Episode 87 - Soleil☆Rising!

Soleil☆Rising (ソレイユ☆ライジソグ!) is the 87th episode of Aikatsu! TV anime series and the 37th episode of its "2nd Season". The episode aired on June 19, 2014.

Story
''Soleil is challenged by WM to a duel and though they accept, it's been two years since they last stood on stage together as the bright unit. With different schedules getting in the way, will Ichigo, Aoi, and Ran be able to work something out in order to go against Mizuki and Mikuru?''

Summary
At home, Mikuru and Mizuki watch an interview they took part in earlier. They discuss their rising popularity as of late, along with Mizuki's goal she brought up to Mikuru a while ago.

At Starlight Academy, the trio are also shown to be watching the interview until the program ends. Ichigo is glad to see Mizuki again, but Ran and Aoi remind her of the serious situation- in order to keep up with WM they can't get distracted so easily. As Ichigo makes a joke the girls are caught off-guard when Johnny arrives to speak to them.

Later, another conference is held, where Honoka informs everyone of their plans to announce WM's next performance. She lets WM take over and the girls explain that they by competing with other idols they will be helping themselves in the process, so they have decided to challenge other idol units; first being Soleil, if they accept the offer.

Watching this, the trio express surprise. Along with the people in the press room, who ask Mizuki why she chose them first like this. She explains that it was more or less just for the sake of watching everyone react, then with this she calls the conference to an end and they take off.

In the car, Honoka mentions that they will have to wait and see if Soleil accepts the challenge, but Mizuki is positive they will. She asks Mikuru about her thoughts on the decision and how everyone reacted, and Mikuru admits to being really excited to watch Soleil perform. She wonders if her idea has to do with Mizuki's dream to surpass Masquerade though. She agrees, but claims to have another reason; she wishes to fill the entirety of Japan with idols by encouraging idoling, even those who don't like idols might be encouraged to come and see the performance.

Meanwhile, the girls inform Orihime of their plans to accept the challenge and she gives them her full support, understanding why they chose to accept it. They discuss things before taking off when it dons on them that they haven't performed as Soleil in a long time. Ichigo suggests they should have a lesson to start off with- only to be reminded of a meeting she has. Not only that, but Aoi has to film for a drama the next day, and Ran has a Spicy Ageha photo-shoot, and Ichigo also has some variety shows and other things she has work for. This causes the girls to worry that they might not get a chance to practice with how busy they've become and as experienced idols they have a lot more to deal with. However, Soleil is special to them and they need to work really hard to do their best. Although by now, they are beginning to wonder if they even stand a chance.

Ichigo leaves the school to go for a walk when she is approached by Otome, who happens to have heard what happened. She expresses her excitement and they are also approached by Akari and Yuu, who were given the task of being Otome's manager for a day since they both passed the audition for it. This causes Ichigo to remember when she did the same thing back when she entered the school two years ago and she watches as Yuu and Akari chase after Otome as she makes her way to a nearby fountain.

That night, Ichigo brings up the manager thing with an idea; she starts by saying that due to conflicting schedules, she spoke to Orihime to ask that she reorganize their schedules to give them time for training and practice. She thinks if they work as each others Manager, they can help the one working prepare in her free time. Ran and Aoi don't totally understand her idea, but Ichigo tells them to just try it out. They agree seeing how sure she is of herself.

The next day, Orihime is discussing Ichigo's idea with Johnny. He doesn't seem so convinced though, pointing out that even if they are with each other, it won't give them much time to practice with one of them working. He asks what the point will be in doing this, and Orihime admits not to knowing, but she believes they should just trust Ichigo's intuition for now.

On location, Ran is busy with work while Ichigo and Aoi watch. She heads back to speak with Anna, the top designer about her coord choices when a girl approaches to ask for advice. The girl shows Ran what she picked, and Ran assures her that it's a good set and she likes it, asking the girl if she put it together herself. She then asks the girl if they can continue the discussion over snacks when a man nearby announces that refreshments have been set up for everyone. Aoi and Ichigo continue to watch while making comments on how much Ran seems to do there and helps out.

At the TV station, Aoi is busy recording her drama. This time, Ichigo and Ran are watching this, but suddenly Aoi asks if they can do a retake of that scene. The director doesn't see any problems though and mentions that he was fine with how it went, but Aoi feels like she can do better. The director then agrees to it, seeing how passionate Aoi is about the decision, leading Ichigo and Ran comment on how much of a professional Aoi seems to be when working on the drama.

Then, at their next location, Ichigo is busy taking place on a game show. She begins to hop from platform to platform and just as she seems to make it, she accidentally slips and falls into the water. As the Director tells them to stop, he apologizes to Ichigo for how long they took, but she claims that it's okay because she had a lot of fun anyway and didn't even really notice the time. She is then approached by someone, who tells her that they are recording a song now and she prepares to leave until being reminded that she has to change first. Ran and Aoi remark that Ichigo hasn't changed at all.

The following morning, Ran is met outside with Ichigo and Aoi. They had a lot of fun the previous day watching each other, and they mention how much they have matured since last time, even though things still feel the same. They begin to laugh as they recall a past memory, then Ichigo asks what Soleil will be like now that they have matured since the last time they performed. While nobody is sure, they share a cheer and begin their morning run.

Later, they attend a press conference to announce that they will be accepting the challenge from WM. A man asks them how they feel knowing that they haven't been Soleil in so long, and they claim that while it may be different because they have grown up a lot since last time, they feel fine. They will give it their all no matter the outcome.

As this goes on, Mizuki and Mikuru watch the broadcast from their office and discuss it. Mizuki then begins to think about Ichigo while wondering how much she will be showing her now.

As the big day draws closer, everyone around Japan begins preparing by selling merchandise and putting up posters and fliers for the event. The girls also use their time to keep working and training.

When the event arrives, the trio share some words, noting that they might feel nervous now, but all they can do is give it their best shot and have fun. They run to the back and change into their Soleil unit coords, then they appear on stage to perform "Diamond Happy".

Everyone cheers for the girls, while Johnny calls it their best performance as Soleil. At one point, Orihime mentions that Ichigo miss-stepped at one point, but Aoi and Ran were able to cover for her and make it work to their advantage.

Also watching are Mizuki and Mikuru, and while Mikuru expresses amazement with their cool performance, Mizuki can only smile with approval.

Characters

 * Ichigo Hoshimiya
 * Aoi Kiriya
 * Ran Shibuki
 * Johnny Bepp
 * Mizuki Kanzaki
 * Honoka Tsukikage
 * Mikuru Natsuki
 * Otome Arisugawa
 * Sakura Kitaōji
 * Kaede Ichinose
 * Akari Ōzora
 * Yū Hattori
 * Anna Tachibana
 * Yurika Tōdō
 * Tiara Yumesaki
 * Raichi Hoshimiya
 * Noel Otoshiro

Animation Trivia

 * The Starlight Summer Uniform makes its season two debut in this episode, marking the summer transition.
 * The Sunny Park Stage was revealed to have a night version that debuted in this episode.
 * In one scene of the performance, Ichigo's steps were delayed by a few seconds.

Major Events

 * This serves as the comeback and season two debut of Soleil as well as their song, Diamond Happy.
 * This episode marks the beginning of the Soleil vs WM duel.

Other Trivia

 * This is the second episode in where none of the Dream Academy girls appeared in either present time/at all.

Gallery
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