Episode 109 - The Hot Wind of Aikatsu!

The Hot Wind of Aikatsu! (アイカツのアツい風！) is the 109th episode of Aikatsu! TV anime series and the 8th episode of its "3rd Season". The episode aired on November 20, 2014.

Story
''An audition for a new drama titled "Aikatsu! Teacher" has been announced and Akari wants to try out for it. But suddenly, a new idol appears and stirs things up at the Academy!''

Summary
Akari, Sumire, and Hinaki are on their way to class. Along the way they discuss what they think the big news is, and upon arrival they change clothes and meet up with everyone else in the training room. There, Johnny announces that an exciting new drama "Aikatsu Sensei" is being produced -much to Akari and Sumire's excitement as they have never performed in a drama- about a brand new teacher causing a stir at the school she teaches at due to her devotion to teaching and unconventional methods. He also points out that the experienced teachers will be played by Ichigo, Aoi, and Ran. Akari's excitement increases and Hinaki wishes both of her friends luck before warning them she won't go easy as they are still rivals.

Suddenly, a girl walks into the room and she is revealed to be a transfer student. She announces her plans for participating in the upcoming drama's auditions, and she impresses everyone with her elegant gestures and poses. She arrogantly remarks that the role is hers and nobody will be able to take it away. She continues to amaze after everyone is giving scripts when she quickly reveals she has memorized the entire thing already. Just then, Hinaki surprises Akari and Sumire when she lets slip that she knows Juri from the past after remarking on how different she is.

Owing her friends an explanation, the trio head to the Cafeteria to take a break before Hinaki explains that they worked together as children. But at some point Juri abruptly quit taking jobs, so it's been a couple of years since they last saw one-another. Akari asks what happened, but Hinaki doesn't know, making her fairly curious as Sumire recalls what Hinaki said earlier about Juri, that she was gentle and very tender in the past. Hinaki recalls how they bonded after a photo-shoot when they were admiring the dresses they could choose, but before she can say more Juri walks into the room to get something to eat.

Seeing her hot side even as she picks a simple thing like a meal, Hinaki wonders what happened to make Juri become so heated and lose her tenderness. The trio wonder if perhaps she's entirely dedicated as an actress, which Hinaki deems possible because her mom is the famous actress Karen Kurebayashi. Sumire and Akari instantly recognize her name from the detective drama "Carmen Saw It", and Hinaki adds that her father is a famous chef gaining a lot of attention from his Spanish cuisine.

Seeing Juri walk by them the girls quiet down and invite her to join them, but she graciously turns down the request by explaining that for now she wants to only focus on Aikatsu Sensei and doesn't want to get distracted. However, she becomes sullen as she overhears a few girls nearby, and she leaves once they remark that she resembles her mother. This goes noticed by the trio.

As evening approaches Sumire and Akari wish Hinaki luck with her job for Gourmet Corner, then they head elsewhere and resume discussing Juri's professionalism. Sumire admits that observing Juri has made her want to get further into acting herself, and Akari agrees, saying it would be fun to act with Juri one day. As they comment that they wouldn't mind getting student roles in Aikatsu Sensei, Akari invites Sumire to practice with her. Sumire agrees and they hurriedly pick up pace to arrive to their destination.

As this is going on Hinaki decides to cut through the training area to get to her job when she spots someone kicking soccer balls repeatedly. She sees Juri and pauses as she thinks about how she was in the past, but she is startled when Juri spots her and stops. They stare at each other momentarily before Juri resumes, and before leaving Hinaki wonders why she suddenly returned.

The next day Orihime stops by class to announce that they will be holding the Aikatsu Sensei auditions that day, then goes on to introduce the girls to Director Katou, allowing him to take over for her. Director Katou goes on to explain that each girl will take their turn acting as Aikatsu Sensei, and also brings up that when they are not busy doing this, he would like for them to stand in as background students. He goes on to explain Ichigo, Aoi, and Ran's roles a little more and thanks them for participating.

In the hallway as this is going on, Ran comments that Aoi fits the teaching role much better then she and Ichigo, and Ichigo agrees. But Aoi claims that they are both plenty experienced, only to stop as a woman walks by and note how recognizable she is.

Back in the room the class is setting up while the girls watch, with the exception of Juri, who stands off by herself until she overhears the trio chatting. Akari mentions that she and Sumire got an idea to act as different "student types" each time they play the role of a background character, but they also made sure to memorize the lines of Aikatsu Sensei too. The girls are shocked when suddenly, a group of classmates recognize the woman in the hallway and she appears embarrassed to have been discovered. Katou happily invites her in after remarking that it's been a long time since they last spoke and he resumes work once she accepts the offer.

Aoi approaches Karen to greet her, then she thanks her for making a guest appearance on a recent Naughty Detective, then she introduces her to Ichigo and Ran. Karen compliments the girls by saying they look cuter in person, then she discreetly informs them of her desire to come and sneak a peek at the auditions, only to express remorse when someone nearby is instructed to get her coffee. Ichigo believes it was inevitable though, as she always catches the attention of others; she goes on to say that she assumed Karen would be a lot different in person, which Karen states she hears a lot. They are joined by Orihime, who claims that someone tender and kind like Karen is able to do a complete 180 whenever she dons the character of Carmen, and Aoi believes this to be the mark of a top actress. Karen apologizes for showing up again, then reveals she actually came to see Juri audition- she couldn't pass this up.

Hinaki informs Juri of this event but Juri claims she already knew, thinking back to the past when she and Hinaki bonded over their dresses as children. Hinaki points out that back then Juri was close to her mother, then she claims Juri changed over time, only for Juri to harshly state that she wants to earn the role with her skill. As Hinaki wonders if Juri is worried that people will think she is riding her mothers coat-tails, Akari asks what this means. Hinaki explains that it's not uncommon for celebrities children to land great or important roles or make guest appearance on television programs due to added publicity for the publication and program.

Juri confirms that Hinaki is right, saying that she doesn't want others to think she is chosen for anything because of her mother. Hinaki asks if this is what made her quit in the past and Juri claims to never have given it much thought before. She thinks back to the past again, saying that she loved work as a children, and one day she would become a famous actress just like her mother; but then she noticed her mother was practicing very hard, and it donned on her that if she didn't change she wouldn't become as good as she was. She confronted her mother afterwards, but Karen understood and explained how she had gone through something like this herself, and since then Juri focused every day on training to work hard and ensure that people saw her as Juri Kurebayashi, not Karen Kurebayashi's daughter. Eventually she felt confident in her abilities and decided to take the  transfer exam to get into Starlight Academy.

The girls admire her aspirations but she is displeased when some nearby crew members suddenly recognize her as Karen's daughter. But when Akari expresses a desire to work alongside Juri -along with Sumire and Hinaki- she feels better. She thanks Akari for being so kind and she feels more relaxed, promising tha she will act as Aikatsu Sensei, not herself or Karen's daughter.

The auditions begin and Juri is called first. When her turn ends, Akari and Hinaki admire how natural she came off, along with Karen and Orihime. Everyone else takes their turns and eventually it's revealed that Juri won the role.

Later, everyone is packing up and preparing to leave when Juri is approached by her mother, who wanted to apologize for dropping by like this. Juri is a little hesitant to say anything until her mom compliments her and she happily thanks the girls again. She claims that it was because of them that she could embrace the role properly. Hinaki welcomes Juri officially into the Academy and they admire the pose she suddenly takes.

Characters

 * Akari Ōzora
 * Juri Kurebayashi
 * Sumire Hikami
 * Hinaki Shinjō
 * Ichigo Hoshimiya
 * Aoi Kiriya
 * Ran Shibuki
 * Johnny Bepp
 * Matsuri Hasegawa
 * Orihime Mitsuishi
 * Karen Kurebayashi
 * Katou

Trivia

 * This episode marks the official anime debut of Juri Kurebayashi.
 * This episode has the first drama that appears in Season 3.
 * The song Lovely☆Bomb appears for the first time.