I’ll say this for Hoshiai no Sora – the tennis scenes look good. Characters are shown positioning themselves, swinging, and following through with remarkable consistency. The shortcuts that once plagued Baby Steps and Prince of Tennis rarely appear during this series, and that’s worth celebrating. There were even a few serves in this episode that approached Hanebado levels of frame density, so it’s clear that the show’s animators are reaching for the stars. That said, many of the characters are given the same form on their forehand shots, and the matches are composed with ample time for them to set up in front of the ball. Without mixing in more backhand winners, smashes, and diving returns, games will start to feel too familiar once we enter the eventual tournament arc. The alternative would be to be to rely on gimmicks, and judging by this episode’s third match, that’s not Sora’s strong suit.
The third match in question features the Shingo/Tsubasa pairing, which ruins the flow of the episode until that point. Their “strategy,” if you can call it that, is to shout at their opponents in order to distract them. This works like a charm, yet nobody from Misaki Middle protests, and Shijo’s resident dunces take the first game with ease. This is irritating to watch, as their temporary victory is earned via cheating at worst and poor sportsmanship at best. Just as annoying are the reactions to their early lead, ranging from confirmations of their strategy’s legality, to laughter at their antics, to admiration for their creativity. Who would be entertained by this in real life? How many people on staff approved this concept before it made it to the recording stage and became impossible to fix? It’s not impossible for the show to recover from such a blow, but ultimately, my fear is that this tone-deafness doesn’t bode well for a satisfying conclusion. If there’s any silver lining here, it’s that Shingo and Tsubasa lost big time once the Misaki kids adapted to their underhanded methods.
That same “win the first game, then lose three straight” formula was applied to all three of the episode’s complete sets, but the first two were much better, as they followed up on previous athletic or character developments. The double baseline strategy that Taiyo and Nao adopted in an earlier match made a return here, and allowed them to score a game against much stronger opponents. Then there was Rintaro’s quick footwork in the second match, which signaled a comeback from his discouragement in last week’s episode (the connection between his adoption and his low self-worth needs to be revisited, though). These moments were gratifying to watch, and kept the show in line with its mission statement of servicing all of its characters, rather than just its main duo. It’s those two stars who stand on the court now, though, and while things look grim at the moment, Maki is the sort of talent that can never be slept on. I’m predicting a win for Shijo in next week’s resolution to the current cliffhanger. Don’t let me down, boys!
