Episode 19 - Let it Reach! Friends' Power

Let it Reach! Friends' Power (届け！トモダチカラ) is the nineteenth episode of the Aikatsu Friends! anime series. It aired on August 16th, 2018.

Summary
In order for Pure Palette to win the Star Harmony Cup, Aine aims to raise her abilities. Unusually separating herself from her friends and family, Aine trains extra hard by herself. As a result, though her dancing and singing have improved, she is told by Mio that she's "missing something important"...?

Plot
As Aine and Mio depart from the performance hall, they find everyone abuzz over Maika and Ema's performance. Mio brings up how they managed to evolve their appeal, and by now Aine is beginning to feel intimidated. However, she still wants to win and continue onto the Brilliant Friends Cup. Mio agrees, so Aine asks her for some advice.

Meanwhile, Sakuya checks with her fortune book as she thinks about how excited she felt watching the event. She throws down her dice and observes her book to see "Sealed, talent, impatience", and worries over the daunting trial that will be set before someone she knows.

Aine reveals that she wants to make a "Power-up Plan" for the sake of improving everything that needs worked on. She asks Mio to tell her everything, but she hesitates and points out that in comparison to before, Aine's skills have improved so much that she's practically a new person; she needs to just trust in her efforts and focus on being herself. While Aine seems to understand, she doesn't think it's good enough- she isn't nearly as good as Ema or Maika and doesn't think they can win like this, so she has to try. Understanding her feelings, Mio decides to aid Aine to the extent that she can. She lists various details Aine could improve on and some various tips; such as that she focuses so much that her movements are sloppy, and how she should avoid watching her to make sure their steps match, making bold movements but remain delicate expression wise, don't overthink things, make sure to sing passionately, and so on.

By this point Aine quickly stops her to reveal that her entire notebook has been filled. Mio apologizes, but Aine insists that this will help her, and because she only has until tomorrow she has to hurry up and get to work. It's then Tamaki joins them to reveal that Mio must be leaving now for an interview. Mio wishes her luck and takes off, and with that Aine decides to begin with her dance. She practices everything Mio told her about and crosses them off on her list until she has finished. She's just about to move on when she gets a text from a friend in need of help.

She changes and heads outside to speak to her, and by the time they finish her friend is feeling much better. She thanks Aine for listening and she takes off after wishing her luck. Before she can resume she sees another friend in need of help carrying a heavy item to a classroom. As soon as she's done there she gets another message asking for help.

Eventually the sun begins to set, and Aine worriedly realizes that she at this rate she won't finish. After she gets another message from a friend she decides that she has to think about herself right now and she sends out a message asking that everyone gives her some space until after her upcoming performance. As she hurries on home she doesn't acknowledge a few girls who recognize her and try to greet her, and upon arrival she posts the same message on her door to avoid any disruptions. This leaves two of her siblings worried, but their father comes by to tell them that she needs some alone time right now.

In her bedroom Aine studies the lyrics of the song she and Mio will be performing. She stays up throughout the night until she finishes every last task in her notebook, then happily she steps back to admire her efforts.

However, the following morning when she and Mio practice she's very worn out. Mio is glad she worked really hard and takes note that she made sure to fix up everything she mentioned, but she seems surprised when Aine suddenly asks if they stand a chance at winning now. Her responses causes Aine to worry, and when Tamaki tells the girls they need to leave, she stops Mio to ask her if she's not telling her something. Mio gently tells her that while she is impressed by her improvement, she's lost what makes her special. Aine is confused by this statement, and she starts to feel saddened.

At the performance hall, Coco announces the big event while Maika and Ema take their seats in the audience. They discuss everyone's excitement for the event to begin, and they bring up how Pure Palette will get to put on the final performance and how excited they are to see it. In the back, Sakuya watches with a serious expression.

As they wait, Aine paces the room trying to determine what she could possibly be missing. Mio feels bad for causing her to stress out like this, but Aine is glad she told her. Seeing how worried Aine is, Mio steps out of the room to run into Tamaki. She brings up how unlike Mio this is to suddenly stir up trouble for Aine before a performance, but Mio brings up how important this is for Aine to remember. Otherwise they don't even stand a chance. Tamaki asks if they will make it on time, and Mio promises to do her best to help Aine.

Mio heads out towards the entrance while sadly thinking about Aine until she sees a girl struggling to open the door. Assuming it's Sakuya, Mio helps her and she asks her to do a divining to help Aine. The girl takes out a crystal ball, much to Mio's confusion but the girl says nothing and looks into it. Although she isn't able to see anything- basically meaning there is only darkness ahead, but it's not very important. She gets up to leave, leaving Mio to express concern over her strange behavior. It's then she sees two of Aine's friends and asks them if something happened, but they admit to not knowing as they explain wanting to deliver some snacks. However, she wrote a message on Friendsta -which they show Mio- and now they're not sure. Mio suddenly realizes Aine's problem and she heads off as the next Friends group head onto stage.

Aine practices her steps as a man comes by to warn her that she and Mio should be on standby for their turn next. He takes off and Aine resumes stressing out wondering what to do- just then, a paper plane flies in through the window above the mirrors. She curiously approaches it to find a note has been left for her, asking that she check her mobile. To Aine's surprise she finds that several messages have been left for her, and Tamaki heads into the room to reveal that several fans have been leaving video responses as well, thanks to Mio asking them to send support to Aine. As she watches the video, Aine momentarily tears up when Tamaki tells her that several fans have shown up and are waiting outside for her.

Aine is surprised by the crowd surrounding her, and she listens to them as Mio and her friends rejoin her. Mio explains how it was Iroha and Himari who helped her realize what she had been missing; Aine's Frienergy. Her energy and appeal comes from knowing she's surrounding by her cherished friends, and sealing her frienergy away causes her to lose what makes her special. Aine admits this is true, and that she had been blinded by her attempts at self-improvement. She will make sure to perform for everyone's sake, and with that she and Mio head off to change. Then they reappear on stage to perform "Everyone Everyone!".

After the performance, the girls happily admire the cheering crowd surrounding them. Maika and Ema enjoyed themselves as well and express surprise hearing the overwhelming cries of an encore from the fans. Everyone who performed steps back onto the stage and the groups observe the screen as Coco announces the results. Pure Palette and Honey Cat are neck and neck the entire time, surpassing the other entries by a large amount. Pure Palette pulls out the win by a small margin and the girls embrace after the shock wears off.

As this is going on Sakuya observes the evening sky, then she turns to ask Kaguya for her opinion; revealing the girl from earlier is her twin sister. Kaguya agrees with Sakuya's thoughts on the performance, then goes on to ask if she wants to participate in a future Friends Cup, noticing her sudden interest. Sakuya claims not though, because she doesn't have a partner yet. However, she would like to share the stage with them some day, and she suggests they ask the moon when they get home. Kaguya agrees and they take off.

In the hallway, Tamaki notices how disappointed Ema and Maika are in their loss. They can't figure out where they went wrong, and she admits that in terms of technical ability they had the advantage; but Pure Palette had a larger support from fans. Suddenly Ema thinks about a post she made some time prior and she pulls out her phone to check it, finding a large amount of fan support messages left for them. She wonders if this was the power Aine and Mio had on their side, and it causes them to realize that they don't do this. It's then Aine and Mio show up, but the awkwardness quickly fades and they congratulate their win. They are disappointed by the loss, but next time they will make sure to win. Seeing the girls playful banter causes Tamaki to smile as she continues observing them.

Characters

 * Aine Yūki
 * Mio Minato
 * Maika Chōno
 * Ema Hinata
 * Sakuya Shirayuri
 * Kaguya Shirayuri
 * Tamaki Enjōji
 * Himari Hirata
 * Iroha Inoue
 * Masamune Yūki
 * Nene Yūki
 * Momone Yūki
 * Suzune Yūki
 * Kazune Yūki
 * Yoshitsune Yūki
 * Penne

Trivia

 * The Japanese title of the episode is a pun an combination of the two words, Friends (トモダチ) and Power (チカラ), as one ends and the other starts with Chi (チ).
 * The title is a reference to the chorus of the song, The Thing That's Only There.
 * This episode marks the debut of Kaguya Shirayuri.