Episode 103 - Good Fortune

Good Fortune (いいこと占い) is the 103rd episode of Aikatsu! TV anime series the 2nd episode of its "3rd Season". The episode aired on October 9, 2014.

The scenario was written by Yoichi Kato with storyboard by Kenji Kodama and direction by Kazuo Nogami. The animation directors were Kenji Matsuoka and Hiromi Maezawa, while Satomi Watanabe was as the chief animation director.

Story
''Akari feels a little jealous that Sumire won the role of "one day manager" for Ichigo, but when Ichigo invites her to join them she begins to notice how anxious Sumire has become... ''

Summary
While Akari is excited for Sumire's one-day manager gig for Ichigo, Sumire is feeling somewhat concerned over something. To make herself feel better she decides to check her fortune for the day, but the result is-less-than desireable, which causes Akari to worry until Sumire teaches the trick she learned from her older sister. it is called Positive Reading, which is when the person puts a positive spin on something they don't like in order to try to turn things around. Akari asks her what she can do for her fortune then, but for now Sumire suggests waiting since she doesn't realize what that is yet. She also thinks good things are sure to come afterwards, which makes Akari feel a lot happier again. She mentions that she would like to meet Sumire's older sister one day, and Sumire admits that she would like to invite her sister, but every time she attempts to she worries she isn't good enough yet. She feels better when Akari assures her that this day will hopefully come soon.

Heading to the cafeteria, Akari and Sumire observe various magazines featuring Ichigo when they spot several sweets on the nearby counter. They overhear the girls staring at them nearby that the new chef makes a lot of them as of late, then they grab some tea and snacks before having a seat. Akari listens as Sumire comments on how Yotsuba -the new chef- has many new tea blends in, and she begins to go on about how much she likes tea until realizing she might have started rambling on, but Akari insists its okay because she's happy they can casually talk together. She moves to be closer to Sumire and together they begin going through the magazine, but they don't get very far when Ichigo shows up to ask for a favor. She hands Sumire her bag and asks that she bring it to the van tomorrow, but suggests they look through it to help Sumire determine what will be going on.

Heading her words, the girls finish their snack and return to the dorms. In the bag they find a long cord for rock climbing, a mask Ichigo used to sneak into Dream Academy sometime back, and the farewell parashoot given to Ichigo from Kaede before she left to America. Sumire begins to wonder if there is really a use for such outlandish items, and while Akari isnt very sure, she's convinced that she will find out what makes Ichigo so great during their time together. After exploring the contents a bit more the girls decide to go to bed, but by now Akari struggles to sleep over how envious she's become of Sumire.

The next morning, Sumire and Ichigo meet up and Ichigo recalls doing this before with Mizuki. It's then Naoto approaches and they notice Akari is hiding behind his back, allowing Ichigo to finish her statement- it was Aoi who won the role back when they auditioned, but she felt jealous and used Naoto to help her sneak onto the van. She was caught, but Mizuki allowed her to join them. As such, Ichigo allows Akari to join her and Sumire and they get in the van, where they go over Ichigo's hectic schedule.

Eventually they arrive to find a recording crew waiting for them; a group of people who will be recording them for a special she's staring in. The girls are surprised but proceed to join Ichigo as she begins her radio segment, and they listen until she concludes, thanking everyone for listening and bringing in the record-high amount of fan letters they got recently.

Returning to the van, Ichigo reveals to the girls she also has it stocked with snacks during travel and shares them. They arrive at a recording studio for Ichigo to record a brand new song, and as this is going on Akari and Sumire bring drinks to the staff in the other room.

Soon, the girls arrive to their main event of the day and Akari has been anticipating this, finally getting to see the Aikatsu that Ichigo is famous for. She asks if they want to join her and Akari eagerly joins, with Sumire a bit more hesitant. At their destination, the girls begin to rock climb, and while Ichigo is easily able to reach the top, Akari and Sumire struggle and take longer. The same also occurs when they go for a swim and sky-dive; with Akari joyously following after Ichigo and Sumire stressed out.

Eventually evening arrives and Ichigo ends the recording they have been doing. Akari remains upbeat and excited until noticing Sumire looks troubled, and she asks if she is alright. Sumire says nothing and Ichigo appears to be aware of the concern as the trio are dropped off at Starlight Academy. Ichigo invites Sumire and Akari back to her dorm room, where they find Aoi waiting for her to return. Ichigo asks the girls what they thought about their day, then admits to noticing how troubled Sumire seemed as they were finishing and asks that she talks about it.

Sumire admits to them that she has noticed just how big of a gap is between herself and Ichigo, and she really doesn't have any of her talents or skill. Aoi claims that Ichigo is not just a normal idol though, while Ichigo admits that she used to feel the same way that Sumire did, commenting that she wanted to become an idol just like Mizuki. She's improved a lot but she'll still remain some distant ahead of her, and she achnowledges that; the most important thing is for her to always put her all into everything she does. She asks Sumire what her favorite thing to do is, and Sumire explains that she likes singing, and it was her sister who suggested she attend Starlight Academy after hearing her. Ichigo points out that singing is just Sumire's greatest weapon as of now, and she is sure that as long as Sumire puts everything into what she is doing, she can be one of those who shine the brightest, even if she feels hesitation. Then, wanting to hear Sumire sing, Ichigo invites her to perform at her upcoming concert the next day.

Back at their room, the duo think over what Ichigo said, and while neither of them have really given much thought about it until now, Sumire wonders if she should reach out to her sister now. Akari suggests that she does and Sumire agrees, as it feels right now.

The next day, Ichigo and Akari have come to give Sumire some support before she heads onto the stage. She gives her a new set of Aikatsu coords, from the brand new type "Romance Dress"; this years newest theme from the Top Designers. She asked Aoi to get Sumire a new coord set and because Aoi knew how much Sumire loved Loli Gothic, she is sure the Odile Swan Coord will fit her well. Sumire thanks Ichigo and leaves, changing into the coord and appearing on stage to perform "Tarte・Tatin".

After the performance, Sumire is approached by Ichigo and Aoi. They compliment her performance and Sumire thanks them, then Ichigo takes off for her own performance as Sumire realizes her sister has shown up. She apologizes for not inviting her sooner, but her sister claims not to mind and brings up Positive Reading to her, recalling the day when she first handed Sumire the fortune book, and when she first showed her how positive reading works.

When Sumire's fortune reads "nobody knows where you will end up", she feels down until her sister explains "without the kite string, you can fly to even greater heights", and she cheers up. Sumire's sister mentions that Sumire will always be who she is, and she will do fine even if she becomes a big idol one day. Akari joins them as Sumire mentions how precious Akari is to her, and they are properly introduced to each other.

Characters

 * Akari Ōzora
 * Yū Hattori
 * Sumire Hikami
 * Ichigo Hoshimiya
 * Naoto Suzukawa
 * Aoi Kiriya
 * Azusa Hikami
 * Mizuki Kanzaki  (magazine cameo)
 * Otome Arisugawa  (magazine cameo)
 * Seira Otoshiro  (magazine cameo)
 * Kaede Ichinose  (mentioned)

Trivia

 * Like Episode 102 and its similarities to Episode 2, this episode shares many similarities with Episode 3.
 * The Odile Swan Coord debuted in this episode making it the first Romance Dress to appear in the series.
 * Similar to Season 2, the first idol to use the new System is a cool-type idol.
 * The songs Tarte・Tatin and Shining☆Days make their anime debut.
 * The way Ichigo gives Sumire the rare coords mirrors how Nao Suzukawa gave Aoi Kiriya the Prism Cyber Coord in episode 7
 * Sumire winning the chance to be Ichigo's manager for a day and Akari tagging along is exactly how Aoi won the chance to be Mizuki Kanzaki's manager for a day and Ichigo tagging along

Animation Trivia

 * While Sumire performed in a Swan Lake Romance Dress in this episode, the stage and song were inspired by Snow White.
 * Unlike the credit for the first opening animation which used "総作画監督", the "chief animation director" credit is written as "チーフ作画監督" in the episode.