Yohane the Parhelion: Sunshine in the Mirror Episode 6 Review

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.

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My review of Episode 7 is available now.