Damn you, Yohane.
Yesterday, I finished watching and covering all of Love Live! Sunshine!! in preparation for its new spin-off series, YOHANE THE PARHELION -SUNSHINE in the MIRROR. In hindsight, I probably could’ve just started Yohane on its own. It does use the same cast of characters but apart from that, it appears to be its own thing, set in an alternate fantasy timeline self-contained from the original continuity. Covering Sunshine!! certainly slowed me down as I’m a little over month late in starting this series. That said, I can’t say I regret covering Sunshine!!. The show has its ups and down but overall, it’s a good time. I grew pretty attached to the characters (Dia is Best Girl) and the music is some of my favorite in CGDCT/idol/musical anime. Hopefully, the fun can continue on with this series.
YOHANE THE PARHELION is an odd addition to Love Live!, in that it’s the first time the anime series has gone back to a previous generation. The current iterations right now are Nijigasaki High School Club and Superstar!!, both of which are still in production. How did this series come about? As far as I can tell, this originated with some illustrations drawn by Taira Akitsu for the Love Live! Days magazine in late 2020. It caught on enough to get a manga so I suppose an anime was inevitable. I can’t help but find it a little funny to revisit Sunshine!! and not School Idol Project. If anything is becoming ripe with nostalgia, it’d be the older series. Who knows, maybe that’ll happen in a year or two.
As you can tell from the title, Yoshiko (Aika Kobayashi) or Yohane as she’s permanently referred to in this series is our main protagonist this time around. Yohane was the name for Yoshiko’s chuunibyou/fallen angel persona so it’s pretty funny that it’s her birth name this time around. Finally, it’s as God intended! To be frank, I got less excited over the prospect after watching Sunshine!!. I don’t hate Yoshiko but she is one of my least favorite characters in the series. After her introductory episode, she almost exclusively serves as comic relief, which does work most of the time but it didn’t leave much of an impression on me. She does get the spotlight again in Season 2 but that episode is probably the most obnoxious she got (that dog wasn’t yours, Yoshiko!). That said, I must admit that making the one who had chuunibyou the protagonist for the fantasy spin-off is pretty ingenious. Who knows, maybe putting her front and center will change my mind.
Right now, it doesn’t appear that Yohane has chuunibyou. I suppose in a world where magic exists, pretending to be a fallen angel makes a lot less sense. That said, Yohane still has a “delusion of grandeur” as she attempts to make it big in the city of Tokai as an idol. That’s right, a Love Live! character is finally trying to become an idol with income. On her sixteenth birthday, Yohane fails her latest audition. To make matters worse, her mother (Hekiru Shiina) decides to cut her allowance and forces her to return home in Numazu. Maybe if Yohane goes back to school, she could find success in her idol career. I know school idols don’t get paid but if the main universe is anything to go by, it’s somehow proven to be a good career path.
Upon arriving home, Yohane reunites with her family’s pet, a large talking wolf named Lailaps (Yoko Hikasa). The name is the same as the little stray dog Yoshiko looks after in an episode of Sunshine!!. Hopefully, Yohane didn’t kidnap this wolf from someone. Whereas the little Lailaps in Sunshine!! is a one-off character, this incarnation appears to be Yohane’s main companion, acting as her guide and the straight man in the duo. Time will tell how this character fares but I do find it funny how much more mature and sensible the wolf is compared to Yohane.
The rest of Aqours are present in this new universe, though almost all of them are reserved for cameo appearance this episode. An exception is Hanamaru (Kanako Takatsuki), who is established once again as Yohane’s childhood friend. In this universe, she sells food with a boar-like companion named Shishinoshin. I’m guessing Hanamaru’s job is a callback to her love of food in Sunshine!!. Having been away from Numazu for a some time and noticing that her friend is much more successful than her, Yohane is hesitant to talk to Hanamaru. That doesn’t stop Hanamaru from leading the reunion herself, just like she did in Sunshine!!.
There’s a couple of threads set up in the premiere. The first is this strange sound and fluctuation of dark energy that pervades all over Numazu. Not sure what to make of that right now. The second is Yohane manifesting magical powers at the end of the episode as well as a staff to presumably channel them. Take that, Yoshiko! Your doppelganger has something you don’t. Yohane doesn’t appear to be in control of her powers as it seems to strictly manifest through her singing. Still, the mere discovery of it is enough to give her a big boost of confidence. Hopefully, this won’t go over her head (though I suppose someone will knock some sense into her if it does).
Since it wouldn’t be Love Live! without an insert song, we get treated to a new music video performed by Yohane. It’s really nice to hear a song sung entirely by a single member of Aqours. That actually never happened in Sunshine!!. I thought Aika Kobayashi sounded good when I watched Sunshine!! but this really lets her show off her singing ability. I wasn’t expecting the song to sound elegant or subdued. Knowing Yoshiko/Yohane, I figured a solo song would be more energetic. I don’t mind it however, the tone creates an interesting contrast with the character, as if it’s conveying a more vulnerable and relatable side of hers. One last thing to bring up here is the animation. I figured the CGI would up to par or improved from Nigasaki and presumably Superstar!! but damn. Coming off of Sunshine!!, which ran from 2016-2019, this is quite the leap. You can still tell when Yohane is animated in CGI but the model blends with the hand-drawn stuff a lot more seamlessly than it did a couple years ago. Sunrise has come a long way in this regard.
Watch YOHANE THE PARHELION -SUNSHINE in the MIRROR on Crunchyroll
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