Episode 160 - Perfect Dream Idol!

Perfect Dream Idol! (夢はパーフェクトアイドル！) is the 160th episode of Aikatsu! TV anime series and the 8th episode of its "4th Season". The episode aired on November 19, 2015.

Story
''From the shadows, the young girl Tsubaki Saionji has always watched Akari Ōzora, whom she is envious of. Tsubaki proclaims herself as the "Perfect Lady" among the students in Starlight School. In order the have the Premium Dress of Dreamy Crown made, it is necessary to meet with the top designer, Tsubasa Sena, but...!''

Summary
Juri, Madoka, and Rin spot Akari, Sumire, and Hinaki running laps on the track one day and stop to speak with them. The trio explain how they returned to work on increasing their stamina and general conditioning to make it through the remaining concerts, and Rin comments on their popularity lately. They reveal their next destination is Osaka. A girl spies on them from the distance, none of the six noticing other than a strange feeling Akari gets.

As they resume running, the mysterious girl comes out of the bush and is unimpressed, going on to wonder why her Destiny Prince would choose someone like Akari and not her. She continues to follow the girls while thinking about her prince, who only achnowledges Akari, but she's convinced that by shadowing Akari she's bound to meet him. The girl goes into hiding each time she thinks the girls have seen her, unaware of them spotting her hair and the ribbon in it, which become increasingly difficult for her to hide.

While they stretch, she resorts to getting closer and closer to them; until she is practically right behind them on the ground. The trio is unable to handle this and confront the strange girl, until Hinaki recognizes her as someone in the next class from theirs. The girl introduces herself as Tsubaki Saionji, the "perfect lady". She seems a bit shy about this, but she claims the title is true. They ask her why she was following them around and deduce it was investigation of Akari, which Tsubaki doesn't deny. She has done plenty of research to prove that Sena always appears near her, and she thinks he follows her. She goes on to confess that its her strongest desire to obtain a Premium Rare from him, but so far she hasn't been able to- she also has a pretty blatant crush on him.

Tsubaki goes on to bring up that he refused her when she approached the first time, and since then he's been too busy for her to visit him again. Akari offers to call him for her and she initially agrees, but when Akari tries doing so she gets no answer. Tsubaki is disappointed but decides that for now she must accompany Akari for the time being. It might be a bother but she asks for them to kindly ignore it, and seeing no harm in it Akari allows this.

So Tsubaki trails Akari during her work and she asks about her schedule, noting that Sena isn't anywhere nearby. She is amazed Akari would do so much work despite her tour taking most of her time, and throughout the rest of the day, while Akari works she continues to search for Sena.

At the end of the day Tsubaki is crestfallen not to have seen Sena. She asks Akari what sort of occasion would make him appear, and Akari recalls a couple of their past meetings as Tsubaki takes notes. Seeing a connection between the events, she decides to try combining them; a flawless plan in her opinion. She grabs an otter mask and wears it while standing in the Train Station- but nothing comes from this.

She returns to the school to find the girls in the Cafeteria. They seem to understand why she did this, and express amazement to know she was willing to stand there for three whole hours. As Akari attempts to suggest she pays Johnny a visit, Tsubaki is quick to flee before she can finish the statement.

Tsubaki requests Johnny's assistance and asks that he holds another men's night, so that she can see him. He thinks it over for a moment but refuses on the grounds that as she is a woman, she wouldn't be allowed to join. Tsubaki tries to get him to reconsider, but instead he gives her advice, saying if she keeps pulling a No, she should keep pushing for a Yes. He suggests she takes a bit of time to relax for a while and maybe then she will get a really good idea. Tsubaki isn't too thrilled by this but she takes off.

Sadly she sits by herself on a bench as the sun sets. Akari approaches her to ask how it went, but she confirms it didn't work. She recalls his advice and Akari joins her as Tsubaki goes on to say she can't just stop and wait; she fell in love with the Dreamy Crown brand, and Akari agrees with her feelings. But she wonders if maybe she really as perfect as everyone else seems to think, bringing up her self-doubt and concern over why she deserves such a title. She is sure if she could wear one of Sena's dresses, the doubts would go away and she'd be even more encouraged to become perfect. Akari seems to understand her feelings well enough and tells Tsubaki that they should Aikatsu together. The harder they work, the more passionate their feelings. Inspired by this, Tsubaki agrees to keep trying.

That evening, the girls head down the pathway, prepared to do some heavy training. Akari happens to notice she is carrying around the otter mask from earlier and questions it, so Tsubaki shyly explains that she's grown fond of it and uses it as a personal charm. They approach a bench and sit down their items before they go off running.

The next few days are spent training in a variety of ways. From stretching and running, to practicing their jumps and climbing the mountain. They stop for a break, with Tsubaki admitting that she didn't realize Akari worked this hard when it came to her Aikatsu. Akari continues to run, mentioning that its time to get to work and Tsubaki comments that Akari seems to be more perfect than she herself.

In his office, Sena has just finished a phone call. He watches a report that goes on to detail that Akari will be appearing as a guest on a show that evening.

Akari shows Tsubaki the outfit she plans to wear for her performance, now in the preparation area. When she happens to notice Tsubaki observing her Premium Rare dress, Tsubaki quickly claims she isn't envious. She now understands why sena refused her, because she isn't anywhere near perfect as an idol, and being with Akari helped her realize this. She will be fine though, because she won't give up. Akari was the one to tell her to work hard in order to show her passionate feelings, and she knows that she loves the dresses more than anyone, so one day Sena will make her one. Akari agrees and heads backstage to change, then she appears on stage to perform "Blooming♡Blooming".

Tsubaki is amazed when she sees Akari perform a fever appeal, and just then she spots Sena walking away, causing her to realize her theories were correct. She quickly chases after him and calls out to ask if he's there to watch Akari, and he compliments the performance. Tsubaki stops him as Akari approaches the room to find them talking, and Tsubaki brings up that she intended on asking him for a dress again, but she realized that she isn't ready. She's going to keep working first, and when she has become perfect she will return to ask for one again. Sena seems surprised at first, but gives her a sign of encouragement while leaving. Akari congratulates Tsubaki's efforts.

Characters

 * Akari Ōzora
 * Tsubaki Saionji
 * Sumire Hikami
 * Hinaki Shinjō
 * Tsubasa Sena
 * Johnny Bepp
 * Juri Kurebayashi
 * Madoka Amahane
 * Rin Kurosawa

Trivia

 * Tsubaki Saionji makes her anime debut in this episode.
 * Character Design Contest winner character Yomogi makes her anime cameo appearance in this episode.