Episode 09 - Miracle Girls☆

Miracle Girls☆ (ミラクルガールズ☆) is the ninth episode of the Aikatsu Stars! Anime Series. It aired on June 2, 2016.

Summary
Yume and Laura are to play in the Campaign Girl Audition for the famous sweets shop, Kōkadō. The president of Kōkadō says that she wants new products related to "sea bream baked in miracles" as she is looking for miracle idols. Intelligence, physical fitness is what those lucky enough need to pass the audition. Overcoming a number of things, who will become the splendid Campaign Girl...!?

Plot
A woman shows up to speak to Headmaster Hikaru. Meanwhile, Yume and Koharu are trying to determine what to do for lunch. At one of the counters is a man offering free taiyaki, much to their surprise, and they begin eating when Yume sees a paper inside of hers. She removes it to see "winner" printed on it and a bell nearby is rung, with the man going on to reveal that Laura also received this paper. Anna comes by and explains that this paper means the girls have been automatically entitled to enter the upcoming Kōkadō Audition. Kōkadō is a famous confectionery brand that holds yearly auditions to select a campaign girl who promotes new products- last year, Yuzu won the role of Happy Koi-Koi Konpeito Girl.

Eventually the competitive auditions arrive, with Yume and Laura standing alongside eighteen other girls. A man hosting the event explains that not only will a live audience be watching them, but the television viewers from across the nation will also be witness to this occasion. Two girls from Shine Academy -Naho and Ayumi- quickly start to pick on Yume, saying that while they can see why Laura was chosen they don't see anything special about her. Laura quickly comes to her defense but they aren't able to exchange more words as the event officially starts.

The woman who came by to speak to Hikaru appears and she introduces herself as the president of Kōkadō, Kaoru. She has come to find the girl to promote their new product, Miracle Felici-taiyaki and is searching for an Idol who possesses three special qualities: knowledge, stamina, and luck. She then goes on to reveal that Yuzu will host the event and is the special judge for today.

The first event begins, a true and false event where the girls must take turns answering true or false questions by attacking the wall they believe is correct. Yuzu starts by telling them that she ate fluffy omelette rice for dinner, which the first girl gets wrong, leading her to fall into mud. Yuzu reveals she actually ate soba. She then informs Laura that her personal spin record was one-hundred turns, and after a moment Laura confidentially choosing false. Yuzu would never stop at one-hundred, which Yuzu states is correct, her record is actually one-hundred-fifty. Yume takes her turn next and Yuzu claims to always make room for her favorite stuffed cat. This stumps Yume for a moment before she decides to trust her gut and choose false, which ends up being correct.

Ten girls move onto the next challenge, where they must take part in a race to test their stamina. From this, only two pairs will be moving on to the next round, only four girls will qualify. Ayumi resumes teasing Yume by saying that she's only doing well because of luck, but they are very confused by Yume's kind response in hoping for their success. The race begins, with Yuzu and Kaoru acting as commentators.

The group of hopefuls approach several stones located within water that they must leap across to the other side. It seems to be effortless until midway through, octopus statues start shooting balls at them. Yuzu encourages the girls to keep going and a few of them start to fall, with Yume hitting the balls back to protect everyone else while Ayumi and Naho make their way ahead to the second part, along with Yume, Laura, and four other girls. They climb through a hanging rope path, followed by a sack hopping race.

Yume and Laura are able to hurry and catch up to the Shiny Academy duo by the time they reach the fourth part, a large set of monkey bars, followed by a large, hanging bridge made out of wood. Yume is happy to note that Ayumi and Naho have yet to start crossing so they can surpass them, but when she notices Laura is hesitant she begins to wonder if she might be afraid of the height. Laura claims she isn't and she tries forcing herself, so Yume grabs her hand and promises to support her, leading her slowly across while warning her not to look down. Laura can't resist just taking a small glance and momentarily panics, but Yume is able to help her calm down and they quickly catch up to Naho and Ayumi. The girls momentarily stop to see if they are alright after Ayumi states they were taking a rest, but when Yume realizes they are also frightened, she suggests the four of them cross together.

The girls continue forward until they reach a large wall they must climb while hanging onto a rope. Yume doesn't struggle very much but Laura has a little bit of issue, allowing the other four sets to climb the wall with ease. Yume promises to help her after seeing how scratched her hands have become, and she pulls Laura onto her shoulders to help her up. She nearly falls back as they near the top, only for Naho and Ayumi to help them up for earlier.

The four mutually agree to take a break until their stamina returns and they resume running to the final part of the race, climbing over a row of stones until they can see the goal in the distance. At this point, Ayumi and Naho are worn out and with some final pushing on her part, Laura manages to score the four of them the win. Kaoru decides the last portion will be based on an Idol's luck and she has the girls play a round of rock-paper-scissors. The girls are shocked by this but having no choice, they head out on stage to play. Yume and Laura both draw scissors, while Naho and Ayumi draw paper, so Laura and Yume are announced as the winners. Ayumi is somewhat grumpy but she decides to act graceful as Laura thanks her for their help earlier. The duo leave and it's announced that both Laura and Yume will have to keep playing until they come out with a winner; unfortunately both girls happen to keep making the same gesture and soon it becomes evening. Both girls are worn out and they can't determine why they keep throwing the same gesture, so Kaoru decides they should have an online competition by making the girls perform and see who wins that way. They exchange some words and head back to change and get on stage, with each girl performing a different song.

Afterwards, the monitor counts the scores of each girl and Laura manages to pull out the win, filling her entire bar with votes in comparison to Yume's. Yume is a little disappointed as Kaoru congratulates Laura on her luck and announces that she will be this years Miracle Girl. She tells her to make her proud and Yume thanks Laura for helping to encourage her as her rival.

Some time later, Yume, Laura, and Koharu watch a program where Yuzu informs the audience of the brand new Miracle Felici-taiyaki. She takes a bite of one and compliments it before Laura is revealed, dressed as a cute taiyaki with some smaller ones in her hands. She dances to a cute jingle as the girls admire the commercial.

Characters

 * Yume Nijino
 * Laura Sakuraba
 * Yuzu Nikaidō
 * Koharu Nanakura
 * Anna Hibiki
 * Hikaru Moroboshi
 * Ayumi Naruse
 * Naho Aoyama
 * Kaoru Koumoto

Trivia
This is the first appearance of Miracle Felici-Taiyaki, what Laura Sakuraba is mostly known for.