Koharu Nanakura

Aikatsu Stars! Hoshiboshi no Progress is a new anime film planned for theaters in Japan in early spring 2027. The English meaning of the title is "The Progress of the Stars." Bandai Namco Pictures announced it on July 3, 2026, as part of the tenth birthday of the Aikatsu Stars! TV anime, which first aired in April 2016. A first trailer came out with the news. Some listings give January 22, 2027, as the opening day, but the main reports only say early spring, so the exact date may still change. What excites fans most is the team. The film brings back the main people who made the TV show. Teruo Sato, who directed the series, is directing again. Yuko Kakihara, the head writer of the show, is writing the story. Yukiko Aikei returns to design the characters. In Japanese news, the film was described as the staff coming together again after ten years. The TV series followed Yume Nijino, a girl who enters Four Star Academy, a school for idols (young singing and dancing stars). Students there train in one of four classes, Song, Dance, Theater, or Beauty. The four best idols form a famous group called S4, and Yume hopes to reach that level. Along the way she grows close to Rola Sakuraba, who is both her friend and her rival. The show ran for 100 episodes on TV Tokyo, from 2016 to 2018, and was linked to a Bandai arcade card game where players collect outfit cards. The film's main characters are Yume, Rola, and Mahiru Kasumi, another student from the academy. No real story details have been shared yet beyond the title. Because the word "progress" is in the name, many fans hope to see how the girls have grown, but the official plot is still unknown, so it is best to wait for more news. To get ready for the new movie, the first Aikatsu Stars! film from 2016 came back to theaters. It was shown again under the name Aikatsu Stars! The Movie -Anniversary Stars-, for three weeks at about 70 theaters across Japan from July 3, 2026. There was also a stage event with guests at Shinjuku Wald 9 in Tokyo on July 4. The new film is mainly for people who already know and love the TV series and its music.