Episode 116 - Ōzora JUMP!!

Ōzora JUMP!! (大空JUMP!!) is the 116th episode of Aikatsu! TV anime series and the 15th episode of its "3rd Season". The episode aired on January 15, 2015.

Story
''After being tasked with focusing on completing a Resolution before their first year ends, Akari goes out in search of one. But will the one she chooses be harder then what she expected?''

Summary
Akari and Sumire are preparing for their first day of a brand new school semester. Akari is disappointed by the rainy weather, but she perks up after the Weather Forecaster claims the rain will end later that day.

In Class Johnny-sensei greets everyone and tells them that with three months left before they are upgraded to second year idols. He suggests they concentrate on their New Years resolutions for the time being, but Akari is unsure of herself when she realizes she doesn't seem to have given it any thought.

By the time she gets a break Akari makes plans of coming up with a new signature. Hinaki realizes she's never seen hers or Sumire's before now, and when Akari and Sumire agree they all write theirs down to show each other. Akari makes a very simple one, which surprises them until Hinaki mentions how rare it will be after she makes a brand new one- so she then asks to have it. Akari mentions that while she is happy with this goal, she also wants something long term. But still without any ideas, the girls finish their break and change into training gear for a run. Until they discover its still raining, so for now they stay in the lessons room to stretch and practice.

As this is going on the girls discuss their resolutions, and Akari discovers that she wants to find something she can do on her own and excel in. It's then the trio see the weather is clearing up, and noticing the sunshine they head outside for their run.

They come to a bench and sit down for a break while continuing their discussion. Akari isn't very sure what she is good at though, and Hinaki mentions her own plans of focusing on Variety Shows, like the one she does with Otome. But she would also like to do something fashion oriented as its one of her personal passions, meanwhile Sumire voices her plans to focus on her singing, leading Akari to express joy for them but still uncertain of herself.

That evening she sits at her desk and tries practicing her autograph. She's done it several times but isn't happy with any of them, so she attempts to think of what her own specialty is- but while she likes to sing and act she doesn't believe she's the greatest at them. In hopes of clearing her mind she heads outside, but to her surprise she runs into Ichigo, who was at the same spot she was heading towards. Akari explains her desires to Ichigo and how she would like to find her own special talent, but she hasn't a clue where to start. Ichigo admits that she never worried over such things, but she encourages Akari and tells her to just trust her feelings and follow whatever she's interested in.

This seems to perk up Akari and she compliments Ichigo for always knowing what to say to help her out. She leaves back for the dorms and when she returns to find Sumire sleeping, she quietly adjusts her blanket and goes to sleep with the intent of focusing on her goal the following day.

While browing the IdolLook for auditions, Akari explains to Sumire what happened last night when she spots one related to the Weather as a Forecaster. She quickly takes to this one and signs up, then they search for Hinaki to let her know about it. Hinaki agrees with Sumire that Akari befits the job and they offer to help her practice for the time being, as she has three days before the audition begins.

The girls head over to the training rooms, where Sumire prepares a camera and Akari notes that she took the time to write down the forecast for the day. They begin, but she is too flustered and not only turns her back to them, bu she ends up pointing in the wrong location. Now crestfallen by how difficult this is, Akari remarks on how easy the actual Forecasters make it look and Hinaki points out that they do have people helping them out a little bit. But it doesn't make any difference if you zone out. Akari keeps this in mind and tries again and focusing on Hinaki's advice she seems to do a little better until she believes they have trained enough with this.

Seeing as Akari doesn't have any ideas now, Sumire gets one and they head outside to find out Juri secured the giant fan outside, having found it in the Giant Device storage unit belonging to the Academy. Sumire recalls being inspired by how it lifted Yurika with her parasol once, and she turns on a hose of water to aim it at the fan while Akari attempts to do a Forecasters job. She is quickly blown back as her umbrella flips inside out, but Hinaki thinks this is a good thing since reactions are vital for coverage of weather events. Juri scolds Akari for getting out of Camera Frame though, and as Akari walks back over Sumire raises the water pressure.

Eventually the girls head back inside to take a break and Sumire apologizes to Akari for how strong it was, but she's glad to have had their help. It's then the girls are surprised to see Aoi nearby, who mentions having seen Akari's signature for the forecast audition and how she wanted to lend her a hand. She has decided to introduce Akari to the weather forecaster she met on one of the sets for a Drama she was on, and Akari eagerly takes up her offer and follows Aoi after writing down some things.

In the van Akari watches a report by the forecaster, a woman named Ayaka. She's very excited to meet her and she begins to think about how similar weather girls are to idols. Upon arrival she looks for the room Aoi wrote down for her and she steps inside to find many people. She introduces herself to one of the staff and after explaining why she came, the man calls for someone named Kohashi, and Akari is surprised to find Ayaka and how different she looks from the report she saw.

She finds many books and papers on her desk and she apologizes for how messy her desk was after handing Akari a drink, but Akari claims not to mind. She expresses surprise by how different the room looks from what she was thinking, and Ayaka explains that here is a lot of studying weather forecasters need to do before they can actually do their job. Every day she does her work and talks with other people while writing her script to make sure she can properly speak when it comes time to record. The forecast can affect the moods and plans of any viewer, and while Akari agrees with this concept, Ayaka reminds her that there isn't always good weather. While most people like the sunshine and are happy when it doesn't rain, if it did not rain then farmers would be in real trouble. She compares it to idoling by saying that Idols need to be aware of all the different viewers as they try to connect to them; because its not possible to please everyone, but if you know what to say you can try your best.

Akari takes to heart what Ayaka tells her and she leaves after Ayaka lets her know that she can come again if she needs more advice or help. Akari is happy with her results but by now she feels as though she was naive, having never thought about the people watching her perform in this way before. She reunites with Sumire, who asks what she will do about the audition now, but Akari points out that while she isn't ready to become a forecaster it still seems like a lot of fun and she still wants to try- so she's going to trust her feelings and follow her path.

On the day of the audition Akari is seated for her interview. The man asks her where her interest came from and she admits that while she is still a new idol, she knows that being a forecaster wont be easy, but she had a gut feeling and wanted to try it out, and now she understands that she can clear her viewers feelings with her words, and it isn't any different then when she is doing her idoling. The man then asks her what she wants as an idol, and Akari mentions her intentions of helping others enjoy their time and relieve burdens of being lonely or sad, and to make them hopeful. She plans on studying a lot in order to brighten everyone's day with her morning broadcasts. She thanks the staff for the interview and leaves.

Later, Hinaki mentions the audition news should be posted soon, and just then they get a message informing Akari that she won the audition. Sumire and Hinaki congratulate her and Akari leaves for the performance she obtained through winning the role. Before this it's announced that she will be hosting a new morning news segment known as Good Morning Watch, then she takes out her chosen cards and on stage, performs Du-Du-Wa DO IT!!.

Afterwards Akari is introduced by the man who held the interview and he explains why they chose her. Akari expresses gratitude and joy, saying she will work very hard to brighten their day. A poster appears behind Akari and she is asked to sign it, and with that she introduces everyone to her brand new Signature to everyone, then she announces her new program will officially be starting.

Characters

 * Akari Ōzora
 * Sumire Hikami
 * Hinaki Shinjō
 * Juri Kurebayashi
 * Ichigo Hoshimiya
 * Aoi Kiriya
 * Yurika Tōdō (flashback)
 * Arisa Mizukoshi
 * Yū Hattori
 * Johnny Bepp
 * Orihime Mitsuishi
 * Kohashi Ayaka
 * Hosoya

Trivia

 * Akari creates a new autograph in this episode.