is an arcade collectible card game in

Bandai is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational toy manufacturer and distributor headquartered in Taitō, Tokyo. Its international branches, Bandai Namco Toys & Collectables America and Bandai UK, are respectively headquartered in Irvine ...

's Data Carddass line of machines, which launched on April 5, 2018. It is the successor and spin-off to the ''

Aikatsu! is an arcade collectible card game in Bandai's ''Data Carddass'' line of machines, which launched in October 2012. The game revolves around using collectible cards featuring various clothes to help aspiring idols pass auditions. An ani ...

'' and ''

Aikatsu Stars! is an arcade collectible card game in Bandai's Data Carddass line of machines, which was launched in May 2016. It is the successor to the '' Aikatsu!'' series of arcade games. The game revolves around using collectible cards featuring variou ...

'' series of arcade games. The game revolves around using collectible cards featuring various clothes to help aspiring idols pass auditions. An

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

television adaptation by BN Pictures aired from April 5, 2018 to September 26, 2019, replacing the ''Aikatsu Stars!'' series. A

manga Manga ( Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is ...

adaptation by Chihiro Komori began serialization in

Shogakukan is a Japanese publisher of dictionaries, literature, comics ( manga), non-fiction, DVDs, and other media in Japan. Shogakukan founded Shueisha, which also founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but are together called the ...

's ''shōjo'' manga magazine ''

Ciao ''Ciao'' ( , ) is an informal salutation in the Italian language that is used for both "hello" and "goodbye". Originally from the Venetian language, it has entered the vocabulary of English and of many other languages around the world. Its du ...

'' from April 3, 2018. The series was followed by a spin-off title, ''

Aikatsu on Parade! is an arcade collectible card game in Bandai's Data Carddass line of machines, which launched on October 5, 2019. It is the spin-off and crossover to the ''Aikatsu!'', ''Aikatsu Stars!'' and '' Aikatsu Friends!'' series of arcade games. The g ...

'' on October 5, 2019.

Plot

Aine Yūki, who is a regular student at Star Harmony Academy's normal division, meets Mio Minato from the idol division, who invites her to join Aikatsu to fulfill Aine's goal to make friends. She also befriends Maika Chōno and Ema Hinata who are also idols. Aine and Mio form a pair to become best friends to become the bright "Diamond Friends". Karen Kamishiro and Mirai Asuka are categorized as "Diamond Friends" and are in the Diamond Class!

Media

Anime

television series produced by BN Pictures began airing on

TV Tokyo JOTX-DTV (channel 7), branded as and known colloquially as , is a television station headquartered in the Sumitomo Fudosan Roppongi Grand Tower in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, owned and operated by the subsidiary of listed certifie ...

from April 5, 2018 succeeding the ''

'' anime series in its initial timeslot. A second season titled "Aikatsu Friends! ~Kagayaki no Jewel~" has been announced, and it aired from April 4 to September 26, 2019, succeeding the first season of ''Aikatsu Friends!'' anime series in its initial timeslot. This was also the last installment of the ''Aikatsu!'' series to be produced in the

Heisei period The is the period of Japanese history corresponding to the reign of Emperor Emeritus Akihito from 8 January 1989 until his abdication on 30 April 2019. The Heisei era started on 8 January 1989, the day after the death of the Emperor Hirohit ...

and the first to be produced in the

Reiwa period is the current era of Japan's official calendar. It began on 1 May 2019, the day on which Emperor Akihito's elder son, Naruhito, ascended the throne as the 126th Emperor of Japan. The day before, Emperor Akihito abdicated the Chrysanthemum ...

Notes

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Aikatsu Friends 2018 anime television series debuts 2018 video games Aikatsu! Bandai Namco games Bandai Namco Pictures Japanese idols in anime and manga Shogakukan manga Shōjo manga TV Tokyo original programming