Aikatsu!

8. I Think I Died on Stage and Reincarnated as a Pinball. Blowing Idol Activity now? I thought that would be used when all the protagonists get together. Mio giving Raki a lesson about copyright infringement. Meanwhile Aine gets nothing. Seems right to me. Ran's snark was on-point this episode. I don't know how Ichigo's cliff-scaling tendencies crossed dimensions, but I do know that she's caused many idols to fall to their deaths. How is Coco the only one to see a problem with it? At least Raki is starting to get away from PP's leash. She really needs a new song though. But oh boy, Venus Arc. And WM. The destruction of the idol world is about to begin.

9. Did I Just Hand the Keys to (Idol) World Domination Over to a Pirate? Lucky! Why do they always get in a bad situation when landing in the Stars universe? Of course Ichigo would just jump in them because. Raki and security. Name a better duo. At least Saya finally revealed herself, even if she didn't say much. Ichigo is a trained American military veteran, so she could've handled herself, but probably not the other 3 as well, so she has to play dumb. Oh no, Elza is already moving in and snatching whoever she wants. Grabbing Mikuru to lure in Mizuki all while remaining above everyone. She hasn't lost her touch. Mizuki should've had more gravitas though. It's Mizuki. She deserves all the respect. At least WM properly beat Ichigo + Raki. Ichigo is good, but even she can't carry a complete newbie against that unit. Meanwhile the Idol Instrumentality Project is officially a go. Like, it's already happened. Not sure who is scarier between Elza and Saya. Stars continues to reign supreme, and the stakes(?) are even higher now. Now keep up this momentum please.

the funniest part of the episode tbh

10. It May Have Required Shattering Time and Space, But I Have Obtained Freedom. I guess we're just jumping into this without any explanation of how the worlds merging is supposed to work. I assume the planet got bigger or something? Raki didn't do anything, but she finally broke away from PP, so that's a win for everyone. All the senpai idols together in one scary group. I get why, but I feel sorry for Tsubasa and Yozora for not making it. Mirai, Elza, and Mizuki stood out the most between them. Mizuki got to represent two schools by herself. Though the only Dream Academy person we saw was the headmistress. Oh hey, Haruka is still alive. Mostly just all of them meeting and organizing the big fest, but oh that payoff. Mizuki/Elza/Hibiki Take Me Higher is a thing of beauty. Hopefully Kaede and Yurika have no objections. Show is finally on its feet, and next we've got both Seira and She Who Rolls to keep up the momentum.

11. She Be Rollin'. The Roller. Noelle is seen before any of the main DreAca idols. I approve. But the real highlight is of course, Seira vs Rola, Battle of the Rock Goddesses. I think Rola won their argument. Yet they didn't get a collab. Better be saving it for later. Kind of wish Yume and Rola didn't meet again. Their reunion needs to be more emotional, and it can't happen here. Took a few years, but we finally got the Akari/Yume collab. And with a new song. Sweet. It's a Yume song, so of course it didn't disappoint. And Naoto's group is brought back from the dead too. Really going all out to bring everyone together.

12. Christmas is the Perfect Time to Give Idols Dangerous Weapons. Not much happened here, but it's Christmas so whatever. This was basically DreAca's episode. Almost got me hyped for a Noelle performance, but it's not to be. Wakaba is terrifying to kill the tree like that. Kaede lives, and her voice doesn't disappoint. So the students did all the work while the actual adults just helped make the tree. Seems logical. Hooray, Shion and Yurika are still alive. Well Mirai killed Yurika, but it's the thought that counts. Big Christmas song was neat, but also kind of a mess, what with jumping between the performances, Maria disappearing, and some awkward 2D segments in-between the reused footage. Honestly kind of disappointing.

Gets ready to watch... PLEASE Axe-Kun don't fail me and make an appearance!

EDIT: damn, Strawberry let me down and loaned out Axe-kun.

Edited by Memers on Dec 22nd 2019 at 9:36:05 AM

13. So Many Nice Senpai, and I Choose to Emulate the Evil Overlord. Venus Arc hype means good times ahead. I don't know if Raki has guts or is just stupid, but she should've known better than to go back to Venus Arc that quickly after her last disaster there. Or maybe she realizes that Stars is the one to really push her so far. Rei and Mahiru at least know how to guide her without babying her. First episode this season Aine didn't speak at all. Raki's new dress certainly made an impact, but I'm not sure it suits her. She needs a new song fast though. Perfect Elza carries another episode.

14. What Happens When You Combine a Cartoon with a Cartoon, and Then Add a Cartoon On Top of That? Yuzu + Lily is a recipe for yet another Stars focused episode. Except no, because Nina of all people comes out of nowhere to steal the episode. I always liked her, but she shined really well in this episode. This is what I want out of Parade, a random smattering of idols teaming up to do whatever. Honey Cat was really outshone, but Yuzu/Lily and Nina carried it well. Mikuru and freaking Haruka coming out of nowhere provided the finishing touch to a fun episode. Too bad Haruka will never get her performance. This will probably be all Nina gets, which is a shame. She actually paired well with Raki.

15. Meet People Who Only Know How to Win. As hype as this episode should be, mixing in three plots of Raki learning how to connect with fans, PPP/FuwaFuwa collab, and a Yume/PP hero show is just too much that doesn't let any breathe. Nothing was fleshed out, which happens too much in Parade. At least Shion got something, even if she'll never have a solo. PPP still most successful unit in the franchise. Kirara continues to be such an abusive wife towards Ako. Yume with a lightsaber, Mio with a whip, and Aine with a gun. Not sure which is the most notable. New Yume/PP song was great and unique. Also that's Yume's third collab already. I approve of this bias. Aine finally got a collab. Just wish we could've gotten a full episode of them vs evil Coco/Baby Pirates.

Edited by Sterok on Jan 18th 2020 at 11:53:18 AM

16. In Which Idols Reinforce Their Grip on Struggling Nation. Bunch of idols coming together to put on a play for Solvette? Good premise. But it's far too rushed. There's clearly a lot of development with Raki they want to do with the dress making and acting skills plus interesting interactions like Aoi/Tsubasa and Maika/Juri, but all of that is too much in one episode. Needed to be a two-parter. They probably did the best they could given the time limit, but Parade is clearly too short for what they want to do. And why did Hibiki get two performances? Not a real complaint, but it bugs me. Like how barely showing the play itself bugs me. Or how Raki still can't get a new solo song bugs me. I just wish this show could slow down and flesh out anything.

17. Begun, the Goth Wars Have. Literally the only justification this entire season needs to exist. What are they even going to do now that they've done the big goth crossover everyone wanted? Respect to Reflect Moon for finally gaining some ambition. Yurika deserves to lead her side of the war, even with such big personalities as Lily and Alicia with her. I like how it builds on the OG series with Sumire finally taking the chance to best Yurika, even at the cost of dooming the war. They clearly saved their budget for this, since the action scenes were actually really good. Smooth movement and powers coming out all the time. Of course Mirai was the true keikaku master the entire time. She really is unstoppable. When they focus on one idea and go all out, we actually can get something awesome. Pity no crossover goth songs, but that's only a minor blemish on the whole.

18. Design. Dress. Repeat. Pretty boring episode without anything interesting going on. We've already seen Raki hum and ho a lot about making dresses. Give her something more. Best part was Ran appearing out of nowhere for Sora's performance and getting Hikari a scene. Also that rivalish girl of Akari whose name I can't remember. Also Saaya is Batman.

19. Our True Purpose Revealed, to be a Corporate Shill. This was basically just Aine showing Raki that in the end, the main purpose of idols is to sell stuff. Rola and Mio could probably stand to be a little less into being in character. Not sure how Alicia managed to give a performance from her truck, but if that's how she's going to sell shaved ice during Valentine's then good for her. Best part was Yume and Subaru still verbally punching each other. Subaru is lucky Yume is one of those super-dense protagonists. Enjoyably, but not a whole lot to it besides a million call backs. Show could really use a new collab last episode.

20. Wouldn't You Say Even the Background Extras Deserve Some Love? A local idol fest focusing on idols from all over both Japan and the world. I get what it means, but it sounds funny saying it out loud. Lots of sidles here that I barely remember or don't remember at all. The Miyabi/Kokoro unit is fine, but I still wish Kokoro didn't dominate so much. The real star was the one and only Travel Idol Yuu Hattori. Episode should've focused on her dangerous exploits ferrying idols around. At least she and the Potatoes got to have some fun. The lesson Raki learned felt even more shoehorned than usual. I think Kaede, Rin, and Madoka are the only ones left now.

21. A Sports Event During Winter Can't Cause Any Problems Right? Okay I honestly completely forgot about Wakaba. Guess she, Rin, and Madoka needed the spotlight eventually. So a giant sports festival should be fun, but as typical for this show they just glossed over the good parts and focused on Raki being excited, then injuring herself because of the penguin. Meh. At least the karaoke section was kind of fun with the different idols together. And of course Raki's second biggest critic in Tsubasa encouraging Raki to go ahead with her own event. At least I can remain hopeful that Aikatsu has a future at the moment. Right now, Kaede is the last holdout for a performance.

22. The World's Luckiest Idol With the Most Accommodating of Idols. Raki's whole thing has been being lucky, which makes her seem unimpressive when all the top idols just dote on her for no real reason at all. At least Mizuki finally called her out that she's been getting a free pass all this time, but that doesn't change that she still got most of the best idols just by asking them. Even setting up the gym stage on her own, while impressive, doesn't make it feel like her victory. Also, does Raki even know her own event? She didn't even plan two of the performances she saw. Kaede may have been the final idol to perform, but this Take Me Higher doesn't compare to the big one earlier. At least there was a new Ichigo/Pure Palette collab, but it lacked the flair of the usual Soleil performance.

Looks like Parade is getting a season 2. This time it's a web series featuring Raki and Noelle of all people as the leads. Guess Noelle is the break glass in case of emergency button. New project will be properly airing in the fall.

23. The Stars That Shine Above Them All. Four Stars has the strongest identity of the schools, so it has a strong showing even with the usual stills of the good parts. Everyone has their own unique traits, but they can all still help each other. But the real star this time was Hime. And hey, at least she contacted Raki when she wanted to change plans. A little late, but at least she did it so that Raki actually knows what's going on in her own event. Good for her. Hime/Mizuki Startline collab is sweet. The two big senpai finally together on stage.

24. Return of the Revenge of the Rise of the Frogs. Yeah the Star Harmony section was about as uninteresting as I figured it would be. Sorry, but this school just isn't as interesting as the other two. Really doing the frogs thing again? Was a random time killer last time. Felt a little more appropriate this time, but still an anti-climatic way to give some challenge to the main character at the height of her festival. Not even any new collabs. At least there was some acknowledgement that Wakaba and Raki should be looking for someone to make Friends with. Well Raki is probably going to luck out on that front.

25. Initiate Universal Reboot.exe. Why does Raki need a reward to perform with all the big idols? Running a giant event with them should be reward enough. Ah well, at least we finally got the big all protagonists collab. Shining Line and not Idol Activity huh. Not a bad choice. I officially declare Yume the winner of on Parade, with 4 collabs and 2 new songs among them. But back to inter-dimensional physics. Apparently Saaya and her shadowy cabal of secret idols are the only ones up to date on the workings of the multi-verse, and the system can't handle the stress and what? Is the Aikatsu multi-verse just one gigantic computer simulation? I don't know how to process these revelations. So the universes rebooted so that this mess never happened, except it kind of did? Why are idol series so confusing? And there's no setup for the Noelle series since Raki is also going to be there, so I'm deeply confused by all this.

So yeah, can't say Parade was that good. Seeing the OG and Stars characters again was fun, there were some good interactions, and what collabs we did get were great. But the good stuff was too few with most of the time spent on recycled performances, Raki learning the same lessons, and cheap call-backs. As a way to kill time it wasn't the worst, but hopefully the next series can be more interesting than whatever Friends and Parade were. At least it helped me cement that Stars was probably the strongest era. Till the next series, we got more time to kill with a web series, so hopefully that will be fun.

OG really was the strongest era tbh. Ichigo the really quirky members of the cast really just added the fun to everything which is what the rest of the series have massively lacked.

Parade really was a waste of potential.

Time for the web series and someone we actually care about. Yay, Noelle is making her debut after all these years. Never thought we'd see the day. I guess this is just taking place during Parade proper, so is this technically going to be retconned out of existence since this is based on a competition between all 5 schools? Well anyway, it's good that Dream Academy knows how to use nepotism to push their hot new idols. I forgot how dangerous their training was. Good performance from her, though it's a little odd she got a group debut with Sora and Maria. This should tide me over till the next series starts.

2. Is Noelle the only idol to know there's an elevator in that dang cliff? So Noelle crushes Raki and ties with Akari in her first ever cliff climbing. I can believe that Seira paid Ichigo to pay Akari to sandbag, but Raki is just an embarrassment. So Pure Palette + Karen vs three Starlight Queens vs the three best S4. Also the jokes from DreAca and Venus Arc. The three main schools are absurdly stacked. How the heck is rookie Noelle supposed to compete with that? Like I'm cool with there being a competition, but I don't see how the lead is supposed to get anywhere against them.

3. Aikatsu sure took an opportune time to go on a pseudo-break. What is with idol managers and throwing their newbie idols to the wolves whenever they can? Noelle was clearly not prepared for a surprise interview, and she's still in the early stages where initial impressions are really important. Yeah she managed it on a second go, but that was after she took the time to compose herself and figure out how to speak. At least Sora and Maria know when to support and when to back off. Their new dress is basically a really fancy DreAca uniform, which doesn't really click with me. Newbie boom let her top Sora and Maria in the first round, which was probably all according to keikaku. But how the heck is she supposed to go up against the elites of the industry without looking like a joke? Good luck.

4. Four Stars and Starlight have good uniform coords. Both Hime and Karen winning is lame. Should've been Mahiru so we could finally get Mahiru vs Rei. At least Rei is moving on from Elza a bit. Time to see Noelle die on stage competing against Akari, Hime, and Karen.