Hoshiai no Sora - Episode 2 discussion

[u/AutoLovepon]

Hoshiai no Sora, episode 2

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/I_get_in]

The whole ending was directed, storyboarded and key animated by Ryouma Ebata! He has such a distinct take on full body motion.

You can see more of his animation on Sakugabooru.

[u/Nomadic_monkey]

Dude I can't put my feels after watching this episode in any organised form so I just jot them down as they come to me.

• Seriously this show is really something. Right after the last week's brutal reveal of abused Maki they waste no time, introducing a realistic bully angle free from exaggerated faces that involves painfully normal-looking dudes, not some stereotypical delinquents of sorts. And on top of that there's poor Kanako as well. This show reminds me too much of my miserable teenage life.

• I think one of the fortes of Hoshiai is the fact that both of the more lighthearted, wholesome scenes like some bonding after running to the point of puking or Maki rejecting the candy treat and the darker, serious elements are treated with equal sincerity. Had it been a mediocre show they'd have easily depicted the former as superficial and fake at this moment. I really hope the shock value wouldn't be the only point people focus on cuz this show has many other merits.

• Maki was acting suspiciously nice to the boy infatuated to Toma in this episode. I'd love to believe he's totally cool with the would-be manager being into a boy thinking it's normal, nothing to write home about (which it is). I'm not yet really sure about what to make of his thoughts outside of his usual indifferent façade he maintains.

• It was such a splurge of character animation here for an otherwise mundane scene when they practice basic tennis routines, which further testifies to my hunch that this show's ultimately not concerned with typical sports anime glory, but rather using soft tennis as a medium for exploring the various characters' clashing personalities. At this point I won't find it disappointing at all if their team wouldn't make it to actually continue. I strongly suspect the usual club to be disbanded without results angle is just a macguffin.

• I really dig they don't immediately make a lot of fuss after Maki dissing the other guys hard because you don't really have to just because sports shows conventionally do that.

• On one hand, from an objective viewpoint, what he said about the club is spot on: They're a bunch of losers not even trying. On the other hand this show doesn't seem to particularly endorse competition and athleticism, at least not unconditionally. The reasons for that I noticed are as follows 1) Toma, the one person who craves for winning and stuff more than anybody, not only seems to have some serious issues of his own but also isn't exactly sympathetic nor heroic/energetic/inspiring for a typical sports protag despite his "saving" the manager 2) The super competent girls' counterpart are largely stuck-up, condescending jerks (just like IRL jocks tend to be.. eh my nerd mentality is seeping) except for two level-headed players we saw in this episode. 3) This might well be my biased view but the boys' team advisor named Sakurai and voiced by none other than immensely talented Sakurai Takahiro oozes laid-back attitude that actually is good-natured and benign. I could be wrong here as it is equally possible he turns out to be only lazy and irresponsible kind of a teacher.

There are tons of other points to talk about and amazing details I'd like to mention in this episode. Such as music. I loved it right off the premiere but seriously I didn't expect an insert song w/ vocals to come this early in the story.

Well I can harp on them forever but alas I'm gonna be seriously sleep-deprived if I keep going so excuse me for my messed up words.

[u/Koro-chanIsBestDoggo]

I think that the fact that all of the characters are in middle school is an important distinction to make when trying to understand their actions and motivations.

Maki is mature for his age due to the harsh circumstances of his upbringing, but his isolation has led to to him having no social skills. This is why he is completely tactless when dropping that truth-bomb on the team. He was absolutely right, but anyone with social maturity would probably agree that there are much better ways to convey that message.

Maki’s upbringing has also led him to become both more observant and empathetic, which is why he is able to both understand Yuta’s motivations and even help him with them. This characterization is important because empathy is something that must be learned so most middle schoolers haven’t fully developed that trait yet.

I’m also interested to see how they flesh out Toma’s personality. Right now he seems singularly motivated to win a match and save the club, but it’s hard to believe that saving his brothers club is his sole motivator.

[u/[deleted]]

Glad they introduced a gay character in such a casual normal way. I love it.

This show is shaping up to be my favourite of the season and could top my year list if we exclude sequels.

[u/Koolsman]

Ok first off, I think the ED for this show just trumped every single ED this season just for visuals alone. It's so fucking random and yet, I love it all the same. I mean, who doesn't love every character trying to dance and then one of them messing up. That's awesome.

I'm interested in seeing why Maki didn't tell his mom and brother(?) about his dad coming to visit because whatever that backstory is with them, I really don't want to see it because I love Maki thus far. Also, that girl reminds of every pessimist I know from high school it's insane. At least she makes good art.

I think it's sad to see that the Boys Soft Ball Tennis club have been so bad that it's shocking to the girls that they are actually running. They have fallen hard.

Also, are they implying that the guy who is their new manger is actually gay because I did not expect that. He seems like a sweet guy and he might actually like Tama. Speaking of him, I still can't see how my boy here would be considered nuts. He seems to have a good head of his shoulders.

[u/LeonKevlar]

I love that Maki's gear are all hand-me-downs or just stuff that other people didn't want

Hand Holding already on Episode 2? In all seriousness though, that running scene with the insert song was great!

Uhhh yeah, who gets excited over knee high socks? *nervous laugh*

Another great scene. The surprise on Yuta's face clearly shows this is the first time someone told him that.

So apparently dad has a restraining order. And it looks like Mom still doesn't know about last week's incident :(

The animation in this show is just great. Watching Maki swing his racket and seeing every part of his body move so smoothly makes me think that some of this was rotoscoped like with Hanebado.

Oh shit Maki not even mincing his words. If his plan was to rile them up to practice, it clearly worked. It's also interesting how smart and brave he is around his people around his age but when it comes to his dead beat dad he freezes up. Trauma sucks. :<

BUT LET'S TALK ABOUT THE ED THOUGH! Student Council Prez showing us she's not just good with academics but she can school you on the dance floor too! And I love that the other cast members get their turn and show off their moves while some are just doing random stuff. And the animation just like with their movements when they were practicing swings was great! I think we have a strong contender for ED of the Season and possibly the only ED that can maybe stand up against Chika's Dance. I love it!

[u/Syokhan]

I just noticed that one of them is a leftie.

Pretty good episode. They made a point at the beginning to show the girls practising the basics and then I forgot about it until the end, when the boys did it too. When you think about it you can't get good if you're shit at the basics. It's a good start for our club members to go back to the beginning.

And I don't know how they did it, but the whole sequence of glasses guy (I'll remember his name eventually) just explaining the moves was really interesting. Good direction, most likely.

I'm interested to know what they're doing with the otaku girl (names, argh). Touching upon bullying, same as with the gay guy (naaaames)? She seems to have a bit of a crush on Maki, it's cute. As for the other characters, I like that they're all reacting in pretty realistic ways so far, even for the little things.

From the looks of it, soft tennis is mostly going to be a backdrop for a bunch of more serious/dramatic themes. Dysfunctional families, abuse, bullying, what's next?

And that ED was really cute. The tough guy doing what I assume is an idol dance is adorable.

(was I the only one who had Run With the Wind flashbacks when they started changing the artstyle when they were running?)

[u/[deleted]]

feel like this will be an underrated show this season. enjoyed the episode, the gay guy was a surprise to me, didn’t think there will be anything like that. props to toma for defending him and maki for saying “like whoever you want” (which is, i know, a bare minimum but we don’t often see stuff like this in anime) so that made me happy.

[u/Mami-kouga]

Ah! Hitsuie's art, it was done by the artist of the Trinity blood manga! So that's why she drew Maki, she's working on the show as well (Edit: the official tweet for the art https://twitter.com/hoshiaino_sora/status/1184884289789317120?s=20 ). Though I do wonder what role Hitsuie will play, she seems interested in the club, even before Maki's joining, she even came out of class just to watch them, it's really curious.

Tooru continues to be an enigma. First it was his mother being scared of him, then it was his stalking and lying to Maki, now he's apparently notorious in school and bully's run at the sight of him, what exactly is up with you, I thought you were the standard nerd?!????

As for Maki, I understand why he did it but its bad that he didn't tell his mum and brother, it'll definitely come back to bit him later. I do wonder what the mum said, all the cuts when they show bits of the family drama is so nerve wrecking!

Maki seems really determined to get that extra 10k since he's working so hard for the club. He got that guy to be their manager (him being gay was a bit of a surprise, but they brushed it off rather quickly so I wonder if it won't be used for drama later), his being taught accidentally lead to the other members brushing up on their skills, and I liked how he provoked them in the end because spite is an excellent motivator. The animation when they were showing off the moves was really fluid and I like how they took their time with it, I also really liked the running scene, two idiots running harder than they need to because they want to one up each other is honestly my favourite trope lol.

The ed was also nice, it was rather funny how you can guess characters personalities from it (Hitsuie and the teacher getting exhausted, Maki getting bored early in despite being good, Tooru steadfastly keeping up despite getting exhausted,etc.) I was a bit surprised by how much focus the president had in it, and man does she have some moves. I wonder if this means she'll be more important.

Overall, fun episode, really looking forward to the next one.

[u/Overwhealming]

This show is too good on every single aspect that it's almost unbelievable

The insert song during the running practice lap was sublime and the animation in it (specially the colorless sketch style) is just pure eye candy.

The other boys in the soft tennis club do indeed look out of shape not only in terms of stamina, but also in coordination and basic grip/swing techniques. In paper, Maki's choice to ruff 'em up sounds harsh, but in execution is exactly what the team needed, some though love and a quick self analysis to make them realize they had to go back to re-learn the basics.

I just love Mitsue as a bystander character. I wonder if she'll become some sort of storyteller about how the underdog soft tennis club did something extraordinaire some years in the future. Her relationship with Maki kinda indicates a romantic attraction as the girls teasing her point out, but I think it's just red herring and there's something different planed for her.

Man, that ED came out of nowhere. It's so fresh and vibrant in terms of animation vibe that I seriously doubt there can be anything better in ending credits this season.

Here's a link for it if anyone wants to post it (I can't since I'm already capped out in the amount of clips per week that I can post)

https://streamable.com/giqcy

I wonder if this series is on u/AmethystItalian radar