As established at the end of the last episode, the gang is having a girls’ night out. At first, I thought it’d only include the Guilty Kiss trio and the Kurosawa sisters, but it turns out that all the major characters get invited. I suppose this is a better excuse than any to have the main cast altogether. It’s about time anyway since the show is at the halfway mark.
While Dia scouts out the location (and in true Dia fashion, she chooses a really fancy villa), Yohane is in charge of the planning. Having never done a girls’ night out before, Yohane asks everyone for ideas. The problem here is that everyone has their own requests. Chika wants to play softball. Ruby wants to bake sweets. The list goes on. Not wanting to disappoint anyone, Yohane spends a whole week fitting every request into one schedule and gathering all the necessary materials. To Yohane’s credit, she manages to pull it all off though there is no denying that she’s trying too hard.
The caveat to creating a detailed program becomes clear on the day of the event. Once everyone arrives, they immediately get distracted with the scenery and begin to do their own thing. Yohane tries to reel everyone back on task but that’s easier said than done with everyone scattered. Things get especially sidetracked when Hanamaru asks Yohane to sing for everyone. This then prompts Dia to blurt out that she’s secured Yohane a spot to perform at Numazu’s upcoming summer festival, presumably the biggest gig Yohane has ever landed for herself. Overwhelmed and exhausted, Yohane collapses onto the ground.
After Yohane recovers, everyone apologizes to her for putting so much pressure on her and derailing her plans. Yohane meanwhile feels she has ruined everyone’s fun though with Lailaps’ help, she realizes that no one is annoyed at her and that they’re all still down to do whatever she had planned. In the end, they managed to do almost every activity in the program. Overall, I think the plot gives Yohane some good character development. Understandably, she really wants to cherish her friends and she means well in trying to accommodate for everyone. The problem is that she goes overboard so it’s important that she learn that it’s okay if things don’t go according to plan so long as everyone is happy once everything is said and done.
Some of the other characters have their moments in this episode. Dia once again reminds me why she’s Best Girl by taking the whole girls’ night seriously, kicking it off with a formal address and outright declaring that she’ll try to talk to everyone informally. Mari and Riko make a pretty funny duo as the introverts. They initially stick together but they eventually become a little comfortable around the others. I like that they both contribute to the hangout in their own ways, with Mari giving everyone some baked treats and Riko helping divide everyone during the baking session (also, how cheeky that the gang gets divided by their original school year in Sunshine!!). By far the weirdest character this episode is Ruby, who somehow shows up as a normal sized human. After six episodes of this show, it actually throws me off seeing Ruby in this form again. I suppose it’s not outside the realm of possibility, what with her having magical powers. What perplexes me is that Ruby doesn’t provide any explanation as to how this ability works and no one bothers to ask even when some of them are confused.
At the end of the day, Yohane decides that she doesn’t want to perform at the summer festival solo. Rather, she’d like for all her new friends to join her as an idol group. Can’t say I’m surprised. I wonder if the girls will call themselves Aqours in this universe. I could see a potential joke in the girls calling themselves something else though it would have to be temporary for the sake of branding.
Watch YOHANE THE PARHELION -SUNSHINE in the MIRROR on Crunchyroll
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