Episode 01 - Let's Open It! The Door to Aikatsu!

Let's Open It! The Door to Aikatsu! (あけちゃお！アイカツ！のトビラ) is the first episode of the Aikatsu on Parade! anime series. It aired on October 5th, 2019.

Summary
Raki Kiseki's dream is to make her own premium rare dress. On her first day at the idol school Star Harmony Academy, she meets Aine Yūki and Mio Minato. Soon after, it's time for her to do Aikatsu and shine on stage. But then, Raki's Aikatsu Pass begins to shine...!?

Plot
Surrounded by science equipment and glowing technology, a woman observes the Aikatsu Pass nearby. Soon, the world of her and her sister will begin opening the path of doors leading to other idols.

Arriving home, Saya finds Raki still asleep, where she dreams that she is in an Aikatsu corridor preparing to change clothes. She admires the cards in her hand and thinks about how much effort it took for her to get there, and how she's met so many wonderful idols who inspired her. She steps onto the stage before a full audience and announces her one of a kind dress- just to suddenly wake up and fall on the floor. Saya greets her and reminds Raki that she'll be running late for her first day of school. Raki panics and hurries to get ready, eagerly taking the Aikatsu Pass her sister picked up for her. She assures her that she will give her everything to Aikatsu and takes off.

As Raki runs to Star Harmony Academy she excitedly narrates who she is to the audience, but by the time she finishes she realized she's gotten lost. She feverishly attempts to find out where she is deep within a forest, while nearby Aine and Mio have arrived for a job. They are greeted by the staff when Tamaki discovers a student is missing, and out of concern they ask her whats going on. She explains that the new student they were waiting for couldn't find the school, but they don't know what she looks like either.

Just as the girls ponder what they should be looking for, they find a boat passing by with a bewildered girl standing on it and realize she must be the student. Raki is delighted upon realizing it was Pure Palette who helped her and they exchange greetings. Mio goes on to ask why Raki got onto the ferry of all things, and Raki admits that because she's new to the area she just decided to get on it, even when she didn't know where it was going. She's always been impulsive like that, wanting to press any button and open up any door in front of her. While Mio is confused -and brings up the importance of being on time- Aine completely agrees and mentions her little brother is like that. Raki is very happy that even if she got lost, she did get to meet them, so she considers this to be a lucky event. Tamaki returns to reveal that she can stay with them until the girls finish work, then they will go back to school together.

As the girls get dressed and begin their photo-shoot, Raki decides to take notes to further her learning and inspirations. She brings the girls some drinks and requests asking them some questions. She admires their Pure Palette Friends coords and impresses them with her attentive details, asking her if she is studying fashion. Raki admits that she likes casual fashion and dresses, and she often gets ideas for designs and likes drawing them. She shows the girls and earns some compliments, so she mentions that her childhood dream is to become an idol wearing a Premium Rare dress of her own design. Mio compliments her hard work and with Aine, they are convinced that she will achieve her goal someday.

Returning to school, Raki is caught off-guard when the girls tell her "see you soon". Tamaki informs her that this is because the middle school is having its midterm recital in the afternoon, and Pure Palette is a guest so they will be putting on a performance. Raki is very excited, until Tamaki reminds her that she's expected to perform as well, which makes her panic again.

In the auditorium, Chiharu prepares to give Raki the necessary items she'll need, but she expresses confusion when Raki reveals she already owns an Aikatsu Pass. She explains that her older sister is an Aikatsu Engineer and has been preparing the system for her debut, she even has a coord prepared in advance. She also has her song and dance prepared, because her sister warned her about this upcoming event. Chiharu is pleased to hear this, and she goes on to explain that until its her turn, she may watch the other entrants from the audience.

The Recital begins and Aine and Mio step on stage to greet everyone and give them some words of encouragement. They realize the girls are probably nervous, which is why they will put on a performance for them to show how much fun it can be and to see that they are cheering them on. After changing into their coords the girls return to stage to perform "Everyone Everyone!".

Raki admires the brilliant shine of their coords during the performance, and seeing how much they glow just standing on stage earns further admiration. She is called for her turn, snapping her out of her awe and she returns backstage to find Aine and Mio in the changing corridors. They wish her luck after she expresses that she isn't nervous, deciding to just be happy she got this chance to be there now. Aine and Mio explain that they will be behind the scenes supporting everyone and lending a hand if necessary, and they bring her to the Aikatsu Machine and explain how it works. Raki anxiously places her cards down, and the machine begins to glow. She changes into her coord and appears on stage to perform "Your Entrance".

Aine and Mio compliment Raki when she returns to their side, expressing how impressed they were by her natural talent as a new idol, and how her image was very fresh. Raki admits that she feels giddy over this and picks up her card; when suddenly it begins to glow. A strange, large door appears in front of them. As they wonder what is going on Raki happily approaches the door and excitedly opens it to see whats inside, and  they are led to a realm full of various doors. She asks the girls, but their confusion causes her to yell out in an attempt to get a response. Mio turns to discover the door they came through is also shut, so they can't return the way they came.

Raki presses on another door and it opens. With no other choice the girls step through it to reappear at a school they don't recognize as the door vanishes behind them. As Raki admires the sea before them Aine contacts Coco in hopes she can tell them where they are at. But when she doesn't recognize the location the girls decide that for now all they can do is explore. They start at the entrance but do not recognize Four Star Academy as a school near them. As they try to determine where they ended up a large group of girls rush past them to greet the Top Idols who are arriving; surprising Raki as she's never heard of anyone surpassing Pure Palette. The trio follow their lead to observe Yume and Koharu as they step out of the limousine and approach them, equally confused by the sight of three strange girls in uniforms they never saw before.

The four girls observe each other in silence, but when they realize they know Aikatsu, everyone is amazed as they recognize each other as idols. As they girls begin to speak, Raki asks to join them as a brand new idol and they agree, giggling as they observe her energetic response.

Characters

 * Raki Kiseki
 * Aine Yūki
 * Mio Minato
 * Yume Nijino
 * Koharu Nanakura
 * Sāya Kiseki
 * Coco
 * Tamaki Enjōji
 * Chiharu Hachiya

Trivia

 * This episode marks the series premiere of the Aikatsu on Parade! series.
 * This episode marks the debut of Raki Kiseki.
 * The brand Maple Ribbon makes its debut in this episode.
 * The Charmy Ribbon Coord makes its debut in this episode.
 * The opening theme song, Your Entrance and the ending theme song, Idol Activity! On Parade! Ver. is first used in this episode.
 * The song Your Entrance also debuts as an insert song in this episode.
 * The Pastel Purple Line Coord, Rainbow Sky Coord, Lady Pink Crown Coord, Bless Aurora Coord and Pastel Fin Pisces Coord make a cameo appearance in the opening.
 * The Tops Card of the following coords make a cameo appearance in the opening:
 * Aikatsu!: Blooming Coord, Milky Way Cosmic Coord, Pierrot Carnival Coord, Oriental Libra Coord, Hagoromo Princess Coord, Dolly Leopard Coord, Rose Bonbon Coord, Candy House Coord, Tyrolean Aries Coord, Fluffy Monster Coord.
 * Aikatsu Stars!: Arabian Sparkle Coord, Dreaming Princess Coord, Rosetta Thorn Coord, Rock My Heart Coord, Floral Fantasia Coord, Spice Rock Coord, Daylight Festival Coord, Innocent Prince Coord.
 * Aikatsu Friends!: Aurum Snow Coord, One Night Mirage Coord, Nocturne Night Coord, Bouquet de Fleurs Coord, Shakin' Party Coord.
 * This episode shows that there are other Aikatsu! universes other than the ones portrayed in the Aikatsu! franchise. However, the ones that are the most closely linked to each other would be those of Aikatsu!, Aikatsu Stars! and Aikatsu Friends!.
 * This episode marks the return of the Aikatsu Aphorism at the end of each episode.