Yohane’s Magic

Yohane the Parhelion: Sunshine in the Mirror Episode 9 gave us a bit of lore regarding Lailaps. As you’ll know if you’ve read my previous reviews, I’m not convinced everyone can hear her. But, I’m sure that Yohane can.

As far as I know, we’ve never seen Lailaps talk to anyone other than Yohane. So, it could also have been possible that it’s all in Yohane’s head. She could believe Lailaps is talking to her as a coping mechanism for being lonely. Well, at least that was a possibility until Episode 9.

We now know that Lailaps can indeed speak. Though, it’s still up for debate whether or not anyone other than Yohane can hear her. But, at this point, I’m going to predict that they can but haven’t. What I mean by that is that Lailaps could talk to them, but she chooses not to.

So, why am I saying that we now know that Lailaps can speak? Well, at the start of Episode 9, we saw a flashback of Yohane and Lailaps when they were younger. And in this flashback, Yohane “casts a spell” on Lailaps to make her a “cute little sister who can talk.”

Yohane doesn’t seem to realize it, but this spell worked. The issue is that Yohane hasn’t put it all together. She doesn’t realize that it was this spell she thought was make-believe was real. And, Lailaps tries to tell her that.

In Episode 8, Lailaps tried to tell Yohane that her staff isn’t the source of her magic. And in this episode, she tried to tell Yohane that her magic far precedes the staff. Yohane has always been able to use magic. Unfortunately, she doesn’t give Lailaps the chance to explain it.

Investigating Lailaps

When Yohane won’t get out of bed at the start of the episode, Lailaps goes out on her own. Of course, she knows that this will get Yohane to get up. There’s no way Yohane could resist following her to see what she’s up to.

As we know, this was all part of Lailaps’s plan to lure Yohane to the spot where they met. When Yohane was younger, she met Lailaps while lost. And, today is the anniversary of that meeting. So, there’s no better time for Lailaps to reveal that Yohane could always use magic.

But, what this also revealed is that Lailaps is very much her own person. Despite referring to Lailaps as her sister, Yohane doesn’t view Lailaps as independent. Sure, she views Lailaps as more than just a pet. However, Yohane can’t accept that Lailaps could have her own life separate from hers.

While tailing Lailaps, Yohane, Riko, and Ruby learn a lot of things about her. It turns out that Lailaps regularly helps people around Numazu. She gives old people rides, plays with children, and does various other odd jobs. Basically, she does all the things Yohane has been doing.

But, it doesn’t seem that Lailaps is imitating Yohane. Remember, Yohane was away in the city for a while — a few years, if I’m not mistaken. What do you think Lailaps was doing all that time? Why do you think Lailaps is so familiar with the town and its people?

On top of all that, Yohane realizes that she doesn’t know everything about Lailaps. And, I’m pretty confident that this will be one of the most important realizations for her. This is what’s going to make her want to stick around in Numazu. She’ll want to learn more about Lailaps.

Find Lailaps

Alright, so Episode 9 was all about finding Lailaps after she went missing. But, she was never really missing. She was trying to direct Yohane to the place where they first met. However, I’m going to predict that Lailaps will go missing in one of these final episode.

The final scene of Episode 9 was pretty powerful. Lailaps tries to tell Yohane that she’s always had the ability to use magic. But, she’s interrupted by the rest of the Aqours girls showing up. And then, as Yohane is talking to them and ignoring Lailaps, we get a shot slowly zooming out from Lailaps.

To me, this is foreshadowing that Lailaps is going to leave Numazu. Now that Yohane has friends, she has no more need for Lailaps. The whole reason she spent her childhood with Lailaps is that she couldn’t make friends.

This is how I’m expecting Lailaps to take things. She’ll believe she’s no longer needed and go off on her own. But, of course, that’s not actually true. Even though Yohane has other friends, she still needs (and wants) Lailaps around.

After going missing, Lailaps is also probably going to get caught up in the calamity. After all, that was never actually resolved, despite what Yohane thinks. We’ll likely see Lailaps acting in an aggressive manner and with red eyes. You know, like the deer from earlier in the season.

Yohane (and the other girls) will come to her rescue.

This is when Yohane’s going to stop the calamity with the power of her song. It’s still a bit unclear how her song is going to stop the calamity. But, we know her music is magical. And we can be pretty sure her singing is what’s going to bring Lailaps back to her senses.

Conclusion

What do you think of Yohane the Parhelion: Sunshine in the Mirror Episode 9? Were you expecting the twist that Yohane gave Lailaps the ability to speak? What was the most surprising thing we learned from following Lailaps? And, do you expect Lailaps to get caught up in the calamity? Let me know in the comments.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to share it with everyone you know. Also, follow me on your social media of choice so you don’t miss out on any future articles — links are in the footer.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman and JasonHK for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about becoming a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

My review of Episode 10 is available now.

Fun at the Numazu Festival

Yohane the Parhelion: Sunshine in the Mirror Episode 8 was pretty good. And one of the best things about it is that it added more credibility to my Lailaps conspiracy theory. Only Yohane can hear Lailaps talk. Everyone else hears dog (wolf) noises.

Now, my question is, “Does Yohane even actually hear Lailaps?” I assume Lailaps is actually speaking to Yohane and she understands. But, it’s also possible that Lailaps is a normal wolf with no magic powers. Everything Lailaps “says” could be all in Yohane’s head.

Anyway, that’s a discussion for another time. There’s something even more pressing I need to talk about: Numazu’s writing system. Have you noticed that all (or most) of the writing in Numazu is actually in English?

This is something I noticed a while back. But, if you hadn’t noticed, look at the image below of Mari explaining Warshimer Island to the kids. It says, “You should come!”

As you can see, Mari’s stand at the festival is all about educating the people of Numazu about her home. She wants people not to be afraid of her, her ghost friends, and the island.

But, Mari isn’t the only Aqours member with a stand at the festival. Riko’s stand is right next door, where she teaches kids about animals. You’s stand sells promotional mail products. Chika’s stand sells shaved ice (orange-flavored, of course). And Hanamaru’s stand sells baked goods, with the help of Ruby.

Then, there’s Kanan’s stand, which is a shooting gallery. And, finally, Yohane has a fortune-telling stand. Though, she spent more time working at the neighboring takoyaki stand.

The final member of Aqours, Dia, doesn’t have a stand. As the head of the village (or whatever her role is), she’s overseeing the festival.

The Missing Staff

Obviously, this episode wasn’t going to be all about having fun at the festival. There had to be some drama. And that drama came when Yohane misplaced her staff. When going to play Kanan’s shooting gallery game, she put it down and forgot to pick it back up.

She only realized her staff was missing once the time for her performance was getting close. In her mind, her staff is what gives her the power (courage) to be able to sing. But, as Lailaps tries to tell her, that’s not true.

Still, Yohane needs to find her staff or she claims she won’t be able to sing. So, the rest of the girls pitch in to help her find it. And, in the end, Lailaps finds the staff stuck to the top of the float. But, how did it get there?

Well, you see, Yohane placed her staff in one of the worst places possible. I’m actually amazed she did this. She didn’t place her staff on the ground or lean it against the shooting gallery booth. She leaned it against a pony — a living creature.

What kind of person sees an animal and decides that’s what they’re going to lean an object against? I don’t even understand how you could accidentally do that. But, somehow, Yohane managed to do it. And, in case you didn’t watch the episode, it was the ponies that threw her staff onto the float.

So, now that Yohane has her staff back, there’s still something left unanswered. Why does Lailaps think Yohane doesn’t need her staff? And, what’s the point of the staff if Lailaps is correct? Is Lailaps actually working to bring about the calamity? Or is the staff actually useless?

Aqours’ First Performance

Did you notice what was missing from the first Aqours performance of the series? That’s right, Yohane’s staff. Considering how big of a deal Yohane made about needing it, I expected it to at least show up in the shot at the end.

I can understand why they didn’t include it in the choreographed part. But, Yohane should have at least been holding it at the very end, right? Anyway, that’s just a small complaint that ultimately doesn’t matter.

Do you know what does matter, though? The attention to detail when it comes to how the girls have been grouped up in this series. When the girls split up into baking groups in Episode 7, they did so by year. The first-years were together, as were the second-years, and as were the third-years.

But, that kind of grouping didn’t stop with Episode 7. It continued into Episode 8. Look at the outfits the girls were wearing during the festival. Not during their performance, but the rest of the festival. Do you see something grouping them together by year? It’s the color of the frills running down their tops.

And do you know where we’ve seen those colors before? Love Live! Sunshine!! Those colors are the same as the ribbons the girls wear on their school uniforms. Yellow is for first-years, red is for second-years, and green is for third-years. Little details like that are what make Yohane the Parhelion fun for me to watch.

What about how the girls were grouped together during the performance, though? As far as I know, that’s random. I’m pretty sure they split up in different ways for every performance. But, my three favorite girls, Riko, Yohane, and Mari, were together in this performance.

Conclusion

What do you think of Yohane the Parhelion: Sunshine in the Mirror Episode 8? Which of the Aqours girls’ festival booths would you want to visit? Do you think Yohane’s staff is actually important? And, did you notice how the girls were grouped by year? Let me know in the comments.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to share it with everyone you know. Also, follow me on your social media of choice so you don’t miss out on any future content — links are in the footer.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman and JasonHK for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about supporting this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

My review of Episode 9 is available now.

What’s a Girls’ Night?

Yohane the Parhelion: Sunshine in the Mirror Episode 7 finally brings Aqours together. This is the first time in the series that we get all nine members of the group in one place. And, it’s all thanks to Yohane.

Well, sort of. Bringing all the girls together for a girls’ night was actually Ruby’s idea. And while Dia was going to take care of planning the event, she’s too busy. So, she volunteered Yohane for the job. You know, since Yohane is the only one who doesn’t have a real job.

Okay, so Yohane isn’t exactly the only girl without a real job. Ruby technically doesn’t have a job either, as far as we know. But, we can assume that she helps Dia in some way. And, the same kind of goes for Mari. She doesn’t have a job, but she watches over Numazu.

Now, the problem with assigning Yohane to plan the girls’ night is that she’s never participated in one. She doesn’t know what they’re supposed to do. So, she goes around and asks the other girls what they want to do. And somehow, Yohane was surprised when You suggested a sleepover.

I don’t know about you, but when I heard “girls’ night,” I assumed it was a sleepover event. If they were older, I could understand “girls’ night” meaning a night out drinking. But, these are teenagers. So, of course, a “girls’ night” for them is going to be a sleepover.

Other suggestions included playing softball, stargazing, playing in the ocean, and cooking sweets. In the end, Yohane has a full itinerary of activities for the girls to do. But, the one thing she left out was what she wants to do. She was too busy worrying about making everyone else happy.

Making Memories with Friends

Yohane’s girls’ night ends up a success. But, that wasn’t a guarantee. Not only did she forget to consider what she wanted to do. But, she also forgot to rest or ask for help from her friends. She ended up planning everything on her own.

So, by the time the day of the event came, Yohane was very tired. And that’s partially why she ended up collapsing. There were two other reasons for this, though. The first is that Yohane’s not someone who’s used to being around a lot of people.

Do you remember the title of Episode 6? It was “The Harmony of the Shy.” As I explained last week, this referred to Yohane, Riko, and Mari being shy around others. So, it’s no wonder that Yohane felt a bit overwhelmed when everyone was talking at her. And worse yet, they were expecting her to sing at the summer festival.

However, the second reason is what really did Yohane in. Realizing that the mystery girl at the event was actually Ruby was too much for her to handle. After all, the Ruby Yohane knows is a small fairy. So, why does she look like a normal human now?

I wonder if what we saw at the event is Ruby’s true form or if her true form is her fairy form. It would make more sense — at least to me — for her human form to be the normal one. After all, she’s Dia’s sister and Dia looks like a human.

Since Ruby is also shy, that could be why she’s usually in her fairy form. It allows her to hide easier. But, that still doesn’t explain how she has that form. Is it magic she can use? Does Dia also have a fairy form?

The Lailaps Mystery

Alright, there’s something I’ve been thinking about for a while now. I don’t know if it was in after the second or third episode. But, at some point, I realized something wasn’t right with Lailaps. However, there was never a good time to bring it up — until now.

So, what’s wrong with Lailaps? I’m pretty sure that Yohane is the only one who can hear her. Yohane and Lailaps talk to each other a lot in this series. And Lailaps reacts to things the other girls say. But, she’s never spoken to any of them.

Think back. Can you remember a single time when Lailaps spoke to one of the other girls and they responded to her? I can’t. And it became even more obvious in Episode 7. After Yohane recovers from fainting, Riko asks if Lailaps wants to talk to Yohane.

Riko says this in response to Lailaps nudging Yohane. So, to me, that implies that they can’t hear when Lailaps speaks. Otherwise, Lailaps would have said something to Yohane here. And, the other girls would have heard it. So, what’s going on here? Can Lailaps actually speak?

My prediction is that Lailaps can speak — sort of. What I mean by that is that her speaking isn’t all in Yohane’s head. Yohane isn’t schizophrenic and hearing voices. She really does hear Lailaps. But, I also don’t think Lailaps physically speaks. Instead, it’s more like telepathy.

So, why do I think that? Well, Lailaps is a pretty complex character who doesn’t seem to rely on Yohane to exist. Her personality is separate from Yohane’s and they’re often at odds. But, she’s also said things to Yohane while the others were around. And yet, the others haven’t heard her. Other than that, I don’t know.

Conclusion

What do you think of Yohane the Parhelion: Sunshine in the Mirror Episode 7? What activity would you want to do during a girls’ night? Which of Ruby’s forms do you think is her normal form? And, do you think Lailaps can actually speak? Let me know in the comments.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to share it with everyone you know. Also, follow me on your social media of choice so you don’t miss any future articles — links are in the footer.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman and JasonHK for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about becoming a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

My review of Episode 8 is available now.

Kokoro no Uta

The title of Yohane the Parhelion: Sunshine in the Mirror Episode 6 is “The Harmony of the Shy.” It refers to how Yohane, Mari, and Riko bond over their shyness. And, it marks the end of the Aqours member emblem-collecting part of the series.

But, before I get to the emblems, we need to talk about “Resonance.” In my review of Episode 5, I discussed how “Resonance” seemed to refer to the powers of song and friendship. However, what I didn’t do last week was actually listen to what the characters were saying.

Sure, the English subtitles on Crunchyroll used the word “Resonance.” But, that’s not what the characters say in Japanese. In Japanese, they say “kokoro no uta” (心の歌). And once I actually listened, everything made sense. Kokoro no uta means “song of the heart.” That’s still a bit ambiguous, but I think we can all agree it’s better than “Resonance.”

“Resonance” doesn’t really tell us anything. Well, it tells us that there are multiple things and that they’re connected in some way. But, “song of the heart” is much clearer. From that, we can understand that it’s referring to emotions. Still, it makes the most sense when you combine the two.

Not only is it referring to the emotions of individual characters. But, it’s also referring to how those characters and their emotions are connected. And, a great example of this comes from the title of the episode. See, there was a reason I mentioned the title at the start of this review.

You could say that the emotions of Yohane, Mari, and Riko resonate. Yes, they’re all shy. But, it goes beyond that. They all originally felt like they didn’t belong in Numazu. However, once they made friends, they didn’t feel like outsiders anymore.

Collecting the Final Two Emblems

I may have missed it because I was also playing FGO while watching this episode. But, I didn’t notice a scene that showed Yohane obtaining Mari’s and Riko’s emblems. However, we do know that she did obtain them. At 20:05, you can clearly see all the emblems present on Yohane’s staff.

And, just as I predicted last week, that scene comes after Yohane, Mari, and Riko’s performance. So, it seems safe to assume that these performances are what engrave the emblems onto the staff. My only question now is, why these specific emblems?

Obviously, as the protagonist of the series, Yohane is the “chosen one.” She’s the one the prophecy means when it refers to someone using the “kokoro no uta” to stop the calamity. But, what about the rest of the Aqours girls? I don’t remember the prophecy mentioning other people.

But, there’s more to it than Yohane gathering others to help her stop the calamity. There’s a very specific number of emblems. One in the middle — representing Yohane — and eight in a circle around it. That seems to imply that there were always going to be nine “heroes.”

Also, each girl has their own emblem on the staff. I don’t remember seeing these emblems anywhere else. So, it’s not like the emblem representing Riko is a known emblem for her family or anything. Does this mean if Yohane befriended someone else, there would be a different emblem on the staff?

Or, does it mean that the prophecy only refers to these specific nine girls? That’s most likely the answer because we already know these girls as the members of Aqours. But, Aqours doesn’t exist in this world. So, what’s the lore that binds these girls together? Is this a parallel universe to Love Live! Sunshine!!?

Investigating the Calamity

In the second half of Episode 6, Dia groups Yohane, Mari, and Riko together. Despite not knowing each other for very long, Dia thinks these three seem very close. And, that could be the magic of Aqours at work. This closeness might not be unique to these three, but rather be apply to all the Aqours girls.

Either way, the job Dia gives this trio is to continue investigating the calamity. However, she also gives them a few additional instructions. First, they’re not supposed to put themselves in dangerous situations anymore. Though, it’s not like Yohane tries to get into those situations.

Second, they (Mari and Riko) are told that they need to keep an eye on Yohane. Naturally, Dia sees Yohane as the potential problem of the three. It could be that Dia knows Yohane is the most likely to make rash decisions. Or, she can feel that Yohane attracts bad situations.

So, if these girls can’t go out and actually investigate, what can they do? What does their investigation look like going forward? My guess is that it focuses more on Yohane’s role in stopping the calamity than anything else.

By understanding how to stop the calamity, they might learn what caused the calamity, as well. And, they’re going to need to figure out how to stop it either way. Since they already have a lead on that part, they might as well follow it as far as they can.

Though, for now, I think the girls are under the impression that only Yohane is the “chosen one.” They know there are emblems on Yohane’s staff. But, I’m not sure if they realize those emblems represent them yet.

If anyone understands that, it’s Lailaps. She saw the emblems appear at the end of Episode 4.

Conclusion

What do you think of Yohane the Parhelion: Sunshine in the Mirror Episode 6? Does “song of the heart” make more sense to you than “Resonance?” What do you think is the lore behind the connection of the Aqours girls in this series? And how much do you think Lailaps knows? Let me know in the comments.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to share it with everyone you know. Also, follow me on your social media of choice so you don’t miss out on any future articles — links are in the footer.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman and JasonHK for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. I’d also like to thank Key Mochi for supporting at the Senpai tier. And I’d like to thank Rob and Pepe for supporting at the Kouhai tier.

To learn more about becoming a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

My review of Episode 7 is available now.

How to Stop a Calamity

Yohane the Parhelion: Sunshine in the Mirror Episode 5 is a unique episode. Why? Because I’m pretty sure it’s the first episode that didn’t include a performance. Feel free to point out if I’m wrong. But, I think every episode so far had a performance at the end.

This week’s episode was going to have a performance. But, just as Yohane was about to start singing, the calamity struck! Well, sort of. We don’t actually know what the calamity is or where it comes from. So, it’s hard to say if this is the calamity.

But, at the very least, part of the calamity struck. There was thunder, weird lightning, and the same mysterious mist that caused the animals to go mad. Was it Yohane who summoned this calamity by preparing to sing? Or, was it all a coincidence?

For now, we don’t know. However, earlier in the episode, we got a hint at how to stop the calamity from destroying Numazu. And it came from the magic book Mari Ohara showed Yohane. The book mentions “Resonance” being the key to saving Numazu. But, what exactly does it mean by that?

If we look at the picture accompanying the text, it seems pretty obvious. We can clearly make out musical notes flowing out of a shining spot in the middle of the village. So, the power of song is going to save the day. But, that’s not all.

Mari also says she believes “Resonance” is something we all have inside us. So not only is the power of song important, but the power of friendship is, too. Though, I’m sure we all saw that coming from the very start of the series. After all, this is a Love Live! spin-off.

The Demon Lord’s Secret

Episode 5’s title is “The Demon Lord’s Secret.” But, we’re never explicitly told what that secret is. Is it the fact that Mari has a book about the calamity? Probably not, since even with the book, Mari doesn’t have many definitive answers.

Is it the fact that, from a young age, Mari’s purpose has been to help the people of Numazu? As we know, her horns allow her to hear what’s going on all throughout the town. And, to her credit, she has recently been using her powers for good.

Even though she refused to meet with Dia, Mari left notes informing her of ways to improve Numazu. Mari can hear when structures are wearing out, for example. So, she can give Dia a heads-up that they need to be repaired before an accident happens.

If Mari’s secret is, in fact, that she helps protect the townspeople of Numazu from the shadows, I’d be okay with that. That’s a pretty good secret for the “demon lord” to have. But, I don’t actually think that’s the titular secret. Or, it could be one of multiple titular secrets.

Instead, my guess is that the real secret is that Mari doesn’t want to be alone anymore. Because of her powers and her appearance, she’s always been alone. She can’t handle being in crowded places because of her hearing. And she doesn’t like the way people look at her horns. It makes her feel different.

In the second half of the episode, Mari finally faces her fears. She agrees to leave Warshimer Island and travel to Numazu with Yohane. And, it turns out that the people of Numazu aren’t as scary as Mari thought. In fact, they don’t treat her any differently than they do Yohane.

Friendship with Mari Acquired

By the end of the Episode, Yohane and Mari are friends. However, something I didn’t notice was Mari’s emblem being carved into Yohane’s staff. I’d have to go back and look at the previous episodes. But, there may be another prerequisite for that.

I might be misremembering. But, I think the other emblems appeared on Yohane’s staff after the performances. So, the fact that there was no performance in this episode might be why Mari’s emblem didn’t appear. And, if that’s the case, the calamity striking at the end of the episode may have been intentional.

Because of the timing of the calamity strike, Yohane didn’t acquire Mari’s emblem. Though, I’m going to assume she’ll get it in the next episode. Surely, Yohane and Mari will be able to clear up this latest calamity and hold a performance.

But, even after getting her grubby little hands on Mari’s emblem, there’s still one more to collect. There are nine girls in Aqours and Yohane’s staff only has seven emblems engraved into it. With Mari’s emblem, that makes eight — not nine. So, who’s missing? We already met all nine girls.

Again, I’d have to go back through the previous episodes to check. But, I’m pretty confident in saying that Riko Sakurauchi’s emblem is the other missing one. I don’t remember her being present for or participating in a performance. Though, again, I could be wrong. We haven’t seen Riko for a bit.

First, Yohane got her own emblem and Hanamaru’s emblem. Then, Chika’s, Dia’s, and Ruby’s emblems should have been next. And most recently, You’s and Kanan’s emblems appeared. So, that only leaves Mari and Riko. Will Yohane get Mari’s emblem first? Riko’s? Or, will she get them both at the same time?

Conclusion

What do you think of Yohane the Parhelion: Sunshine in the Mirror Episode 5? Do you think anything besides music and friendship is needed to stop the calamity? What do you think the titular demon lord’s secret is? And which of the remaining two emblems do you expect Yohane to obtain first? Let me know in the comments.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to share it with everyone you know. Also, follow me on your social media of choice so you don’t miss out on any future articles — links are in the footer.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman and JasonHK for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about how you can become a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

My review of Episode 6 is available now.