Aikatsu!

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


Aikatsu! (Japanese: アイカツ!?), short for Aidoru Katsudō! (アイドルカツドウ?, lit. "Idol Activities!"), is an arcade collectible card game in Bandai's Data Carddass line of machines, which launched in October 2012. The game revolves around using collectible cards featuring various clothes to help aspiring idols pass auditions. An anime adaptation by Sunrise began airing on TV Tokyo from October 8, 2012. A film adaptation is currently[when?] in production. A Nintendo 3DS game was released on November 15, 2012, with a second released on November 21, 2013. Three manga adaptations have been published by Shogakukan.

Tropes used in Aikatsu! include:
  • April Fools' Day: Ichigo's dad tells his family about his adventures. Subverted, in that his stories are completely true.
  • Ascended Extra: Akari in the third season.
  • Catch Phrase: Aoi's "That's something special". Kii's "Okay. Okay. Okay"
  • Demoted to Extra: In the third season this happens to most of the main characters from the first two seasons.
  • Digital Piracy Is Evil: Subverted, Sumire freely admits to having had her mom make her a copy of a Loli Gothic dress, she earns a Premium Dress in the same episode.
  • Enemy Mine: Invoked with the Twinkle Star Cup, in which Dream Academy and Starlight Academy are challenged to form a unit consisting of one idol from each school.
  • Engrish: Ichigo's approach to speaking English is to say Japanese words that will get the desired response. Most notable "habu naissu ne~" (width is missing) in place of "have a nice day"
  • Exactly What It Says on the Tin: The Loli Gothic brand makes Gothic Lolita dresses.
  • Extreme Omniromantic: Otome, in her debut episode she falls in love with a necklace.
  • Gothic Lolita: The Goth Loli brand specializes in this.
  • Les Yay: Mostly from Akari to Ichigo. But, the Pool Episode has the characters competing for the chance to kiss Mizuki.
  • Loads and Loads of Characters: Counting just the important idols gets you over a dozen characters.
  • Lower Deck Episode: A handful of episodes in the second season focus on new student Akari. She's the main protagonist in the third season, making it a Lower Deck Season.
  • Magical Girl: Every idol in the series.
    • Magic Idol Singer: However, their powers merely give them a change of clothes and allow them to create their own special effects.
  • Once an Episode: The protagonist of the episode performs a song on stage.
  • Once a Season: The Pon-Pon Crepe Image Girl audition. The One-Day Manager Audition is also held every year, but isn't shown in the second season.
  • Only the Chosen May Wear: Premium Dresses can only be made by the head designer of a company, and can only be worn by whomever the designer deems worthy of them. It's stated that the Rose Glass Princess Coord would burn anyone else who tried to wear it. This is probably a metaphor, but you never know.
  • Our Vampires Are Different: Yurika isn't an actual vampire but she usually portrays herself as one in public. Notably, her interpretation of vampires includes the ability to use certain non-blood foods for sustenance such as rose tea, red wine, and tomato juice. As for weaknesses they are vulnerable to both silver and sunlight, but neither one is instantly fatal.
  • The Rival: Starlight Academy and Dream Academy. 2wingS and WM. Seira and Ichigo.
  • Start My Own: Tiara formed Dream Academy because she felt Starlight Academy's entrance requirements were too restrictive.
  • Time Skip: A year passes between the first two seasons.
  • Trademark Favorite Drink: Brain Thunder for Kii.
  • Trademark Favorite Food: Yurika loves garlic ramen.
  • Will Not Tell a Lie: Ichigo's dad won't even lie on April Fools' Day.
  • Your Vampires Suck: Yurika's love of garlic ramen causes a minor scandal.