User blog comment:RinKurosawa123/Brand/@comment-26426093-20160827142928

I believe that I've mentioned this before, but the reason why BANDAI/ BN Pictures chose to stick with four brands and implement a new seasonal theme every few months or so was due to the fact that the previous system, story and coord -wise, had already experienced a gigantic downturn in standards. Let's face it, back in the first two seasons, a majority of character development was based on said idol working hard to overcome challenges so that could be deemed worthy to obtain Premium Coords from their favourite brand. That was a very interesting concept, but it had its own flaws as well.

To be honest, relying on that kind of plotline for developing characters can inevitably become really repetitive and boring. Yes, there was a bit of variety in how those idols managed to obtain their Premium Coords, but overall, it goes like this; idol learns about new Premium Dress, contacts designer, has to go through challenge to prove herself worthy, or in the case of certain characters (I'm looking at you, Kokone. You too, Nina), obtained them off-screen. When you think about it, that's not really exciting at all, entertainment-wise, as the system went from merely boring to really depressing because there was nothing new and refreshing about it at all. Thank god that Aikatsu Stars! scrapped that system and gave all idols, not just designer-idols the opportunity to create their own coords based on the Dress Make System. By doing so, they really freed up more time and variety in character development, as well having more time to craft a actual plot. The only drawback is that with the absence of designers in this universe, there will be less eccentric personalities, but that's alright, since there are plenty of other eccentric people in Aikatsu Stars!.