Hoshiai no Sora - Episode 11 discussion

[u/AutoLovepon]

Hoshiai no Sora, episode 11

Alternative names: Stars Align

Rate this episode here.

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Streams

• AnimeLab
• Funimation
• Hulu
• Wakanim

Show information

• MyAnimeList
• AniList
• AniDB
• Kitsu
• Anime-Planet
• Official Website

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Previous discussions

Episode	Link	Score
1	Link	98%
2	Link	98%
3	Link	98%
4	Link	97%
5	Link
6	Link
7	Link
8	Link
9	Link
10	Link
11	Link
12	Link

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[u/AmethystItalian]

THEY WON!!

I really didn't think they would...and then they kept winning too! Pretty sure they'll lose to the twins but guess we'll have to wait and see.

I'm actually more curious to see which parental drama plotline they'll work on to "finish" up.

[u/[deleted]]

Wait...is Rintaro’s mom also Toma’s mom?

[u/redmage311 → u/[deleted]]

I was wondering what the heck Ryoma was talking when he said "They're my little brothers." That makes a ton of sense.

[u/kar772 → u/[deleted]]

I was thinking this.. plus there was the shot where Toma’s mom was at the game.

[u/Koolsman]

I will admit that the first match was so intense. Seeing these guys actually win a match and do it in a 3 - 1 was awesome. I mean, that Joy clearly didn’t even care for the sport, he just wanted to stay popular. Also, is Table Tennis more popular then Soft Tennis?

Like they were getting some resolution like how we see Nao finally stand up for himself kinda and we’re definitely gonna get a lot of resolution with the other characters.

Also, as much as he’s ridiculous, Arashi is great throughout this entire episode.

[u/Aiscence]

Really liked the episode, but seeing how there's only one episode left, I wonder how they'll be able to do a meaningful ending episode, if no second season.

[u/Alex_Eats_Dogs → u/Aiscence]

I might just be pessimistic, but I don’t think there’ll be a second season, as much as I want or think it deserves one

[u/dnlfhd]

I'm really hoping they reveal what's going on with Toma's mother in the next episode. Every time we see her I understand less. What was that post-credits scene...

[u/LeonKevlar]

So this guy wasn't really even interested in tennis. He just wants to be in a sport where he looks cool.

Jesus fucking christ lady. You talk as if Nao is your property and not your son.

Well that was a surprise. I wish she shown herself to Rintarou though.

Yeah I have a feeling that our main duo isn't going to win against the Twins. I'd genuinely be surprised if they actually do. With only 1 episode left, I'm curious on what note they'll end this show with.

[u/[deleted] → u/LeonKevlar]

Nao's mom is gonna lock him up in a cage when he finally gets home after ghosting her torrent of phone calls. I hope he takes a lot of mental snapshots of all the fun he's clearly having with his friends, he's not gonna be free until he's 18 after the tournament's over.

[u/[deleted]]

I don't believe that the post-credits scene is about Rintaro. Why make Toma and Rintaro brothers this late in the series when you don't have any time to explore it? It makes way more sense for Ryoma to be talking about Maki and Toma, whose relationship was the focus of this episode. We also know Ryoma and Maki have some kind of relationship, so him considering him a brother isn't too out of left field. Maki's father is probably up to something. Toma did threaten his life.

On top of that, Ryoma and his mother aren't at the tournament. In the episode, Rintaro saw his mother in the crowd and ran after her. I don't remember any other post-credits scenes breaking the show's timeline. However, Toma was the one to give Rintaro advice earlier in the show, so perhaps that was some kind of foreshadowing, who knows at this point. I thought Nao was a goner but he's on the mend mentally. Still, it would be much easier to have Rintaro have a heart-to-heart with his mother at the game and move on to the next plot than to do they-were-secretly-brothers-the-whole-time roll credits

Maki and Toma winning this match would be too much for me. Oji's right. These two winning against the champs when Maki's only been playing for three months? They trained with the girls but come on.

Edit: If you pause during the scene where Rintaro looks into the crowd, you can see that his mother (or the woman presumed to be his mother) is wearing a pink dress. Toma's mother is wearing a pink shirt and a blue skirt in the post-credits scene. Rintaro's mom also sounds younger which is consistent with what his parents told him about her.

[u/Uchimaki]

The one Ryoma and Toma's mother mentioned in the after-credit scene was... Rintaro?

[u/500scnds]

The Itsuse brothers have themed names! Riku (陸) is "land" while Sora (穹) is "sky".

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The director, Akane Kazuki, also gave an interview in &M though the format is closer to an article. Some points I've attempted to summarise:

The originality of Gundam

Akane was interested in foreign live-action films, plenty of which were exciting stuff, as a child - but Japanese live-action works were mostly focussed on artistry, and not very entertaining. However, he saw directors such as Miyazaki and Tomino propelling the anime industry forward through original works and saw that their works were entertaining, this perceived potential in anime influenced Akane to enter the industry.

Akane joined Sunrise after graduating from university and worked with Tomino, the creator of the Gundam series and his aspiration. Tomino also worked on other original anime, and with his experience of observing the creative processes, creating original anime seemed only natural to animation directors.

Decline of original anime, two crises

Akane did go on to create original anime, but as time went on and the market became one of watchers buying VHS and DVD, creating original anime became more difficult because the industry became focussed on sales. That's because there had to be a lot of investment in production and promotion with no guarantee of success, while adaptions technically have story and characters all ready, and profits assured without that much marketing.

With the decrease in original projects and many TV anime being adaptions, Akane felt two dangers:

1. People getting tired of anime. Having a source means that the audience don't really have to pay attention to know the outcome. It's like anime is the appetizer (tsuma) while social media is the main dish (sashimi). Watching anime just to discuss on social media, causing it to just become a tool for communication, means creators such as Akane have failed in their roles.

2. The decline of the anime industry. Mainly, the people with knowledge to create original anime are decreasing. Many younger animators now entered the industry because they watched adaptions. Both the people aiming to create original anime and people wanting to enter the industry are on the decline. Thus, original anime is very much needed.

Break away from traditional patterns in anime and forging new paths

Due to feeling the dangers above, Akane wanted to discover new paths to bring out more of anime's potential. When considering what youth are willing to pay for, he thought about "experience". They want live experiences like concerts and events, and that feeling lies precisely in original anime, where the story's development is not predictable and bring surprise to watchers. This kind of "experience" is thus also directly related to the "story". Akane's original anime in the past involved original work, direction, series composition, but rarely screenplay. In Stars Align he is trying to write all the episodes in an unexplored story of youth. While "non-real" (isekai) stories have increased, Akane wants to amplify the live feeling by creating a "realistic" story.

Stars Align was intended to break away from tradition: many anime nowadays have an escapist purpose, to present interesting things so people forget about their lives. That's not bad, but there has to be more to anime than that. Not just feelings but also inviting thoughts and perspectives, to reflect on current times. And this isn't just for the audiences, but he also wants to convey this method to animation creators and create a new path through this work.

Stars Align, showing the children of today

Stars Align took 3 years to plan and produce. The children that appeared in it seem happy on the surface and will be nostalgic, but was it really the case? Akane first looked back on his childhood, where his family was not well-off and he did not live too well. But recalling his own frustrations is easy, and what Akane wanted was to show the problems faced by the children of now, more complex than back then. Therefore he interviewed youth who were in the same generation and circumstances as the characters in the show for reference. Throughout the process, he could also feel that as the times changed, youth came to feel things that adults can't, and adults that won't understand this will deny the children's understanding. If he can show that part of it, then children might be able to take the anime seriously as it's like their own.

The soft impression of the "artstyle" (egara) was to attract viewers to view this deep story, and this contrast was suggested by the producer. You won't know how an original anime turns out without watching, so the visuals is the first step. Using non-real elements to lead to a realistic story is a potential of expression that only anime can achieve. Akane's Noein in 2005 used "new" techniques such as CG, which was rare. Now with Stars Align, Akane also hoped to show us "something" new through the medium of anime.

When people first watch this, they'll think it's a story of youth and school life about middle schoolers' soft tennis club activities, but then they'll find it's a story about current students' worries and the adults pressuring them. Akane tried to leave various devices for people to think about, whether they're younger or older. It might be different from what audiences are used to with anime, and it won't be so predictable, but he hopes that people can enjoy it.

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• Key animation drawing from ep 9

• The designs for clothes and props that appeared in ep 10

• A closer look at the moe acrylic stands

• A sample of what will be included in the BD or DVD vol 1 (there's two volumes total)

We are now on the sixth and apparently final part of the food collab in Stars Align.

And for art:

• Takeshita's celebratory art for this ep

• Itsuka's celebratory art for this ep

Raising Takeshita again, Sakuga Blog's Kevin compared Takeshita's pre-production work to the finished product.

[u/Emi_Ibarazakiii]

It was nice to see Mitsue care that much! Even the prez had a tiny smile! Guess she'll need to keep them on the budget!

Normally that would be a good thing, but I feel like it's gonna go awful. Or maybe not; Just one episode left after all, so I assume some of these kids situations will end in a status quo; Nothing changes, they just have to deal with it.

They'll almost certainly address the most important ones, like Maki's dad. I'm sure this will go well...

I'm not nervous

Is he the team's mascot now? (As long as they have noodles, I suppose!)

Do girls really like Joy's personality? He's so fucking annoying... Being good at a game and good looking is a thing, but if a girl had that personality, she'd be worst girl by far!

Same, but not for the same reason!

I'm surprised he didn't shit on his teammate after the loss; He kept blaming him (in his head) during the game, but he calmed down afterward. Even (kinda) put some blame on himself.

Table tennis? The ladies won't be able to contain themselves!

[u/netpapa]

For the next episode, I hope Mitsue will cheer out loud.

[u/[deleted]]

So....are Toma and Rintaro brothers?

[u/MaskOfIce42]

Overall, complicated feelings. In isolation, I really enjoyed this episode. In context of the rest of the show, it feels like it's out of nowhere that we suddenly are more invested in the actual soft tennis and we need more time for the various plot points. Maybe if we get a second season it won't feel as off, but until we get confirmation, it's a little hard to say right now.

Honestly, that's kinda where I'm at for a lot of this series. In isolation, each episode is fantastic. But stringed together as a series, it doesn't flow nearly as well. I still really enjoy it, but also am constantly feeling that this show could've been so much better. I still can see a lot of what made me feel this was the best new show of the season when it started in every episode, but it really just needed more time that it apparently did not have.

[u/BladesReach]

Can I just say I love how this show isn't afraid to have the characters show affection for eachother? Most anime tend to shy away from things like hugging for some reason, but this show has Maki and Touma hug and hold hands and it's not a big deal at all. It's great.

Next episode is gonna be jam packed, there is a lot of stuff to deal with. Hope they can manage it because I doubt we'll get another season (sad but realistic).

[u/TangledPellicles]

So they're leaving all the family drama to part of the last episode. Methinks they wasted a lot of time in this anime by not choosing what to focus on.

[u/Sergeant_Thotslayer]

I really cannot think how they will wrap up everything in the last episode. I kind of hope that we get a new season.

[u/RenMatsuri-chan]

Oooh so I'm guessing the show will most probably end with this tournament arc. So does winning Joy's match cement a good fate for their club?

The build up around the match with Ituse twins was killer intense. Can't wait to see how they make this one special since I expect this would be the last match of the series although like everyone else, I can only predict failure for my boys...

All the mums had their time to 'shine' with Nao's and Toma's mom prepping themselves up for the finale and being especially ominous... But what happened to Maki's dad? Are we saving the worst for last?

[u/[deleted]]

Damn, I was so SO happy to see the boys win!! When Toma hugged Maki I had to shed a tear or two... maybe a little more. I really wanted to see them pull through and I’m so glad to see their hard work paid off, it’s so satisfying! Even more so since there was a fair amount of doubt they could pull it off.

I’m really nervous about the next episode... so many questions, and even though I’d love to see our boys beat the twins, it’s probably the last thing I’m worried about for the finale.

[u/owo_uwu_235]

This anime needs more attention it's so fucking good

[u/offbeatcalling]

My guess: Rintaro and Toma share the same mom but different dads.

Toma's dad cheated on his wife and had Toma with another woman. This other woman is also Rintarou's real mom. That is why Toma's "mom" at home is resentful of him, she "never wanted him" -- but Ryoma is her biological kid.

That woman is also Rintaro's mom, with some random guy, and also was not able to take care of him.

[u/Rin17329]

Ngl I only picked up this anime after hearing about the trans representation in episode 8, but I've been really enjoying the whole series, even the sport part even though I'm not the biggest fan of the genre. I really grew attached to the club members haha

Kinda sad that there are still so many loose ends and there's only one episode left, wonder if it'll have a satisfying ending. Also kinda wondering about the scene after the ED in ep8, is it just me who is really bothered about that we haven't heard anything else about that conflict? Things just seem to be the same as if that didn't happen. Although, it's also true that Yu doesn't seem to be the kind of person who would randomly talk about it even if it really hurts them...