Talk:Episode 29 - True Rivals/@comment-24848025-20161031091333

Oh man, Aikatsu Stars has gone Love Live Sunshine. That whole Shine talk just drips out of Love Live Sunshine (though technically, you could say LL:S took the shining thing from Aikatsu.) A lot of similar plotlines too like Koharu not telling Yume she's moving until probably the last week (a simular storyline ended Love Live season 1 with Kotori not telling Honoka she is moving to Europe), and the whole trying not to be who you idolize (though that is also a technicality since it's a reused plotline from Aikatsu with Akari/Ichigo.) I still feel there is a lot of staff and idea sharing between BNP and Sunrise - which makes it all the more weird when compared to Idolmaster (another Bandai Namco property) which doesn't share any of the same concepts at all. It wouldn't be the first time BNP is being totally unoriginal though - there were the Start Dash / Start Dash Sensation comparisons, and they're even doing it again with the other idol anime BNP is doing with Dream Festival's OP song, Pleasure Flag, ending on a line that says "Hashire mirai e - Start Dash!"

Anyway, Koharu is leaving and there really isn't anything Yume can do about that. How that'll actually affect Yume in general is actually kinda unknown - this is brand new storyline terrotory for Aikatsu Stars for once (the only other student to leave and come back is Ichigo, but they time-skipped her time away.) Honestly, in the long run though, BNP wasn't doing much with Koharu's character and they pretty much outright refused to let her perform so shipping her off is not terrible. She'll basically become this show's Shion.

In regards to Laura - either one of three things will happen: either they're going to split her off to another class, she's going to find her shine and actually match Full Power Yume, or Yume is going to suffer a really bad health scare (something that gives Hime PTSD at night.) I hope they don't split Laura off to the Dance class. I feel that would be the wrong direction for her. I hope actually that she matches Yume at some point in the future because that's how those two have always grown together. It seems though we're likely headed to option three though - and we'll see the fallout of that and how it affects everyone.