Episode 03 - The Unexpected Mermaid

The Unexpected Mermaid (マーメイドはとつぜんに) is the third episode of the Aikatsu on Parade! anime series. It aired on October 19th, 2019.

Summary
Hearing that Yume is about to have her regular showcase for Rainbow Berry Parfait, Raki expresses her excitement to see the show sooner. Raki then listens to the feelings in which Koharu, who designs the dresses together with Yume, puts into the dresses. Then, for some reason, they all end up joining the shooting for the drama that Ako Saotome is the main lead in!?

Plot
At the S4 garden, Mio discovers a report about the "mysterious super idols" -her, Aine, and Raki- who are quickly garnering a lot of attention. Mahiru and Ako aren't that surprised though, explaining that their appearance on S4 TV was bound to get them noticed, and Mio's collab with Yume also helped. The girls ask her when she got the time to practice and she explains that it was while they were sleeping, causing Aine and Raki to state they want to collab with other idols too.

Mio apologizes as Yume and Koharu join them to see if they got in touch with Tamaki yet, but when she confesses that she hasn't they try to think up another plan. Just then, Yume mentions that they will be holding the seasonal Rainbow Berry Parfait show and invites them to come and see it. The trio quickly agree after Koharu explains being the designer of it to Raki; who in response quickly dashes off in excitement.

On location Raki dreamily admires the beautiful dress before her along with other admirers in the exhibit hall. She remarks on the use of lame as Mio and Aine join them, and as Mio comments on how one should avoid overusing Lame and how this design carefully took that into mind, Raki jots down some notes for future reference. Aine compliments her diligence and how she treats everything like a learning experience, causing Raki to once more voice her love of dresses and how they make her feel, comparing it to an uplifting, magical feeling. Aine is surprised and asks if she has times when she feels down- but she momentarily catches them off-guard them after saying she doesn't. Yume and Koharu can relate though, and Raki asks to see Koharu's designs she has drawn and the girls happily observe her as she takes everything in, and they begin to look with her and admire the designs.

After Raki turns the page, Koharu introduces them to the "Rainbow Etoile" coord, then Raki asks Koharu what she does whenever her designs don't come out the way she imagined they would. Koharu thinks for a moment before responding, and she takes out a candy and offers it to Raki. She accepts it and Koharu explains that sometimes taking a moment to distract one-self helps give them a chance to become grounded again, and if they're not still struck by inspiration then to try asking a friend for an opinion. She points out that the Rainbow Etoile dress wasn't completed on her own, that Yume and her exchanged opinions until settling on the final design. She asks Yume if she remembers, and they recall how it led to them getting into a fight due to Yume's refusal to budge and Koharu's attempts to rely on only herself. The girls share a laugh and this leads Aine and Mio to recall when they made their first Friends Dresses, when she left everyone to Mio at her insistence, but Mio got too overwhelmed and found it hard to come up with anything until they mixed themselves together to create something wonderful. Raki takes this to heart as someone knocks on the door to inform Yume and Koharu the show is about to begin. They change into their chosen coords and appear on stage to perform "Message of a Rainbow".

Afterwards they thank the audience as the trio admire their performance and outfits from the audience. Raki is very excited as she thinks about the dresses she's seen belonging to the girls- but there is still someone left.

Meanwhile, Ako -playing the role of a princess- refuses to return to the sea with someone. She explains that while she may miss it she is an Idol now and it will never happen. The scene ends and they begin to fix up her hair while Director Okamoto compliments her. Just then someone runs up to inform them that the bus the actors were on got delayed due to traffic and won't be able to make it on time. Ako insists it will be fine and she starts to try to think up a solution when Raki, Aine, and Mio run up to her seeing as she's on break; and this instantly gives her an idea. She gives the costumes to the girls and explains what happened, and mentions that she doesn't have anyone else to ask. While Mio and Aine are hesitant, Raki refuses to ignore someone in trouble and she thinks it would be a great opportunity to join Ako like this. Aine agrees and Mio slowly reconsiders, and Ako hands over the script to explain that their roles will be of the three merfish sisters. They have come to take her away from the surface to convince her to return to the sea.

Before they begin Ako gives them some encouragement by suggesting they act naturally, rather than focus on their role. The filming begins and while Aine and Mio easily convey their feelings with Ako, Raki freezes up and gets flustered for a moment- only to claim she agrees with "Marissa" -Ako's character- and says that she is very serious about her idol activities so it doesn't make any sense. Aine and Mio hesitantly agree and Ako thanks them, and once the scene ends the Director compliments the girls, along with Ako, who compliments Raki's bold response but she claims to like it. While Raki and Aine are happy, Mio gently scolds her for doing this and states that it might not have went as well as it did. Ako thanks the girls again for their help but recalling they had come to her, she asks what they wanted. Raki explains how she wanted to see the types of dress Ako wears, so she asks that she show her a performance as well. Ako agrees since the filming is done for the day so it won't be hard to set up something last-second, but she decides to have Raki join in because it would be more fun this way.

As the girls stand behind the performance area with Ako, Mahiru wanders through the crowd until she spots Koharu and Yume. Ako pulls out her cards and changes as the trio head to the audience, then Ako appears on stage to perform "August Marina".

Afterwards Ako runs back to meet Aine, Raki, and Mio after they compliment her performance and outfit, and she lets Raki take her turn next, but Raki is so excited that she's become anxious. Ako suggests she relax by taking a breath and they are able to calm her down. She changes into her coord and appears on stage to perform "Your Entrance". In the audience, Mahiru, Yume, and Koharu compliment how confident someone so new like Raki is and how they're eager to see how she'll grow as an idol.

That evening Raki recalls that she forgot her Idol Pass and steps back to retrieve it. But when she picks it up it starts glowing and the door portal opens up again, and as Mio and Aine join her they see the door and remark on how familiar it looks. Raki opens it and the girls are taken back into the door room, wondering if they can return home. However, they don't know which door is theirs until one opens, and the girls quickly run through it to find they are back at Star Harmony. Tamaki runs up to the girls worried and asks what happened, but when they mention Four Star Academy, but they weren't able to reach her from there. She doesn't understand though and reminds them of the midterm recital, and as its been a couple days Raki asks if it's still going on. Tamaki responds that it just started, which shocks the trio as they return to find she isn't lying. The trio are very confused and uncertain of whats going on, and as if to confirm its true Raki reaches into her pocket to pull out the candy Koharu gave her. They are very happy to see that their time with Yume and her friends was indeed real.

Meanwhile, two girls donning Starlight School uniforms appear and look around. Neither Juri or Hinaki recognize Star Harmony Academy and they worriedly try to determine where they have arrived to.

Characters

 * Raki Kiseki
 * Aine Yūki
 * Mio Minato
 * Yume Nijino
 * Mahiru Kasumi
 * Ako Saotome
 * Koharu Nanakura
 * Juri Kurebayashi
 * Hinaki Shinjō
 * Tamaki Enjōji
 * Jirō Okamoto