Episode 111 - Dear My Fans!

Dear My Fans! (ディア　マイ　ファン！) is the 111th episode of Aikatsu! TV anime series and the 10th episode of its "3rd Season". The episode aired on December 4th, 2014.

Story
''Akari and Sumire are holding a handshake event, but there's one small problem: they never did it before so they don't know what to do! Will the special training and advice from Hinaki and fellow senior Aoi make this event a success?''

Summary
Yuu comes across Akari reading over a fan letter when she notices this person tends to frequently send her mail, he was the author of her very first fan letter too. Akari confirms this and remarks that one day she would like to meet Asahi.

As this is going on, Asahi is in class viewing pictures of Akari from some events when a fellow classmate notices and begins questioning him. Asahi denies everything and shuts the book, with Noele watching from her seat. Once the classmate walks away Asahi resumes looking through the pictures, only for Raichi to approach and compliment him for who he's chosen as his favorite idol.

After class they head over to Cafe Vivo, where Asahi explains how he became a fan of Akari. She's really cute, and he was touched by her determination when she refused to give up becoming an idol, despite how poorly she started out. He couldn't help but cheer for her, and while Raichi agrees with him, he states nobody could ever replace Aoi to him. He shows a picture of her to Asahi when suddenly he gets a new Tweet revealing that Aoi will be showing up on a program called "Tuna Palace" and she is very excited for it. Asahi goes on to ask Raichi about KiraKiratter and Raichi explains how much of a necessity it is for true idol fans in order to keep tabs on various things, he then shows him one Akari recently posted. It was about her eating a big amount of curry after a hard training session, and curious to find out more Asahi decides to get more involved with KiraKiratter. It's then they discover Akari just posted another tweet, bringing up an upcoming handshake event.

At the Cafeteria, Akari brings up her excitement regarding their handshake event when she and Sumire are joined by Hinaki. She congratulates them for the achievement when Sumire points out that a performance will take place afterwards. Both girls have never held a handshake event though, so they really hope it goes well. For both the idols and fans handshake events are very precious, Hinaki tells them, and this begins worrying he girls so they ask for advice. She eagerly agrees and starts by telling them to be filled entirely with gratitude for the fan who came to see them, they should firmly hold hands but still be gentle. She also provides an example while explaining the importance of making the most of the few seconds they have with that specific fan, to ensure that they have a lasting impression.

The girls retreat to the Dance room while thinking over her advice and decide to practice taking turns being the fan and idol with one-another, but in the end they're not satisfied and it felt awkward. They recall how well Hinaki did earlier, further worsening their mood until they realize someone is taking pictures of them. Spotting Aoi nearby, she comments on how rare it is to find two idols holding hands like this, and noticing their concerns she offers to help them out. They explain their problem and Aoi admits that that it can be a bit stressful the first time since they do not wish to disappoint or bore the fans, so they cannot help but worry. However she has an idea to help the girls and invites them to the Recording of Tuna Palace under the belief it will help them out.

On location everyone awaits Aoi's arrival, including an excited Raichi, Noele, and Asahi. Noele and Raichi explain the differences of out-waiting and in-waiting; saying that out-waiting means to wait for an idol to leave their prior destination, while in-waiting means to await for the idols arrival. By a stroke of luck, they see Juri leaving the nearby building and she stops to greet the fans before taking off, and Asahi is surprised to see how docile and calm the fans were, having expected them to be really excited. Noele explains the importance of fans to keep their manners, saying that if they made a big fuss it could bother the others- even getting the idol in trouble if it got out of control.

They go on to discuss how Raichi is able to detect idols and sense their Aura when eventually Aoi arrives. Raichi is very surprised to see Akari with her and tells Asahi, but by the time he can join him he only catches a glimpse of her back. He is happy despite this and the program soon begins, with Aoi thanking the Host of Tuna Palace and introducing him to Sumire and Akari. They have come to observe, and the man compliments how cute they are while the girls watch him and Aoi interact.

The topic is then announced and Aoi begins telling her story of an event that took place during her time abroad filming for Naughty Police Chief. She was on break when some desperate-looking locals came towards her in a hurry. They had mistaken her for a real cop and asked her to stop a thief. She didn't want to let them down, so she actually did, much to the Host's surprise.

During a break in the program Aoi interacts with her fans in the audience. Akari and Sumire watch her as she is asked to perform her Characters Catchphrase, and when she does it drives them wild while the girls comment on it.

Later when the program is over, Aoi chats with the girls as they prepare to leave. She tells them how important it is to think through a Fans perspective after they tell her how they felt watching her, and she brings up how Akari started out as Ichigo's fan and asks what it was about Ichigo that made her happy. Akari explains that Ichigo just did, and she saw how much it seemed to mean to her and it encouraged her to keep going. Aoi points out that to all Idols, the most important thing to them is to make all of their fans happy. Television and the Internet are good, but nothing beats meeting an idol in person, and as an Idol, they need to take care of the time devoted to them from each fan. She is sure they can think about the fans specific feelings this way and it will help them get the answers they need.

Making their way home Sumire questions what would make the fans happy, but Akari has no answer. She brings up that she doesn't have the same speaking talents of Aoi or Hinaki, so she will just do the best she can. After she passed her audition she has been able to speak with Ichigo in person; something that she sometimes still finds hard to believe, but it always makes her happy and she treasures every single moment they share. Hearing this, they suddenly realize that instead of worrying over what to say, they should just be honest with their fans and focus on their own feelings. So they need to do everything they can, even if they know they can't sound as nice as others would.

When the Handshake Event rolls around Noele watches as the girls begin to interact with the fans. She gets a call from Raichi, informing her that Asahi can't come because he has gotten sick, and while Asahi would suffer through it in order to see her, he doesn't want to make Akari sick by coming into contact with her. Noele asks if Raichi will come but he informs her that he was going to help Asahi for now, so he asks her for a favor.

One of Akari's fans question what the source of her cheerfulness is and initially Akari struggles coming up with an answer, but she tells them that she feels cheery seeing everyone smiling, which pleases him greatly. Sumire then gets visited by a little girl wearing the same hair ribbon that she has, and she is a bit shy at first but once the girl compliments her prettiness, Sumire thanks her and compliments her ribbon in return. Akari gets another fan who claims she looked very adorable on her Pon Pon Crepe Poster, then Sumire happens to please a fan who finds her very cute after she admits to being nervous.

Noele approaches the girls, much to Akari's surprise, and she admits having come for someone else, asking Akari to chat with them for a moment on the phone. Akari is confused until Noele explains that he really wanted to come today, but because he got sick he couldn't make it, then she reveals his name is Asahi, and Akari realizes he's the one who keeps sending her those fan letters. Akari happily begins chatting with him and thanks him for his efforts and kindness, and Asahi is surprised by how much Akari values his letters. He wishes her luck during the performance and she wishes for a fast recovery before returning the phone to Noele.

Asahi is very happy that he was able to speak to Akari, even if it was not exactly in person, and Raichi shows him how to set up the Avatar program; which allows fans to watch and cheer for their idol on stage from anywhere. It can be changed to match an idols specific image color and points out that he uses Blue to represent Aoi. Asahi selects a light shade of pink for Akari, and they watch as the avatar appears on stage, along with other pink, pale blue, and the un-decided avatars.

The girls wish each other luck by the changing booths and head inside, choosing their Swan Lake Premium Rare coords. They appear on stage and perform "Du-Du-Wa DO IT!!".

Happy by how the day went Asahi is very glad he learned so many new things while Raichi is left impressed by the special appeal they performed for the first time.

A little while later Akari receives another fan letter from Asahi and reads it in the Cafeteria. In it, Asahi congratulates her for a job well done and he explains that next time he will be able to see her in person.

Characters

 * Akari Ōzora
 * Sumire Hikami
 * Hinaki Shinjō
 * Juri Kurebayashi
 * Aoi Kiriya
 * Noel Otoshiro
 * Raichi Hoshimiya
 * Guppy (flashback)
 * Asahi Azuma

Trivia

 * This episode features the first time a team Romance Story Special Appeal has been used.