The baton will always be passed on
I had a lot to say here, to the finale of Aikatsu on Parade. But after getting it all out there through my final watch before release, which you can find in the usual place, I really don’t have anything to add. I said it before, but Aikatsu isn’t just another anime—it’s special. It shows what can happen, what you can accomplish, when you take to heart what those before you have to teach and give you, and then pass that on to those who will one day walk in your footsteps. It’s not just about being an idol; these are lessons and reminders of how to live your life best. When I first watched this episode, I fell into a light depression, the emptiness inside of me growing with the loss of On Parade; but with the release of our subs, another cycle has been completed, and that means I can start anew once again. It will never end, even far into the future. I’ve walked with Aikatsu for a full quarter of my life, and now Aikatsu will forever walk with me.
From Etoce:
(Coming soon)
Dream Story will be worked on and out before Friday night, but I need a break. I’ve been working on BNA over at Asenshi, and I recommend it if you want more of Ichigo’s voice. Things will be different for a little while, but come autumn we will be reborn. In the meantime, keep on living your life and chasing your dreams—I believe in you.
Thank you so much for your hard work. I started watching Aikatsu when I was 13, and now I’m almost 18. Things went and came, but I always knew that a Aikatsu episode was waiting for me. I never left a comment here, but hey… There’s always a first time.
Lately things have been really shitty, but I still always look forward to the week’s episode. Thank you so, so much for using your time to bring happiness to us.
Your forever fan,
Petit
Know exactly how this feels. I caught up to the original series around the time episode 90 was airing. I almost didn’t continue after seeing the first episode back in January 2014 because of the shock from seeing the 3DCG stage performance, but thankfully someone or something pushed me to reconsider and I resumed the idol activities later in May that year. It’s been a blur since! But yes, despite the peaks and valleys I’ve witnessed throughout these past six years, Aikatsu was likely the greatest constant in my life outside my passion toward cars (and now motorcycles). It was always assuring and uplifting to know an episode of Aikatsu was right around the corner each and every week!
Thank you so much for your devotion to this wonderful franchise. You helped introduce me (and surely countless others) to Aikatsu, and made all of our lives better for it.
Well I did not really expect this to get anywhere near 50 or 100 episodes because there is no way they could pay the voice actors for that long.
So I’m just going to rate this whole series for me 6/10.
So I’m going to say the good and the bad things to me.
Good:
seeing the Idols again from the other series.
The stage performances in this series was the best so far.
Bad:
putting in three of more performances in an episode because they did this they screwed over the time to really make a good story. The originals it was a lead up to the performance and there story to get there is what made the episodes so great in the older series.
This was meant to be a continuation of the 3 last series and where they left of but in noway did I see that at all. Ichigo who is now the top Idol leading towards the future she was made out to be pretty much nothing so all her hard work was for nothing. if ya don’t know what I mean look at how mizuki is pretty much the leader in everything and Ichigo is just an Idol and nothing more which is a slap in the face of the people who watched over 100+ episodes of the original.
Now the biggest let down of this series and not just me other people have also said this is the story. I do hope they get a better story writer going forward as this writers just can’t do it anymore and I have been noticing this for a while now.
Pretty much this saying. Out with the old and in with the new. Is what needs to happen now with this writer before they destroy the whole franchises.
Now on a personal note I just want to say thank you Akatsukin for the hard work in translating these series you have done great work without you we would not have ever been able to see these series. I’m sure the whole English speaking community thanks you so much for taking the time each week and doing this for us so that we can enjoy ride along with you.
Pretty much 100% on this one, good and bad. Best stage performances and a huge blast of nostalgia with all the returning personalities. Unfortunately, this one (and Kagayaki no Jewel) were lackluster on the writing and story/character progression end. On Parade especially had too much on its plate. As you mentioned, Ichigo didn’t have much presence this time around, which is a shame since to me she’s the face of the entire franchise. Someone also mentioned awhile back about the omission of transformation sequences before each performance, which I do miss a lot now. They almost got it right for this finale, but not quite! Also, too much time spent in “slideshow mode,” which especially killed the vibe with episodes like the sports festival. The catchphrases tied to each character could be toned down next time as well. Yurika should’ve had a more prominent role than to threaten others into sucking their blood. And did anyone keep count of how many times Raki said “lucky” throughout this series?
Well, at least they stuck the landing here with this finale. It still haunts me to this day with what happened to Sumire nearing the end of the original… haha
Who put this bowl of onions next to me when I started watching this episode? T_T
The whole theme of passing a baton to the next generation is what drove it home for me in this series and why I very much enjoyed that first movie. Seeing that it’s still in full force, especially in these last few episodes, warms my heart. I still remember getting really excited when I saw Noelle don the DreAca uniform all the way back in 2016 and every time a new character would be introduced in any of the series it made me hopeful for what’s to come, and it kept on going with this episode seeing Momone try on the Star Harmony uniform and seeing the introduction of Kokoro. However, I guess will we have to wait patiently until Autumn to see the future (or at least I do since I don’t actually keep up with the games and any updates on them, though I am subbed to the YouTube channel I think).
All in all, great work to those who have worked to bring this to us. Breaks should be warranted, especially with what’s been going on in the world as of late. Everyone remember to take care of yourselves and to stay safe.
Thank you so much for your hard work subbing Aikatsu as always. 😊💖
Big up Akatsukin and the rest of the staff as always! Thanks for all your hard work! Looking forward to continuing the Aikatsu journey with you folks in the near future.
Once again, I’d like to thank Aikatsukin, Etoce and the others for working on subbing the Aikatsu series for the past seven and a half years; the experience definitely wouldn’t have been the same without their contributions.
On the subject of Parade, I’ve always viewed it as the dream crossover series that every Aikatsu fan hoped for, albeit one that arrived 3 years too early for its own good. It had an plethora of ideas and concepts but never fully capitalized on them to provide a satisfactory experience for most of the time, although there were some bright spots here and there.
The frustration derived from the unnecessary inclusion of three songs per episode which broke up the flow of the episode’s narrative more often than not, as well as seeing plenty of crossover antics being relegated to quick cameos or slideshows was partly subsided by the fact that we finally got to see our favorite idols and characters come back after so long. At least Parade did promise and deliver on that front, which I’ll give it that much.
Once again, thanks for subbing Aikatsu On Parade and helping to spread the shining line of admiration that connects all idols and us viewers together. May it long continue with Noel’s long-awaited debut as a protagonist and the new series that starts in fall.
Ah, I see. This whole experiment was just an excuse for Saaya to reach different worlds and find new ingredients for the ultimate Cup Noodles experience. Maybe one day she’ll meet Gladio and they will have a long discussion on what really makes the perfect cup.
(I was also going to say that holding a “Friends Audition” is the saddest thing ever, but I guess Wakaba suffered enough already)
As for Parade. Well, what can I say. I suppose its biggest failing was cramming so many characters at once. Because these characters have already been fleshed out, they often just act as props to Raki, who’s really the only one to get any growth. Which would be fine for a 5-6 episodes series, but two whole seasons? That went on a bit too long. You can only use Kimi no Entrance so many times before it gets old.
Not gonna say anything about the entirety of Aikatsu, because hey, it’s not like it is over yet. Dream Story sounds a bit strange, but Autumn will come. And by that time, we might just be free of this mess the world is in right now.
Another Aikatsu series and another massive thank you for bringing this to all of us. This episode definitely was one of the best episodes and it carries the spirits of Aikatsu so well that I don’t think there’s much else I could say.
I will keep looking forward to seeing more of Mezashite and Aikatsu in the future, these two names will be associated with each other for a long long time to come.
I’m very happy to see how the spirits of Aikatsu kept getting carried through to us, so thank you, everyone who helped bringing it to the non-Japanese speaking audience!