Ichigo Hoshimiya

"My passionate Idol Activities, 'Aikatsu!' is starting!"

- Ichigo's anime opening prologue.

Ichigo Hoshimiya (星宮 いちご) is the main protagonist of the first and second season of the Aikatsu! series and is a student of Starlight School. Ichigo is a cute-type idol whose primary brand is Angely Sugar. Along with Aoi Kiriya and Ran Shibuki, the three are a part of the unit Soleil (ソレイユ). Later in Episode 93, she and Seira Otoshiro also forned the duo unit 2wingS. As of Aikatsu! The Movie, Ichigo is now the top ranked idol, replacing Mizuki Kanzaki and breaking her three-year streak.

Bio
Ichigo was a middle school freshman and a coworker of her family's bento shop. She spent most of her time helping out her mother, Ringo Hoshimiya - serving customers with the family's tasteful bento meals. Because of this, she developed an interest in judging food. Her best friend was Aoi Kiriya, an intelligent girl with a knowledge for idols. Ichigo often acknowledged her as an "Idol expert" or "Idol professor," due to her dedication within the random of idols.

Ichigo was generally carefree, and all she did was help out her mother in her bento shop. She wasn't really into being an idol, but after seeing Mizuki's performance with Aoi and her little brother Raichi, who was also a fan of idols, she was inspired by it. Encouraged by Aoi, Raichi, and her mother, Ichigo joined Starlight School to begin her career as an idol.

She is optimistic and works hard to become a top idol. She doesn't have much knowledge about the entertainment world, so she always has Aoi teach her. As she accomplished many activities at Starlight School, Ichigo learns what it means to be a true idol.

When performing her entrance exams, Ichigo was able to perform a Special Appeal as stated by her headmistress, while Aoi was able to answer all questions correctly in the written exam. Her entrance number was 367.

Appearance
Ichigo has long, wavy blonde hair that reaches her waist. She's almost always seen wearing her trademark red headband with a large, red bow. Her eyes are strawberry red. As a student of Starlight School, she wears a standardized uniform for each season. While exercising, her hair is tied up in pigtails, and she wears a white tracksuit with pink sleeves and accents. When wearing casual clothing, her clothes are usually pink and cute.

As an idol, Ichigo is a cute type who uses Angely Sugar. Despite that, she has worn many coords from other brands; eg. Futuring Girl in Episode 17, Spicy Ageha in Episode 21 and Episode 23, and Swing ROCK in Episode 52 and Episode 53.

Personality
Ichigo is the typical female anime protagonist. She's a cheerful, gung-ho girl, who's always willing to help out friends and strangers alike. A stubborn airhead, but definitely shares certain characteristics with her mother, Ringo. Her Achilles' heel is that she can push herself too much, which can make her lose sight of her original goal at times. She's very straightforward, and sometimes has difficulty understanding certain situations, but her determination and hard work allow her to overcome any and all obstacles that hinder her. One of Ichigo's most defining personality quirks is her love for food. This is a running gag throughout the series, since there isn't a single dish she dislikes, and she has a humongous appetite, which is a trait she inherited from her father.

Ichigo's personality is known to be most as the moe type, meaning that she is, above all, cute. She displays the some of the most common traits like air-headed-ness, determination, cheerfulness, and in some cases genius-level abilities.

Becoming an Idol
Ichigo was first introduced in Episode 1 working with her mother and brother in their family's bento shop. After the shop closes, Ichigo insists on helping her mother clean the counter. Ringo tells her daughter that she needs to find something she wants to do for herself, but Ichigo replies that her dream is to run the bento shop too. She then goes upstairs to find her brother secretly looking at some photos. In an attempt to see, she accidentally spills juice on Raichi's pictures which were revealed to be pictures of Mizuki Kanzaki. Clearly frustrated, Raichi starts telling Ichigo how amazing she is and that he was not able to get tickets for her concert. So Ichigo asks Aoi for some aid and the three of them are able to go to the concert.

The next day, after seeing Mizuki's performance, Ichigo becomes entranced. Aoi comes over and explains to her about Starlight School and how they are going to take the entrance exams together. At first, she is hesitant, but her mother tells her it is okay to do what she wants. The two girls then start their special training to get accepted into Starlight School. On the day of the entrance exams, she chooses the Pink Stage Coord and begins her audition. She uses a special appeal during her audition, which amazes Mizuki and Orihime. Ichigo successfully passes the entrance exams with Aoi, marking their start on the path to becoming top idols.

As an Idol
Ichigo completes many auditions with Ran and Aoi, and also is in the movie Stylish Thief Swallowtail with Otome. In Episode 35, she auditions for Tristar with Ran and Aoi, but Ran wins the audition. Later on, it was announced that Ichigo and Aoi were to be in an idol unit together. Ran leaves Tristar two episodes after winning the auditions to join them. In Episode 39, Tristar and Soleil then merged into a single unit named STAR☆ANIS, with Powa Powa Puririn, although Shion Kamiya doesn't join in order to focus on her acting career.

As time goes on, the Starlight Queen Cup is soon announced, and Soleil begs Johnny to train them like he trained Mizuki, yet only then does Ichigo discover how strict the training Mizuki had gone through. This also leads to her to find out that her mother was Miya, an idol part of the legendary idol duo, Masquerade, along with Hime (who is actually Orihime). She also obtained her second premium rare coord, the Star Festival Coord with the Starlight Tiara as its accessory card. Ichigo passed the cup until the final, having a final match with Mizuki. There, Mizuki won and Ichigo held a special farewell concert. After the concert, she leaves Japan for a new adventure in search of more burning Aikatsu in America.

At the end of episode 51, Ichigo returns to Japan. She takes Aoi's role as Starlight School's representative, and manages to perform a Constellation Appeal onstage, which surprises everyone. Ichigo grows curious about Seira, as she infiltrates Dream School to know more. Ichigo and Seira put more intense battles, like in Swing Rock Model Audition, Kouhaku Uta Gassen and Star-Dream Idol Festival-Carnival, in which most of them end up in a draw.

Entering High School
Upon entering Starlight School's High School Division in episode 76, Ichigo, Aoi and Ran are chosen by Headmistress Orihime to judge the Audition Caravan which travels across Japan finding some new students of the next generation at Starlight. They travel across Japan and finally it's the day of the last round of auditions at Starlight School. They end up meeting a girl who is a massive Ichigo superfan, even wearing her hair like Ichigo's. This girl's name was Akari Ōzora (who later came to be the main protagonist of Aikatsu! season three). Even after making multiple obvious mistakes, Ichigo told Aoi and Ran that she saw a small light in Akari; the light of an idol. This then results in Akari winning the Audition and gaining entry into Starlight School. Ichigo invites Akari to join her at a concert she has, following the performance Akari realizes it is time to be herself and cuts her hair to symbolize this. After this, the Headmistress announces the Partners Cup which all divisions of Starlight can participate in duo units and join with Dream School students is allowed. After finishing work for the day, Mizuki meets up with Ichigo to tell her she is going to debut her own duo unit. Ichigo is massively surprised, but before Ichigo can ask more Mizuki leaves telling her about a food truck by the sea that if she found she would find a surprise.

After Aoi, Ran, Seira, Sora, Kii & Ichigo search they find a new office where Mizuki is practising Moonlight Office. They soon see Mizuki's partner, Mikuru Natsuki who Aoi cannot even identify wondering why Mizuki selected Mikuru as her partner. After Mikuru leaves, Ichigo & co leave with Mizuki explaining why she choose Mikuru: She has an unbound potential no one else can offer. Mizuki tells them they will hold their debut live soon and after a massively successful show, the new unit called WM announces they will be participating in the Partners Cup as well. Aoi tells Ichigo and Ran if they are to win both Starlight and DreAca will be massively affected for the worse.

Finding the Perfect Partner
With WM's participation in the Partners Cup confirmed, Ichigo, Aoi, Ran, Otome, Yurika and Kaede meet up with the four DreAca girls to decide who would pair up for the approaching Partners Cup. The pairs are decided and Ichigo is paired up with Seira and the two immediately start to practice. Amidst the training, Ichigo stops by the Aikatsu boot camp to meet up with an old coach she had met whilst she was in America. Akari is at the camp and is chosen to take the stage and asks if Ichigo would take the stage with her to show how she has improved. Ichigo and Akari take the stage together and Akari does Cute Flash with Ichigo showing her growing light to her.

Then the Partners Cup finally begins, WM is up first. Their performance is technically flawless and their score is just a few points under the max score, greatly placing pressure on Ichigo and Seira to surpass them, or at least match them. As the Cup progresses, no duo is able to come close to WM. As Ichigo & Seira's turn gets closer their nervousness and anxiety are getting to the two as they doubt if they can really be perfect for their partners and if WM can be matched. Right before they go on the two speak their minds and clear up their nerves, changing from nervousness to excitement. The two put on a fantastic show in their respective Constellation Premiums, the score rushes up to meet WM but it stops right before them and WM takes the Cup.

After the cup, Ichigo and Seira each return to their respective individual activities. A larger focus on individual activities is created when Headmistress Orihime and Headmistress Tiara announce Aikatsu8, an eight-person unit to be formed based on fan votes for their favorite idols. The top eight idols would form a special unit and embark on a summer tour, all idols are eligible including those who don't attend Starlight or DreAca such as the girls in WM.

Soleil's Revival
Following WM's win in the Partners Cup, Ichigo, Aoi & Ran are discussing how much of an impact WM has had with their unit being the top unit in Japan and they can't afford to be blown away by their gale. Johnny approaches the three of them saying some big news is going to head their way as he pulls up WM's press conference relating to their next performance. Mizuki speaks about their victory in the Partners Cup and how they want to shine even brighter than they did on that stage. The two of them believe they will be able to shine more by preparing a special showdown stage with an unannounced opponent. Mizuki then reveals their decided unit to face: Soleil, the unit consisting of Ichigo, Aoi and Ran. The three of them are massively surprised whilst Ichigo asks Aoi & Ran if they are going to accept the challenge.

The trio is seen meeting with Headmistress Orihime, relating to how Soleil has been on a two-year hiatus since Ichigo left for America, but how another chance to take on WM may not present itself again. She tells them to take on this challenge with everything they got. After the meeting, Soleil tries to organize a time to practice but their schedules repeatedly conflict with Ran having Spicy Ageha photo-shoots, Aoi filming dramas and Ichigo having multiple variety shows and concerts. They reflect on how when they were last active as a unit they had much more time to perfect their performance but now things are much more different and they agree Soleil is something very special to them. The girls agree they do not want to relaunch Soleil if they cannot give it their all against WM, wondering if they would even have a chance against them.

After seeing Akari & Yuu work as Otome's one day managers, Ichigo gains the idea to apply the same idea to Soleil. Whenever one member was working, the other two would watch her getting to witness their main work up close. Ichigo & Aoi watch Ran at a Spicy Ageha photo-shoot, Ichigo & Ran watch Aoi film a drama and Aoi & Ran watch Ichigo film a variety show. The girls get to watch the commitment each member has to their respective field. The following morning, Soleil meets up discussing how they've all changed and even with the limited lesson time, they can still reform and do amazing things as Soleil after understanding it from the day before. Soleil officially announces they are accepting WM's challenge, a media representative asks after the two year hiatus if they are feeling nervous about their condition which Ichigo replies saying they do, Ran chips in saying their feelings of self-efficiency weigh out their doubts and Aoi finishes saying they want to show everyone how much Soleil has grown. Soleil understands the challenge that lies in beating WM but Ichigo is excited to scale the cliff that comes with that challenge. The conference also excites and raises Mizuki's expectations of the concert, she wishes to see how much brighter their sun can shine now.The girls then reserve every second of their free time, purely to training for the showdown concert with lessons from Johnny. It is also shown the girls have looked at previous Soleil performances practicing with the video during breaks at work, evident with Ran at a Spicy Ageha photo shoot while practicing the choreography.

Finally, the day of the showdown concert has arrived and Soleil is up first. The girls discuss how their nerves have calmed down, along with the lack of time to practice but they cannot afford to lose. Soleil chants "Soleil, Rising!" and changes into their unit coords and perform to Diamond Happy. Soleil puts on their best performance ever, even if Ichigo made a minor misstep right before the chorus, Aoi & Ran quickly cover it up making it unnoticeable to all watching. The performance amazes WM and Mizuki becomes much more determined.

Afterwards, it is WM's turn to perform and Mikuru is feeling the pressure to surpass Soleil's best performance. Soleil listens to Mikuru's realization of how she can't be like Soleil but she just has to put on the best show possible for the audience and Soleil with Mizuki. WM performs and the score is revealed: WM surpasses Soleil and wins the showdown with another technically flawless performance. Meanwhile, Soleil is shocked at the final result but they agree they will put on more concerts where they can shine more than they did that day.

Aikatsu8 Summer
Several weeks after the WM & Soleil showdown, the students of Starlight School, Dream School & WM are gathered to hear who the member of Aikatsu8 are. Ichigo is chosen to join the unit, along with Mizuki, Seira, Mikuru, Otome, Yurika, Sora & Maria. Mizuki tells Ichigo this is the first time in a while since they have stood on the same stage. The Starlight girls join up with the other five members on the bus. Mizuki begins to discuss how the show shall be produced whilst Ichigo reflects on how truly amazing Mizuki is. Whilst watching back Ichigo's performance revealing Angely Sugar's Constellation Dress, Ichigo comments on her experiences she has had since coming back from America to find out Dream School was a thing and meeting Seira.

Afterwards, Ichigo meets up with Mizuki privately to ask her what her goal was, Mizuki reveals it is to energize the whole of Japan. Mizuki then asks Ichigo to think over the summer about what the future of Aikatsu would look like. Several days later after the debut concert, Ichigo asks Seira what she thinks the future of Aikatsu would look like, Seira then says she would think about that with Ichigo during the tour.

As time passes, it is the night before the last concert of the Aikatsu8 tour. Ichigo is on the phone calling Aoi and she tells her about what Mizuki asked of her. Aoi tells Ichigo to relax and have fun at the pajama party while she thinks with her as well. After the pajama party, Ichigo is unable to sleep and walks around meeting up with Seira who was kept up by the same thought: What would the future of Aikatsu look like? Ichigo & Seira then walk in on Mikuru who is practicing late, which makes Ichigo ask if she knows about Mizuki's goal which she does, and also reveals another to surpass Masquerade by that September. The following day, the final concert starts. After WM's performance, Ichigo and Seira are watching backstage and agree that the future of Aikatsu lies in if they would be able to surpass WM and Mizuki.

Selection For The Twinkle Star Cup
After the end of the Aikatsu8 Summer tour, Mizuki & Mikuru each approach Headmistress Orihime and Tiara respectively to tell them about a tournament called the Twinkle Star Cup with two units: WM & a duo unit consisting of one member from Starlight School and the other from Dream School. Mizuki tells Orihime she learnt a lot from the Soleil showdown, learning they were missing the larger wings to energize Japan. Headmistress Orihime and Headmistress Tiara discuss the offer and accept it. Orihime then talks to Aoi saying she wanted her to select Starlight's representative, whilst Kii was given the same offer from Tiara. The two meet up and decide the two want to send a unit with Ichigo & Seira. Kii & Aoi both ask Seira and Ichigo what their goal would be if they were selected, and they both reply saying they wanted to be more in sync than the Partner's Cup. The two then proceed to try and become more in sync by reversing roles (Ichigo wearing Swing Rock, Seira wearing Angely Sugar, Ichigo working at Cafe Vivo & Seira working at Nandemo Bento).

The two are dropped off in a forest after flying to a job in Maria's helicopter but there is too much weight so they must hop off. The two begin to argue about what the best solution is but Seira realizes if they are chosen for the Twinkle Star Cup, they need to be much more closer than the Partner's Cup. Seira is discouraged at how different the two are, but Ichigo highlights that is why it would be interesting because of all the different appeals they have it makes Ichigo want to sing with Seira. The two agree they would be able to succeed if they are together. Aoi and Kii then officially ask Ichigo and Seira to represent Starlight and DreAca, which they accept. Headmistress Orihime and Tiara officially announce that Ichigo and Seira are their representatives.

Aoi, Ran and Kii meet up with Ichigo and Seira to discuss unit names, with Ichigo and Seira deciding they want the name to symbolize their desire to fly high and top WM. They look back on previous unit names and analyse them. They then call Noelle and Raichi asking if they have ideas to which Raichi gives Neo Nee-chans but they deny the name. Seira tells Noelle she'll be coming home the next coming Sunday right when Johnny tells Ichigo and Seira their unit debut concert is that exact day. Several days after Aoi and Kii take Ichigo and Seira to Noel's public reading, where Kii and Aoi tell them they'd hold a secret concert. After the secret concert, Seira tells Ichigo she has a name: 2wingS.

The following day, 2wingS nails their debut concert even gaining a unit aura. Afterwards, the two discuss with 2wingS producers Aoi and Kii what would be the best way to overtake WM. After typing the question into Compy a question 'What's the difference?' pops up, leading to Ichigo and Seira temporarily trading schools for one day. As they spend time at their partner's school, 2wingS realizes the real differences between their schools.

Finding Her Real Light
Meanwhile, over the summer, Akari has been training at a summer camp because of her poor performance academically, along with her singing and dancing. The last time she was able to succeed at a Special Appeal was when she performed with Ichigo at the boot camp. Akari struggles throughout the camp, not being able to pick up the techniques as fast as the other students were. Meanwhile, after 2wingS finished training they returned to Cafe Vivo seeing Johnny wanting to speak to Ichigo. He tells her about how Akari has hit a wall with the special appeal, telling Ichigo she has inborn talent. Akari still cannot succeed and is extremely depressed, with Ichigo wondering what she can do for her.

Ichigo goes to talk to Akari, noticing bandage wraps around her arm. Ichigo returns to her dorm, wishing she could have told Akari more and reflecting on what Johnny said about the difference between her and Akari. She begins to think back to America and finally opens the letter Aoi gave her before she left. After reading it she approaches Akari asking how she is going, with Akari still saying she hasn't done it. Ichigo tells Akari she can tell her anything, making Akari emotional and telling her how Ichigo told her she had her own light. Akari believes she doesn't have a light since she has tried so many times and has no idea why she can't. She claims that she might not have the talent to be an idol, saying she never had a light in the first place. Ichigo takes Akari outside telling her to look at the sky saying the stars are still there but you can't seem them. She tells Akari that she can still spark amidst her exhaustion and that she's worked for so long she has lost sight of her own light. She tells her that with that hard work Ichigo can still see how brilliant Akari is. Ichigo watches Akari and tells her she actually has got the hang of it only needing to work on some minor aspects.

Ichigo watches Akari at the final test, and she succeeds in doing Cute Flash.

2wingS Real Wings
Over time, as 2wingS' training for the Twinkle Star Cup intensifies, Seira mentions how everything is in place and it'd be best to start choosing their outfits. She states the choice shouldn't be half-hearted since WM will definitely be wearing some spectacular outfits of their own. They meet up with Aoi & Kii at Cafe Vivo and begin discussing outfits, first having at look at Ichigo and Seira's current favorite coords from Angely Sugar & Swing Rock respectively. Whilst the two look great in their chosen dresses, Aoi and Kii say they will need to be a bit more adventurous if they want a shot against WM. They try multiple changes, such as Ichigo wearing Swing Rock and Seira wearing Angely Sugar. They continue to brainstorm but are running low on ideas when Ichigo throws together an attempt at a Good Coord with her eyes closed but ends disastrously. The four agree to carry on planning tomorrow, with Aoi telling Ichigo she was going to do research into the history of idols with Kii for any potential dress ideas.

Whilst researching at DreAca, Kii uncovers an article on Masquerade, stating they had a new complete standout coord concept that never came to fruition. Aoi & Kii then get the key from Headmistress Orihime to access the Masquerade reference room and Ichigo & Seira tag along. The four immediately start looking and Kii found the book that had their answers. Masquerade's concept was to each goes to the designers of their favorite individual brands and make one dress for each of them that based on a special design like that of two wings of one body. Ichigo immediately suggests applying this to 2wingS by approaching Asuka & Makina to collaborate, but Aoi mentions the how the two brands are on completely different ends of the spectrum and if they will even agree to cooperate. Ichigo states the only way they'll find out is by just directly asking.

Afterwards, the girls meet up with both Asuka and Makina. The designers read over the concept presented and Ichigo highlights how they are the only ones who can make 2wingS vision a reality. The two designers happily agree to want to learn more from each other and immediately started work on the dresses. Meanwhile, 2wingS and WM meet in a press conference to decide the order of unit performances in the Twinkle Star Cup. WM is performing first and 2wingS last.

Ichigo & Seira are then sharing their own excitement to see how their dresses are turning out. Ichigo calls Angely Sugar only to be told by the gardener neither have stepped out of their workshop since yesterday and they are extremely concerned, believing their health has suffered because of how much work has been put on the dresses. Ichigo, Seira, Aoi & Kii all go together to Angely Mountain and are told by the gardener how Asuka clearly specified she didn't want her or Makina to be disturbed whilst they were working. After no responses on the door, the girls enter the workshop to see both have passed out, Asuka on a pile of fabrics and Makina at a desk. They promptly wake the two up and Makina apologizes saying they got sucked into working on it and have been going at it night after night with no sleep. Asuka & Makina both then reveal their finished Gemini Coords to the girls. After the concert, Seira feels more confident in 2wingS chances against WM. Aoi gets a call from Ran telling her to turn on the TV and they see WM revealing their own dresses for the showdown, Love Moonrise dresses based on the sun and moon respectively.

Taking Off Onto A Whole New Level
WM makes a major announcement: Regardless of the outcome of the Twinkle Star Cup, WM will be disbanding after the Cup. This massively shocks everyone as to why they would disband, with Ichigo commenting they put a massive amount of thought on the decision so there had to be a major reason for the disbandment. Ran tells Ichigo that with the announcement there is a whole new meaning to the Twinkle Star Cup since they will be sharing WM's final stage. This motivates Ichigo to push herself further, but it doesn't stop her from being curious as to why they are breaking up.

The following day, 2wingS visits the new stadium they are performing at - the largest stadium in Japan. The two discuss their excitement again and both mention their curiosity in wanting to find out what the reason for WM's breakup is. They visit Moonlight Office and Mikuru says it was her idea to disband. She explains the Gardeners World Cup, an international competition held every four years to crown the world's best gardener. Mikuru wishes to enter it since if she wins it will bring a huge amount of publicity to gardening in Japan and how she wants to give it a shot and if not this year then another four years.

Finally, the day of the Twinkle Star Cup arrives, with 2wingS and WM calling out a cheer in the room before they all perform. WM performs first, putting on their best performance ever and leaving everyone absolutely speechless. After WM's performance, Seira comments how it is possible to be moved to speechlessness with the girls absolutely speechless at WM's incredible performance. Seira begins to doubt whether 2wingS truly has the chance to surpass WM and Ichigo turns it into motivation, even with many wondering whether 2wingS has a chance.

Akari rushes to 2wingS dressing room and ends up meeting with Aoi, Ran, Kii & Noelle. Kii sends them in to calm their nerves before their performance but they see the two discussing their goals for after the Twinkle Star Cup. Ichigo reveals her dreams of doing a national seaweed bento Grand Prix and how Ichigo wants to participate in more dramas and movies. Seira reveals her dream of forming a band and touring Japan, along with starting up her own brand as cool as Swing Rock.

2wingS talks with the girls and Ichigo mentions how they were shaking with excitement after seeing WM making them think of their opportunities that lie in the future. 2wingS agree it's time to head off and get support from everyone and 2wingS feels ready having their partner at their side. The two are in high spirits before they chant and change to perform, putting on their best performance as well leaving everyone just as speechless as WM did. Mikuru even comments how glad she was to have WM's last concert with 2wingS.

After a wait, the results are in. The votes from all around Japan keep flooding in until it is revealed 2wingS has won by an extremely tight margin. Everyone is in shock and joy from the results, Aoi, Raichi & Akari even being moved to tears. When being interviewed, Seira thanked WM for the performance that allowed her to smash her limits, Ichigo for being the best partner, Noelle for supporting her every step of the way, Kii for being her producer and best friend & Headmistress Tiara for opening the door to her dreams. Ichigo is interviewed and asked about how the pressure felt on her to top WM. She stated whilst it was definitely there, her desire to pass the baton back to WM was much stronger than any of her anxieties. During Mikuru's interview, she announces her goal for first in the Gardener's World Cup and thanked everyone for the support she received whilst in WM. Mizuki states in her interview how she is glad she became an idol, how her wish of performing could bring joy to the hearts of as many people as possible has been granted, the faint stars destined to light up the future and how Aikatsu will never die. Mizuki hands 2wingS the trophy and they lift it up high smiling at the crowd.

After the stadium is cleared, Orihime and Ringo are congratulating Mizuki on her incredible performance and how both 2wingS & WM have surpassed them. With this, 2wingS is officially crowned as the greatest idol unit fulfilling their goal prior to forming the unit: Surpass Masquerade & WM by September.

Returning to Soleil (Season 3)
After the Twinkle Star Cup, 2wingS disbands and Ichigo returns to Soleil as a semi-active unit with her, Aoi and Ran all having large individual agendas. As Akari is progressing further in her career as an idol, Ichigo focuses on Soleil and also offers advice to Akari on where to progress and helping out with friends.

The Final Push To The Top: The Great Starmiya Ichigo Festival!
As Ichigo's career is progressing even further, Orihime speaks to Mizuki about taking Ichigo to the next level with a project that if she succeeds in would mean she'd finally surpass Mizuki. Later on, Orihime delivers the news: Ichigo would be starring in a massive solo concert held at the very same stadium she saw Mizuki at, Starise Stadium. Orihime also offers Aoi and Ran jobs as the main producer and fashion lead. When asked for a title, Ichigo immediately comes up with a name: The Great Starmiya Ichigo Festival!

During the announcement press conference, Ichigo, Aoi and Ran publicly reaffirm their goals for Ichigo to become a true star of the Aikatsu world. When Ichigo is asked on what type of performance to expect, she answers with wanting to give her audience a bright future to look forward to. As Aoi and Ran return from a busy day of promotions, Akari approaches them offering to help them with the festival in any way they wish.

The girls immediately start brainstorming for the event and are then joined by PowaPuri, Yurika and Kaede, all more than eager to help out with the festival as well. Ran mentions that to aim for a type of performance it would be best to have a theme in mind. Aoi mentions the theme that Ichigo mentioned in the press conference in regards to a bright future to look forward to. Ichigo explains that she choose that as her theme because of how she's where she is because of Mizuki and she thought it'd be nice if someone else discovered a bright future like she did. Aoi then asks her how to do it when Ichigo mentions a song, reflecting on how much she couldn't stop thinking about Mizuki singing her song Move on Now! She expresses her wish to have a song for that special stage.

The first person Ichigo thinks of is Naoto. Whilst he appreciates the offer, he refuses because of how his style of songwriting wouldn't fit her but he knows someone who would fit the bill perfectly for her. Another songwriter named Kanon. Kanon works as a singer-songwriter, producing her own material focused on romance and emotions of love from her own experiences. When approached by the trio, Kanon is extremely flattered about the offer but she is unsure about what to do since she hasn't written anything for others before. After performing for her, Kanon agrees to do the project wanting to know more about the girls especially Ichigo. Ichigo explains the backstory of how she individually started and Mizuki's role in inspiring her. Kanon goes on to talk about the themes of the song and how they should match the festival's theme of delivering a bright future for viewers to enjoy.

The following day, Ichigo receives a text from Mizuki telling her to meet at the venue. Mizuki tells Ichigo her plans to retire because she has fulfilled her two goals as an idol. To surpass Masquerade and become a legendary idol. Mizuki expresses her hopes to Ichigo in how she wants the Great Starmiya Ichigo Festival to succeed and if she does, it will definitely take Ichigo to the very top spot of the Aikatsu Ranking as well. Mizuki explains how she's been waiting for Ichigo and how she's not giving up the top idol but wants Ichigo to take it from her.

After discussing the news with Aoi and Ran, they decide to keep it to themselves seeing Mizuki would want to speak about it openly herself. Ichigo then vows that if Mizuki is going to see the Festival, she wants Mizuki to see her at her absolute best performance ever. The following day, Ichigo meets up with everyone else involved in planning and allocates jobs.

As the event approaches, Ran approaches Ichigo with Asuka Amahane, who offers to make Ichigo a special Premium dress for the event. Ichigo is hesitant in whether she will be able to prepare the dress on time, with Asuka reassuring her that she will have an amazing dress ready on time. As preparations and training for the festival continue, Kanon arrives with Ichigo's finished song. As she is playing the song, Ichigo feels that there is something missing from the song as Kanon asks her if it's not intended for just the fans only. Ichigo tells her about how Mizuki will be retiring as an idol soon, so she wants the song to be a message from her to Mizuki that will lead her into a bright future after her idol career and to thank her for all she has done for Ichigo right from the very start. Kanon agrees with what Ichigo is saying, believing the song will be more effective in trying to reach one person rather than everyone all at once.

As the festival gets closer and the preparations intensify, the new lyrics for Ichigo's song arrives from Kanon. The day before the event, Ran informs Ichigo with how the situation is on her new premium for the event is still unfinished. Aoi has also called Asuka and she states how she wants her to wear the absolute best dress and as a result wants to make everything perfect. As Ichigo, Aoi, Ran & Akari are looking over the venue, Ichigo realizes she still hasn't gotten any response from Mizuki if she'll even be attending the event or not.

At long last, the day of the festival arrives. During the final rehearsal, Ran informs everyone on the situation with Ichigo's unfinished premium whilst Ichigo receives a text from Akari saying she will bring Mizuki to the event no matter what. During a break from rehearsal, with Ichigo's dress still unfinished Yurika, Kaede & Sakura offer to go up to Angely Mountain to retrieve the dress for them.

Right before showtime, Seira, Kii & Sora arrive apologizing for their late arrival saying Maria will follow through shortly. Ichigo, Aoi, Ran, Otome, Seira, Kii & Sora all chant together as the festival finally starts. Ichigo performs multiple songs, even with performances as a part of 2wingS & another as Soleil. Meanwhile, Yurika, Sakura & Kaede are rushing back to Starrise Stadium as they finally have Ichigo's complete dress. The drama section of the concert starts and Aoi is informed by Kaede that there is no way they'll make it in time still being close to Angely Mountain. Aoi immediately gets an idea calling someone on her phone. Aoi updates Ichigo & everyone else participating in the drama on the situation, requesting they stall for as long as possible so Ichigo's dress can arrive. The situation begins to look extremely bleak as Aoi becomes involved helping stall as well, but they have hit the edge on time to stall. Yurika and the others arrive right on time, taking Maria's helicopter. Yurika hands over Ichigo's new premium and Ichigo goes backstage to change into her new coord, whilst Mizuki finally arrives with Akari. Before changing, Ichigo meets Kanon again and thanks her for the new lyrics whilst Kanon encourages her to express her feelings to everyone when she is up there.

Right before changing, Ichigo stops to admire her new Premium Rare dress: the Lilac Fairy Coord. Before she performs her solo song, Ichigo makes a speech thanking everyone for attending, everyone from Starlight and Mizuki. She explains how her new song was written by Kanon and performs Etude of Radiance. During the performance, Ichigo's aura is massive the size even larger than 2wingS aura. As the audience chants encore, Ichigo reappears thanking everyone for their enthusiasm. Aoi then announces the two special guests: Akari & Mizuki.

After the final performance, everyone congratulates Ichigo on the spectacular concert. Aoi & Ran check the Aikatsu Ranking and are both massively overjoyed: Ichigo has moved into the top spot. Mizuki approaches Ichigo, so she can talk with both her and Akari. Mizuki congratulates her on reaching the top, she says her mind has been cleared. After watching her perform Etude of Radiance, Mizuki felt motivated to keep moving forward and she could reach a brighter future as an idol. As a top idol, Mizuki always thought that to bring others higher she had to stay where she was at the top and once she realized this was false it was too late for her to come back down from that. Ichigo reminded Mizuki of her free self but also reminds her that if Ichigo lets up even a little she will surpass her again. Ichigo says thank you to her for attending but Mizuki says Akari is the one who should be thanked. Ichigo then thanks Akari for today and wants her to have the crystal mic, as a symbol of Ichigo wanting Akari to share in her dream and that she wants Akari to reach where she is now one day.

Soleil Tour: Our Dream!
Shortly after the conclusion of the Starlight Queen Cup, Soleil announces a surprise press conference. During the conference, Ichigo announces Soleil's plans to launch a national tour across Japan that spring which will last for six months. They announce the title - Soleil Tour: Our Dream! Ichigo explains how as the title suggests, they want to make this tour filled with their dreams.

Following the conference several hours later, Akari, Sumire and Hinaki visit Soleil in the planning room for their tour. Soleil explains how they have been slowly clearing space out of their schedules to make this tour a reality. Ichigo has her work with her radio show, variety shows and concerts. Aoi is on set of drama recordings whenever she isn't sleeping, whilst Ran has large amounts of fashion show work and Spicy Ageha jobs. Akari asks Ichigo if this tour was their dream, but Aoi says it's only one part of it which makes Akari curious. As the planning stage of the tour progresses, Soleil attends multiple meetings, TV promotions with the assistance of Akari and her friend, still sticking to their individual schedules at the same time and training together without a day's rest. As Soleil are taking a small break whilst running, they are approached by Akari and co. with refreshments. Soleil explains to the girls what their big dream is: To keep Soleil active for as long as possible.

Akari is surprised at the response as Ichigo explains Soleil's importance to the three of them and the irreplaceable feel of the unit to them. Ran expresses her interest in this as well with Ichigo commenting how she'd love to keep it going even when they're old and wrinkled. Ichigo explains how there are many hurdles for them to overcome if they wish to keep Soleil alive.

Before they leave Starlight to go on the tour, Soleil holds a concert to kick off the tour. This time, Soleil is seen with a group aura.

Relationships

 * Aoi Kiriya
 * Aoi has been Ichigo's best friend since 5th grade when they met during a festival after Aoi watched Ichigo dancing to Guppy (an idol) and noticed that she was dancing incorrectly. However, when she saw how much fun Ichigo was having, she soon joined in. Despite the fact that Ichigo relies heavily on her best friend, she always lends a shoulder for Aoi in times of emotional support. Both Ichigo and Aoi, along with Ran; love to have fun in Aikatsu, and Aoi was also Ichigo's group mate in Soleil when the unit was first made.


 * Ran Shibuki
 * Ran is Ichigo's other closest friend, as well as the third and last group mate of Soleil. Even after learning about Ran's title (Beautiful Blade) and finding out how cold and cool she was, Ichigo was very persistent with her in hopes of getting to know the model better. Eventually, Ran's ice-queen persona began to melt and slowly, over time, began to warm up to and befriend them. Ran is very tsundere-like with Ichigo and is often the one to called her out on her silly ideas or thoughts.


 * Mizuki Kanzaki
 * Mizuki is the one Ichigo admires, and Mizuki herself finds Ichigo very interesting. She sees the potential in Ichigo and because of this, they are rivals but in a friendly manner. In season 2, when Mizuki leaves Starlight School and takes a break as an idol, Ichigo said that she hopes that one day, she can stand on the stage with her again.


 * Raichi Hoshimiya
 * Raichi is Ichigo's little brother, who is a huge fan of Mizuki, influencing Ichigo to become a fan herself. He adores the world of idols and has a huge crush on Aoi, but sometimes admits not to have very much confidence in Ichigo as an idol. As the series goes on, he starts to develop more confidence in Ichigo not just as an idol, but as an older sister too.


 * Ringo Hoshimiya
 * Ringo is Ichigo's mother. She used to be worried that her own dream influenced Ichigo and because of that wanted her daughter to go and find her own passionate dream to follow. When Raichi informed her that Ichigo wanted to be an idol, Ringo knew that Ichigo thought she was in the way of Ichigo's dream and encouraged her to do what she wanted to do. It is later revealed that she was once part of the legendary idol unit, Masquerade, under the stage name Miya. Her aura is composed of primrose flowers, similar to Ichigo's.


 * Taichi Hoshimiya
 * Taichi is Ichigo's father, who is often travelling due to business. He often gives seemingly wild tales about what goes on during his travels. But because he never lies, his stories, however unbelievable they seem, are apparently true. It is said that Ichigo's love of food came from him, and it's also possible that some of her her features were inherited from her father also.


 * Asuka Amahane
 * Asuka is the top designer of Angely Sugar, Ichigo's preferred brand, and is a very close friend of both Ichigo and her mother. Ichigo helps out Asuka with many Angely Sugar-related promotions and offers inspiration for her designs.


 * Seira Otoshiro
 * Seira is Ichigo's new rival and partner that debuted in Season Two. They continued a friendly rivalry but also built a new friendship. Together, they become a duo unit, named 2wingS and finally defeated Mizuki and Mikuru's unit WM during the Twinkle Star Cup.


 * Akari Ōzora
 * Akari is one of Ichigo's biggest fans (along with Aoi) and her kōhai. Ichigo saw a light in Akari in her audition performance and continues to see that light. She admits that she often learns something from Akari despite being her mentor, but continues to guide her in her path to idol-dom just as Mizuki did for her.


 * Naoto Suzukawa
 * Ichigo and Naoto are shown to have a steady friendship throughout the series. He would often offer her advice and would commonly help her with her ideas no matter how ridiculous they were.

Etymology
Hoshimiya (星宮) Hoshi (星) means star. This is probably a reference to her dream to become an Idol. Miya (宮) means shrine. As a result, her teacher Johnny Bepp calls her "Star-miya".

Ichigo (いちご) means strawberry; it has been noted many times in the anime. This name comes from her mother's name, Ringo, which means apple and is also related to the fact Raichi (Lychee) is also a fruit related name.

Trivia

 * Her zodiac sign is Pisces.
 * Her favourite foods are nori bento (seaweed bento) and strawberry parfaits.
 * She has no food that she doesn't like.
 * Her speciality is preparing and cooking food.
 * Ichigo, along with Mizuki, Yurika, and Akari, have shown themselves to be the most consistently popular main characters, having made it into all election-determined incarnations of Aikatsu8 and Photokatsu8 since their debut.
 * She is the third idol to have a major change in her aura, preceded by Aoi and Ran. As of Episode 64, blue and silver ribbons with a striking resemblance to scales (a possible allusion to Ichigo's first Premium Rare Constellation dress, the Mermaid Pisces Coord), as well as crystal hearts decorated with flowers are added to her aura which spirals around her instead of flowing from her.
 * Ichigo's lucky charm is a rice scoop.
 * In Episode 74 her rice scoop was revealed to be used as a lucky charm by the students of Starlight School after she left for America due to it seemingly possessing powers of luck that have appeared a few times in the series.
 * She can tell what type of rice she's eating and how it was cooked with just one bite.
 * This ability appears to not be limited to just rice as shown in Episode 75 where she accurately determined the flavor of a macaroon with just one bite.
 * She is capable of telling time with her stomach.
 * In the novel, Ichigo has brown eyes.
 * She shares her birthday with Umi Sonoda from Love Live!.
 * In Episode 11, she has been shown to be a bad liar.
 * Whenever Ichigo has something she can't say, she stuffs her face to keep quiet.
 * In Episode 93, Makina, Swing Rock's top designer, revealed that Ichigo was famous in the rock industry, where she's considered to be an "idol with a spine."
 * In Season 3, Ichigo replaces Mizuki's position as the top idol of Japan.
 * She is one of the three main characters who doesn't share her singing voice with other characters, next to Mizuki, and Yume Nijino from Aikatsu Stars!.
 * As of Season 3, she has her own radio talk show called “Ichi-Ichi-Ichigo in the PM”.
 * She is the third idol to use an object (the Crystal Mic in Aikatsu! The Movie) in a performance, followed by Miyabi Fujiwara who used fans in hers and preceded by Yurika and Seira, who both used a microphone.
 * She is the second idol to change her Premium Rare pose after going through the fitting room.
 * This makes her the third person overall to change one of her ending poses.
 * Ichigo is 157cm tall as of Season 2.
 * Her bow is similar to Chitoge Kirisaki from the Nisekoi series.
 * Her full name resembles Ichigo Momomiya, a character in another shoujo series Tokyo Mew Mew.
 * Coincidentally, Ichigo shares her birthday with Ichigo Momomiya.
 * She shares her voice actress with Tsubasa Kisaragi from the Aikatsu Stars! series and Coco from the Aikatsu Friends! series.