Coming in April, "Aikatsu's!" New Series "Aikatsu Friends"

The idol-themed franchise “IP Aikatsu!” latest anime project “Aikatsu Friends!” has been confirmed for an April released by Bandai today.

It will be premiering on TV Tokyo and will be making its appearance after the two-season run of “Aikatsu Stars!” ends. Featured in the new series are the two-member unit characters, a first for the franchise, and the concept of “Do Aikatsu! together with friends!”

No cast member has been announced for the series but there are characters whose names have been confirmed. Starting from the top and from the left id Karen Kamishiro and Mirai Asuka, Ema Hinata and Maika Chouno and lastly Aine Yuuki and Mio Minato.

For the story of the series, it takes focus on a friendly girl named Aine Yuuki. She goes to Star Harmony Academy and is taking the general course. Upon befriending the academy’s top idol Mio Minato though, Aine makes the decision to perform with her on the “Aikatsu!” stage and from this also meets other idols named Maika Chouno and Ema Hinata.

After meeting the different idols, she forms a two-member idol unit called “Friends,” and begins a life of balancing school and show business. Together with Mio, Aine aims to be the top idol unit “Diamond Friends” like Karen Kamishiro and Mirai Asuka.

“Aikatsu!” otherwise known as “Aikatsu! Idol Activity” originally launched in October 2012 as an arcade collectible card game. It was part of Bandai’s Data Carddass line of machines and featured a gameplay of helping aspiring idols pass auditions through the use of collectible cards featuring various clothes.

The anime adaptation of the series came out on October 8, 2012 and had a total of 178 episodes before ending in March 2016. Following the anime, the franchise grew with the release of two films, a publication of three manga by Shogakukan and the development of our Nintendo 3DS games published by Bandai Namco Games.

The franchise had even gained a successor for a franchise named “Aikatsu Stars!” which also began as an arcade collectible card game. With this franchise, the anime adaptation for it had come in April 2016 and has around 100 episodes so far. During the course of its run, the series had gained a film which released in August 2016.

Source: Crunchyroll News