Since her idol pop song didn’t work as intended, Yohane doesn’t take the Calamity’s return very well. Disheartened by her failure and convinced her powers are a sham, Yohane discards her staff into a river in the hope that doing so will somehow return the town to normal. Yohane then returns home, allowing her audition to go to waste and cutting ties with her friends. Lailaps struggles to cheer Yohane up, due to her apparent secrecy and the latter’s mood so she instead heads off to recover the staff.
After getting information from the others, the Kurosawa sisters gear up and defend the town from any possessed animals. Believe it or not, this is the first time in eight episodes that Dia wears her suit of armor and rides her motorcycle. I’ve taken these for granted that seeing them again feels just as surreal as their first appearance. The show sure made “good” use of these!
As for the others, Chika proposes that they continue the party at her family’s inn to cheer Yohane up. I can’t help but find this a little funny. I mean, just as the show’s main protagonist is depressed, its version of Sunshine‘s original protagonist takes charge. Joking aside, this is a neat callback to Chika being the leader of Aqours in Sunshine!!. Regardless of this being a different version of her, it is in-character of Chika to look out for the others. It’s also just nice seeing Chika being prevalent. She was more or less the center of Sunshine‘s story and it’s honestly felt weird seeing her in a reduced role for Yohane.
While Chika hosts the party, the others try to entertain Yohane with some party tricks that are a bit ironic for some of them to do. Mari acts as a stage magician which is funny considering that she has supernatural abilities. To be fair, she would’ve sold her magic trick if her familiars didn’t screw up. Hanamaru and You try a balancing act. That seems ill-fitted for the former given her clumsiness. Kanan has Riko do a tablecloth yank but that only taps into the zoologist’s anxiety. I expected Riko to make a mess but her drinking all of the drinks and removing any tension from the trick is a solid alternative.
The resolution reminds me a lot of Yoshiko’s arc in the first season of Sunshine!!. Yoshiko developed chunibyo to make herself feel more special and she stops feeling embarrassed about it after Chika and the others tell her that it’s her way to shine as a person and it doesn’t impede her friendship with them. Yohane has actual magical aptitude but she also has the same issue of self-esteem as her original counterpart and in this episode, she’s in a similar bout of depression and doubt. But like in the Sunshine!! universe, Chika and the others help Yohane get back up, telling her the same kind words their original counterparts gave to Yoshiko.
With some encouragement from her friends, Yohane heads off from the party to make amends with Lailaps. Things turn south however when Yohane reunites with the Kurosawa sisters and she finds Lailaps weakened from retrieving the staff. Is this show actually suggesting that it’s going to kill off the dog? I can’t help but consider it as a possibility given the ominous moments this character has had. Regardless of what is actually going to happen, I have a feeling that Yohane’s reunion with Lailaps will be a very important moment between them.
Watch YOHANE THE PARHELION -SUNSHINE in the MIRROR on Crunchyroll
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