Episode 129 - Talk Show Runway

Talk Show Runway (トークの花道) is the 129th episode of Aikatsu! TV anime series and the 28th episode of its "3rd Season". The episode aired on April 16, 2015.

Story
''Akari, Sumire and Hinaki have been invited to attend the famous Talk Show "Dance! Maguro Palace". But after learning the nickname of the director, "Devil of the Talk Shows" they become uneasy. ''

Summary
Orihime has called Akari, Sumire, and Hinaki into the office to discuss a new offer for them. They have been invited to attend a special two-hour event on a show that will be featuring celebrities whose popularity has just started to heat up. Johnny-sensei fills them in on anything they may need to know before commenting on how special this is.

In the Cafeteria the girls read over some articles involving the show they will be appearing on and Hinaki comments that this is a big deal because its difficult getting a chance to be on the show. Seeing how un-confident Akari and Sumire are as they don't have many talking skills, she assures them they will be alright.

Later, Akari is leaving the office when she overhears Maguro is there. She approaches his door and asks permission to speak to him, stepping into the room after he allows it, and she introduces herself and brings up that that she will be coming onto his show very soon. But he mistakenly asks if she is the person controlling Ozorotter- much to her shock. He tries to ask her again, then gently scolds her for being so nervous. He encourages her to try working on this before taking off.

In a classroom Akari recalls what happened with Hinaki and Sumire, and Hinaki isn't very surprised as Maguro is known as a "talk show demon". If you don't please him enough he will cut the idols footage out of the program when it airs, words freaking out Akari when she reveals Ichigo attended the show and messed up. While she is nervous Akari wants to work twice as hard for the sake of improvement. The girls are joined by Johnny, who has come in with a bunch of papers ad he asks Hinaki to tell Sumire and Akari more about the Pre-Questionaires. She starts by saying that when someone is watching a show, it just looks like it's a bunch of people sitting around talking. But in reality it actually involves the host having the guests filling out some sheets so that they can select the most interesting topics to discuss; these are vital for talk shows.

The girls sit down and start to fill out their questionnaire, but Akari worries over her answers, while Hinaki feels her own lack freshness, and Sumire is unable to think of any special talents. Suddenly Akari gets an idea and points out that Sumire is great with positive reading, since she has a lot to say about it usually, and Hinaki then points out that they would be better off helping each other with the answers instead of trying to do them separately. They are quickly able to fill the papers when Sumire recalls something and writes it down, explaining that she tends to do this whenever she has difficult things she must remember at a later date. The girls compliment the idea and get up to leave.

The trio walk down the hallway when Otome approaches them with congratulations as they fill her in on what happened. She admits that it took her a while to get used to talk shows, but she has some tips and tricks for them to get through and after Akari requests her assistance, she leads them outside to the fountain area. She starts by saying the answers should be short but have a lot of impact because there are so many guests and limited time. To show them an example she does her introduction for these types of programs and explains that they can have impact if work and some effort is put into it.

On the day of the program the girls are given their topics list and they go over the structure and layout of the show, along with which guest will get which questions. Akari is able to locate their questions and points out that their introductions will go first, then Sumire happily notes her positive reading was picked up and will follow this, followed by Hinaki's interesting story, and Akari's inspiration to become an idol. Hinaki is pleased to see that the staff must think they are interesting if they selected these things and the girls feel anticipation for the show. A man arrives to tell them that Maguro is there if they wish to see him before the show.

Akari does much better this time as she greets Maguro, followed by Hinaki, but when Sumire's turn comes she keeps it very short and simple, which confuses Maguro at first until he asks if she left anything out. She simply gives a secretive gesture and he claims to enjoy this, having identified the type of girl Sumire is. He suggests that the girls just act like themselves during the show and he tells them to be honest with their answers, asking if they practiced for the show. They claim they did, along with Akari revealing his nickname and what led to them working so hard, and they are surprised when he begins writing down notes before teasing them. They laugh and he comments on how differently they are now compared to last time when they were with Aoi.

He takes off and suddenly, Akari seems confuse as she mentions that she was invited after he saw her on Oozora Weather. Which means that despite his hectic schedule he is still able to tune in to other programs and recall simple meetings with others that may not have even been formal or arranged, which impresses the girls as he returns to reveal he edited some of the scripting. Hinaki doesn't understand and he compares talking to food, saying that while there is a lot it always needs to be fresh; so the listing can be changed at a whim as they are more than a guide than anything, so its best to roll with it. The girls understand and they are told to go on to the stage, but Akari becomes nervous again until Maguro calms her down.

The show begins and Maguro greets everyone, bringing up that their first topic will be self-introductions. Through narration Akari discusses how much impact they were able to have for the guests and how well it went. Maguro goes on to ask Sumire about her Positive Reading and she pulls out her book, giving him a fortune and explaining how positive reading works by putting a positive spin on it. She says that he should focus on letting others stand out so that his efforts can bear fruit, but warns him to be careful with his words. He remarks that he feels better and asks Hinaki about her Interesting Encounter and she points out that it has to do with Akari and how she first saw her the time she introduced herself as Ichigo during her audition to the School.

Akari shyly claims that this is because that this was just because she really likes Ichigo, and Hinaki calls her interesting, causing Maguro to teasingly ask her if she is more interesting than he is and everyone laughs. Akari goes on to discuss how she forced herself to gather her courage to speak to him for the first time. He brings up his nickname and she tries to explain how these were rumors she heard.

In the end, the talk show was a big success and Maguro reveals that a Special Live is going to take place featuring the trio trio. He asks about the song the girls will be performing and they head backstage to change into their coords. They reappear and perform Pretty Pretty.

Afterwards the program ends and the girls return as the set is being taken down. They thank Maguro for everything and he compliments their efforts, going on to discuss that something has been on his mind. He comments on how professional they are and compares what they do to what he does, saying they must continue to run forward.

Characters

 * Akari Ōzora
 * Sumire Hikami
 * Hinaki Shinjō
 * Maguro
 * Otome Arisugawa
 * Ichigo Hoshimiya (flashback)
 * Aoi Kiriya (flashback)
 * Ran Shibuki (flashback)

Trivia

 * The correct amount of lucky stars on the Geppetto Innocent Boots were missing during the change room scene.