©PROJECT YOHANE
I admit I was a bit nervous after the last episode. With such a humorous climax to this Aqours hypertext reunion, I’m not sure what we’ll do with the remaining episodes. I mean, an epic classic idol performance with an entire cast seems to be the foundation for this spin-off, doesn’t it? Little did I realize that I had been lulled off guard so Sunshine in the Mirror could sneak up and confuse me right across a folding table.
Fittingly, Yohane also caught off guard with (apparently) the conclusion of her grand magical destiny. She’s found friends, forged relationships, discovered her voice through the metaphor of magic, and put on a big show for the whole village as a punctuation mark. So the question for her (and, according to the rep, the show) is: Now, what? Now that she seems to have achieved the comfort and companionship she originally craved, what does she want to do with herself? Will she go back to the big city and try her luck again? Will she stay here in the comfortable community she has finally become a part of? These are the big questions about her future, and Yohane tackles them the way any teenager would — by lying in bed for a week and sleeping so she can pretend they don’t exist. .
Of course, there was one relationship that definitely wasn’t limited last week, and that was Yohane’s big, fluffy, “big sister” Lailaps. So there is at least one more communication lesson for our heroine to absorb. For others, it’s about learning to put yourself out there, taking risks of vulnerability for the sake of broadening your horizons and forming relationships. With Lailaps, she has to figure out that the big fluffy ferocious wolf has a life of her own, has her own feelings and shouldn’t be taken for granted just because she’s always willing to help Yohane. All relationships, even (or especially) the ones you’ve had all your life, require care and care to maintain. Realizing that is a big step in growing up.
This is still Love Live!, so of course there’s going to be some wacky pranks to be unleashed when Lailaps “disappears” and the entire town turns into a search party for their favorite fluffy friend, but The actual host of this episode is much more gentle. When Yohane and Lailaps reunited, reminiscing about how they first met and what they meant to each other, that’s when the show started to get emotional. It’s touching to see these two share what they mean to each other, but what’s remarkable is the overwhelming sense of fear that only Lailaps seems to know.
Even before the dog doesn’t respond to Yohane’s statement that they’ll be together “forever,” you can tell something is weighing heavily on her mind. From the maliciously insensitive cuts to a piece of Forget Me to the way the editor refuses to show her face while she’s speaking, it’s clear Lailaps is hiding a secret. that she couldn’t say on her own. However, the real problem was Lailaps’ desperate loneliness when the rest of the girls arrived. It was lovely to see Yohane at home with the others, joking and chatting with friends in a way that was unimaginable in the first place. For Lailaps, though, it’s a sign that her sister is growing faster than she is, and that sometimes that tipping point will soon come. At the same time, she knows that these new friends are just what Yohane needs and seems resigned to it.
It’s a surprisingly dull way to end this episode, but it speaks volumes about how good this central relationship is. Sure, I’m a lover of sad pet/animal stories, so 22 Minutes of Love Live! showing me this music video will always break my heart. However, there’s more to this than just a sad-looking dog. In addition to the larger magical connotation (it seems Lailaps can only talk thanks to some misguided magic from Yohane) Lailaps represents a part of Yohane’s life that she’s on the brink of the past, and While that change is largely a good thing, it can mean the loss—or irreparable change—of her most meaningful relationship.
Rating:
Yohane the Parhelion-SUNSHINE in the MIRROR is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.