I can talk about the “final” episode of Hoshiai no Sora – I will, and I have to. But it doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It exists in the context of the way it – and its creator – were treated, and what that treatment says about the failed state that is anime production in 2019. Fans can choose to ignore that, but do so at your own peril. Unless your preference is for idol shows, isekai LN adaptations and an endless freight train of generic moe, you’ll be that much more surprised when you realize the medium you loved is already dead.
In the unlikely event you haven’t heard what befell Hoshiai no Sora, I recommend you check our Akane Kazuki’s twitter feed. It’s a long story, but the gist of it is short – the production committee fucked him and his series over. This, of course, is what production committees do – they fuck creative people over. They rule the production process with an iron fist, strangling most challenging and ambitious content before it can ever be made. They bleed profit out of the system to make sure the studios make little even from successful series, and that animators work long ours in abominable conditions for next to no pay.
In short – the production committee model is a vile parasitic entity which is killing anime, piece by piece. Anime can change or die – just that simple.
As to the specifics here, again – Akane-sensei’s twitter is the best source. But what matters is that this series was originally slated for 24 episodes, and was in production for over two years working under that assumption. Then, a few months ago, the production committee arbitrarily canceled the second cour (before the show had ever aired, mind you). It was too late to re-work the narrative without coming up with something completely disjointed, so Akane decided to finish what he’d started and make the first cour of the series in more or less its original form. That explains the ending you saw today – and it also explains why he opened up so many plot threads, seemingly too many for a one-cour series.
The kicker to all this is that Akane broke one of the industry’s cardinal rules – he told the truth about what happened to Hoshiai no Sora. He spared no detail and placed the blame for this decision exactly where it rightfully belonged. The shills inside the industry and out have already counter-attacked, and in doing this Akane-sensei has probably effectively blacklisted himself. But he’s no fool – I’m sure he knew that, and I frankly don’t think he gives a damn. It’s not like he’s been prolific – he takes his time and only creates a show he’s truly passionate about. I would sincerely doubt Akane has much of a desire to be a part of the industry and it currently exists, and is likely to (d)evolve into in the future.
So where does that leave us? With a superb anime cut tragically short, and a final episode which feels nothing like a final episode. The truth is, creators like Akane Kazuki and shows like Hoshiai no Sora are exactly what the production committee model has evolved to eliminate (does anyone seriously believe Noein would be greenlit today?). The series is a passion project, a non-traditional exploration of ideas that are important to the writer/director, and makes no attempt to commercially pander. In this universe, anime that offers nothing to idol agencies, music publishers and light novel factories – or at the very least has a successful manga to cross-promote – has no reason to exist. And the production committees are doing a very good job of making sure it doesn’t.
It was a hell of a final episode, too – a classic “always leave them wanting more” stage exit. A banger of a match between TouMaki and the Itsue twins, starting off very much as you’d expect with the champs dominating. But they have a lot more to lose here than their opponents, and Maki and Touma play like they have nothing to lose. They use their inexperience as a weapon, not being wedded to a particular style of play, and it doesn’t hurt that the brother are clearly not used to getting any real resistance. If you can force the champs to slap each other on the court, surely that at least counts as a moral victory.
I really loved the montage of the final act of this match playing out over the ED song. Seeing Touma smiling as he played was especially gratifying – it gives you a sense of how sports and friendship can be incredibly valuable outlets for kids dealing with huge levels of stress in their lives. All of these kids, the boys and Kanako too, became each other’s support system. The family they could turn to when their actual family gave them a need to turn to someone. That’s how it happens with teenagers a lot of the time, and thank goodness too – without that, a lot more of them would find it impossible to cope.
Of course, no other show I remember has had such an ominous air when the end credits start too early. And here’s where all the seeds for the second season really take root for Maki and Touma. Touma’s mom is indeed talking about a divorce, and I guess in the end she just hates Touma because she’s a terrible person. And Maki finally snaps where his dad is concerned, and decides to take matters into his own hands once and for all. That’s a hell of a place to end on, but I respect that Akane didn’t try and pretend nothing was wrong here. He made the series he intended to make and explained to his audience directly why it ended the way it did.
I would respect any creator for making a show simply because he’d been thinking about the ideas behind it for years, and those ideas were important to him. The fact that these specific ideas are so important just makes Hoshia no Sora that much more valuable. Akane told a story of acceptance and resilience, a real exploration of boys and the struggles they contend with in a medium that generally treats them like idiots or wallpaper. I suppose under those circumstances it’s something of a mystery that Hoshiai was produced at all, but the minute I start considering that an acceptable state of affairs is the true beginning of the end for me as an anime fan. Honestly – what would be the point?
Akane-sensei has promised to try and tell the story he and his team created for the second season in some form, but it’s hard to see just what that could be. Even if he crowdsourced funding I doubt he could raise enough for a full cour, and even with the funding in-hand I would think he – and Hoshiai – are kryptonite for the industry at this point, as no studio would be willing to piss off the people Akane outed today by producing another season. Maybe we’ll see a manga, who knows – I hope Akane is able to tell the story somehow, both because that would be a sliver of justice and because I really want to know what he had planned for Maki, Touma and the rest. But in the final analysis, as wonderful as Hoshiai no Sora was, it’s a snapshot of an incredibly depressing moment for a medium that’s clearly on the decline.
Nadavu
December 27, 2019 at 11:03 pmMy own theory is that the first 4 episodes were true to the double cour vision, and that from episode 5 onward there has been some tinkering done in order to keep the narration more or less coherent. When I think about what impressed me most about Hoshiai in the beginning, it was hands down the storytelling. It was masterful. And then it stopped being masterful and became somewhat disjointed and worrisome. All the other elements were there — the lovable characters, the beautiful design, the poignant themes — but it lost something that I felt took it from very good to potentially epic.
In retrospect, there are some very on-the-nose hints scattered around this episode about what’s going on. The netting coming apart on the racket in the openning sequence, the intentionally jittery cuts, the music suddenly stopping and going to a black screen for a few seconds. These are screams of pain and humiliation coming from a dedicated team that saw their vision being torn apart and thrown to the mud.
Most revealing of all, I guess, is Kanako publishing her beautiful, artistic take on sufuteni, and then scrolling on her phone through an endless barrage of hateful comments of viewers who only want to see CGDCT.
Guardian Enzo
December 27, 2019 at 11:19 pmYes, that quick cuts to black were clearly silent protests. It just makes me that much angrier. And Kanako’s comment stream, well – self-apparent there.
We’re screwed, really. I’ve felt for a long time we were in the final “head’s not dead yet” stage, and nothing I’m seeing changes my mind. There’s no place in this industry for art for its own sake any more, and that makes people like Akane outcasts in every sense of the word.
Guardian Enzo
December 28, 2019 at 10:31 amActually, in thinking on it the meaning of Maki’s “Tsuzuku” T-shirt finally makes sense.
Kim
December 28, 2019 at 12:02 amSuch a shame what happened. I remember thinking this felt way too ambitious for a one cour series with too many plot threads opening up. And now I know my feelings were right.
I do hope somehow we will be able to experience the rest of the story. What was there was very good but the whole things leaves a bitter after taste in my mouth
And we get so few original anime these days too which makes it even sadder.
Panino Manino
December 28, 2019 at 12:09 amIn the end, I think was better to end this already.
For me was equally fun AND painful to watch this. The author went a bit too far with all the drama. Why practically everyone need to be so easy to anger, emotionally unstable, and so disrespectful? And the dialogue feels like it’s written by George Lucas and Mari Okada’s kid, frequently unintentionally ridiculous.
At time this anime was good, but at this point I believe that more episodes would only hurt more the overall score.
Guardian Enzo
December 28, 2019 at 12:23 amYou’re welcome to that opinion, but I certainly don’t share it.
Panino Manino
December 29, 2019 at 12:01 amI have the impression that when the axe came he doubled down as a vengeance.
Instead of making cuts he did the contrary, he kept all the plot-lines and dramas, even bringing some that would only appear in the second half. And what was the end result? A “mean story”.
It’s good that it’s a story that acknowledges a lot and problems and familial dramas, but don’t do much more than this and at a high coast (practically all the mothers are comically “evil”).
Deluxe
December 28, 2019 at 12:36 amIt was becoming apparent in the second half of the show that something was not working as intended behind the scenes, I didn’t expect it to be this bad though. It’s even more baffling that this is happening to a guy like Kazuki Akane who has thirty years of career behind him. How can they screw over a veteran like him? At least he’s outspoken about it, meaning that a lot of bad stuff probably happens backstage without us knowing.
Overall this show had very good intentions but it was not given a fair chance to succeed. This is very disappointing on many levels.
Guardian Enzo
December 28, 2019 at 12:49 amAkane is a veteran and has done a lot of excellent work in supporting roles, but he’s viewed as something of a black sheep as a creator because he’s idiosyncratic and not commercial, and takes too long to make sure he gets stuff right. Like I said in the post, the production committee system is basically designed to drive people like him out of the industry at the top level of productions. And by refusing to accept this in silence, he’s probably driven the final nail in the coffin.
Simone
December 30, 2019 at 3:11 pmMostly, I don’t see the point of it. Sometimes execs don’t even seem cynical money counters, just idiots. What did they gain from this? They most likely already spent a lot of the money needed for a two cour show. Had they aired it in full they’d had far better chances to recoup their losses. If they wanted to cut their losses for a show they thought wouldn’t sell, why not axe the whole thing one year ago? Why fund it at all?
Dop
December 28, 2019 at 12:46 amI’ve been trying to remember what show it was I watched a few years back which had a similar treatment, in that it was planned for 24 episodes then had its running time cut to 12. Except in that case they hacked the story to ribbons to try and make it fit and just ruined the story.
In this case, I’m glad Akane didn’t take that route but gave us these twelve episodes as planned and that cut-off point. Because even in this truncated form it’s been one of the best shows from the ending season.
Allenchu
December 28, 2019 at 1:20 amThank you for expressing my thoughts on this matter. Hoshiai no sora was a truly great anime, and one I was looking forward each week as it went. Reaching the end of the episode, thinking “oh, ok where’s the second cour announcement – like beastars did the day before” then checking twitter to find the truth was truly a despairing experience .
At this point, I’m just hoping for him to release the continuation of the story in manga form or even a novel. But still, as it is currently undecided (and uncertain), I just feel so sad. Sad that people are going to forget this story and characters as soon as next anime season begins (like the committee probably wanted to), sad that this anime didn’t reach enough mainstream appeal to create enough demand for the industry to care past today’s events, sad that from now on I will feel unsure about any upcoming original anime of this kind knowing this could happen again, and that sad that we just can’t have nice things.
Guardian Enzo
December 28, 2019 at 9:07 amThanks, well said.
Haraga
December 28, 2019 at 2:44 amI’m a reader of your blog who has no problem with idol and moe shows (I do have a problem with most isekai though), so when you criticized the production committee system, I always thought you were exaggerating and kind of neglected it.
I guess what happened to Hoshiai no Sora is a wake-up call for people like me. Unfortunately, I have no idea if there’s anything that can be realistically done to fix the system, as Netflix and Amazon can’t fully replace it (and bring in their own set of issues). I just don’t see a system that would work for niche productions that require $1-2 mln to jumpstart, other than what we currently have. And even this model screws the people that work in it badly, so if we truly expect the system to be fixed, budgets should probably go up significantly. But where would this money come from then if significantly more people don’t subscribe to streaming services, buy merch or purchase pricy Blu-rays?
Guardian Enzo
December 28, 2019 at 10:34 amAnime did just fine without a production committee system for most of its existence. And companies like Amazon and Netflix have enough money to completely buy out TV anime’s entire production process many times over without their accounting departments even noticing, if they so desired (which they don’t).
Robert Black
December 28, 2019 at 3:16 amBack in the 90s, when I was trying to break into Hollywood, I was at the LA Sci-Fi Convention when I heard Gillian Horvath, who at the time was script editor for the “Highlander” TV series. She told us, “If you really care about the integrity of your work, don’t go into television.” I was already getting a sense of what she meant but didn’t want to listen to myself. But I listened to her, and I’ve never gone back. A few years later, I saw her at the last LA Worldcon, and I told her that story. I also gave her a copy of my latest book at the time (my second – I’m currently finishing #12, and already have #13 and #14 under contract), and in it I wrote, “To Gillian – You changed my life!”
The point of all this reminiscing is that what happened to Akane-sensei, nasty and senseless as it was, happens all the time. It sucks, but it has always sucked and it will always go on sucking, because this is the nature of the business. Like any other business, it’s designed to provide the people at the top with the most money for the lowest risk. Sometimes a truly creative work can break through, and those occasions should be celebrated. Sometimes, especially in the niches where there’s less money at stake, you can find people willing to give really creative types a chance to express themselves. Those people deserve our admiration and thanks. (I know I’m grateful to my publisher, that’s for sure.) But for the most part, the industry at large will always look like it’s on the verge of brain death, or maybe like it never even had any brains in the first place.
Nadavu
December 29, 2019 at 9:47 amOh gosh, are you bbqovenguy by any chance? I used to follow you on livejournal years ago…
Robert Black
December 30, 2019 at 4:48 amYup, that would be me.
dc22
December 28, 2019 at 3:51 amWith the series being abruptly interrupted, I think what really stood out in the end is the meta-narrative, most obviously through Kanako publishing something SHE wants instead of something her typical audience would like. But also Maki grabbing the knife at the last minute is symbolic for the whole show being axed before it could conclude, just like his good times with the tennis club are probably over after this event. Truly deserving of the title “Stars Align”, because they might not align ever again for Akane Kazuki…
Collectr
December 28, 2019 at 4:44 amThis is precisely where Amazon and Netflix should step in, to rescue a worthwhile series, as (for a while) cable networks stepped in to continue niche shows that the main networks had canceled. But Amazon and Netflix are beholden to the same studios and committees that cut Hoshiai no Sora’s throat, and Amazon JP and Netflix JP seem far less adventurous than their US counterparts.
Another alternative would be for the author to finish the show as a manga, even a self-published one. But it would not be the same.
sweejen
December 28, 2019 at 4:54 amYou’re right. I would appreciate the second part of the story in any form, but a manga wouldn’t be the same. One of my favorite things about the anime was how it captured the physicality of middle school boys. They’re only like that for a little while!
Guardian Enzo
December 28, 2019 at 10:36 amAmazon and Netflix are beholden to nobody. This is between the cushions money to them. The problem with them getting involved in a case like this is that they would have to be given a reason to care.
Panino Manino
December 29, 2019 at 12:16 amBelieving that two big money seeking profit motivated capitalist corporations will change anything is delusional wishful thinking.
Once in a while they can put money in something like Crybaby to attract attention, but never will they do this frequently with longer series.
tsirrus
December 28, 2019 at 7:24 amWow, what a letdown of an ending, though it was understandable given the context. In my view this suffers from the Full Metal Alchemist / Fruits Basket syndrome: cut a story short (for different reasons I agree) by shuffling some elements here and there to make what you have work. Unfortunately to tell your story correctly you can’t just continue on, you basically have to reset most-if-not-all of the plot, which is what happened with FMA to FMA Brotherhood. Part of me would have wanted the first cour to play out like it was supposed to, so that closure wouldn’t require a full rewrite.
Unfortunately with this story being an original and have no main core audience (ex: heroic shounen), I doubt the story will ever be rendered (unless someone like Jeff Bezos is a fan…).
Still, in the end I greatly appreciate what the story did deliver. In my view it was above most of the shows this season. I wish the best for Akane and hope to see more of his work in the future.
Miyu Fan
December 28, 2019 at 2:00 pmI just finished watching Black Lagoon on Netflix and it just reminded again how the older anime really doesn’t have any commercially pandering elements that we have nowadays. It’s funny how back in the days we usually just had to endure that few pantyshots and ecchi jokes but now every anime is just so bland with CGDCT and isekai.
Honestly 2019 was just a bad year for anime industry even without the KyoAni arson incident. I mean we have a Jujutsu Kaisen anime adaptation confirmed without a studio or anime staff officially revealed but we got the cast first. That never happened before and a real sign that there’s overproduction issue now.
Guardian Enzo
December 28, 2019 at 2:22 pmThis is a reflection of the influence seiyuu agencies have in production committees. Again, it all comes down to that same problem – those damn committees.
zztop
December 28, 2019 at 2:44 pmOut of curiosity – if you say the committee system is broken and corrupt, what would your solution to the problem be?
I know some say these creators should organize into their own independent companies like Kyoani or PA Works, where they control their own committees and output free of 3rd party influence, but I’m also aware the success of these 2 are outliers and is very risky to actually carry out (otherwise everyone would’ve done it by now).
Guardian Enzo
December 28, 2019 at 2:56 pmAgain, for most of its life anime has not had a production committee system. Economic models change of course, and the biggest challenge in truly liberating us from the current system is the decline in importance of disc sales (which created its own set of problems, but did reduce the overall importance of the parasitic companies atop the committee food chain now).
I would argue that streaming and overseas income are, overall, the biggest hope we have. This is income generated around the series themselves, not the seiyuu agencies or the idol agencies or the LN mills. And – like it or not – overseas anime fans have broader thematic tastes than the extremely niche otaku tastes in Japan. More streaming income means more income for the studios themselves. It’s an imperfect model itself but I do think better than the one which currently predominates.
hikari
December 29, 2019 at 12:06 pmYeah….kinda agree with kim below, with the exception of few titles, I practically notice that majority lots of huge popular titles in the western fandom more or less the same with the Japanese ones (popular action-shounen, LN isekai+game mechanics, gatcha games, etc). In fact stuff like Shield Hero, Goblin Slayer and the likes are a bit more popular in the western fandom compare to Japan (not that these titles isn’t popular at all at Japan), I mean isn’t that what make Shield Hero got another 2 more seasons and Kinema Citrus is stuck with them after all.
Kim
December 28, 2019 at 9:08 pmNot sure about pining your hopes on overseas fans tastes. Looking at the best of decade lists voted by fans is depressing at how generic Western fandom taste is.
Stöt
December 29, 2019 at 12:22 amI don’t know the industry well enough, more than that these parasites are really draining all profit from the system and keeping the wages at the minimum. So can anyone tell my why the director can’t try to kickstart/gofundme another season? The production company owning all rights to future seasons makes no sense. That’s not something you sell ( nor will a company be willing to pay for) if it’s an anime original – a huge gamble that might just bomb immediately
Jennifer Alpuche
December 29, 2019 at 4:41 amThis reminds me of that incident with D. Gray-man Hallow where the creator spoke out against the mischaracterization of her character (e.i. advertisement and suggestive image of two characters). In short, she was the one that got blamed by the studio announcing Blu-rays wouldn’t be sold and losing ‘privileges’ to her instagram.
For a series like this to just suddenly, and without thought, end like this? Not to mention prior controversy around the ED in boot. It just screams parasitic. I’m proud Akane did what he did, without giving a damn. It’s been far too long that companies only exist to market and anyone who is critical immediately gets the boot of it. If this series returns in any proper fashion, I would be thrilled.
Marty
December 29, 2019 at 11:18 pmI’m not 100% sure how the business side of things works in anime, but isn’t agreeing on a certain amount of episodes and then backing out of it some sort of breach of contract?
Man, this really leaves a bad taste in my mouth to close out the decade.
romy
December 29, 2019 at 11:42 pmJust wanna say: “What a Shame!!! What a Damn Shame!”
kiwi
December 30, 2019 at 5:33 amhmm i’m trying to post a comment but it won’t show up for some reason. I have a lot to say about this show lol
kiwi
December 30, 2019 at 5:34 amIt truly is such a shame that this show had to end the way it did. As everyone has mentioned, this show has revealed the cracks in the anime production system and the true strain the medium is under. Similar problems are popping up in Western animation too; check out Tuca and Bertie on Netflix (from the creators of Bojack Horseman– it’s really good!) but it was mercilessly cancelled after one season. It seems like everything original or unique is destined to die..
I thought it was absolutely brilliant the way the OP and ED were abruptly cut short– I audibly gasped and it made me feel uneasy all episode. The final shot of the show was such a striking and upsetting way to end it– it really stuck in my mind. As others have mentioned, the montage of Kanako’s art being brutally rejected by the masses speaks somewhat to the current relationship between digital artists and their fans.
HOWEVER, even as it was on the butcher’s block, Hoshiai no Sora managed to do clever and original things that I don’t think have ever been done in anime. Episode 8 was just amazing: it had teenagers having an honest, respectful conversation about gender identity, being trans, and being gay… It was achingly realistic for me as a gay person. On that note, it meant so much to me that Shou was a positive role model in Maki’s life as a trans man– much better than Maki’s actual father. It’s so rare in anime to have good LGBT representation that isn’t fetishistic in one way or the other (I’m looking at you BL and yuri industry). This anime had canon trans and gay characters, treated them with respect, and didn’t belittle their identities. Even with the epic failure of the production committee, I’m glad that this anime was a thing that existed.
(is it too tin-foil hat to wonder if this anime was screwed from the very beginning because of its subject matter? It does make me wonder…)
kiwi
December 30, 2019 at 5:35 ami wonder… do you have certain words blacklisted, Enzo?
Guardian Enzo
December 30, 2019 at 9:16 amWordPress might. But usually I get an alert to approve/disapprove a comment in such cases.
Edit: I did find it in the trash folder – didn’t get an alert for some reason. I have no idea what word would have set it off though.
kiwi
December 30, 2019 at 10:44 amhm: the mystery is afoot. Anyway, thanks 🙂
Abs
January 21, 2020 at 10:04 pmAny word on how they are gonna continue this story? Very powerful anime and whilst a little over the top, overall was excellent. One of the best I’ve seen.
Guardian Enzo
January 21, 2020 at 10:29 pmI’m not optimistic Akane will be able to, but I would think the least unlikely means would be in manga form.