frick it im making a #STARSALIGN thread!!! this show is so well done and so underrated and i encourage my moots to rt this or reply w the hashtag #WATCHSTARSALIGN ! lets get it trending fellas

so why watch #STARSALIGN ? it appears to be just a simple sports anime about a group of boys playing soft tennis, but the show pretty quickly delves deep into the personal issues of these characters as they seek to get better as a team.

the main character is maki katsuragi (right), who joins the tennis team at the persuasion of his childhood friend toma shinjo (left). maki brings a fresh new outlook on soft tennis and team dynamics with him and the rest of the show focuses on how those dynamics change.

its difficult to talk about a lot of the important rep without entering spoiler territory, so read at your own risk. one of the things that stars align explores is the dynamics of the team members and their parents, and portrays a variety of relationships good and bad.

tw for ab*se

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while a few of the kids have good relationships with their family, many do not. yuu's mother disapproves of their gender experimentation (more on that later!), nao's mother seeks to control him, tsubasa's and maki's fathers are physically abusive.

others have unconventional family dynamics that are explored and normalized, such as rintaro, who is adopted, or maki and his mother who live alone and have a healthy relationship!!!

as for the boys themselves, each is developed with such care and attention that even if they arent the main character, they still feel real and relatable and important. i literally cant pick one favorite because of how unique and special they are.

every. member. of the main cast and their stories and personalities are crafted beautifully and endearingly, and each character has their own strengths and flaws. pictured are a few of my favorites, mitsue, who struggles with her dreams of being a professional artist (1/4)

yuu, who is the team's gently mannered manager, canonically nonbinary, and has a crush on a male character (YES, both of these facts are EXPLICITLY stated in the show!!! which is a huge deal) (2/4)

nao, who uses soft tennis as an outlet, gradually opens up more over the season, and finds himself struggling under the grip of his controlling mother (3/4)

and toma, the captain of the team who feels the weight of enormous expectations due to his prodigy older brother, who excelled at tennis in school, and a mother who doesnt want him. (4/4)

through each member's struggles and shortcomings, they dont display toxic masculinity (avoided by ALL of the main male characters, which is pretty exceptional), and react believably and sympathetically. at the same time, they arent reduced to "soft uwu boy" tropes or infantilized

now lets talk a bit more about the lgbt rep in this show!!! as ive said, yuu is nonbinary and there is an episode where they talk with maki about gender identity and expression, as well as their mom's disapproval of them being more feminine (1/2)

maki is nothing but supportive of yuu and the two even dress up as girls to get data on another team. additionally, shou (lower left above) is a trans man, and a friend of maki's mother!!! the phrase 'FTM' is literally spoken by maki and you cant get anymore explicit than that

ok this is getting long so lets talk about the actual quality of the show! its very well done, and has incredible facial and complexion diversity amongst its main cast

like look at them all!!! look at how different everyone looks!!! theres so much effort put into how each character is designed and distinguishable from the rest!!! NOT EVERY MAIN CHARACTER HAS THE SAME SKIN TONE (im looking at u mha class a)

the animation in the show is also super well done and communicates emotions and movement without losing its personality in overly realistic imagery (i love watching the ending segment every time bc of how the characters all dance and move so differently)

also. backgrounds. omg i love the backgrounds and the overall mood of the location god its just. so yummy

now normally im not one to make sprawling threads gushing about my interests, but #STARSALIGN is a special case. you see, the show only has 12 episodes and the story seems. incomplete. it was originally going to have 24, but half were cut due to budget reasons.

it is relatively unknown both in japan and abroad, so it is impossible to say whether or not the series will be completed. this really sucks, because it truly is a special and standout anime that could seriously be a game changing hit, and its right up most anime fans alleys imo

me and my friends hope that by getting #STARSALIGN and #WATCHSTARSALIGN trending, even if it is only a small part of twitter, we can show our appreciation for this show and get more people to watch it! its out on hulu so if you can, watch it there to monetarily support it

ok end thread. im not super active on anitwt but this show means so much to me and others, and i think it really is an important step for anime. so please #WATCHSTARSALIGN so that we can maybe get some closure for these characters<3