User blog:Staraptor Kwan/Aikatsu Stars! Episode 12 Review: It's a bird, It's a plane, It's Hoo-chan!

Man, the creative team behind the production of Aikatsu Stars! sure know how to make pretty awesome fillers. First Episode 4, then Episode 9, and as of now Episode 12. What makes the latest of these fillers so enjoyable to watch? Read on to find out!



The episode kicks off with a brand new song called Honeybees Kiss, which combines both  cute and cool elements together with some neat choreography. It's kind of average though, and if you look closely, Yume's aura has been toned down in comparison to her previous performance. Granted, it's to be expected considering that Yume is still a beginner and as such, can't maintain her rainbow aura for every single performance. On the bright sight though, both girls now have more fans.



As the girls return to their dorms after a long day's work, they talk about how harsh Tsubasa, the student council president can be torwards those who break curfew along with her legendary Punishment Time. Their conversation is then interrupted by some rustling tree branches; Yume invokes the usual "probably just the wind" trope until a unidentified creature charges at them. Cue instant screams by our now not so dynamic duo, who flee to the sanctuary of their dorms. Well, supposingly so...



...for by the time they reach the entrance, standing there is none other than my girl Tsubasa, who proceeds to list out all of their profiles (just because she can) in a distinct way that's pretty reminiscent of both Ayami from Dear My Future and Mirei from Pripara. Being the no-nonsense student council president that she is, Tsubasa brushes aside Yume's and Laura's claims of a strange creature attacking them (although they were actually telling the truth). Since they broke curfew, Tsubasa then decides to sentence the dynamic duo to her legendary punishment time.

Said punishment time involves cleaning the dormitory floor, and as the two begrudgingly get to it, Yuri arrives on the scene and guess what- offers her congratulations to them. If that's not heavy sarcasm, than I don't know else could it be. Anyway, Yuri then transports our dynamic duo to her chibi seminars, this time to give some insight into Tsubasa's current life and reputation. Yuri ends her impressive lecture on the fact that despite her strict demeanor, Tsubasa is well-respected by the students as a popular senpai (co's she is).

Afterwards, Tsubasa drops by just as our dynamic duo have finished cleaning. Seeing that both of them have done a pretty good job, she then gives them her reward time in the form of refreshing beverages while praising their handiwork; however she also reminds them to contact her via the Aikatsu mobile if they are late next time. This kind and well-meaning gesture only serves to increase Yume's respect for Tsubasa that began back in Episode 3, and of course mine for her as well.



The next morning, Yume and the entire dormitory wake up to the sound of a bell being shaken by none other than Tsubasa herself, who proceeds to line everybody up and conduct a suprise uniform inspection on them. Now that's what you call remarkable efficiency. Anyway, various sorts of funny hijinks ensue: from bed hairs, askew neckties, mismatched socks, left on beauty masks (see left), slouched postures and "ahem" Koharu's infamous grab bags which are filled to the brim with sweets, Tsubasa manages to point out each and every single of one their faults while giving well-meaning lectures like the total badass she is. Needless to say, everyone (poor Yume gets it again) gets hit with punishment time.

The main plot of today's episode kicks in when in the midst of punishment time, a student arrives and informs everyone that there's trouble involving Tsubasa-senpai. When Yume and co arrive back at the dorms, they find Tsubasa confronting a girl with a tiny yet cute terrapin named Hyurri in her palms. We learn that Yotsuboshi Gakuen has a strict no-pets policy as stated by Tsubasa. The poor girl pleads with her, saying that Hyurri is her precious emotional support. For some reason, Tsubasa looks shaken, if only a bit, but she recovers and bluntly informs the poor girl to take Hyurri back home, because rules are rules.

Later on, two random students end up sharing the same fate as Yume&Laura. The scene then shifts to S4's castle, where during one of their tea parties, Tsubasa's fellow brethen comment on her harshness; she refutes this by stating she provided guidance as always, as well claiming that idols need to have an independent streak of their own in order to survive. This dialogue clearly mirrors Tsubasa's philosophy, however Yozora hints that Tsubasa might had a similar experience in the past, and everyone, especially Yuzu (see left) attempts to cheer up Tsubasa until a messenger arrives with some important news.

It turns out, the entire academy is awash with rumours of the UMA, so Tsubasa informs those without any Aikatsu priorities this afternoon to gather in comfortable clothing at the field via the sound system. Once everyone (Yume and co as well) arrive, Tsubasa explains that she will work with them to patrol the campus and flush out the UMA. Said propasal does not go down well with the students, but since Tsubasa's the most badass student council president ever, they don't even dare to refuse.

The search gets underway, and Yume finds herself in a team of five consisting of Laura, Koharu, Yuri and of course, Tsubasa herself. As they pass though the woods, Tsubasa moves further away from the group while reflecting upon her beliefs; this leads to her thinking that everyone is simply imagining things out of fear in their own hearts. She stops when Yume points out that Koharu is lagging behind; thus she orders Yuri to stay with Koharu while the rest keep moving forward.



Due to the lack of any sightings thus far, Tsubasa decides that her theory was correct, however a familar rustling sounds prompts Laura to run in its direction. Yume and Tsubasa follow suit; unfortunately the former gets ambushed and when found by Tsubasa, implores her to leave and run to safety. However, Tsubasa  instead does the opposite and hoists Yume up. At that moment, the UMA appears and...it's an owl. Shocker. And defintely more surprising when Tsubasa recognizes said owl as "Hoo-chan."

And at long last, all the events leading up to the climax of this story fall into place; in a epic and brillant continuation of Tsubasa's rich character development from Episode 3, her past is completely revealed. It turns out that as a kid, Tsubasa was very shy and anti-social, to the point where her parents sent her to idol school, which explains why she developed a passion for singing. Eventually, she joined Four Star Academy, but after certain events (see Episode 3) happened, there were times when memories of her lonely past would flood back, thus filling her with unbearable sadness. And that was when she met Hoo-chan, who, being lonely as well, would often perch on a branch in front of Tsubasa's dorm window. The two of them would bond together until Hoo-chan was discovered; this resulted in Tsubasa being forbidden from ever feeding nor even seeing her again. This explains why Tsubasa was taken aback when earlier, the girl had pleaded with her to let Hyurri stay; because she also had once gone through that traumatic experience herself.

Not only does this flashback give us more insight into Tsubasa's past, it also ties up all of Tsubasa's actions and gives her the best character progression of the series thus far. We all now know that Tsubasa had to go through a lot in order to evolve from the shy kid she once was into a true leader, one who was strict and assertive, yet kind and deeply respected by everyone. Since Tsubasa understood the hardships of being a 1st year student well enough, she was deeply motivated to become a reliable senpai, one who could guide her kouhai through their own hardships until they themselves became leaders like Tsubasa. If Episode 3 didn't already make it obvious, then Episode 12 drives the point home even further; even now, Tsubasa still feels insecure inwardly, but makes up for it with her leadership qualities and independent streak. What makes this scene even better is that it transitions seamlessly with all the events of the entire episode; everything that happened so far has been leading torwards this scene perfectly.

As Tsubasa wonders why Hoo-chan returned, three more owls swoop down next to Hoo-chan. Now she understands, Hoo-chan found her own family and as such, won't be lonely anymore. Yumre remarks that there are four owls, which also translates into the same number as the S4. Just then, Laura crashes into the scene followed by Koharu and Yuri, which causes Hoo-chan and her family to...go into scary mode due to the sudden intrusion. Despite that, it's still a pretty much emotional scene, and it was totally heartwarming to see Tsubasa laugh light-heartedly like that.

At the end of the day, Tsubasa is informed by Hyurri's owner that she will be bringing her home this weekend; the former commends her for being courageous. Hime, Yozora and Yuzu are seen waiting for Tsubasa to return (the latter is scouting on top a tall tree), which highlights the close friendship between all four of them. When Tsubasa arrives, everyone embraces her. Tsubasa is sincerely touched by the kindness shown by them, and reflects upon her philosophy one more time, that is to soar to unseen heights along with her irreplaceable friends. And with that, she follows them to their latest tea party, thus bringing a satisfying conclusion to one of the most remarkable episodes thus far within this series.

Verdict:

The Good:  ​The Bad:  ​Score: 9.5/10
 * Well-paced and original storyline with plenty of laughs and heartwarming moments.
 * Yuri's chibi-style education seminars are just as fun and informative as always.
 * Hoo-chan is suprisingly cute for a owl.
 * Tsubasa's rich and well-development character progression is carried over from Episode 3 and tuned to the point where she is worthy of true respect and praise in reflection of her leadership qualities.
 * The plot structure connects Tsubasa's character development with the events of the storyline seamlessly.
 * Honeybees Kiss might be the only low point of this episode; other than combining both Yume's cute and Laura's cool elements together, it really does nothing to stand out among the other songs.

Conclusion

In what probably surpasses Episode 10 as the best episode thus far, Episode 12: The Fluttering Girlfriend is nothing short of pure, ingenious and simply breathtakingly awesome storytelling in its own right.

Afterword:

I...don't even know where to begin. I just...really felt so touched by Tsubasa's story, to the point where I actually felt like crying. No, I'm not even kidding, that's true. All I can say is that, if Episode 3 gave us a introductory insight into Tsubasa's character, than Episode 12 went all out and gave us one of the best character progression arcs in the history of idol anime.

Tsubasa was absolutely incredible throughout the entire episode; every single one of her actions were completely natural and fitted in seamlessly with the structure of the plot, whether it she be conducting random uniform checks and caring for everyone's well-being, or being strict and fair at the same time while interacting amicably with her kouhai. I also loved how Tsubasa, despite being insecure deep in her heart, would always remain upbeat and rise to the horizon, far away from her troubles. Everything else about this episode was perfect, it was funny, it was nice, it was heartwarming, it was interesting, and so on. Every single Aikatsu Stars! episode should follow the lead of Episode 12, for it is without any doubt a shining example of how a well-constructed story should be.

Magnifique..."wipes tears away"