Episode 24 - Smiles are Rainbow-Colored☆

Smiles are Rainbow-Colored☆ (笑顔はなないろ☆) is the twenty fourth episode of the Aikatsu Stars! Anime Series. It aired on September 22nd, 2016.

Summary
Given time off for the first time ever, Yume invites Laura, Mahiru, Ako, and Koharu to her home, the "Rainbow Pastry Shop". Everyone eats some sweets, and as Yume looks through her childhood photo album, her neighbor Reina comes in saying "I want to bake a cake together"...

Plot
Yume, Laura, Mahiru, and Ako introduce themselves to the Audience and head back to start their performance, changing into their school coords. After appearing on stage they perform Aikatsu☆Step!

After the performance the four take a break while discussing how it went. Suddenly, the girls notice they got a bunch of Glitters from the performance. Anna comes in to congratulate them and tells them to visit Hikaru. In his office he informs the girls they are free to do what they please for the next three days. They've been so busy, that they earned a break to rest- although he warns them to act in accordance to what is acceptable for Idols.

As the girls enjoy their juice in the Cafeteria, Laura, Mahiru, and Ako explain to Yume what "off time" is. Koharu joins them, also congratulating their efforts as Yume informs her of what happened. As it turns out Koharu got off time as well, so she will be visiting home to see her father. Yume explains that this is because he works so much, that they don't get to see each other often. With that she thinks it'd be a good idea to stop by home as well, and she offers to pick up some pastries while there. To Mahiru and Ako's surprise they learn her parents run Rainbow Confectionery; which happens to be Mahiru's most favorite Pastry shop. She asks Yume to let her accompany her, with Laura asking to join as well. They also try to rope Ako in, but she refuses.

The following morning, Koharu and Yume head towards the entrance gate, where Mahiru and Laura are waiting. They greet each other and Yume compliments how cute Mahiru looks. Then they find that Ako was waiting for them and together the five head to Yume's house. She steps inside to find her mother at the counter, and she compliments the girls before calling her husband into the room. The couple spare some of the pastries for the girls to have, with Koharu and Yume getting nostalgic as they eat cream puffs together. Mahiru fawns over the brownie before expressing her opinion, and eventually the girls are too full to eat anymore. In this time, they discuss Koharu heading back for home, then when Yume tries to convince Mahiru to join herself, Laura, and Ako on the bed, she refuses. Ako claims not to like it when people bring down a mood- but Laura gently provokes her in order to see "Ako Kitty".

Yume expresses happiness to have everyone there with her, but they admit to being surprised that they have come so close. Yume suggests they have a pretend S4 tea party to celebrate, but none of them agree until she brings up the pastries they ate together. Hesitantly they agree, making the S4 hand gesture and cheer. It's then Yume's mother shows up to find them weirdly posing, having found an old album. She shows them several pictures of Yume when she was little, back when the family opened the shop. Her mother explains that its because of her that the shop opened- but before they can get into that, the neighbor suddenly shows up, a young girl by the name of Reina. She requests that they make a cake with her as Yume watches from the hall.

A birthday is coming up for her mother, and she would really like to make one. But she doesn't know how to and asks that they help her. Unfortunately they're backed up on orders. Yume offers to help Reina instead, much to her surprise, and Yume shows that Laura, Mahiru, and Ako are with her. Reina perks right up and Yume asks her parents again, with the other three volunteering to help. Seeing this, Yume's father agrees.

In the back room, Yume writes down a list of things Reina's mother likes; such as grapes, custard cream, and flowers. With that, Laura, Yume, and Reina head out to grab the ingredients, only for Yume to stop and ask the duo to head back, as there is one stop she'd like to make.

In the kitchen, Ako and Mahiru assist Yume's father with preparing the cake batter. When the others return the girls all work together to make the cake, until eventually they take a break, sending Koharu a picture. Koharu explains who the others are, explaining that they are her good friends.

Eventually the cake is finished, only for Yume to reveal they hadn't put the finishing touches on just yet. She wants Reina to do it, but suddenly, Reina claims not to need the cake anymore. At first Yume worries, asking her if she isn't happy with it- but as it turns out, Reina is having a fight with her mother. She stopped playing with her since her little brother was born, and she ended up saying something selfish. She was hoping the cake would fix everything and apologizes for the time they wasted, but Yume claims that with her mothers birthday there's still reason to present the cake to her. They also believe with this, she will be able to express her feelings a lot more easier, because she loves her and her mom will know why she did this. Hearing their touching words, Reina reconsiders, hearing the girls explain how much they wish to see her smile and feel better, and Reina comments on the beautiful flowers Yume handed her to put on the cake. The girls realize this had been what Yume went out to buy, and Reina thanks everyone for helping her.

Packing up the cake, Reina says farewell to everyone and runs off for home. Yume's parents comment on how its because of Yume that Reina was able to be so happy again, and she recalls what her Mom started to say earlier- about how it was because of her that they managed to open the shop. Her mom claims it just slipped out, and they recall how much they struggled to come up with a specialty menu. With the shop opening any day, it was stressful. But suddenly, Yume ran in crying, seeking comfort. He picked her up and she spotted the pastries nearby, instantly cheering up and eating one of them. She commented on how much she liked the sweets, and seeing her smile inspired her father.

Together the girls compare the effect of sweets to what an Idol is meant to do, and Yume's father wishes the girls luck with continuing their work. It's then Yume gets a text from Reina, with a picture of her and her family sitting down with the cake.

Characters

 * Yume Nijino
 * Laura Sakuraba
 * Koharu Nanakura
 * Ako Saotome
 * Mahiru Kasumi
 * Anna Hibiki
 * Hikaru Moroboshi
 * Masaru Nijino
 * Kyoko Nijino
 * Reina
 * Chiaki Nanakura
 * Natsuna Nanakura

Trivia

 * The Mix Star Coord and Violet Star Coord make their debut in this episode.
 * A unit aura appears for the first time in the series.
 * Yume's family is the fourth to own a food store in the Aikatsu! franchise, after Ichigo Hoshimiya, Kaede Ichinose, and Seira Otoshiro.
 * Koharu's parents, Chiaki and Natuna Nanakura, appear for the first time.