Yohane the Parhelion: Sunshine in the Mirror Episode 11 Review

It’s All Yohane’s Fault

Yohane the Parhelion: Sunshine in the Mirror Episode 11 wasn’t a great time for Yohane-chan. Not only did the calamity ruin her going away party. But, it also made her feel like she wasn’t special, after all.

Based on the prophecy Mari told her about, Yohane assumed the calamity was already over. After all, the prophecy said that the Resonance was all that was needed. Surely, Yohane’s performance with her friends at the festival was that Resonance, right? Apparently not, since the calamity is still around and worse than ever.

But, even if Yohane’s performance didn’t stop the calamity, why does she blame herself? It’s not as if Yohane caused the calamity, is it? You could make the argument that it has something to do with her magic. But, as far as we know, there’s no direct connection.

Also, Yohane doesn’t seem to blame herself for the calamity existing in the first place. She blames herself for the continuation of the calamity. If she was as special as she thought she was, she would have been able to stop it. She blames herself for wasting everyone’s time by thinking she was special.

Why does being special matter so much, though? Well, as we know from Love Live! Sunshine!!, Yohane’s a little chuunibyou. She has a hard time accepting that she’s not special in some way. But, in this context, being special really means having a place or calling of her own.

All of her friends have something they’re passionate about and good at doing. But, Yohane doesn’t feel like she has that yet. Sure, she wants to sing. However, she failed to make it as a singer in Tokai. And when her song was supposed to stop the calamity, it didn’t.

Lailaps and the Magic Staff

When Yohane decides she isn’t special after all, she throws her staff into the river. And then, Lailaps chases after it for a bit before losing it. But, why did Lailaps go after the staff? Is it important, after all?

Do you remember what Lailaps tried to tell Yohane after she lost her staff in Episode 8? Yohane was convinced that the staff was the source of her magic power. But, Lailaps tried to tell her that it was the other way around. Yohane is the source of her own magic and the staff is a product of that.

So, why is Lailaps concerned about the staff now? She didn’t really care when it was missing during the festival. Has she realized that the staff actually is important for stopping the calamity? I don’t think so. My guess is that she wants to retrieve it for Yohane’s sake.

The staff is like a security blanket for Yohane. She doesn’t have much confidence in herself normally. But, when she has her staff, she believes she can accomplish anything. It doesn’t matter if the staff has any magic power of its own. What matters is that Yohane thinks it does.

Lailaps wants to retrieve the staff so that Yohane will get her confidence back. Also, it’s been pretty obvious for a while that Lailaps knows more about the calamity than she’s letting on. So, she likely knows that Yohane has to be the one to stop it.

Now, there’s one thing I didn’t like about Lailaps going after Yohane’s staff. She gave up pretty fast. But, when she decides to go back the next day, the staff is still sitting in the same spot. It didn’t float down the river at all in those 24 hours.

The Cheer Yohane-chan Up Party!

While Yohane’s having a bout of depression, her friends decide that they need to cheer her up. They realize that she’s going to be key to stopping the calamity from destroying Numazu. How do they know that? Probably because of her staff.

I mean, whether or not the staff itself is magic, it represents that Yohane is, in fact, special. When Yohane gained new friends, their emblems were magically carved into the staff. To the average person, that seems like it would be a clear sign that Yohane is special.

Also, you know, they want their friend to not be depressed. So, we shouldn’t ignore that part of it. Not everything has to be about protecting the entire town of Numazu. Sometimes, you have to look out for your friends, as well. In this instance, those two goals happen to be aligned.

Anyway, as we saw, the other girls (except Dia and Ruby) put on a little show to cheer Yohane up. But, what exactly the girls do to cheer Yohane up doesn’t matter. What matters is that they show Yohane that she’s not alone. She doesn’t have to put all the pressure on herself.

Remember, Lailaps was trying to tell Yohane the same thing in previous episodes. Yohane has a tendency to think that she has to be the one to do everything; she has to be the one to save Numazu. And, to an extent, she does. She has a vital role to play.

But, what her friends help her understand is that she still has to rely on others. Being special doesn’t mean she has to be special on her own. And, it’s taken Yohane 11 episodes to finally understand that. Even when she performed with her friends, she didn’t really get it.

Final Thoughts

What do you think of Yohane the Parhelion: Sunshine in the Mirror Episode 11? Do you think Yohane is somehow the cause of the calamity? Why do you think Lailaps went after Yohane’s staff? And, do you think Yohane really understands the power of friendship yet?

I’m still pretty convinced that Lailaps has something to do with the calamity. But, I don’t think Yohane is the cause. And, as I mentioned, the staff is more of a representation of Yohane’s abilities than anything else. As for Yohane understanding the importance of her friends, that’s 50/50. She could still show us she doesn’t get it.

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My review of Episode 12 is available now.