Episode 02 - Exciting Inspiration

Exciting Inspiration (ワクワクインスピレーション) is the second episode of the Aikatsu on Parade! anime series. It aired on October 12th, 2019.

Summary
Beyond the light behind the door that Raki and the others have opened―Somehow, in that place, there was another idol school right in front of them: Four Star Academy! It seems that there is no way to return to where they came from... With Four Star's idol, Yume Nijino, as their new tour guide, the girls get to see and learn from Mahiru Kasumi's fashion show!

Plot
Mio attempts to get in touch with Tamaki while Coco distressingly admits to not knowing whats going on. Aine isn't too worried because they had the day off anyway, but Raki gets distracted by a nearby poster of Mahiru in a beautiful coord she designed on her own, with Koharu and Yume explaining this to her. They describe Mahiru to the confused Raki and mention that she's holding a Beauty Class Dress Show today. Before they can finish telling Raki everything, the four girls are surprised to find out she's already left in search of it.

Arriving to the event Raki follows behind a trail of Four Star Academy students to the door, only to be denied access by Tamagoro because she isn't a student. Raki steps aside to admire the poster again and she compliments the dress, which is why she must see it for herself. He refuses to let her in though, and he curiously watches as Aine and Mio suddenly show up to grab her and yank her away. Mio gently chastise her for being so careless to go wandering around like this when they don't know the area, but after Raki apologizes Aine agrees that she would have liked to see the dress too. Mio reminds them of what Tamagoro said though, but the girls are approached by Yume and Koharu, who offer to let them come in with them to see it, saying it should be okay because they are all fellow idols, and they already spoke to him and he agreed to it.

As the girls walk through the large, crowded room Mahiru changes into the coord and she appears on stage to perform "MAKEOVER♡MAKEUP".

Afterwards, Mahiru comes on stage and she thanks everyone for coming. While Raki is amazed by her lovely dress, Aine and Mio compliment Mahiru's performance skills as a idol. They are brought back stage with Yume and Koharu to see her and instantly hit it off with her. Raki fawns over her outfit, only for a suspicious Ako to point out not recognizing their uniforms. The girls explain that they come from Star Harmony Academy, but she never heard of it. Raki manages to get back on subject by asking to interview Mahiru regarding her coord and brand, and as this is going on Yume mentions how Koharu used to act like her. While hey like the girls Ako is still on guard and she nearly attacks Aine- only for Aine to fawn over her squishy cat paws and ears, much to her distress. She fawns over how cute "Ako-nyan" is and Ako allows her to stroke her tail as well.

Eventually Yume brings Aine, Mio, and Raki to see Headmaster Hikaru in his office. They are instantly frightened by the atmosphere as he mysteriously attempts to persuade the girls into joining the Academy, seeing unique light in all of them- only for the girls to reject the offer, explaining that they are already idols. He doesn't recognize them, claiming he's done a lot of research on all idols and its impossible for him not to have heard of them, but as Aine explains that she and Mio are in a duo unit known as Pure Palette, he remains confused. He begins fretting being out of touch as Yume explains that she is letting them share her bedroom for the night, and the girls take off.

As everyone is peacefully sleeping Mio steps outside for some thought. She is joined by Yume, who asks if she is feeling okay. Mio explains that she is anxious regarding what happened to them, and while she's glad Aine and Raki are happy, she worries about returning home. Yume can see her concern but she confesses that she's happy to have them anyway, because she believes that as idols they are a lot like stars, in which they are able to give and receive light from each other. The idols do it through the people they meet, so while she doesn't know where the future will lead she believes they will all shine together and can't wait to see it. Just then the girls witness two shooting stars and inspiration strikes the both of them, and they share a laugh noticing their on the same page.

The next morning Raki is woken by Aine, Yume, and Mio, who are changed to do some training. Raki gets up to join them and quickly changes, then the girls -along with Koharu, Ako, and Mahiru- go for a jog. All of them do fine but Raki lags way behind, still not used to it. She remarks on how they all seem fine while she is really worn out, and Aine curiously asks Yume about their training. She leads them to the S4 garden for tea and introduces them to the "Himetrain", in which idols must pretend to sit and remain poised and elegant, smiling through the pain. Aine and Mio try it out and although it hurts, the girls compliment their first time, saying they don't even seem like it- in comparison to Raki, who falls after a couple seconds. Yume then asks the girls what their Aikatsu training is like, so the girls head to a large room with trampolines and they show them how they train their friend appeal.

Eventually the group reach a large cliff, with them all preparing to climb it seemingly aware of what they must do and saying how basic it is. Raki is fairly intimidated, but eager to try and work hard, she joins them in climbing it. But she struggles and keeps slipping while they effortlessly climb it, stopping to assure her that its okay if she needs help or can't do it because she's still new to he experience, but through her willpower Raki forces herself to climb up, eventually joining them on top. The girls then show Raki the amazing view overlooking the area and towards the vast ocean. They explain how only those who work hard at their Aikatsu can experience this, and Aine admits wanting to learn more about their Aikatsu; in exchange, Yume wants to see them perform too.

Later, Yume and Mahiru hosts a segment on "It's Our Job to Shine", a public recording program. They are admired and fawned over by the crowd while Aine, Mio, and Raki stand off to the side preparing to join them on the stage, but noticing how anxious Raki is for her first-time in an event like this they quickly encourage her. But as it turns out she's just very excited to be there, along with her friends, and first Aine and Mio arrive, introducing themselves as Pure Palette, followed by Raki; and while they aren't recognizable to the audience, they quickly win them over with their cuteness. Aine then changes into her chosen coord and appears on stage to perform "Open Your Heart".

Afterwards, the girls return to the stage to compliment her and ask how she felt. She then asks about Yume, noticing she and Mio are gone, and Mahiru reveals they prepared something special in mind, a collaboration stage. Both Aine and Mio change and appear in their chosen coords to perform "STARDOM!".

Everyone compliments the girls ability to become in sync so easily and how wonderful they looked together, and Raki compliments their dresses. As this is going on Hikaru observes from behind the stage.

Characters

 * Raki Kiseki
 * Aine Yūki
 * Mio Minato
 * Yume Nijino
 * Mahiru Kasumi
 * Ako Saotome
 * Koharu Nanakura
 * Hikaru Moroboshi
 * Tamagorō Miwa
 * Coco

Trivia

 * The Rainbow Sky Coord makes its debut in this episode.