Episode 17 - The Encounter of Fate is of the Moon's Guidance

The Encounter of Fate is of the Moon's Guidance (運命の出会いは月の導き) is the seventeenth episode of the Aikatsu Friends! anime series. It aired on August 2nd, 2018.

Summary
The young fortune teller, Sakuya Shirayuri pays a visit to Penguin Café. Sakuya who is known for her accurate predictions give Aine and Mio a reading in regards to their upcoming audition. Understanding the meaning behind the reading, will the two be able to create a big bang?

Plot
In her dark bedroom a young girl sits by herself. She tosses down dice to see what awaits, and she is told where to go in order to have a fantastical encounter. The girl gets up and approaches her closet to observe its contents.

The following day, Aine and Mio observe the upcoming audition for a love story between a human and a lunarian. Not only does Aine swoon over the romance, but because the setting takes place on the moon she's excited by the concept of getting to befriend an Alien. Mio gets her to calm down by reminding her that they don't have the parts just yet. She looks it up and recognizes the name, then brings up that if they were to obtain parts -or privilege- to sing the opening song, it could help propel Pure Palette's name.

As this is going on, the girl from the previous night spies on them from outside. She is caught by Mio and quickly ducks away; only for Penne to startle her. She quickly dashes inside and acts like a customer, but the girls are curious as she attempts to think of an order. Aine approaches to ask if she needs help, and she suggests the tomato, basil, and cheese sandwich. The girl agrees and instantly takes a liking to them. As Aine explains that her family run the shop, she surprises them by revealing she already knows their names, since she often watches them on television. Although she never expected to run into them there. But just then she realizes something, and when the girls resume discussing what coord to wear for the audition, she takes out a book to look at it until realizing how much of a struggle they are having. She offers to lend them as a hand as gratitude for Aine's earlier recommendation.

With the power of divination, she tosses down her dice again and looks into her book. She gets a reading of a "chilled dessert, something refreshing", and the girls determine she must be speaking about the Mint Feuille coord. The duo are amazed that the girl could predict such a thing, especially when they never mentioned owning the coord to begin with, and Aine asks for her name. Sakuya formally introduces herself and surprises Mio, who recognizes her from a popular blog she reads. She shyly admits that it was Sakuya's advice that helped her take the step she needed to ask Aine to be Friends- only for Aine to ask Sakuya if she's an alien. Mio corrects her, but Sakuya's playful responses end up confusing her and surprising Aine. With that Aine asks if Sakuya could do a divining on their upcoming audition and Sakuya agrees, although she reminds them that they are in charge of their destinies either way.

The following day at school, Aine and Mio set fourth their plans to begin training. While Mio isn't too sure about the things they are studying, neither girl wants to let Sakuya's prediction ruin her name if it isn't right. Although she does point out that they don't need to eat "moon dango".

Eventually the day of the audition arrives and the girls begin to feel uneasy seeing the several other girls trying out, but when they spot Sakuya they notice how anxious she looks. They approach to speak to her and Mio admits to not even realizing she was an idol. Sakuya is equally surprised, but she's glad knowing they're there. She confesses that she is extremely shy and usually has someone by her side whenever she goes out, but because they were busy she was on her own and she isn't sure how to handle the situation. Aine and Mio are able to calm her down by offering to help her because they have become friends, but Mio sternly warns Sakuya that they will defeat her with honor and make sure her divination isn't wrong.

It's then everyone is called into a large room to introduces themselves. After Mio introduces herself and Aine are auditioning as Pure Palette, Sakuya takes her turn. She shyly explains herself and her reasoning, and although everyone seems confused, they say nothing of it and she is given the okay from Aine and Mio. With that, Pure Palette, Sakuya, and a group of girls have passed the auditions. Sakuya thanks the girls for their help, although they insist it was her own skill when the man goes on to reveal that their next task will be to act as if they are on the moon in order to make sure the movie is as accurate as possible.

This relieves the duo since they made sure to practice this, and everyone is taken to a room with a trampoline and a large tank of water. As it turns out, eating moon dango was a real test.

Upon finishing, the man announces the finalists for the auditions: Pure Palette, and Sakuya. With that they are taken to the stage in order to test their acting skills. Aine and Mio are given the roles of the two Earth Prince Brothers whose love for one-another and they risk losing the Moon Princess, played by Sakuya. They begin to roll, and Mio's character asks the Princess why she would make such a cruel joke to have come from their enemy's planet. Aine's character tells her to just be honest if she wishes to leave them so much, and she claims she would never do that. She's being honest, but she must return home to make sure neither world falls to a terrible war that would take place if she stays there. As much as she loves them, she must go to keep peace between them. She asks that they someday come to her if they can remember her then, and she flies off.

The scene ends and Sakuya wows those watching by how emotional she came off. It was as if she was an entirely different person. She is surrounded by the many delighted audience and happily observes them as Aine and Mio discuss how much training she must done.

Eventually, Sakuya is tasked with putting on a performance. She is happy to have gotten the role, but it went against the divination for the girls. However, she reads the book again and takes out her cards, suddenly realizing that it's okay. She now understands it. With her chosen cards she changes into them and appears on stage to perform "Guided".

After the performance, Aine and Mio happily listen as the fans discuss Sakuya's elegant moon-themed brand, and they remark on how this was her first large performance on stage as well. They are happy for her progress, and Mio mentions that as Sakuya already has a Premium Rare dress, this just goes to show them that there are many amazing idols other than those they know.

Later, the girls invite Sakuya back to Aine's place and sit down to chat about the divination. Mio feels bad that she was wrong, but Sakuya points out that she accidentally got the wrong page when she did it. Their major idol event will occur down the line, far from now. Mio promises that she will make sure her divination is accurate this time, although Sakuya knows it will be. She brings up how an earlier one she had helped her make new friends, and Aine happily points out that she got to make an alien friend after all. It is revealed that she gave her friend book to Sakuya to fill out a section, and they watch as she slowly drifts off to sleep- using Aine's shoulder as she comments on how comfortable they make her.

Characters

 * Sakuya Shirayuri
 * Aine Yūki
 * Mio Minato
 * Penne
 * Nene Yūki

Trivia

 * This episode marks the debut of Sakuya Shirayuri.
 * The brand Luna Witch makes its debut.
 * The Nocturne Night Coord and Damask Noir Coord make their debut in this episode.
 * The Mint Feuille Frill Coord makes a cameo appearance in this episode.
 * The song Guided debuts as an insert song.