Episode 19 - Just By You Being Here

Just By You Being Here (君がいるだけで) is the nineteenth episode of the Aikatsu Planet! TV series. It aired on May 16th, 2021.

Summary
Mao and Shiori finally face off to participate in the Planet Princess Grand Prix! While those around them anticipate the battle between best friends, Shiori turns away from Mao?! Mao is left confused not knowing the reason, but Shiori has had something against Mao since elementary school. Although they're childhood friends who have always been together, they're also rivals who must defeat each other. For the pair who are seriously clashing for the first time, they resolve to take on the challenge. And the result of the fateful stage is―?

Plot
Mao and Shiori are training in preparation for the Top Ten Final Battle, where they will have one last chance to raise their rank and be eligible to participate in the Planet Princess Grand Prix. At the agency, Segawa laments that of the pair, only Hana at 5th has a real shot at making top four, while Shiori at 10th will have a much harder time.

Izumi says it is still possible for Shiori to get in, as there will be bonus points awarded to the idol who fires up the crowd the most. They are updated on the matchups for the competition and make a troubling discovery - Hana and Shiori are against each other, effectively ensuring that one of them will not be able to participate in the Grand Prix.

Meanwhile, Shiori and Mao head to a bakery to buy its specialty product. They find that there is only one loaf of bread left, and Mao offers to let Shiori have it since she was looking forward to it so much. Shiori hesitantly accepts, noting that Mao has always had a habit of giving things up for her. Mao tells her not to worry about it since they're best friends.

They then receive word of the matchups for the competition, leaving Mao in shock at having to battle Shiori, who runs off. The following day at school, Shiori makes an active effort to avoid interacting with Mao to assert their status as rivals. She declares that she'll win against Mao and that she won't hold back just because they're friends.

Mao confides in Ruli about Shiori rebuffing her, revealing that they've never fought before despite having known each other for so long. She recounts how they met in third grade, with Shiori having always been reading by herself. Mao had approached her out of curiosity and soon became close as Shiori opened up about her passions.

As Mao wonders if she and Shiori will be unable to be best friends anymore, Keito cuts in and questions if they can even consider themselves best friends in the first place if they've never even fought. Having also known both for a long time, he points out that Mao always restrains herself whenever she's about to get into conflict with Shiori, who must have also realized.

Elsewhere, Shiori talks with Kyōko, who correctly deduces that Shiori's change in attitude towards Mao is to spur Mao into having a serious battle. Shiori pulls up a photo of her and Mao from elementary school when they put on a play of Alice in Wonderland. She wanted the role of Alice, but Mao was more popular and was recommended for the part by the class.

They were supposed to decide by majority vote, but Mao dropped out for Shiori's sake, claiming she couldn't memorize the lines. Having been looking for Shiori, Mao arrives and announces that this time she has no intentions of giving up the spot in the Grand Prix. A satisfied Shiori reconciles with Mao, and they resolve to go all out during their battle stage.

In Aikatsu Planet, Hana and Shiori go to eat parfaits after training. They spot a pair of kids running around together, causing Shiori to reminisce about their own childhood. She confesses to having always been jealous of Mao and wanting to be more like her. Hana in turn admits to thinking the same way about Shiori.

They reflect on the fact that despite their different personalities, their thoughts always end up alike. As an example of that, they both desire to give their everything into their performance even more than they want to win against each other. In order to do so, they get the idea to use an original song for the competition.

The Top Ten Final Battle soon begins, with Ann focusing her attention into supporting Q-pit now that she's out of the running for the Grand Prix. Hana and Shiori are up next, with Shiori summoning Wonderland Tale and Ivy Sleeping while Hana uses Pureful Phoenix and Aurora Pegasus. They debut their new song "Soulmate", with Hana as the victor.

As the event comes to a close, Rose, Q-pit, Beat and Ruli in order make up the top four. However, Hana ends up receiving the bonus points, bumping her up to 3rd and confirming her participation in the Grand Prix with Rose and Q-pit. Ruli and Beat are now tied for 4th and must compete with each other for the final spot.

Characters

 * Mao Otoha/Hana
 * Ruli Tamaki/Ruli
 * Kyōko Umekōji/Beat
 * Shiori Motoya/Shiori
 * Q-pit
 * Ann
 * Rose
 * Izumi Watanuki
 * Itsuki Segawa
 * Keito Kirihata
 * Shō Kurosaki
 * Ryōka Dōba
 * Aurora Pegasus
 * Pureful Phoenix
 * Wonderland Tale
 * Ivy Sleeping

Trivia

 * Episode Title Reference: "Just By You Being Here" (君がいるだけで) by Kome Kome CLUB
 * "Soulmate" makes its debut as an insert song in this episode.
 * Although Ruli, Beat and Rose appear in the episode, they have no dialogue and as such are left uncredited in the ending sequence.
 * Pop Cherry Crepe makes a cameo appearance in this episode.
 * This marks the first instance in which an idol outside of the main characters is explicitly named.