Episode List

Ichigo Hoshimiya is a bright young girl who is always helping her mother out at a takeaway bento place. After accidentally messing up her brother Raichi's photos of top idol Mizuki Kanzaki, Ichigo goes to her best friend Aoi Kiriya, who manages to get them some tickets to Mizuki's concert. The three of them go to Mizuki's concert, which leaves a strong impression on I...

Ichigo and Aoi begin their first day at Starlight Academy, taking in the sights before moving into their dorm. They then meet up with the headmistress, Orihime Mitsuishi, who gives them the Aikatsu cards they selected in the audition, as well as an Aikatsu Phone used to store their cards. They are soon introduced to their homeroom teacher, Johnny Bepp, and are enrolle...

As Aoi begins her job as Mizuki's temporary manager alongside her usual manager, Honoka Tsukikage, Ichigo decides to pursue them in secret. She is soon caught stowing away, but Mizuki lets her tag along regardless. As Mizuki goes through her various activities, Honoka hints to Ichigo that Mizuki isn't the prodigy she thinks she is. Later that night, as Ichigo and Aoi ...

After Ichigo and Aoi's audition is uploaded to the academy's website, Aoi gets her first fan letter. As Ichigo applies for another audition with Aoi for a job at a takoyaki store, she begins training to avoid tripping over like last time. She sprains her foot but is helped by a young boy named Oota who reveals himself to be a fan. Ichigo and Aoi join Oota the next day...

Ichigo becomes curious about her classmate, Ran Shibuki, who appears to be something of a loner. Later, Ichigo ends up paired with Ran for an upcoming audition for a fashion show. As Ichigo trains with Aoi to act like a model, Ran laments about her former partner. Prior to the audition, Mizuki gives Ichigo some advice on Ran. On the day of the audition, Ran takes Ichi...

As Ichigo and Ran head to their fashion shoot, Ichigo realises she doesn't have an autograph signature. Hearing about this, Johnny tasks Ichigo and Aoi to come up with a signature by the next day. Ran agrees to help them figure out an autograph to use, spending all night helping them out. Although Aoi's autograph is approved by Johnny, he feels Ichigo's design would t...

Ichigo and Aoi end up signing up for different auditions on the same day, receiving support from fans from the KiraKiratter social network. Aoi grows a little concerned when she learns Ran is also entering the same audition she is. Aoi soon ends up picking up strange training advice from KiraKiratter, ranging from beam balancing to aromatherapy, causing Ichigo to beco...

As Ichigo gets lost while shooting a vlog, she discovers an underground studio where another idol is in training. Later, it is revealed Ran is to participate in a Sensational Student Audition against Hikari Minowa, who she has never been able to beat before. As Ichigo and Aoi discover the underground studio again later that day, they find Hikari is the one using it to...

As Ichigo, Aoi and Ran train for their special audition, they ask Johnny for help on obtaining special Premium Cards needed for their audition. As Johnny and Orihime arrange a meeting with the brand designers, the girls train to perform one of Mizuki's songs to impress them. While visiting the library, they meet Michelle Tachibana and Asami Himuro, who are also traini...

On their way to school, the girl's meet the peculiar Otome Arisugawa, who fell into the school fountain trying to catch a rainbow. Meanwhile, a tournament is held for one of three places in a special Christmas event, with Ichigo to face Otome in the first round. After Naoto warns Aoi and Ran that Ichigo might not be able to win against Otome if all she thinks about is...

As Otome falls out of a tree trying to rescue a cat, she is rescued by the janitor. As Otome seems a little spaced out afterwards, Ichigo and the others assume she has a crush on the janitor, leading Aoi to reminisce about a boy she previously admired. Realizing they don't actually know the janitor's name, Ichigo follows him, learning that he is a band vocalist named ...

As Ichigo ends up volunteering everyone to help out for a Christmas party on the day of the special event, she notices the normally energetic Yuna Nakayama is feeling down due to her parents working around Christmas. As Ichigo becomes determined to prepare a special Christmas Tree for her, she and the others, along with a television producer filming for the special ev...

As the New Year rolls in, Orihime informs Mizuki of her planned partnership with Ichigo for a special stage event. Meanwhile, Ichigo ends up eating too much over the New Year's break and gains weight by the time school starts up again. Wanting her to get back into shape, Aoi and Ran enter Ichigo into a Shining Girl audition and try to get her to exercise, but can't se...

As the girls anticipate their audition for a drama called Naughty Detectives, they also find themselves against fellow schoolmate Shion Kamiya. As the girls are informed of two roles to audition for, Shion cuts her hair short to try for a boyish detective role. As Aoi starts to become nervous, Orihime gives her and Ichigo some words of advice. After a series of adlib ...

As Ichigo and the others prepare for a team audition, they decide that Otome needs to obtain some premium cards. After Johnny warns them that the designer for Otome's favourite brand, Happy Rainbow, is a very strict person, the girls work on their team training.

Ichigo nervously attends her first meeting with Mizuki's staff as they plan for her next concert. After the meeting, Mizuki starts training Ichigo on a trampoline, teaching her about the Special Appeals she'll need to use. As Ichigo struggles to think about how to pull it off, her friends give her some advice. During the rehearsal, Ichigo manages to perform a Special ...

As the day of the concert arrives, Ichigo's mother, Ringo, has a feeling of nostalgia as she takes Raichi to the theater. Meanwhile, Ichigo is nervous as she hasn't been able to do three Special Appeals during her rehearsal, but Aoi, Ran and Otome show up to give her their support. As Ichigo takes the stage for her first performance alongside Mizuki, she is able to pe...

As Ichigo, Aoi, Ran and Otome are asked to perform for a Valentine's Day Fashion Show, the girls decide to make some handmade chocolate for the event before spending the night picking out their choice of clothes. Meanwhile, Raichi, who wants to receive some chocolate from Aoi, sneaks into Starlight Academy dressed as a girl, posing as Ichigo's little sister so he can ...

While running home late from a job, Ichigo encounters a supposed vampire, who runs off when she sees a pin Otome gave her. This vampire is revealed to be Otome's classmate, Yurika Todo, who constantly acts in character in preparation for a Loli-Goth themed audition for a rock festival, which Ichigo also intends to participate in. Feeling she needs to make a character ...

An article appears in the tabloids features photos that expose Yurika's normal appearance that she keeps secret from the public. Ichigo and the others suggest that she might be able to overcome it she obtains some Premium Cards for the rock festival. However, Yurika becomes downhearted, believing she will lose the fans who loved her vampire personality. Wanting to che...

Ichigo, Ran, Otome and Yurika are given the chance to audition for a movie remake of Stylish Thief Swallowtail, a show which previously starred Masquerade, the idol pair Orihime was a part of. As the gang train for the audition, Yurika chooses not to in order to keep with her vampire character. Upon arriving at the audition, the girls are tasked with recovering a card...

The gang decide to go undercover so they can watch Ichigo and Otome's movie in a normal movie theater. After the movie, they come across Ringo and Raichi, who points out how idols have a particular scent to them, which Aoi later explains to be an idol's aura. As Ichigo becomes worried that she might not have an idol aura herself, she, Aoi and Ran are informed of a con...

As Ran trains for the representative audition for Spicy Ageha, Ichigo applies her to appear in a fashion show for the senior students' graduation ceremony. Ran states that in order to become a representative, she will have to outperform third year student Ema Shinjou. Ran ends up losing the audition to Ema, with Orihime saying while her audition was spot-on, she doesn...

After finishing up their auditions for a while, Ichigo, Aoi and Ran decide to go to some hot springs for their time off. Along the way, they encounter some fans, have conversations on the train and stop by a field of flowers to enjoy a picnic. However, after taking a lengthy nap after eating, they find they've missed all the buses to the hot springs, meaning they have...

Ichigo's father, Taichi, arrives home on April Fools' Day, bringing with him some star grapes that he acquired during his travels. Hearing he'll be around for the Spring Vacation, Ichigo invites him to view one of her auditions before taking him to the academy to meet her friends, where he talks more wild tales which Aoi and the others pass off as an April Fools prank.

As a new school year arrives and Ichigo and the others move up a year, the now second year students are assigned to help mentor the new freshmen. Ichigo is assigned to a freshman named Sakura Kitaoji, whose grandfather helped train Mizuki.

The Fresh Girls Cup is announced, in which students get the chance to challenge Mizuki for the title of Starlight Queen. Ran, who competed the previous year before Ichigo and Aoi transferred in, explains how remarkable Mizuki is for facing off against every single student, stating it will be tough to beat her and all of their rivals.

Ichigo, Aoi and Ran find themselves unable to sleep before the semi-finals and decide to have a sleepover in Ichigo's room. Reading Mizuki's new magazine for research, they learn she has started her own brand, Love Queen, designed specifically for top idols.

As Ichigo, Aoi and Ran ponder on how they can catch up to Mizuki, they meet a first year named Akane Mimori, who is an admirer of Aoi. With the girls wondering how to become more responsible upperclassmen, Orihime assigns them as teachers, in which they must come up with ways to teach the freshmen about being an idol.

A special audition is being held where idols must form teams to try and earn the Mastery of Communication. Ichigo and the others invite Sakura to join their team, but she doesn't feel confident as she doesn't have any premium rare cards. She tells them about her favorite brand, Aurora Fantasy, but doubts that she would be able to obtain premium cards from its top designer, Green Grass, as she doesn't feel they suit her.

As Mother's Day approaches, an audition is announced in which student pairs will be performing one of Masquerade's songs. With the theme being 'nostalgic melody', Aoi puts everyone on a 'retro' training regime, but this fails to impress the dance teacher.

As the gang are chosen for a Newcomer Idol event, in which they decide on wearing matching brands, Ichigo is requested by Angely Sugar's designer to appear in a commercial for their mascot, Angely Bear. However, the scheduling for the commercial clashes with the training for the newcomer event, but Ichigo becomes determined to do both, as she feels they are both very important.

Mizuki decides to hold an audition at Starlight Academy for two partners to form a new idol unit, Tristar, with her. As all the students spend the next week training, the girls hear from Aoi about how Mizuki once tried a team audition shortly after becoming the Starlight Queen, but failed due to her skill being far beyond her teammates.

Kaede, who is a super idol in America, manages to get a place in the final audition by showing she has done more extreme versions of the trials the other idols went through. This leaves Aoi and Ran uneasy about their own auditions, while Ichigo wonders if there is something more to the audition than simply getting into Tristar.

With the final audition approaching, Ichigo, Aoi and Ran are told to spend the night living in separate rooms of a big mansion without their Aikatsu Phones. After receiving special Summer Collection cards of their respective brands from Orihime, each girl is individually interviewed by Mizuki, each giving their own insight on why they would fit in Tristar.

As Tristar's schedule becomes busier, Ran becomes more isolated from Ichigo and Aoi, who are saddened to hear Ran is unable to return to the Star Academy dorms due to her schedule. Wanting to deliver a gift to her, the girls try to arrange a meeting when Tristar's schedule conflicts with Ichigo's audition and Aoi's filming in the same building. Ran becomes so anxious ...

As Tristar continue their success, Orihime announces that Ichigo and Aoi will form a new idol unit, which they personally decide to name Soleil. Meanwhile, Ran starts feeling lonely and, after making a mistake during a performance and missing Ichigo and Aoi at a rehearsal, she comes to realize that she is severely missing them.

With Soleil now a three-girl group, Aoi and Ran decide Ichigo should be the leader. Meanwhile, Otome decides to form her own idol unit with Sakura and Shion, Powa Powa Puririn, while Mizuki takes an interest in Yurika. While initially struggling with what leader she should try and become, Ichigo gets some inspiration from a strawberry parfait, being a leader that relies on her team mates as much as they rely on her.

Orihime arranges for Soleil to perform a concert at a local open-air stage in Ichigo's hometown. The catch, however, is that they must fill every seat without using television or the internet, otherwise the event will be called off. The girls jog throughout town, spreading awareness of their concert to the townsfolk, including adults who may not have heard of Soleil.

Soleil have to make the announcement about STAR☆ANIS' tour without the Tristar due to a flight delay, but Aoi manages to handle things until a live feed goes up.

As Powa Powa Puririn give a press conference about their involvement with STAR☆ANIS, Shion states she will not join STAR☆ANIS in order to focus on her acting career. As the girls head off to begin their tour, Aoi is put in charge of STAR☆ANIS publicity.

As STAR☆ANIS' tour comes to an end, Orihime announces there will be one more secret live concert, taking place on a cruise ship with a hundred fans. Later that night, Ichigo, who grows curious about Mizuki's words that they should act as individuals, comes to Kaede, who tells her how even though she grew up as a child star, she recognised the hard work a true idol must put in based on those around her.

As the STAR☆ANIS members return to their individual units, Shion is preparing for an audition for the role of Alice in a production of Alice in Wonderland. However, having mostly played cool, stoic roles, Shion worries that she won't be able to give off a dazzling smile fitting for the role of Alice.

A musician named King from Nao's band More Than True appears at Star Academy's gates, telling Ichigo to pass on a message that he "will never approve of Nao's music". After the message is passed on, Nao simply states it is between them and reminds Ichigo not to tell anyone he's in a band.

Orihime decides to give the members of STAR☆ANIS a day off by renting out part of a water park. As the gang slowly assemble, Mizuki gets delayed due to some sudden radio work. To lighten up the mood, Aoi suggests they have a water sports contest, which soon draws a crowd.

Orihime announces that the Starlight Queen Cup is approaching, with all the STAR☆ANIS girls qualified to compete. With the chance to face off against Mizuki, Ichigo, Aoi and Ran become curious about what Mizuki did during her one year out of the spotlight. Orihime suggests they speak with Mizuki's coach during that period who, much to their surprise, turns out to be none other than Johnny.

As Mizuki starts to feel the burden of her packed work schedule, Orihime gives Ichigo and the others a key to a Masquerade reference room featuring various materials on the group. They learn that Orihime had used a mask identity and secretly being an idol as she didn't want to continue her father's business, though can't find much information on the group's other member, Miya.

After Ichigo, along with Aoi and Ran, learns about Ringo's secret, she goes home with her to rest up for the Starlight Queen Cup, where Raichi also learns of Ringo's identity. Ringo tells about how she met Orihime when starting off as an idol, eventually deciding to start a unit together.

With two days until the Starlight Queen Cup, Aoi learns that she's won the lead role in a movie while Ran hears of another audition to be Spicy Ageha's representative. With everyone having goals for after the cup, Ichigo tries to think of what path she should take, eventually deciding to talk with Kaede about what she decided.

After everyone gets together, Ichigo reveals her intention to leave Starlight Academy and go to America after the cup so she can work on her own Aikatsu, with Aoi putting on a brave face to support her friend. The next day, Ichigo faces off against Mizuki in the Starlight Queen Cup finale, which is inevitably won by Mizuki.