User blog:Staraptor Kwan/Aikatsu Stars! Episode 3 Review: The Sky isn't always the limit

Episode 3 begins with our heroine Yume and her sidekick Laura are training in preparation for their class-sorting auditions. Anna-sensei instructs them to hold an musical note for as long as possible. Everyone, including Laura does just well...except for poor little Yume, who still can't replicate her stage debut success when it comes to ordinary practice routines. Same old, same old. Yume's bad luck is still evident despite Anna-sensei's guidance.

Later on, Tsubasa is seen acting in a drama which cleverly parodies woman's suffrage and showcases the best of her acting abilities, making her an present-day Susan B. Anthony. Notably, Yume's in an teary mood, Laura, less so. Then Koharu shows up and upon noticing Laura sitting next to her waifu-uh, sorry, childhood friend, she proceeds to introduce herself to Laura, since it's the first time both of them have met in person. This scene dashed any hopes of Koharu getting very jealous and possessive of Yume to the point where she and Laura would have an antagonic relationship.



Pretty anti-climatic, but it is what it is. So after all the introductions are done, Yume starts having doubts over her chances of joining the Flower Song Class, especially after realizing that she might be falling back behind everyone including Laura. So she tries to raise her spirits by going ahead to train her vocals. Needless to say, epic fail. Already paranoid over the fact that she might actually fail, Yume decides to take a breather-on the outside. That's when she finds an elevated podium that overlooks the sea, and due to it being "conveniently" secluded ( more like because the plot demanded it) Yume decides to practice on it. Even so, she's not improving at all. Then all of an sudden, an untimely saviour arrives. Who? Could it be Hime?

Nope, it's the star of today's drama our heroes were watching earlier this morning, aka Kisaragi Tsubasa. Surprise, surprise. Yume's pretty embarassed that she witnessed her feeble attempts at training, but Tsubasa simply shrugs it off, telling Yume that both of them are equals, rather than senpai and kouhai. The pair chat, and pretty soon Yume decides to voice her own concerns. She asks Tsubasa about the time when she chose the Bird Theater Class, thinking that for her, that decision couldn't have been that difficult. Enter Tsubasa. Her answer is: no. And the reason why is that because-epic shocker!-she actually '''used to be in the Flower Song Class before switching to the Bird Theater Class. '''When an stunned Yume asks why, Tsubasa begins to reminisce and explains everything to her.

 What happens next is, without any doubt, one of the most powerful and solid character development scenes that the series has shown so far.

It turns out that the reason why Tsubasa made the switch was because when she first met Hime, way back when both of them were merely rookie idols, Hime shown brightly on stage, way better than Tsubasa did. This prompts the latter to acknowledge that it would be Hime, and not herself that would shine and represent the Flower Song Class. One cannot help but respect Tsubasa for backing down and making way for Hime to shine; her selflessness and opened-minded spirit that enabled her do to so is without any doubt worthy of true respect, a factor in which I also acknowledge.

Despite that, Tsubasa still hasn't figured out her next path yet. And that's the cue for the head teacher of Bird Theater Class, aka Yachigusa Momoko to step in.While she made her real debut appearance in episode 2, it's the first time the spotlight's landed on a teacher other than Anna ( and Hikaru, the principal). After both of them converse a bit, Momoko senses her frustrations, and so decides to explain the virtues of the Bird Theater Class to Tsubasa. It's then that Tsubasa realizes that Momoko's philosophy synchronizes with her own desire to spread her own wings by discovering her own true self, therefore deciding from that moment on to join the Bird Theater Class and the rest is history. Tsubasa's backstory stands out among the characters introduced so far, and here's why. Firstly, her backstory scene is completely justified and transitions smoothly from one scene to another; it doesn't suddenly pop up for no justificable reason and avoids any unnecessary dialogue that could ruin the entire pacing of the episode. Secondly, her backstory not only gives some well-written character development to Tsubasa, '''it also sheds light on her past before she became an S4 idol. It's an important reminder to the audience that way back before Tsubasa and her S4 partners were superstars, they were just ordinary rookie idols like Yume and co, struggling to develop their skills and trying to find their true selves.'''

Furthermore, Tsubasa's and Momoko's relationship is also throughly explained as well, with both of them finding common cause in each other through respect and self-sacrifice. Finally, Tsubasa is revealed to be an strong yet understanding character; she had the guts to sacrifice her dream of being a singer in order to make way for someone far more deserving of that position, and she didn't bear any ill will because of that. Most importantly, Tsubasa didn't project an intimidating and elitist aura when she talked with Yume despite her S4 membership; she considered Yume as an equal and fellow student despite their differences in skill and rank. This shows that Tsubasa would never abuse her position because she understands what it was like as a rookie idol to struggle like Yume is doing right now.

My level of respect for Tsubasa is now at 100%.

After Tsubasa leaves, Yume can't help but feel inspired by her backstory ( IKR!) and decides to go for a jog, which somehow stretches into the evening. Gee,no wonder since listening to Tsubasa's backstory took a long amount of her time. Anyway, Yume runs into Subaru, who's dressed in an manly blue tracksuit. Hilarious antics ensue; a short race between them both ends with Yume tumbling head first into a bush. Man, I love how she always does that when she meets with Subaru; the interactions between these two are always sweet and funny. Subaru and Yume have a little chat, one which leaves Yume realizing that she always had an original goal; which was to join the S4 no matter what happened. Having a sudden burst of inspiration from both Tsubasa and Subaru, Yume is now more than ready to take the audition.

Okay, let's just say that after three consecutive performances of Aikatsu Step, one cannot help but start to argue that for once, recycling isn't really going to help contribute to protecting the environment, if you get what I really mean. If it wasn't for the fact that the new Pink Coord had a pretty design and some nice ribbons which made for an fresh look, the performance would have been really boring.



So after Yume's done with her round, the results are tallied by none other than the S4 themselves, including Tsubasa. In the end, the results are pretty predictable, with Yume and Laura joining up with the Flower Song Class while Koharu moves into the Moon Beauty Class so she can fangirl over Yozora everyday. I'm kinda disappointed that they didn't show any cameos of Saotome Ako and the blonde hair girl from episode one getting into their respective classes this time around, but I guess those two will have to wait for their actual debut appearances sometime around in the future.

Speaking of which, the sudden appearance of four certain boys ( pictured left) was a welcome surprise. It's good to see to the rest of Subaru's mates appear so early in the series. However, it seems that M4's members...seem too generically similar to each other. At first glance, it seems genuinely difficult to tell them apart. Were it not for the fact that they possess differences in height and hair colour (megane-wearing dude included), I would have thought that M4 were actually quadplets by birth. Even their predecessors from the previous series, More Than True had plenty of variation in terms of appearance. Personally speaking, it's disorienting to see the development team didn't really make much effort to give more individual identities and variations to the M4 boys (barring Subaru).

Afterwards, Yume and co are in high spirits and taking an walk when they receive a message called "Glitter".Before the audience gets an explanation, the trio come across the Kao Council from StarMyu. Yeah, I wish. It's the M4 themselves in the flesh, and Subaru "congratulates" Yume by calling her "little tomato". Dang, that Subaru's an player, if you get what I mean. Once again, Koharu goes into fangirl mode, and Laura's pure disbelief at Yume's complete ignorance of M4's existance despite the fact they are Yotsuboshi Gakuen's top boy idol unit is just too funny. Speaking of which, the seeds of romance have finally started to bloom at last...

Verdict:

The Good: ​The Bad: ​Conclusion
 * Extremely well-paced, smooth transition of well-written scenarios make for an enjoyable experience.
 * High-quality development of Tsubasa's character as well as a deeper insight into S4's origins is a major plus.
 * Momoko's establishment as an respectable and caring sensei makes her an much more likeable character, even more so than Anna.
 * Yume's new Pink Coord is an refreshing change from her original Pink Star Coord.
 * The rest of M4 is introduced. You know what that means, people. IT'S SHIPPING TIME!
 * Koharu's and Laura's first meeting was a bit too anti-climatic.
 * Aikatsu Step is performed for the third time in the row. 'Nuff said.
 * The members of M4 seem too generically similar to each other, which exposes a lack of variety in their character designs as well.

'''Without any doubt, the main highlight of Episode 3: The Sky of My Color was Tsubasa's heartwarming and solid backstory. An well-paced and smooth storyline also contibutes to the high ratings of the 3rd episode, while M4's introduction can only promise more fanservice and possible canon romance in the future. The recycled performance of Aikatsu Step! dampens the experience by an little, but nevertheless Episode 3 manages to shine brightly and also paves the way for the series to continue on.'''

Score: 8/10

Afterword:

Gomenasai, mina-san for posting this review so late, but due to uh, real-life issues that kept me really busy, I had to temporarily postpone the writing of this review. But now that's over for now, thank god.. So how did you guys think of Episode 3? Did you start to warm up to Tsubasa and Momoko even more upon witnessing such an heartwarming backstory of the former? I'm really starting to respect Tsubasa even more, and as of this moment she's now my favourite S4 idol. Spread your wings and fly high into the sky, Tsubasa! Everyone, please wait patiently for my next review to come out next week! Adios!