Aikatsu!

Last episode is airing in a few hours and with that I have a question for you all: what song would you prefer to be the last song of the series, not counting the ED? Personally I think Signalize! would be the one with the most impact since we'd basically be ending the show with the same song we started it with.

And so the series ends at its absolute lowest point by humiliating its previous main character and shilling its current one to absolute ludicrous levels.

What a piece of crap 'ending'. I don't even think I want to watch Stars now.

edited 31st Mar '16 12:04:44 AM by Memers

Aoi still showing why she's the best. Other than that, okay ending. Season 4 was mostly enjoyable. but the Akari shilling got ridiculous near the end. Still looking forward to Stars, and hopefully the new protagonist is successful for reasons other than being the main character.

So, Stars. New universe. New idols. New rules. Same old Aikatsu CG and cheeriness. Characters are decent so far. Sakuraba is currently my favorite, but that's subject to change. Weird how the principal is acting all menacing though.

I think Laura/Rola/Roller is everyone's favorite at this point. I still need to watch episode two with subs since I've only seen it live but I'm really liking her rivalry with Yume thus far.

Since we've seen everyone in the op, here are the rankings.

Freshmen: Laura (top idol, snarker, had the best episode thus far) > Yume (alright protagonist, better than S3 Akari) > Koharu (cute, but still doesn't have much presence) = Ako (funny, but could turn out to be annoying, not much screen-time) > Mahiru (hasn't done anything, though I want to see her relationship with Yozora).

S4: Yuzu (quirky, funniest of them) > Tsubasa (nice backstory and great actress) > Hime (Mizuki without the mystique or edge) > Yozora (all she does is flirt with everyone).

Obviously these are subject to change as we get a better look at everyone. The show seems to have found a decent pace for now.

Ehhh. While I agree on some points my ranking is pretty different from yours.

Freshmen: Laura (She's basically what happens when you combine the best DreAca (Seira) with Aoi which makes her great.) = Yume (Yume manages to be similar to Ichigo and Akari while still managing to stand apart from them.) > Mahiru (Hasn't really done anything but sharing a design with Mikuru and having possible plot reference gives her a leg up in my book.) > Ako (She's the Otome of Stars albeit with a different emphasis and her crush on Subaru could be useful.) > Koharu (Isn't particularly cute yet somehow is a Sexy type idol in the /beauty/ class. Being boring doesn't do her any favors either though her focus episode did show some potential for her to get better. Still the worst of the bunch though.)

S4: Yozora (Even if all she does is flirt with people I still love her design.) = Yuzu (She's cute and silly but has been shown to be smarter than she looks.) > Tsubasa (She's got an interesting backstory that could be used to develop her relationship with Hime. > Hime (She's Mizuki with very little of what made Mizuki likable.)

So now I'm starting to like Hime now that we've seen her weak side, and she called out the Headmaster for singling out Yume for no good reason. And I'm really getting irritated that the Headmaster is acting like he wants to kick Yume out because she's not constantly going all super idol as a first year. It's Aikatsu. Why is there someone acting all evil?

Last series's Ichigo "Cilff Scaler" Hoshimiya became Stars's Tsubasa "Cliff Jumper" Kisaragi. No way that's a coincidence. And Yuzu is nuts, but we already knew that.

With Lily just being introduced and already getting a performance, I think it's pretty clear that someone hates Koharu. Which is fine by me since she's easily the worst of the bunch. Lily herself is neat. Hopefully she doesn't get grating down the line. Well the likes of Yurika and Juri were fine, so Lily should be too.

With Lily being a 2nd year and in Song Class, chances are neither Yume not Laura are getting that S4 position. Which means Stars will probably get a 2nd season. Which makes me curious as to how it'll go with Beauty and Theater. I can easily see Mahiru getting Beauty, but if Ako takes Theater that will make S4's idol types unbalanced. Unless Theater has a Cute type hiding somewhere. The season finale will be interesting that's for sure.

I'm still behind on Stars! but the common theory is that Yume's going to transfer to Dance Class since we have no main characters in Dance Class but have ones in every other class. If the new character is also in Song Class though that might make that theory more likely. Assuming it isn't Laura who ends up transferring anyways.

I would not put completely ignoring Dance Class beyond Aikatsu, though Yume transferring would be neat. But neither Yume nor Laura have shown any interest in dance, and one of them transferring would basically end their rivalry, so it won't happen.

29. As long as Yume continues to fart rainbows, it's rather difficult to take her Laura's rivalry with her seriously. Hopefully Laura figures out a way to counter that soon. But first, next episode is do or die for Koharu. Is it finally her time in the spotlight?

I'm three episodes behind but according to spoilers on the wiki Koharu is being written out of the show next episode.

47. The season is nearly over, and so is the S4 selection. Yuzu dominates as expected. Ako gets in because she has no competition. Almost disappointing since she's kind of the joke character, but I like her and she ultimately couldn't take on Tsubasa, so I'll take it. I wish she'd be a bit more elated at having the most coveted position in the school though. Mahiru vs Yozora was actually interesting, and I can get behind Mahiru beating her sister. She worked hard for that. Song Class will surprise me no matter what. I'm rooting for Lily, and she's the obvious choice to become S4, but she could easily be worfed to show how much better Laura or Yume is.

First season has ended, and the second has begun. Yume has triumphed over Laura and Lily, but was unable to take on Hime. Considering it took years for Ichigo to match Mizuki, that seems fair. Yume/Ako/Mahiru/Yuzu feels like a weaker S4 than their predecessors, so they have a lot of work ahead of them. Mahiru feels like the real star seeing how she beat her sister. I'm really liking that Yume is remaining the protagonist. Always good to see the perspective of someone near the top of the food chain. Though S3 + Laura should try harder to not embarrass themselves seeing as they represent the school now. And Yuzu needs to actually be part of the main group that she's part of. I'm really liking the look of Elza as an antagonist. Hopefully she remains this way and doesn't soften up after 10 episodes. But before that, it seems Koharu is a traitor.

Stars season 2 is looking hype.

Agreed. I used to be upset that Yume won over Laura or Lily but Laura has been promoted to Admin so she at least gets some recognition and both still have one last chance at making it into S4 at the end of the season, as unlikely as it is. Plus being a member of S4 doesn't mean everything is going to go perfectly for Yume so that helps. Elza has the best smug faces and her performance this episode was the best one in the entire series thus far though I suspect it'll be topped in no time. Here's hoping the rivalry with Venus Ark doesn't go the way the rivalry with Dream Academy did.

Here's to season two.

I'm five episodes behind but apparently Stars! is getting a two episode crossover with the original show on Agust 17th and 24th.

Might as well start posting my impressions here. Season 2 is halfway done, and Elza has remained a pretty good antagonist. Now mwahaha take over Aikatsu evil, just more intense and driven then what's come before. Rei is still just her bodyguard/secretary. Kirara is the closest thing to a normal person Venus Ark has, and that's scary. The new S4 has barely had any time together, which is disappointing. Yume and Laura are getting decent arcs at least. Koharu is back and no longer a traitor. Mahiru just exists, though at least she's technically Four Stars's best student. Ako is the best, though it seems she's going to get screwed. New girl Aria didn't interest me at first, being another super amazing idol that's the apprentice of the mentor, but she has potential now that's she's joined Venus Ark surprisingly.

78. Ah, so that's Elza's motive. She wants a hug from her mother. Or at least be fully acknowledged and loved by her. Interesting way to go about her. Given her talk with Laura she hasn't lost her edge yet. She certainly trusts Rei a lot. Aria is justified by giving Venus Ark another normal student beyond Kirara. Hopefully Elza has something big planned, because the show is still hyping her up a lot.

79. Is it happening? Why is this guy still headmaster? He keeps screwing everything up for his academy. God damn Elza knows how to make an entrance. She's just setting everyone on fire with her mere appearance. Props to Yuri for at least managing to take down her clone. But the real star is Koharu, finally gets to perform 70 episodes late. I bet the glasses were the reason for the delay. Great seeing her on-stage, and with a good song to boot. One of the best episodes this season.

80. Oh hey, Koharu is dancing in the opening now. Rei Rei Rei. What to do with you. I'd tell her to tone down the Elza worship, but that's all she lives for really. She's designed her brand, song, dress, and mission statement all to serve Elza. She openly doesn't care about her fans. Certainly bold. Knights have their appeal, but I'm not sure how far it can go as an idol. Though she's got a sword as part of her dress, so that goes a long way. If it's been several years since she joined Elza, how old was she when she was previously a super star? Well, all the Star Wings are here. Guess that means Ako is screwed. Elza has declared way on all the Star Wings holders. How far is she willing to go?

81. Time for some more lighthearted antics. Makes me miss the drama episodes. Lily sure is desperate to get a new image. They just kind of danced around Ako not having any Star Wings. Yuzu has the best luck. How did they tape a letter to a dolphin's mouth? Must not have been pretty. Poor Ako is confirmed even more for joke character. At least she got some sour konbu out of it. Mahiru is a beast, but it's clear they don't have any idea what to do with her. Oh well, funny episode at least.

82. Being professional all the time is hard work. And Yume has to work extra hard since Aria doesn't quite get that. At least Hime is there to make sure Yume doesn't go to any sort of extremes again.

83. Even Elza is starting to get real tired of all these fillers. Romeo and Juliet with Yuri as Romeo and Lily as Juliet. Someone wants Lily to get away from Yuzu. Too bad it was highly telegraphed that Yuri wouldn't be able to play the role even before the insert cards. Haruka is back. Maybe there will be a miracle and she'll do something before becoming S4. Ako's kappa was hilarious. Asahi finally manages to get something from Koharu without his sister's interference. Rei as Romeo is way too obvious. I kind of wish this was a drama episode, but a Lily and Rei duet is cool as well, especially since Lily managed to swipe one of Rei's swords.

84. Poor Ako is still just Kirara's sidekick. She even has no chance at glory for the finale. But that doesn't prevent her from being top idol to me. She's got too much pride and fair manners to try and drag down Kirara. Looks like there's going to be 4 people for the finale. Elza and Yume are locked for two positions, but that leaves two more. Elza has done a great job building a cult, and a terrible job of nurturing strong independent idols. Aria is probably the best off in this regard. Thankfully Kirara can still be professional about her job even when Elza doesn't care, which is more than I can say for Rei.