Stars Align: Episode 8 FULL LENGTH Reaction!

Thank you for sharing your story, here! That is awesome -- Yuta and Maki's conversation is so sincere and genuine, and it's touching on issues of acceptance of self and validation of existence that I think everyone needs to hear, but especially for those in the LGBTQA+ community. It's such a perfect, beautiful moment in the show! <3

Romaniablack

I'm a little bit late to this since I fell behind with this series! But I just wanted to comment here because I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE this episode. It's stuck with me ever since I watched this on my own last summer. I am actually transgender myself, FTM if you will, and the way that this show handled that conversation was so incredible. It definitely made me cry. So I really love how touched you were watching that scene :) I'm still pretty young in my transition and was still in the closet the first time I watched this show, haha.

Kell

Ahhhh, I actually JUST watched Episode 9 last night -- you're right, it's one of my favorites, too! I'm excited!! :D :D

Romaniablack

Yes! I agree with everyone that commented lol. Since you dont consider this a spoiler, Ep 9 is my favorite. Can’t wait til next week!

Nao's mother is pretty awful...I hate that she's so cruel to him. And YES, I like that we get a payoff with Nao's character and realizing why he is the way he is -- it's all an escape from his awful home life. :3 I want to hug and adopt all these boys! I absolutely LOVE the conversation between Maki and Yuta. The casualness of it all, and yes, it's so needed for kids to see that these conversations can happen so naturally and talk about issues that really affect them, especially during a time of growing and finding themselves like where these characters are now. And the growth of Mitsue as a character cannot be understated! Going from being apathetic and not caring about anyone to doing her best to help her friends and understand her own inner frustrations...And your words about drawing are ME 100% -- I've drawn since I was a kid, but it's so easy to get discouraged when you see so many amazing artists out there and you realize your skill isn't close to that level. But, still, I enjoy drawing, so I love doing it. I backed away from it the last few years, but watching this episode makes me want to pick it back up again. DEFINITELY respect those that do it for a living as well! We're in the last batch of episodes for the season, but I've really liked this series; I'm excited to see these last several episodes! Thanks for the kind words and have a great day, too!

Romaniablack

I've waited for this since the first episode. The whole episode was fantastic. Nao making up all these lies at the start of the show seems like comedy but now that we know why he's such a dreamer and in his own mind the whole time it just hurts. "They have bad influence on you" Says the one who tells his son you can't have fun at the barbeque without alcohol. Like what the hell? The gloomy atmosphere at Nao's home makes the scenes even more telling. The conversation between Maki and Yu was amazing. I haven't seen a show talking about these themes in such a casual way. It wasn't over dramatic or anything. They just talked and that made it even better. "It feels like something is wrong, but I don't know what. I'm not sure if something's wrong at all." Maki really hitting close to home in this scene. It's so good that Yu has friends and siblings that support him. I feel like this scene is something kids should see. It's not long but so important to hear for so many people. Mitsue grew so much, in a lot of ways. It was really brave of her to distract the girls and stand by it till the end. This must have been a really shitty feeling. But the club being so protective of her melts my heart. I love them all. It's always sad to see when people have a passion for something and get told they shouldn't do that and focus on something that helps them in the future. People who have a passion are in my eyes so admirable. I'm drawing and I don't even know why I draw. I cannot go a day without but everytime I draw I get so frustrated because it feels like I never get better. And everyday I see so many amazing artists and it just makes me feel like I will never reach that level. It's like I hate it but I also love it. I have really big respect for people who draw for a living. I don't think I could ever do that. And I'm completely off topic now, sorry. XD I'm sad that it's almost over and to know that we could have gotten so much more. Wish you a wonderful day!!

Toni simi

I really loved this episode -- the writing of it was so REAL and you bring up a great point about the "crossdressing trope" -- it wasn't a gimmick here; the only comedic part was how Toma was trying to keep the former teammate away, but that was just to keep him from discovering it was Yuta and Maki. Nao's mother is pretty bad. :/ Your description of her is pretty much why she annoyed me in this episode as well. I mean, Nao is a KID...let him have some bbq, darn it. And Mitsue's story is so relatable; my parents always encouraged me to pursue things I enjoyed, but others in my life have not, and so I could relate! And yes, that nice melodrama at the end...what's the opposite of a cherry on top? :P Thank you for the kind words and comment! I can't believe we're at the last third of the series! You can definitely tell it was made to be a full 24-episode season, which makes me sad.

Romaniablack

Sports is definitely not the highlight of this anime, for sure! This episode one of my favorites. I was so amazed at how well this episode was written. I've seen the "crossdressing trope" used a lot for laughs or as a gimmick in a lot of anime but it's usually never taken seriously. The only other show I've seen handle this topic in a real way is Hourou Musuko. Nao's mother is just...ugh. The whole opening scene of this episode was so frustrating to watch, I just wanted to slap that woman upside the head. Especially the bbq comment, it was so dumb! So, by her logic bbq can only be enjoyed by adults?! People like her frustrate me because they are so hard to reason with, they've got their own world built up in their heads and can't see anything else then get angry when things don't go their way or someone tries to burst their bubble. And then the last bit of the episode with the teacher and wanting to draw, my heart! I realize how lucky I am that my parents always encouraged my artistic hobbies. Aaand then as usual with this show the after credits are like a bucket of ice water. Great reaction and discussion as always! So sad we're nearing the end of this series :(

JennyLH