Episode 26 - A Dream That Can't Be Taken

A Dream That Can't Be Taken (奪えない夢) is the twenty sixth episode of the Aikatsu Stars! Anime Series. It aired on October 6th, 2016.

Summary
One of the members of S4, Yuzu Nikaidō appears to be in a good mood for some reason. And that reason is because Lilie Shirogane, the "Songstress of Tundra" is coming back to the school. Lilie is a second year student in the Flower Song Class, as well as being Yuzu's childhood friend. And in response to her fans, Lilie will be having a school-wide come-back live--!

Plot
The girls of S4 notice how excited Yuzu is during their morning tea party. She is excited for Lilie to return to school, since its been over a year.

Meanwhile, Yume, Laura, Mahiru, and Koharu are busy going on their morning jog. They remark on the weather until a sudden cool chill distracts them. They note its too early for winter and spot Lilie down the path approaching them. They recognize her fairly quickly and observe her while she walks towards them. When Koharu was about to faint, suddenly the cold air evaporates as Yuzu runs up to embrace Lilie; who at the last second dodges her. Yume approaches Lilie and introduces herself, voicing her excitement to meet her after watching her performance from the school records. Lilie's weird behavior leaves the girls confused, although Yuzu is able to translate it fairly easy. With that the duo leave the group there and head back.

In the main lobby, Anna explains that Hikaru is away due to business that day. Instead she will be taking his place, and decides to greet the students by playing her guitar. Everyone is left at ease, except for Lilie, who suddenly feels faint. Thankfully Yuzu catches her, with Miki complimenting her reflexes. Anna decides she should be taken to the infirmary, leaving Yume concerned.

Having been worried, she, Laura, and Koharu pay her a visit. Yuzu claims she will be fine though, because she's always been this way. She would pass out during morning assemblies, get sick on bus rides, got ill fairly often, and wasn't able to ever finish an outing. Compared to back then she is a lot healthier though. With that, they meet up with Mahiru and continue to discuss Lilie, bringing up that she made it to the finals during last year's S4 selection. But her health caused her to drop out.

Later, while the girls are busy training Lilie joins them. She claims to be feeling better, and wanted to join the lesson. Yuri introduces Lilie as a second-year student, and brings up that she has been on break for a while. The girls find Lilie cute, but somewhat intimidating. Yuri assigns the group twenty push-ups, and watch as Lilie very slowly manages to do one. She apologizes for her uncooperative body, and Yuri allows her to sit and watch the other students. Yume expresses further concern, then suddenly falls after her ankle gives out. Yuri suggests she goes to the infirmary, but she refuses until Yuri is able to convince her. So Laura leads her into the infirmary, where the nurse explains her sprain will heal within a week. But until then she is unable to do any physical activity. The news frustrates Yume, but she has no choice, with the others reminding her that she didn't have any work to handle anyway.

The next day, Yume finds herself disappointed as the girls learn a new dance step. Lilie notices her frustration, but suddenly Anna shows up with some big news for her. She announces that news of Lilie's return was leaked on the KirakiLine and now several fans are requesting a comeback performance. So they plan to hold a concert the next day and asks if she will take place. Lilie claims she will, exciting the class.

Yuri approaches the other Admin to bring up Lilie's revival concert and asks them to lend her a hand. They all agree, also excited for the performance and willing to help out. As this is going on, Yume, Laura, Koharu, and Mahiru are down below in the room, and note how strange it is to see so many Admin in one spot. They also take note of Yume's spacing out, and question if she is alright. She claims to be fine, and pays the nurse a visit afterwards.

To her disappointment the nurse is gone, but Lilie is in the room. Lilie explains that she had just left before asking why Yume is there, and she brings up needing to change her compress. Lilie instructs Yume, pointing out where the supplies are and she sits down to tend to her injury- although it takes a few tries. Yume asks Lilie if she worries about her Aikatsu, given how much rest she has to take, and how weak she is. She mentions her own worry about not being able to train or practice for a week, but Lilie points out that everyone handles their own Aikatsu differently. They all have different skill levels and uniquenesses, so training is also varied. If one is unable to do things with others, they need to focus on the things they can do instead. Lilie knows she can't train like others, and yes she's had to deal with heartless people saying things to her because of it, such as that she couldn't be an Idol. She suddenly gets up to sit down with Yume, stating that it was only one persons opinion. Yume then asks if Lilie feels pain like this, but Lilie claims that she tells herself things to lessen it. No matter what illness may befall her body, her dream can't be taken away. Yume seems to understand, explaining her own passionate dream to be an Idol following in Hime's footsteps to become a member of S4. Lilie assures Yume that her concert will go on well without a hitch, then she takes off after helping her with her bandaging.

The next day the girls show up for Lilie's performance and they wonder what could be so special that she attracted a million fans like this. In the waiting room Yuzu assures Lilie will be fine, recalling their past together and how much effort Lilie put into training on her own whenever she had. Lilie thanks her an she heads into the other room to change into her chosen coord, then appears on stage to sing "Dreaming Bird". After the performance the crowd goes wild for Lilie. The four are left amazed by the performance, remarking on it and Lilie's ability to just adapt- as if she hadn't taken such a long hiatus at all.

Lilie walks off the stage, asking Yuzu if her appreciation for everyone shined through her performance. She was hoping to pay everyone back for their efforts and waiting, and hopes she managed that. Yuzu assures her she is a sure-fire choice for S4, and Yume approaches Lilie to voice her feelings. She tells her that while she feels she might not be able to catch Lilie- she will not be giving up any time soon because her dream is to join S4. Lilie accepts this and voices a proverb, welcoming Yume as a future rival and they shake hands on it.

Characters

 * Lilie Shirogane
 * Yuzu Nikaidō
 * Yume Nijino
 * Laura Sakuraba
 * Koharu Nanakura
 * Mahiru Kasumi
 * Hime Shiratori
 * Tsubasa Kisaragi
 * Yozora Kasumi
 * Yuri Ashida
 * Miki Katsura
 * Arisa Sakamoto
 * Anna Hibiki

Trivia

 * This episode marks the debut of the new opening and ending theme songs, 1, 2, Sing for You! and So Beautiful Story.
 * The Four Star Academy News segment at the end of each episode has now been replaced by a new segment in which idols introduce significant coords and stages.

Gallery
episode 26 - a dream that can't be taken/image gallery