This does have one of the most genuin and delicate portrayle of an LGBTQIA+ character in it and wish them all the love.
Though I do also ship some of the boys as they do pair of into partners for the matches.
Anime Spotlight - Stars Align
This is a beautiful truly underappreciated wonderful series that I can't recommend enough.
The plot is constantly outperformed by the girls' club, the boys' soft tennis club faces disbandment due to their poor skills and lack of positive results in matches. In desperate need of members, Toma Shinjou is looking to recruit capable players, but he fails to scout anyone. Enter Maki Katsuragi, a new transfer student who demonstrates great reflexes when he catches a stray cat in his classroom, instantly capturing Toma's attention. With his interest piqued, Toma ambitiously asks Maki to join the boys' team but is quickly rejected, as Maki doesn't wish to join any clubs. Toma refuses to back down and ends up persuading Maki—only under the condition that Toma will pay him for his participation and cover other club expenses. As Maki joins the team, his incredible form and quick learning allow him to immediately outshine the rest of the team. Although this gives rise to conflict among the boys, Maki challenges and pushes his fellow team members to not only keep up with his seemingly natural talent, but also drive them to devote themselves to the game they once neglected. This story focuses on the potential of the boys' soft tennis club and their discovery of their own capability, while also enduring personal hardships and dealing with the darker side of growing up in middle school.
Underneath its exterior of a sports anime is so much more, a series of battling so many of Japan's social norms and the roles of parents in the life of these young people. The sports element is good, a real sense of the underdogs finding new strength and passion in their soft tennis. Of a team coming together, forming bonds and a desire to improve themselves and give it there all. The characters are all so likeable and its lovely to see them grow and develop and improve.
Then the darker side comes through as we learn about these poor middle schoolers and their family situations. No not all the parents are horrible human beings but this series deals with some traumatic themes and it does it with respect and delicacy. All kinds of social issues are reflected here, from the helicopter parent, LGBTQI+ representation, domestic violence, adoption and cyber bullying.
Soft tennis is the safe space for these characters, its they're joy and passion. A place to escape their horrible home lives. Its never feels force or drama for the sake of drama. Its honestly and beautifully depicts real struggles and opens dialogues and is just so good. It has one of the very few conversations on non-binary that is a thing of beauty.
I can't recommend this series enough and I wish it had got its full 24 episode run and that the movie was available in the UK.