is an arcade collectible card game in

Bandai is a Japanese 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, California and Richmond ...

Data Carddass is a series of Japanese arcade game machines created by Bandai, which largely focus around the Digital collectible card game, digital use of collectible card game, collectible trading cards. It is an expansion of Bandai's ''Carddass'' collectible ...

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 hand-drawn and 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 Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...

television adaptation by

BN Pictures , also known as BN Pictures, is a Japanese animation studio and production company. It is a spinoff of Bandai Namco Filmworks (formerly known as Sunrise), a subsidiary of Bandai Namco Holdings. The company was formed as a part of the medium-te ...

aired from April 5, 2018 to September 26, 2019, replacing the ''Aikatsu Stars!'' series. A manga 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 H ...

's ''shōjo'' manga magazine '' Ciao'' 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 ga ...

'' 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

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 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