Ako Saotome

**Ako Saotome** (早乙女 あこ) is a main character in the Aikatsu Stars! series. She is a student at Four Star Academy of the Bird Theatre Class and is a member of the 26th and 27th generation of S4. Ako is a pop-type idol whose preferred brand is FuwaFuwa Dream.

## Bio

### Appearance

Ako has long vermilion hair with straight cut bangs and chest length forelocks. A small amount of hair is pulled into a bow shape on the back of her head, giving them the appearance of cat ears from the front. On the right "ear" is a yellow bow with a blue bell attached. Her cyan eyes have a Tsurime-slant.

In Season 2, as a student at Four Star Academy and a member of S4, she wears a specialized uniform for the S4 members.

### Personality

Ako normally appears cool, calm, and collected with a natural flair for acting. She is highly confident and displays a passionate, hot-blooded personality whenever someone else seems to do as good or better than her. When in a foul mood or extremely happy, she acts like a cat. She is deemed cute but strange by others. She gets flustered fairly easy.

## Relationships

* **Yume Nijino**

Ako initially disliked Yume - mainly due to her interactions with Subaru. Whenever Yume tries to be nice to her, she either used to angrily respond. However, they have grown considerably close, to the point Yume was her first choice for a unit partner during the Autumn Festival. Yume later becomes Ako's fellow S4 member.
* **Mahiru Kasumi**

Both of them are shown to be on friendly terms with each other. Mahiru later becomes her fellow S4 member
* **Yuzu Nikaidō**

Ako's fellow Yuzukoshō member and later her fellow S4 member.
* **Tsubasa Kisaragi**

She has a very high opinion of Tsubasa due to the latter's flawless acting skills and unwavering commitment. In return, Tsubasa respects her potential.
* **Laura Sakuraba**

Both of them are close friends with each other. She met her through Yume
* **Kirara Hanazono**

The two are said to have a loggerhead relationship, caused by Kirara "stealing" her supposed brand, FuwaFuwa Dream from Ako. Later, they are shown to have grown friendly with each other, to the point of becoming Double Muses of their preferred brand.
* **Koharu Nanakura**

The two are good friends and partnered up for the Legendary Dress Audition.
## Etymology

**Saotome** (早乙女) **Sa** (早) means early while **Otome** (乙女) means maiden.

**Ako** (あこ) means my child.

## Quotes

"*Yume Nijino! I will most certainly not lose to you! Don’t you forget!*"
– Ako to Yume in the Streets

" *I will pull the Theatre class to greater heights in your stead.*"
– Ako to Tsubasa at the S4 crowning

"*Just you wait, Kirara Hanazono!*"
– Ako after FuwaFuwa Dream's brand muse announcement

"*I feel as though I understand now, somehow. Dresses are made to convey a message from the brand. She simply dedicated her efforts wholeheartedly to that end. In contrast, I single-mindedly tried to create a wonderful dress for its own sake. They were right not to choose me.*"
– Ako after Kirara's debut performance

"*I know just how amazing you are, so much that it hurts. That's what makes me so upset and angry at you! There's more to you than just being someone for Elza-san to watch over. Have you ever considered how many fans you have out there? Look at that. They all love you, look up to you, and want to be a little closer to you. Everyone is watching you, and of course, that includes me.*"
– Ako to Kirara