Aikatsu 152
And so season 3 ends. Kind of low key compared to the last 2 season finales. Time for a trip. I'm really curious as to how this is going to work out. Are the Starlight students going to stick around somehow? Multiple plotlines? Overdose of Luminas + new characters they pick up on the way? And how is Akari going to continue her weather job? So many questions. Well, it sure will be interesting. This show does need a shake-up. In the mean time, season 3 finally got a performance with more than 3 people in it. Lol at Rin's backflip. No 8 idol dances this season. That was kind of a let down.
So, season 3 was more Aikatsu, but with a new cast. Akari... was better when she sucked honestly. Not that she was bad here, but she's mostly just following in Ichigo's footsteps at this point. Her differentiating points like the weather job were her better moments, so hopefully they don't continue to have Akari follow the same beats like what happened in the Christmas episode. Still, she was a solid protagonist overall.
Sumire took time to grow on me, but grow she did. She's more laid back and reserved, but she knows how to get a job done. Positive reading was a nice spin on fortune telling. She also got a lot of the best dances. Tarte Tatin, Tutu Ballerina, and Emerald Magic are all up there as some of the best songs/dances in the show.
Hinaki is what you get if you throw Aoi, Ran, Otome, and Kaede in a blender and takes elements from all of them. She was cool at first, but like all pop idols something was missing from her. It felt like all her development happened in the past, and while she did struggle she never really showed it. Strong first impression without much to back it up aside from her relationship with Juri.
Juri was cool. Certainly managed better than Shion. I wasn't fond of her posing stuff, but she was fairly dynamic outside of that. Unfortunately aside from the vampire special the dramas were kind of weak this time. Better luck next time. Chica x Chica was amazing though in both forms.
Rin came strong and never let up. Her dancing really helped her stand out, and that nervous yet strong personality of hers worked really well for her. Plus she got to be in the best unit. Probably my favorite idol of the season from her into to the end. It's always the cool type idols.
Madoka on the other hand was eh. Just really bland and vanilla for the most part. Oh she had some good moments of being a bitch in sheep's clothing, but it was really subtle and inconsequential. Otherwise she just sort of put me to sleep. Doesn't help that she's the third person to use Angely Sugar (which is only an okay brand), even if Akari switched to Dreamy Crown early on. And Skips was terrible.
Miyabi and Kokone were alright for what they were. Meant to be around for a few weeks, then bugger off. Miyabi definitely made good use of her limited screen-time. Going against Sakura did her good. Kokone, like Hinaki, made a strong first impression, but she didn't have much to back it up after that. Pity. And the less said about poor Yuu, the better. She can't even count on getting the Shion treatment.
The old cast was used sparsely, but well. Soleil, and Ichigo in particular, made waves whenever they appeared. Ichigo was basically the new Mizuki, except less annoying since she's not screwing other people on half-baked whims. Aoi was great as always, and there were a couple hints pointing towards her possible future. Ran just showed up in group moments, but she did well with what she had.
Yurika had her moments, but she got less attention than I thought she would, seeing how Sumire is basically following in her footsteps. I'm sad they never got on stage together. She even got into Aikatsu 8 for no particular reason (which we never saw, lame). Still, she fared better than her partners. Kaede basically didn't exist aside from that one episode where she wanted to relive the time she was relevant. And Mizuki couldn't even get little cameos here and there, though since she sucks I don't really care.
Powa Puri was the real winner this season. Otome didn't get a bunch of spotlight like last season, but she had a lot of small cameos here and there that added up. Sakura got some decent development, multiple performances, became the queen she was destined to be, and overall took advantage of being one year younger than the others. Shion was the true victor, somehow looking even better than last season by finally getting a dance in glorious season 3 CG. She's gone from minor character who got some focus to a consistently reoccurring character to someone who got to be on the big stage. If she keeps this up she'll be the main character in six seasons.
Orihime and Johnny were their usual selves. Johnny got a bunch of backstory, which was cool. Naoto became prominent again, becoming an official adviser instead of an unpaid one. Cooking guy was boring though. And I don't know why Dreamy Crown guy got so much attention. Not particularly interesting, like all designers. Poor DreAca might as well have not existed.
Overall, I think it's slightly better than season 2, but not as good as season 1. Aside from Madoka (who wasn't that bad) there were no real duds among the main idols. There was definite improvement to be seen. The CG dances were amazing, and I have no idea how they can get any better from here on out. There was a lack of drama compared to the first two seasons. Sure there was some uncertainty and stuff, but no real big emotional or nail-biting moments. Which isn't necessarily bad, seeing how the show is called Idol Activities, but some of that would've been nice for the lesser developed characters. Well, I'm still enjoying it, so here's to hoping season 4 remains as good.
