is an interesting cliffhanger to end on, and it makes invested viewers anticipate the next season with fervour. There are some things I would like the next season to focus on. Some of the boys of the club don't have as much spotlight and, as a result, aren't as memorable. Even other characters are more memorable than some of the club members, like the twins or Arashi. I had a harder time learning the club members' names, apart from Toma and Maki and eventually some others, than I usually do due to this. However, by giving the other boys more spotlight, this problem can be remedied. This includes a further development of the home situations of the boys. Other than that, I feel that this show has very little flaws. The art is very cute, the characters are realistic, their friendships and closeness are adorable, their struggles help the audience sympathise or empathise with them more, and overall, it's just very fun to watch.

I strongly encourage people to watch this anime - hopefully if we show that there is a decent fandom behind this anime, we'll get a season 2 that fulfils our needs.