A pair of popular Japanese dancers have noticed that the dance moves seen in the end credits of the anime Stars Align bear a striking resemblance to their original choreography, prompting the production team for Stars Align to investigate the alleged plagiarism.
Stars Align is a new drama series produced by Eight Bit and airing on the Tokyo Broadcasting Station following transfer student Maki Katsuragi as he joins his school’s tennis club against a backdrop of physical and emotional abuse in his home life.
The show’s end credits feature the various characters performing choreographed dance routines at different locations across the high school campus:
On October 22nd, popular dancer and choreographer Melochin posted a tweet featuring a side-by-side comparison of the Stars Align ending with a choreographed dance routine made by himself in 2016:
｢星合の空｣というアニメのEDが自分の振り付けに似ていると教えてもらったので比較してみたんだけど・・・これは。。 pic.twitter.com/eIokttdYfa
— めろちん( ・ー・)Г☎ﾁﾝｯ (@melomelochin) October 23, 2019
Melochin also asked his fans to not contact the companies involved, noting that he was in the process of reaching out to them:
一応問い合わせ等してるので、みなさんからは突撃などしないようにお願いします。
あと良かったら本家みてくださいhttps://t.co/vfde7jUo4B
— めろちん( ・ー・)Г☎ﾁﾝｯ (@melomelochin) October 23, 2019
Shortly after, another popular dancer named Miko posted a similar comparison between her own original choreography, uploaded in 2018, and the Stars Align ending animation:
アニメのEDに私も恐らく使われてしまっています…(･_･; pic.twitter.com/5chUaihTnZ
— 七河みこ🐣 (@miko02xxx) October 23, 2019
Eventually, whether through widespread attention to the issue or from Melochin’s personal involvement, the production team for Stars Align took to the show’s Twitter account to announce that they are currently investigating the accusations:
「星合の空」ご覧いただいている皆さまへ
「星合の空」エンディングアニメーションでご指摘いただいている点について、現在、事実関係を確認しております。
星合の空製作委員会
— TVアニメ「星合の空」公式 (@hoshiaino_sora) October 24, 2019