Episode 04 - The Aspired My Brand

The Aspired My Brand (憧れのマイブランド) is the fourth episode of the Aikatsu Friends! anime series. It aired on April 26th, 2018.

Summary
Idols become fully-fledged when they obtain their own brand. Taking advice from Chiharu, a stylist at her production company, the still rookie idol Aine goes to look for a brand that fits her. Although there are various brands, nothing seems to click. In this time, Aine has a fateful encounter!

Plot
As part of the Star Harmony Academy's new student debut concert, Aine is expected to put on a performance. Tamaki points out that she may not be a new student of Star Harmony, but she is new to the Idol division and this will be her first real debut. Aine is surprised as Mio joins them to congratulate her, and she brings up how popular the debut event is; several Idol fans tune in to check it out. Hearing this, Aine is further encouraged to put on a wonderful performance.

Later, Penne sees off customers while Mio helps Aine prepare for her concert. The most important thing is the song and dance portion- as well as the chosen attire. This is the time when the Idols determines what brand they will use for their career, so to help Aine she brought a fashion magazine. As Aine fawns over the variety of clothing, Mio points out that it is important to choose a brand that befits the users personality and the type of Idol they want to be seen as, and when she sees Aine struggle to make up her mind, she suggests using instinct to choose.

As Aine resumes looking, Momone comes by with a free dessert for Mio. Aine scolds her by saying their mother wouldn't like that- but Momone is quickly distracted when she spots a magazine featuring the new coords by Material Color. She claims she would love to wear a coord from the brand one day; but to her disappointment Penne forces her to leave the room at this point. Mio appears momentarily taken with the penguin as he flashes her an expression, but she snaps out of it after Aine apologizes for the distraction. She claims it is fine, then asks if she found anything yet.

She admits that while it helped her, with so many options she can't make up her mind. She asks Mio what caused her to decide to make her own brand, and Mio recalls that it had been a decision she made prior to becoming an Idol. She had done a lot of analytical work to decide what style she liked, then she went to a fashion store to try something on that would be similar to it. It's then Aine interrupts to ask Mio if she was still a child in grade school at this point, then remarks on how overly prepared she was. Mio laughs and Aine asks her what type of image she gives her. She suggests that she speaks to Chiharu instead, a staff member from school who specializes in styling. Aine recalls meeting her and decides to take her up on the idea.

The following day Aine steps in a large, dark room to find nobody inside. She walks through it until she spots a sketched decision laying on the desk, curiously enticed by the name Sugar Melody. Just as she makes her way back to the door, she runs into the startled Chiharu, and she agrees to help her after being filled in on what is going on. She offers Aine some tea before being asked her if Sugar Melody is a brand she made, but Chiharu insists it isn't; she only draws coords as a hobby. Aine expresses disappointment hearing this and observes another sketch before joining Chiharu at a table, where they proceed to look through some coords Chiharu believes are befitting her appearance.

While interested in all of the combinations, Aine asks to try them all on for the time being, then asks her for a personal opinion. After a moment Chiharu claims Candy Party, a pop-type that suits her energetic personality, and delighted by the answer, Aine heads out to the brands headquarters.

A few hours later she returns with rejection, explaining how Candy Party was too full at the time, so they couldn't take on another Idol. Chiharu feels badly for her but isn't surprised, due to its popularity at the time. However, Aine adds that she almost got the brand; but a girl showed up shortly before her- it wasn't a total loss though, because they became friends. The girl is named Nako, and she comes all the way from Nagoya. She loves Candy Party and really wanted to wear the clothing. Chiharu feels bad that Aine wasn't accepted, but Aine claims it's fine because she saw how much Nako loves the brand. Before leaving she asked Nako to see what coord she was given and took a few pictures with her. Chiharu expresses amazement upon hearing this, and Aine brings up her desire to make one-million friends.

With that knowledge, Chiharu muses over Mio scouting Aine as a partner and then suggesting she become an Idol. She takes this into account and suggests she uses the cute-type brand "Girly Girly" instead. Aine leaves for the office but returns, once again rejected- but this time because the designer is away holding a show overseas. By now Chiharu feels remorse, mentioning that she should have checked before sending Aine out for nothing twice now, but Aine is fine since she made another new friend. She shows Chiharu the book she uses to record her friendships and mentions how the woman at the desk had been so kind, she offered her a tour of the building, and they became friends.

Noticing how distracted Chiharu is, Aine requests another brand but after noticing the time, Chiharu suggests that she come back the next day, when she will gather a few more for her. Aine agrees and she takes off, leaving Chiharu to observe her sketches again.

That night Aine lays in bed and expresses concern over finding herself a brand. But as she tries to sleep she thinks about Chiharu's designs and finds herself overwhelmed by a new feeling.

The following day, Aine is in the middle of dance training until Ken calls a break. He compliments Aine and mentions how much she has improved since she started, and she happily encourages him to continue. She is momentarily distracted when Mio suddenly shows up with a drink for her, and she takes a moment to change clothing and rejoins her outside.

As Mio watches her, she teasingly brings up that Aine could probably work for a drink brand due to her lively response, but Aine gets overwhelmed in her attempt at playing the part. Mio discusses how much someone could obtain by sponsoring a drink, but the subject quickly changes and she asks if she has come to a decision yet. Aine sadly explains what happened the prior day but Mio reminds her to take her time so that she finds the right brand that will spark her interest. Suddenly, Aine proclaims that she is in love- shocking Mio as she happens to spot Ken nearby, instantly fearing the worst after recalling how they interacted earlier. Hearing how dedicated Aine is to confessing her feelings, Mio panics and tries to talk her out of it while she makes her way towards Ken- then walks right past him. Her words of confessing to Chiharu leave them both highly confused.

Aine rushes to Chiharu's office and asks to wear Sugar Melody as her brand- much to Mio's relief, considering she followed her from outside. Chiharu reminds her that it isn't a brand though, but Aine refuses to take no for an answer, asking if she could debut it when she performs. She recalls the feeling she got after seeing the designs, and how she's been thinking about them non-stop. After a moment of silence, Chiharu takes a moment before remarking on how special Aine is as she remembers what led her to making coord design a hobby. In the past she dreamed of becoming a designer, but her teacher was very critical and didn't believe Chiharu had the assertiveness necessary for the job. She could see that she wanted it, but she lacked the passion.

Seeing that this feeling has been found, Chiharu decides that she will make Sugar Melody a reality for Aine. Aine happily thanks her, but Chiharu states it is she who should thank Aine. She was hoping she would say this, because she spent the previous night finishing her design because of her. Mio reveals herself to them in order to congratulate Aine, and Aine promises to work twice as hard to make her designs shine brightly. Inspired by the turn of events, Aine continues to train and focus on improvement while Chiharu works on her designs.

Eventually she sits down with Tamaki and Mio and they discuss the turn of events over tea. It suddenly occurs to Aine that Mio must have taken part in the debut concert. Mio confirms her curiosity and brings up how nervous she originally was until she saw how everything looked from where she stood on stage. She couldn't contain her excitement any longer and has since only focused on Aikatsu. Tamaki also points out that Mio won the Audience Choice Award from the event, and shows her a picture, causing Aine to remark that since then Mio has appeared to mature and gained more experience as an Idol. Mio begins teasing her as a response as Tamaki notices their budding friendship.

On the day of the performance various fans, family, and classmates show up for the event. Behind the stage Aine thanks Chiharu for her design as she admires the cards in her hands, and Chiharu mentions basing the design on her specifically, so it is a special design only for her. Eagerly Aine takes the cards and changes into the Little Charmant Coord, appearing on stage to perform "Thank You⇄It'll Be Alright".

Time passes as a few girls walk by a mysterious girl standing by herself. Hearing them discuss Aine and how her amazing performance went, the girl turns on her phone and greets Coco, asking her for information about Aine. In turn, Coco explains that Aine is a new Idol who transferred from the normal track of the school to become an Idol. Aine recently won the same Audience Choice Award as Mio, and the girl begins observing an article about her brand, Sugar Melody. The girl remarks on how good Aine is for being able to help Chiharu- but after hearing that Aine put on her first performance with Mio she is inspired to seek Aine out. With a smile she heads down the corridor.

Characters

 * Aine Yūki
 * Mio Minato
 * Tamaki Enjōji
 * Chiharu Hachiya
 * Ken Mayuzumi
 * Maika Chōno
 * Coco
 * Momone Yūki
 * Masamune Yūki
 * Nene Yūki
 * Kazune Yūki
 * Suzune Yūki
 * Yoshitsune Yūki
 * Penne
 * Himari Hirata
 * Iroha Inoue

Trivia

 * The Little Charmant Coord makes its debut in this episode.
 * The song Thank You⇄It'll Be Alright debuts as an insert song.
 * The brand Sugar Melody makes its debut.
 * During Aine's conversation with Nako, the poster behind her features Ichigo, Akari, Yume, and Hime from the previous Aikatsu! series.