Stars Align Anime Abruptly Ends After Season Order Cut in Half

Despite an initial order of 24 episodes, Stars Align, the anime drama series about the challenges faced by the members of a struggling high school tennis team, recently ended with the debut of its 12th and final episode due to “a last-minute change in the schedule.”

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According to a translation of tweets from Stars Align director Kazuki Akane (Escaflowne, Birdy the Might: Decode) provided by Anime News Network, the series was produced in a 24-episode structure but a change in scheduling reduced the order, forcing the Stars Align team to make “12 episodes with the 24 episode structure intact.”

“Stars Align ended its television run with its 12th episode today. But the story has a continuation, and the characters’ drama will continue in the future.”

“The anime was originally planned to be 24 episodes, and the second cour would have aired after a three-month break. So there is an episode 13 that follows from episode 12.”

“In spring, there was a last-minute change in the schedule to make the show 12 episodes long, but we’ve been working on this anime for over two years, and the animation production was already proceeding, so I deemed it impossible to turn it into a 12 episode structure at that juncture. Thus, we made 12 episodes with the 24 episode structure intact.”

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However, Akane proceeded to state that he was intent on finishing the story, asking fans to “give me the chance to show you what happens in Maki and Toma’s future” and noting that “the form that this media will take is in flux right now.”

“I wanted to make this anime different from your ordinary anime, so this way of ending things might be another characteristic aspect of Stars Align. I’ll make the story for the next 12 episodes myself, so I hope you give me the chance to show you what happens in Maki and Toma’s future, along with all the others.”

“The form that this media will take is in flux right now, so please look forward to seeing how Stars Align will turn out. I hope that everyone who has watched Stars Align so far can support us to make the continuation a reality.”

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Despite its cancellation, Stars Align gained a significant fan-following during its run and was praised for its addressing of social issues such as gender identity and transgenderism:

Though Akane did not directly state the reason for the series cancellation, some have speculated that it was due to the series inability to turn a profit:

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