The deadline for applications for the Best Friends Cup rapidly approach in episode 31 of Aikatsu Friends!, but neither Aine nor Mio feel that Pure Palette is ready to return. After seeking some advice, the two decide their best course of action is to fight.
Coco conducts (couples’) counselling for Aine and Mio
Pure Palette remain on hiatus, even with the deadline for applications for the Best Friends Cup coming up. Should they miss out on that, Pure Palette will miss the opportunity to become Diamond Friends. However, they hasn’t been the spark they have been looking for and the two still don’t feel ready to get back together.
Chiharu suggests that they try counselling. They go to the counselling room, where Coco gives them a personality test to determine their compatibility.
Aine and Mio: 100% rivals
The results come in, and Aine and Mio discover that they are 100% rivals. This comes as a shock, and apparently only one other Friends unit has had that result in the entire history of Star Harmony Academy.
Ema and Maika remind Mio about the time they clashed
The results of the test leave Aine and Mio feeling down, but fortunately for them they have their friends to support them. Ema and Maika remind Mio of their lacrosse match, and how that helped Honey Cat to take a huge step forward.
Sakuya does some divination for Aine’s sake
Aine ends up bumping into Reflect Moon, and telling them that she and Mio just can’t find anything to trigger that last step. Kaguya says she wouldn’t mind if Pure Palette stays on hiatus, though this earns her a reprimand from Sakuya.
Sakuya decides to ask the moon to help Aine out, and comes up with something about ‘hundred’, ‘home’ and ‘book’.
One of Love Me Tear’s one hundred legendary battles
Following Sakuya’s divination, Aine finds her sisters reading volume 4 of Love Me Tear Legends. She takes a look at it, and discovers that there was a period in time when Love Me Tear put their idol activities on hold. They challenged each other to one hundred battles, and this increased the strength of their bond when they reformed.
Mio challenges Aine to a serious fight
Having read that chapter from the history of Love Me Tear, Aine realises what it is that Pure Palette must do next. Mio reaches the same conclusion, and knocks at Aine’s house in order to challenge her to a serious fight.
Aine and Mio compete in 101 different challenges. Why 101? To go one step beyond Love Me Tear
Since Love Me Tear competed in 100 different challenges, Pure Palette take it one step further and go for 101. After completing 100 challenges, the final one is a live performance. However, Aine has made an oath: if she loses, she is not worthy of being Mio’s rival and won’t accept the restart. Mio makes exactly the same oath.
Pure Palette return to the stage
After the show, Aine and Mio go and find a quiet spot to talk to each other. Aine admits that she stopped caring about winning or losing halfway through their performance, and was just happy to be on the same stage as Mio. Mio feels the same way; being on stage with Aine is her happiness.
Pure Palette reforms
With that, Aine and Mio finally feel ready for Pure Palette to return. Mio even calls Aine her ‘one and only’, and that sentiment is returned by Aine. Even if Aine does get a million friends, she would choose Mio over them all.
Mio also asks Aine a favour: to call her ‘Mio’. Aine had been calling her ‘Mio-chan’ up until now, but dropping the ‘-chan’ shows that the two have grown closer than ever.
I’m sure you’ve figured it out by now, but the other Friends who were 100% rivals? None other than Love Me Tear, of course
Pure Palette and Honey Cat submit their applications for the Best Friends Cup
The episode ends with Honey Cat submitting their application for the Best Friends Cup. Aine and Mio arrive to do the same, proclaiming their restart as Pure Palette.
With this episode, Pure Palette has shot straight back up to being my number one Friends unit. Sorry, Reflect Moon.
I knew that this was going to be a good episode as I saw a decent amount of Aine x Mio fanart on Twitter, and it certainly didn’t disappoint.
Much like Love Me Tear, Pure Palette have returned with a stronger bond than ever. This is excellent payoff for the past few episodes – Pure Palette’s split, and then Aine and Mio’s solo outings.
The confession on the Ferris wheel during an earlier episode of Aikatsu Friends! was excellent, but I feel that Aine and Mio’s little chat here was even better than that. Aine dropping ‘-chan’ from Mio’s name is a very important indicator of their relationship. I was looking forward to Pure Palette’s return, and this episode delivered exactly what I was hoping for.
It was a delight to see Pure Palette back on stage together again after a while, as well. An all around excellent episode.
Rory Muses 