Episode 07 - Dancing Meruli Ruli!

Dancing Meruli Ruli! (踊るメルリルリ！) is the seventh episode of the Aikatsu Planet! TV series. It aired on February 21st, 2021.

Summary
Ruli is hyped up over making a Meruli drama. However, she is unable to convey her thoughts well, and the scriptwriter withdraws! With Ruli not giving up in the face of a big pinch, the secret to this always positive girl's charm is hidden there. Will the drama that Ruli has envisioned be completed well...?

Plot
Ruli gets overemotional about a drama that she watched while having lunch with Mao, Kyōko and Shiori. She explains that she's been watching dramas recently as she's been tasked with creating a pitch for a drama about Meruli. Elsewhere, Shō and Ryōka teach Keito about Meruli's status as MELTYHOUSE's increasingly popular brand mascot.

At the agency, Segawa, Izumi and Sala talk about how acclaimed scriptwriter Sōichirō Hayagaki has agreed to write for the Meruli drama. However, Ruli confuses everyone at her presentation due to primarily talking with onomatopoeia, leading Hayagaki to misinterpret her ideas. This discourages Hayagaki, wanting to withdraw from being scriptwriter for the drama.

At school, Ruli asks for the other girls to listen to her presentation, wanting to know why Hayagaki didn't understand her. However, even they end up confused due to the vague nature of Ruli's explanations. Still refusing to give up, Ruli has them train her to convey what she means in a way that makes sense.

The girls have Ruli describe things by thoroughly going over its features, leading her to be able to successfully explain Meruli's character. Despite this, when they have her practice her presentation again with Shiori pretending to be the scriptwriter, Ruli's attempt to use big words causes her to pass out.

She wakes up back in the secret room being taken care of by Shiori, while Mao and Kyōko have already left for Aikatsu Planet. Ruli reveals to Shiori that when she was younger, she had once asked her parents for permission to quit modeling because of a mistake she made at work. In turn, her parents told her that overcoming a mistake would become a treasure for her. After that, Ruli became unafraid of failure by thinking of it as collecting treasures, but she wants Meruli to see things that way as well.

Shiori pretends to be Meruli, thanking Ruli for working so hard. Ruli wishes there was a way she could become Meruli herself, thinking that maybe people would be able to understand if Meruli was the one actually speaking. Suddenly hit with an idea, Ruli prompts Shiori to go to Aikatsu Planet with her and meet up with Hana and Beat.

Izumi leads Hayagaki to Aikatsu Planet at Ruli's request, and the pair find her dressed up in a Meruli costume. By acting it out, Ruli shows Meruli's backstory of being a bear afraid of bees and thus unable to get honey. One day, Meruli is hit with a "melty shooting star", granting him "melty power".

Beat and Shiori arrive, helping act out various scenarios in which Meruli uses melty power to defeat wrongdoing animals and make friends with them. This culminates with Hana's appearance as the villainous Pepper Queen. As Meruli continuously defeats the Pepper Queen's forces, she challenges Meruli to a battle stage. Hana and Ruli perform a duet of "Bloomy＊Smile", with Ruli taking the win for Meruli.

Shiori appears to be captivated by the performance, while Hana as the Pepper Queen surrenders and becomes friends with Meruli. Hayagaki, finally understanding Ruli's feelings behind Meruli, agrees to write the script for Meruli's drama. The drama ends up proving to be popular upon release, with Ruli herself getting emotional despite watching the episodes many times over.

Characters

 * Mao Otoha/Hana
 * Ruli Tamaki/Ruli
 * Kyōko Umekōji/Beat
 * Shiori Motoya
 * Sala Itoi
 * Izumi Watanuki
 * Itsuki Segawa
 * Keito Kirihata
 * Shō Kurosaki
 * Ryōka Dōba
 * Sōichirō Hayagaki

Trivia

 * Episode Title Reference: "Dance the Pompokolin" (おどるポンポコリン) by B.B.Queens
 * The ending sequence mistakenly credits Shiori despite not appearing.
 * This episode features the first instance in which Kyōko wears a skirt with her school uniform.
 * The drama that Ruli mentions having watched is a reference to My Love From the Star.