Stars Align has the potential to become a life-changing anime if you can get over its heartbreaking cliffhanger. The series starts as a soft-tennis-based sports anime; however, it soon morphs to deal with much darker subjects.
The characters suffer from bullying, gender identity crisis, dysfunctional families, or domestic violence. It is one of those anime that has the potential to draw in an audience who knows what trauma feels like.
Kazuki Akane, director of the Stars Align anime, has once again shared an update on the series’ status. It seems like he is still having difficulty with the anime’s funding.
Even though production companies are not ready to fund the anime yet, Akane has not given up yet.
Season 1 of Stars Align premiered in October 2019. It was set to have a total of 24 episodes with a gap of three months after episode 12, before the rest resumed broadcasting.
However, it was decided that the anime can only be allowed to have 12 episodes at the last minute. Kazuki kept the original format, and episode 12’s abrupt cliffhanger shows a continuation has been plotted beforehand.
Kazuki has taken it on himself to give fans an appropriate ending. He also clarifies that he has no intention of condensing the episodes to make a movie.
A Special Fan Movie was released in 2020 to help fans understand what exactly happens after episode 12. The short video is composed of clips taken from the 13th episode that had already been produced. You can watch the video below:
The short clip starts two years after the point where episode 12 ends. Kazuki has reported that he plans to make it so that fans can understand everything when episode 13 is released.
We have to understand the anime industry is a harsh world where popularity and sales matter the most. It is challenging to produce an anime through crowd-funding projects due to the enormous expenditure needed.
All that is left to do for us is support the diligent director in any way possible and hope that a production company picks up the anime after recognizing its potential.
About Stars Align
Stars Align is an original anime directed and created by Kazuki Akane. Its first season aired in 2019.
It is a coming-of-age story about boys in a junior high school who are a part of the soft tennis club. Maki’s addition to the team improved their poor performance.
Slowly and steadily, the backgrounds of each of the team members is revealed as they all fight their own devils.
Source: Kazuki Akane’s Tweet
No Comments on Stars Align Anime’s Director Updates Fans on Episodes 13 and Lack of Funds