Episode 130 - The Magic of Units

The Magic of Units (ユニットの魔法) is the 130th episode of Aikatsu! TV anime series and the 29th episode of its "3rd Season". The episode aired on April 23, 2015.

Story
''Thanks to the great sales of Sumire's debut CD Headmistress Orihime has announced the release of a second single- but this one should be composed by a duo unit. In the end, the partner Sumire chooses as her team member is...!?''

Summary
Sumire is walking around outside when she finds out she got a message from Orihime, asking to speak to her at the office. Curiously Sumire wonders what she may wish to speak to her about.

Elsewhere, Madoka and Rin are walking along the path as Rin complains about how tough singing lessons are. She comments that she usually loses focus so far in and winds up making mistakes. Madoka comments on how Rin seems to be the type of person to lose focus on wherever her weaknesses tend to lie, however, she finds that Rin works very hard to train and improve herself, which she finds "dazzling". Such words touch Rin and she runs off to go dance.

Sumire continues to walk when she stops, feeling the breeze rush by. She looks up ahead to spot Rin and observes her for a moment before she continues to the Office. Upon arrival Orihime explains that they want Sumire to release another single - however, this time it is to be a Unit release. While she is very talented, the fans wish to see another side of Sumire as an idol and she shows her the special song wrote for Sumire to make a unit for. She listens to the song and suddenly, the image of Rin dancing flashes through her mind.

In class Sumire checks for Rin. Madoka approaches her to ask what she is doing and points her out towards Rin, who is quick to get flustered when they approach. Sumire asks to speak to Rin for a moment and proposes the idea of forming a unit. This quickly catches a lot of the girls' attention and they swarm to find out more. Rin is very shocked and acts if Sumire may have mistaken her for someone else, but Sumire assures her that she hasn't. She wishes for Rin to become her partner.

The girls sit down together and go over the lyrics of the single they will be producing and Sumire explains what encouraged her to choose Rin. She thinks she would make a great partner for her and she is sure together they can bring out the full luster of the song. She hands Rin the lyrics sheet and allows her to look over it, and after deeming them to be lovely, Rin agrees to join.

That evening, Madoka decides that she and Rin should do some idol studying. They study the various Aikatsu Units throughout the past few years and Madoka shuts off her phone before commenting on how important it is for the various units to show the best of each person in it. Their different contrasts are what make a great team, at least that is what her grandmother said to her. Rin takes these words to heart.

In her room, Sumire is going over her decision with Akari, Juri, and Hinaki. Akari thinks it is a good combination and Hinaki is very excited. Juri asks if she has a unit yet and she admits that she does not, so they try to think of something. But after they are unable, Juri simply mentions that she is sure the girls will make a very cool unit.

With that, Sumire and Rin spend their time training together. They practice singing, rollerskating to jump and pose, and running. As they are doing this, Johnny and Orihime watch from a distance and comment on how they are doing. They know the girls will do well and Orihime is excited to see where it will go. Johnny leaves with the girls to take them to dance in the training room - only to observe the Rin is trying to work extra hard to impress Sumire and live up to what is expected of her partner, but in the process, she lands wrongly and hurts her ankle.

Late in the day, Madoka and Sumire stand together while they wait for Rin. She joins them with Johnny, who delivers the news that Rin has sprained her ankle and will be unable to train physically for at least a week. Rin feels very down with the news and Madoka questions what she is expected to do, with their unit premiering in a week. Rin insists she can do it, but Johnny forbids it, telling her not to make light of injuries. Rin feels worsened now, realizing that their one time chance to debut may be in jeopardy.

As the girls are leaving their dorm room, they are surprised to find Sumire there waiting for them. She asks how Rin is feeling and she mentions that a lot of the swelling has gone down. Sumire apologizes to Rin and comments that she noticed that she was straining herself during their dancing and as her partner, she should have pointed it out or had them stop. However, Rin believes this to be untrue and claims it was her own fault for showing-off and overdoing it.

In class, a depressed Rin thinks about how much she wishes to just get back to dancing. As Naoto is calling out the girls names, Johnny suddenly pops out from under his desk to tell her no dancing. This proceeds to happen during lunch when Rin simply allows Madoka to eat the dumpling she refuses to touch and Johnny reveals himself in a chef uniform. Then finally later in the day while Madoka is writing, Rin believes she may finally have a chance to do some dancing since Johnny isn't there, but he surprises her with a sudden text message - causing Madoka to wonder if he might be a psychic.

The following day, Rin observes Sumire's CD and she thinks back to when she accepted Sumire's offer to be in a unit with her. She realizes that she may have been too quick and not have taken it seriously enough and goes to find Sumire, who is training in the dance room.

Sumire is surprised to see Rin there and questions what she is doing since she shouldn't be there during her sprain. But instead of answering, Rin asks Sumire what her plans were for their unit debut. Sumire comments that she was thinking that they can postpone it, but Rin tells her that she's only caused trouble so she should just pick someone else for the unit. She apologizes for turning her down, since Sumire specifically asked for her, then takes off before she could respond.

In bed, Rin thinks about what happened and decides that instead of moping about it she should just get over it. She really should have realized that this was way more than her capabilities, even though it could have been a lot of fun. She gets out of bed and thinks about the lyrics to their song for a while.

In their room, Sumire is explaining what happened to Akari. She mentions that Rin felt a lot of pressure to live up to everyone's expectations and strained herself too much. However, Sumire doesn't want to give up on a unit with her because she knows it could be great. Sumire claims that this is because Akari has helped her change since she knows in the past she would have given up. Her older sister was the one who gave her the courage to overcome her timidness and take the first step to be an idol, and Akari was able to teach her the importance of continuing to move forward. Akari thanks Sumire for thinking about her so highly and the girls share a laugh.

The next day, Sumire approaches Rin to hand her a paper. She wishes to continue their Unit and to see to it that they can, she has decided to release their unit song as a solo performance for the time being, and she asks Rin to be her partner and dance teacher. Rin is surprised by accepts the offer.

In the office, Orihime speaks with Johnny about the change in plans. She comments that she hadn't expected this to happen but they are happy that Sumire has become so strong-willed.

With that, Sumire spends her time practicing to the song. As Rin watches, she thinks about Sumire having to fill the role of two dancers now, then stops her to suggest a better response during a part in the song. Sumire understands and soon stops for a break when Rin hands her a towel. She asks Sumire why she is so invested in this unit happening and Sumire starts by pointing out how much Rin loves to dance. She comments that she loves to sing just as much, and she has devoted herself to it, just as Rin has with her dancing. She has felt the urge to keep practicing and improving herself, and she feels fate within the song. She believes it can light the future of their shared path.

Eventually, performance day rolls along and Sumire stands backstage. She observes her cards and gives herself a moment of encouragement before placing the cards on the changing device. She steps inside and changes then show up on stage to perform "Tutu Ballerina".

After the performance ends, Sumire waves to everyone while Rin watches. She announces that she wants to dance and decides that she wants to stand next to Sumire on the stage. Madoka is happy to see her like this and they watch as Sumire admits their plans had been for a unit. She explains that even if it was good, it's full effect cannot be reached with just her and she introduces Rin, asking her to come to the stage. She promises to make Rin shine, and she knows Rin will make her shine just the same.

Characters

 * Sumire Hikami
 * Rin Kurosawa
 * Akari Ōzora
 * Hinaki Shinjō
 * Juri Kurebayashi
 * Madoka Amahane
 * Orihime Mitsuishi
 * Johnny Bepp
 * Naoto Suzukawa

Cameo

 * Ichigo Hoshimiya
 * Mizuki Kanzaki
 * Aoi Kiriya
 * Ran Shibuki
 * Otome Arisugawa
 * Yurika Todo
 * Kaede Ichinose
 * Sakura Kitaoji
 * Shion Kamiya
 * Seira Otoshiro
 * Mikuru Natsuki
 * Sora Kazesawa
 * Maria Himesato
 * Ringo Hoshimiya

Trivia

 * This episode shows the formation of the new unit Dancing Diva.
 * In this episode, Kī Saegusa is the only main character who did not appear, due to her lack of involvement concerning idol units.
 * The song Tutu・Ballerina appears for the first time as an insert song.