Looks like the Stars Align anime director, Kazuki Akane, isn’t exactly feeling the alignment of the stars these days. In a recent Twitter post on February 9, he revealed that there’s no new anime production in sight for the show. However, Akane is currently revising the plot for what would have been the anime’s successor episodes, with a particular focus on episode 13.
Akane tried to share his work online using machine translation, and let’s just say, things got lost in translation. The resulting text was about as coherent as a drunk karaoke singer, so Akane is considering releasing the raw scenario in Japanese instead. Unless you speak Japanese like a native, you might have to wait a bit longer for an official translation. In any case, we’re all eagerly anticipating the new plot twists that Akane-san has in store for us.
About Kazuki Akane
Kazuki Akane has been dealing with health issues for two years, causing a delay in working on the story.
Despite this setback, Akane has noted that there is a great deal of interest from fans outside Japan for a continuation of the series.
While Akane reported in April 2021 that he was unable to find a company willing to fund a sequel to the anime, he remains determined to create more episodes. The director is still planning on making episodes 13-24 of the series.
According to Kazuki Akane, the 13th episode of Stars Align will provide context for the new footage featured in the “Special Fan Movie,” which takes place two years after the end of the anime. However, the director has confirmed that there are no plans for a full-length feature film at this time.
The “Special Fan Movie” was released as a short film in May 2020 and included new footage that follows Maki Katsuragi, Tōma Shinjō, and other characters in high school two years after the anime’s finale. Fans were thrilled to see the story continue in some form, even if it wasn’t as a full-length feature.
Akane had teased the continuation of the story in some capacity on Twitter in December 2019, but it’s still unclear what form that will take. While the TV anime was originally planned for 24 episodes, the ending of the series was structured to reflect the initial plan.
Stars Align premiered in October 2019 and aired for 12 episodes. The series was directed by Kazuki Akane, known for his work on Escaflowne, Code Geass: Akito the Exiled, and other anime. The show focuses on the boys’ soft tennis team at a junior high school, which is in danger of being shut down. It’s a touching coming-of-age story that will tug at your heartstrings and make you root for the underdogs.
But the fun didn’t stop there! The anime also got a “special collaboration movie” that premiered on TBS Animation’s YouTube channel in March 2020. The video combined the show’s ending theme, “Kago no Naka no Bokura wa,” performed by AIKI from Bless4, with a dance sequence choreographed by the talented Melochin. It was all shot at Bless4’s studio and included in the second home video release of Stars Align, which came out in April 2020. You won’t want to miss this epic collaboration that brings together the best of music and dance.
