Yohane the Parhelion: Sunshine in the Mirror Episode 8 Review

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.

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My review of Episode 9 is available now.