Akari Ōzora


 * "I used to want to be like Ichigo-chan, however, I now know that I need to find my own light. This is my story!"
 * – Akari as she begins to find her sense of self at the end of Episode 77.

Akari Ōzora (大空あかり Ōzora Akari?) is one of the main characters for the Starlight Academy community who made her debut in the second half of the second season and the 4th collection of the [http://aikatsu.wikia.com/wiki/Data_Carddass_Aikatsu! Data Carddass Aikatsu!]2014 Series. As of Season 3, Akari is the new central protagonist, succeeding Ichigo Hoshimiya. She is a cute-type idol and her primary brand is Dreamy Crown.

Appearance
Akari has magenta eyes and honey brown hair. Her hair is in a layered bob with a bit pulled up into a curled side ponytail by a pink bow.

During her early appearances, Akari had long hair and wore a pink bow, due to the fact that she was a huge fan of Ichigo.

By Episode 96, Akari's hair remains layered, but has grown to where it's medium length.

Personality
Akari is a clumsy, somewhat nervous, yet cheerful girl. She highly admires Ichigo to the point of wanting to be an idol like her. She appears to cry and get frustrated easily, but is determined nonetheless. Akari is also quite resilient and is able to quickly recover from her mistakes.

In Episode 96, Akari has grown into someone who wants to shine with her own light. She has become a hard-working and an even more determined idol who no longer aspires to be like Ichigo. She is no longer clumsy and is still energetic and cheerful, but can be prone comedic antics from time to time, much like her mentor and predecessor.

Etymology
Ōzora (大空?) Ō (大?) means big and combined with Zora (空 sora?) which means sky, Ōzora means big/vast sky.

Akari (あかり?) means light or brightness.

Background
Akari first became a fan of Ichigo when she was in the 4th grade. She had come across the Christmas Special television program (Episode 12) and was amazed at how Ichigo helped out her friends and brought smiles to people faces. Desiring to be like that, she mustered up the courage to help a girl struggling on the uneven beams on her school's playground and after that, began down her road of fandom. It was revealed in Episode 101 that Akari attended Ichigo's unveiling concert for the Mermaid Pisces Coord and was taken by her concert. She decided that she wanted to be an idol and auditioned for Starlight, but didn't even come close to making the cut her first time around.

Surprise! Ichigo's Fan
Akari's official debut was in [http://aikatsu.wikia.com/wiki/Episode_76_-_Great_Shock%E2%98%86Fresh_Girl! Episode 76] of the anime when she appeared in her living room watching the ad for the Starlight Academy Idol Caravan which stated that those who applied and failed to get into Starlight the first time, could try again with this nationwide idol search. Excited, Akari jumped at the chance to not only get into Starlight, but to meet Ichigo as well.

<p style="font-size:16px;line-height:26px;">Akari didn't appear until the very last audition, where before her turn to go on stage came, she was chanting to herself Ichigo's name to prepare for questions that were related to Ichigo. Because she was so focused on repeating Ichigo's name that she didn't hear her audition number being called and when asked for her name, she ended up saying Ichigo's instead. This, along with her overall appearance which by then mirrored Ichigo's, left an impression on the audience and judges. Akari realizes her mistake and properly introduces herself by stating that she isn't Ichigo which earns a laugh from the audience. Thinking as how she may never get an opportunity like this again, she begins stating her true feelings and just how much she admires Ichigo and wants to be like her. How passionate she is noted by Ran and Aoi who call her "intense." Akari then shows the three the picture of her the day she tried to get into Starlight and how she may not be that talented, but she won't back down from her dream without a fight. Ichigo, Aoi, and Ran compliment this and the MC mentions the performance. Akari notes that she may mess up, but she'll give it her all and proceeds to prepare for her audition performance singing, "Idol Activity!."

<p style="font-size:16px;line-height:26px;">Throughout the performance Akari makes mistake after mistake, but between those missteps Ichigo saw an idol in her and because that chooses her as the winner of the final Caravan audition. From there, though still in shock, Akari Ōzora began her path down idol-dom.

Aiming to be an Original Star☆彡
<p style="font-size:16px;line-height:26px;">Having missed the bus on her very first day, Akari is pushing her luggage up the hill to Starlight Academy while singingCalendar Girl. When she makes in to the top of the hill, she begins to shed tears of happiness, seeing that she's finally made it to Starlight. She then takes a picture of herself at the academy's front gates to commemorate this, not knowing that an incredible world would be waiting for her.

<p style="font-size:16px;line-height:26px;">After admiring her picture, Akari crosses over onto the campus in utter glee. A tour guide was waiting for her in the front hall and explains that after the tour, Akari was going to meet the headmistress. Before the tour began, Akari realizes that this was where they announced the results for the her first entry exam. That first time she failed miserably and didn't even come close to passing, but now she's officially a student of Starlight Academy. Once more her excitement wells up and as the tour continues, she notes that many top idols got their start at Starlight and that the school is like a runway for idols. She then begins to take off like an airplane, running around on top of the emblem between the four pillars at the front of the school. After that, Akari's tour guide takes her to Headmistress Orihime Mitsuishi's office. Akari then thanks her and nervously proceeds to knock and head in. Once inside, Orihime introduces herself and congratulates the new idol on passing. She notes that while her singing and dancing is still something to be desired, she can sense the unseen potential in her. Akari questions this and Orihime explains that Ichigo was the judge who passed her, much to Akari's surprise, and states that she must have seen something special and was excited to see what kind of path Akari will take to becoming an idol. After that, Orihime goes through the usual introductions- giving Akari back the coord she chose for her audition, explaining that to performers, the cards are life itself, and compliments her on her choice. Akari receives her student ID and Aikatsu Phone Smart and promises to do her best.

<p style="font-size:16px;line-height:26px;">After the meeting Akari is ready to find her dorm room, but accidentally mistakes the room numbers and walks into Ichigo and Aoi's room. Flustered, she quickly closes the door and collects her thoughts, realizing that it must have been a miracle to stumble upon that room and is grateful to have gotten in, not noticing both Ichigo and Aoi watching her. Ichigo mimics her "guts pose" while Aoi states that she knows exactly how Akari is feeling. Akari is taken to her room by Ichigo and Aoi after that incident and the two wish her luck on her Aikatsu. Inside the room is Yū Hattori, Akari's new roommate. Not long after Akari starts unpacking, she gets a call from her mother saying that she's on TV right now and true enough, she was. Ichigo, Aoi, and Ran were being interviewed about the Idol Caravan and she was being noted because of her intensity, how she stood out, and just why Ichigo chose her. Ichigo revealed that she saw an idol in her, but before she could elaborate time ran out leaving Akari upset at not getting a straight answer. Later that night, Akari receives an email from Orihime, stating that Ichigo wants her to perform with her for her next live leaving her in total shock.

<p style="font-size:16px;line-height:26px;">The next day, while Akari is waiting for Ichigo, she thinks about how she's getting a lesson from her idol which makes nervous and excited. Ichigo then comes in and Akari thanks her for choosing her to perform with all while stuttering over trying to call her "senpai." Ichigo notices how Akari is looking a lot like her again in which the latter replies that she wants to be as much like her as possible. The former tells her that she while she wants to help her as much as possible, she doesn't exactly know what it means to produce so she results to training. The two carry on with Ichigo's unpredictable physical skill ranges impressing Akari continuously. At some point later, after having the latter work on special appeals, the two take a break. Ichigo gives Akari the a copy of the lyrics to "Original Star☆彡," the song they'll perform for the Aikatsu Navi live. When reading the lyrics, Akari comes across the line "aiming to be stars" and tells Ichigo that she's the star she's aiming for, but no matter how much she tries she doesn't come any closer to being like her. This makes Ichigo wonder just why she chose Akari and stays up late looking over the lyrics, finding her answer.

<p style="font-size:16px;line-height:26px;">Morning comes and so does the time for the concert, but before they go on, Ichigo tells Akari that she's the star, not her. She explains that she's an idol who's ready to take the stage which leaves Akari amazed to find that Ichigo wasn't really the star she was aiming for. Ichigo then tells her that the reason she chose her, was because she had a light she couldn't take her eyes off of, the light of an idol, and even though it was small, it was hers. After this, they head to the stage with Akari managing to pull off a Dress Appeal.

<p style="font-size:16px;line-height:26px;">When the performance ended, Ichigo congratulated Akari on a great performance then heads off. Later than night, Akari realizes that she must create her own light and cuts her hair, stating that this is her story, as a sign of her becoming herself.

Relationships

 * Ichigo Hoshimiya
 * Ichigo is Akari's mentor. Akari is a huge fan of Ichigo and at first she wanted to be like her to the point of imitating her appearance and several of her performance habits. She highly admires Ichigo and in return, Ichigo sees a light in her and guides her down her idol path. Ichigo also provides advice for Akari throughout the first half of Season 3, and when she is leaving for Soleil's national tour Akari tells her she will become the Starlight Queen.


 * Yū Hattori
 * Akari's old roommate who encourages her and helps her when she's feeling down.


 * Sumire Hikami
 * Akari´s new roommate after she had to move from her old room. Akari found Sumire to be very mysterious and beautiful and wanted to get to know her better. The two enjoy each other's company and managed to become fast friends despite Sumire being the total opposite of Akari.


 * Hinaki Shinjō
 * Akari admires Hinaki and in return Hinaki is enamored of Akari. The two are positive influences on each other and Akari continues to inspire Hinaki with her freshness.


 * Tsubasa Sena
 * Tsubasa is the creator of Akari's preferred brand, Dreamy Crown. Both are very similar and have a similar sense of determination in reaching their goals.


 * Juri Kurebayashi
 * Akari helped Juri to walk on as actress without her mother's help. They became quick friends. Akari invited her to her home on New Year's Eve for a fashion shoot near the area.


 * Miyabi Fujiwara
 * Akari became Miyabi's first friend when she transferred to Starlight Academy.

Quotes
<p style="font-size:smaller;">– Akari answering Aoi's question in [http://aikatsu.wikia.com/wiki/Episode_76_-_Great_Shock%E2%98%86Fresh_Girl! Episode 76] <p style="font-size:smaller;">– Akari's introduction words in the Season 3 PV
 * "The best thing about Ichigo-chan? Without a doubt, that would be... How she taught me to dream!"
 * "Let's do our best in another day of Aikatsu!."

Trivia

 * Her zodiac sign is Aries.
 * Coincidentally, her birthday is the same day as April Fool's Day.
 * Her favorite foods are watermelons, chocolate, donuts, mandarin oranges, and curry.
 * Her specialty is imitation.
 * Formerly her favorite brand was Angely Sugar.
 * Akari is the second known idol to cut her hair.
 * She is also the second to have a side ponytail as her hair style.
 * She is the first idol to mess up her debut performance.
 * She is the third idol to make a mistake in a CG-animated performance, following Ichigo who tripped during her performance with Aoi in Episode 02 and misstepped during Soleil's performance in Episode 87, and Sakura, who broke down crying during her performance with Otome in Episode 74.
 * Interestingly, all three who made a mistake were cute-type idols.
 * She is the fourth idol overall to make a mistake, following Ichigo, Sakura, and Ran, who made a wrong move during one of her performances as a member of Tristar in Episode 37.
 * Akari is the third person to be shown in a normal school uniform.
 * She is also the third person to attend a Starlight entrance audition in a regular school uniform.
 * She is the first season two character to not share her singer.
 * She is also the first to have a new member of STAR☆ANIS as her singer.
 * She is also the second main character who doesn't share her singing voice.
 * Akari is the first known idol to perform a Dress Appeal in the anime.
 * She's the first known idol to change her basic pose after going through the changing room, and the second known overall to change her pose, first being Mizuki.
 * She is the second idol not to have a primary brand in the season she debuted, following Shion Kamiya, who debuted in season one, but had her primary brand confirmed as Futuring Girl in season two.
 * Akari is the first character to grow her hair out after cutting it and the first character to have had three different hairstyles.
 * She is the first character to use a brandless coord (non-basic) for a performance in season two.
 * She is the first idol to have trouble performing a Special Appeal.
 * She is the second idol to have the color of her school dresses change between seasons (from apricot to pink).
 * Out of all the main characters, Akari has the longest record of performances without having a preferred brand (30 episodes), beating out Mizuki Kanzaki, who wore her first Love Queen dress 27 episodes after her debut.
 * She has a habit of kissing her Aikatsu cards before her performances.
 * Akari has the fastest record of receiving her second Premium Rare Coord (5 episodes as the movie takes place between Episode 112 and Episode 113).
 * She is the first idol to have two autographs that she uses through the course of the series.
 * She is the only main idol to do performances for certain episodes in the anime adaption's second half of season 2 before being promoted to "central protagonist" for Season 3's Aikatsu! anime adaption.
 * Akari is the only idol from Season 2 who didn't have an Idol Aura in her debut performance.
 * Overall she is the fourth character not to have an aura in her debut performance.
 * Akari is one of the few main characters for the Aikatsu! anime adaption to make cameo appearances before her actual debut episode.
 * For this case, Akari made cameo appearances 50 and 51 until making her debut appearance in Episode 76.
 * In homeroom, Akari sits in the same seat as Ichigo did when she was still in Johnny's class.
 * She is the first idol whose aura changed while not wearing a new Premium Rare.