What is Onee-chan plotting, and why does Venus Ark have the best uniforms?
This episode was deep, as deep as the sea, with plot, character motivation, and love for the series. Even as one door is opened, countless more mysteries sprout forth, longing for answers. Sure there was a lot to be excited about simply as a fan, but there was a lot to chew on as an overanalyzer of children’s anime as well. We have only just crossed the start line; here is where the real game begins.
Ufufu, just a little thing from the past
Ringo is the best Mama. And to be honest, a song this episode is in my top three least liked list from all of Aikatsu, even if I really like the dress. Thank you to that guy who actually gave me a card in real life from her coord a while back: I just got two more pieces of it on my own, so only one more until I have the full thing.
I like the lesson this episode, and it does have some good forward progress and development as well. And just when I thought next week couldn’t get any better, I saw the preview. Oh, and more importantly, they just announced the next Aikatsu on Parade real life concert tour. I’m gonna need to go to those while I have the chance.
This is what home feels like
I’ve got so much to say, it’s almost better to say nothing at all. My senses took in everything to me, in the rawest, purest way straight from a TV screen in Japan, and I gave it back my hot tears in return.
Yesterday I had a great time at Aikatsu Carnival 8, a doujin event in Kyoto, meeting other fans, buying books, and spreading the overseas love of Aikatsu to the people here. I may have spent too much money, but the memories I got in return have a hundredfold the value. I want to see everyone again next year if I can.
The eternal radiance of S4 outshines the young idol
Man, this episode has almost more lessons than I can count on one hand, and that’s not a bad thing. There’s responsibility, crimes and punishment, sins and forgiveness, everything you can imagine. And while I want to linger on it a bit longer… next week is the week. The big one. The one everyone’s been waiting for. I might even have to go down and watch it live on TV.
This year’s both a trick and a treat!
Whoa, a Japanese anime that actually airs a Halloween special despite it being after the day itself, and still makes it feel like the holiday? Believe it! Much like I felt strongly for my memories of Hinaki and Juri last week, this week surprisingly does a wonderful job with Sumire in her part of the episode. And the way Raki is being written into these adventures places her squarely in a nice position of up and coming idol, without making her too strong or too good. But with each passing episode, the mysteries surrounding Onee-chan’s experiment only deepen… What is her true objective?
Oh no! Maika and Ema are cheating on Sakuya and Kaguya with their own clones!
Well, I can’t say I’m quite back 100%, but I’m here enough for this. Personally there was one other song I was really hoping to hear more, but I’m sure it’ll come just a little bit later. After all, I just need to follow the moon’s guidance to wait and do what I must, and good things will come.
You have entered my lair…
The best performance is in this episode! And this is a lot more about Raki learning from all the past idols so she can come into her own than simply retreading the same ground for nostalgia’s sake. That ending though… what a surprise. Oh, and the reference during the Mermaid section may not have been the exact same as the Japanese, but it had to be changed because the original one from Urashima Tarou was so obscure that not even most Japanese people know what it is.
Next week’s release will be later than this, as I’m moving to Japan for the next half year and my flight’s over the weekend. I will still do everything in my power to get it out on time though, or my name’s not Akatsukin!
Wake up, it’s time for Aikatsu!
Idols from another school try to secretly invade? Now where have I heard that storyline before… See what happens this week when two stars come together to become one!
Also, our wonderful encoder tested what the 4K broadcast was like and redid episode 1. The native resolution is 810p, which means that it is the best size it can possibly be. We likely won’t be continuing this going forward, but either way, you can now enjoy the opening of the story in the highest possible quality (outside BDs, probably).
This show is a lucky miracle!
Ai! Katsu! Aikatsu! Watch it right now! It’s amazing! It’ll make you glad you were born!
Raki-chan herself has one interesting catch-phrasing I could explain, which is がんばっちゃお！ (“ganbacchao!”). It’s really the ending of this which she uses frequently, which is why she appears to randomly say “ciao” at one point, and probably more in the future. Just accept it and enjoy the little bundle of hope and inspiration.
P.S. Aikatsu on Parade is a sequel to Aikatsu, Stars, and Friends. For the full experience, watching all the the previous series in their entirety is a requirement.
The ultimate Friends who anyone can make
In one way, nobody could have expected this to be the last episode, but in another, it was the only possible ending since the entire series started. As always, I encourage you to watch it first, and don’t forget that the release date going forward will be a few days later than up until now because of the time change.
But as usual, I can’t just let this end without saying anything. My raw reactions are in the same place as always, but I like to reflect a bit on how far we’ve come over the past year and a half together on this journey. When Friends started, it wasn’t as rough a change or adjustment as coming into Stars, having been with the same girls for three and a half years. There was more acceptance and optimism, rather than worry over perhaps having lost something. And even the first episode, with Aine and Mio meeting as if by fate, was happier than the confusing, bittersweet collapse of Yume in the nurse’s office. We knew from the start that this would be more about friendships and collaboration rather than rivalries and competition.
In exchange for drama and romance, we got to explore the nature of two strangers coming together and creating a force of friendship stronger than what either could make alone. Especially with the second season, competitions were put aside in exchange for repairing broken relationships, first between Hibiki and Alicia, then with Solvette and their circumstances, and finally with this episode. Even the climax of the season wasn’t something like the Diamond Friends Cup, but a collaboration of the Jeweling Festival to raise everyone up together. Maybe it’s just the times, but I think a message like that is exactly what we need to show what can be accomplished when everyone works together to create a miracle.
And although it only happened rarely, I and other friends my age I’ve talked to have really appreciated the episodes focusing on Tamaki, Chiharu, Ken, and Hariu. When Chiharu formed her brand as early as episode 4, I knew that Friends would be special in that regard. When Tamaki and Hariu began their rivalry when Reflect Moon entered the scene, it gave so much more character to both of them—and who could’ve expected that they would not only begin dating, but get married on screen as the finale of the entire series, with the town’s bells finally, finally being put to use as wedding bells? It’s hard to express just how much I now appreciate this careful treatment of the adults with their own host of issues separate from the girls. And I know that this encouragement for the adult fans of Aikatsu isn’t coincidental, as two scenes this episode prove: Hibiki (and by association Mirai, Karen, and Alicia) are at least 18 2̶0̶ (forgot the legal age of driving is younger than adulthood in Japan) years old, as they can drive, and there’s a line by Maika about the girls becoming adult idols who can support Tamaki in return for what she’s done to raise them. Once again, I can feel that the creators of Aikatsu don’t want viewers to just passively absorb the show, but to take its teachings as their own and go out into the world. We can’t all be middle or high school girls singing and dancing as idols, but we can find someone special to us, and maybe one day become Friends through marriage.
It’s been seven years, but I’m not ready to stop anytime soon. In less than a month I’ll be moving to Japan for half a year for my research, but that won’t interfere with the subs of Aikatsu at all. Whatever may come, I’ll still be here, making sure that Aikatsu love is continued to be spread around the world. I hope you will be too. See you for Parade.