Episode 170 - The Power of Idols

The Power of Idols (アイドルのチカラ) is the 170th episode of Aikatsu! TV anime series and the 18th episode of its "4th Season". The episode aired on February 4, 2016.

Story
''There is a month left until the beginning of the Starlight Queen Cup. While Sumire and Hinaki have completed their preparations of unveiling their new Premium Rare Dresses for the stages, Akari's dress has yet to be completed. On the other hand, the designer Tsubasa Sena who is aiming to produce the best dress continues creating his masterpiece. After seeing Tsubasa's actions, Akari has begun thinking about becoming a power to help someone...''

Summary
Akari and Hinaki sit down to watch a program that featured her and Sumire in an interview earlier. They were asked about their performances, such as the coord and song they would be performing. When the announcer reveals Akari hasn't revealed anything yet, Hinaki and Sumire start discussing their own Premium Rares, but Akari is confident she will be able to join them soon enough. She did help Tsubasa a little bit, but she decided to let him handle everything otherwise because of her faith in him.

That evening, Tsubasa is busy working hard. But he remains unhappy with his efforts.

The next day the trio jog until Akari decides to take off early in order to pay Tsubasa a visit to see his progress. Sumire explains that Akari was very excited and wanted to see things for herself, and Madoka remarks that he's been taking a long time and its unusual. She recalls her grandmother describing him as someone who dives into work and is unable to quit until they finish, which causes the group to express concern.

Akari approaches the large lake surrounding Dreamy Crown's office and surprises Tsubasa when she arrives, amitting that she was too excited to wait anymore. She reveals a bento she prepared for him, and while he appears to be annoyed with her attention spent on him, he lets her in without hesitation. She notes his messy work place and puts down the pack she brought to prepare some tea for him, but in the middle of unpacking her items she catches several sketches of various ribbons he was working on. Tsubasa resumes cutting fabric and she observes how focused he appears to be before returning to the water. Once the tea finishes they sit down and he reveals the dress he has in mind for her. But he isn't satisfied yet and feels that there are many more details he could include.

Later, Akari decides to leave after he promises to eat the bento she prepared for him. Before leaving Akari offers words of wisdom that resonate within Tsubasa and encourage him to keep working. He promises Akari the ultimate dress and heads back inside. He returns to the table to think about what he could add, and seeing how much Akari's grown on stage has made him realize this isn't enough. He needs to make a grand dress perfect for her to continue growing while she wears it. He thinks of Akari's bright smile and gets to work.

Akari waits for her train but she starts worrying she isn't doing enough to help Tsubasa. Suddenly she gets a call from Sumire, who just finished work and they discuss the visit. Akari mentions her worries but Sumire assures her that things will work out because she knows Akari will find a way to lend him help. The train arrives and they end the conversation.

That evening Akari arrives home to see her parents and join them for dinner. She will need to get up early and return to the dorms, so it would be easier this way. She reveals a souvenir for her father, soil that looked interesting, but to her disappointment her dad explains that it isn't anything new or unusual, just yet. Akari feels sad that she didn't find anything interesting but her father is happy regardless.

Later, Akari and her mother sit down to observe some images of Akari's idol work. Her mother muses that in the past Akari was a crybaby and a handful to tend to when she started school. She shows Akari the image of her first time failing the exam she took to enter Starlight, and she mentions that Akari began to smile much more often even against her hardships, and whenever it happened, she could feel at ease to see her daughter remain hopeful. She believes that Akari always had the makings of an Idol, something that confuses Akari at first until she explains that her smiles are infectious, along with her bright positivity. It has a way of making others smile and feel happy.

Akari decides to take off but before going she requests her mother take a new picture of her. She wishes Akari good night and they exchange farewells. As she returns to the school Akari thinks about her many friends she has gained with the power of smiling. They have encouraged and helped her, as she has done for them. In this moment she realized that her smile is just the power she needs to continue helping everyone.

The following morning Akari is told that her performance will be starting. As she exits the room she runs into Tsubasa, who hurriedly ran there to meet her to reveal her brand new White Sky Veil Coord. Akari is amazed as he shows her it and explains the inspiration that was missing, which came from looking up at a bright blue sky, which he realized after her visit. The dress is perfect to make her a Queen and he believes she can do it. He thanks Akari for her help, and seeing how assured he is about the dress, Akari very happily thanks him and heads back to change. Filled with determination, Akari changes and appears on stage to perform "START DASH SENSATION".

After the performance, everyone compliments the coord. Akari prepares to leave while observing the coord she wore, recalling what Tsubasa said, deciding that she will Starlight Queen with it.

Characters

 * Akari Ōzora
 * Sumire Hikami
 * Hinaki Shinjō
 * Tsubasa Sena
 * Juri Kurebayashi
 * Rin Kurosawa
 * Madoka Amahane
 * Koharu Ōzora
 * Manabu Ōzora

Trivia

 * The White Sky Veil Coord makes its anime debut in this episode.
 * The song START DASH SENSATION is first used as an anime insert in this episode.
 * The frame that Sena was in when he gave Akari the White Sky Veil Coord is the same frame as when Sena was holding cards in the opening song Lovely Party Collection, with the differences being:
 * Sena now has a strap bag.
 * The coord he held was different, with the one in the opening being the Grace Fox Coord.