Yohane the Parhelion -SUNSHINE in the MIRROR

Episode 5

Social anxiety is terrible. It is one of God's most cruelly ironic tricks: taking the cognitive impulses developed to keep humans alive and safe, then over-tuning them until you convince yourself the world will end if you stutter in front of the clerk at McDonald's. It's an infuriatingly hard-to-stifle voice that insists the people who love and care for you are all just one poorly chosen word or mistake away from abandoning you – that is, if they don't secretly hate you already, and you're just too stupid to figure it out. It can make the fear of rejection – no matter how minimal or petty – feel like a refutation of your very identity.

It's also quite often the driving force behind chuuni characters like the OG Yohane, who cope with the fear of rejection by adopting larger-than-life personae. While Sunshine in the Mirror's Yohane doesn't have that particular gimmick, she still feels the need to compensate for her perceived failings. That's why she wanted to flee this one-horse town to become a star, and it's why she's still sort of pretending to be a fortune teller, even though her errand-running is what has allowed her to bond with the people she once fled from. Yet ironically, it's also why she's the perfect person to reach out to Numazu's resident “Demon Lord” and help her step out of the shadowy mists and into the sunshine (in the mirror).

It's a really smart move, pairing two members of the sub-unit Guilty Kiss in a way that wouldn't have worked in the original show but still plays out remarkably well here. As Lailaps so poignantly points out, Yohane sees a lot of her loneliness and fear in Mari's self-imposed isolation, and that's exactly why she can't offer easy words of encouragement. She can only barely make herself believe in others' kindness, so forget about convincing someone else to be vulnerable and expose themselves to the possibility of rejection. Yohane is closer to the surface than her new friend, but it's far more difficult to give a helping hand when you're still clawing your way out of the hole yourself. That Yohane's willing to do so anyway is both a testament to how far she's come since returning home and assurance that she's on the right path to overcoming her fears.

Granted, focusing on a relatable topic can be a double-edged sword, and without the right execution, this could have ended up being a cloying mess. Much as I like the franchise, Love Live! has had its share of flubs when delving into more intense drama, sacrificing personal nuance for the sake of an easy resolution capped off with a musical number. So I was genuinely and pleasantly surprised by just how grounded Mari's story ended up being. Sure, the people of Numazu are predictably chill and accepting of her (admittedly, not that weird) appearance, but that doesn't instantly dispel Mari's anxiety. Rather, all the attention just builds, slowly tying a knot in her stomach until it feels like the eyes and ears of the entire town are trained on her, judging her, rejecting her. Because anxiety isn't rational, unfounded fear can send you spiraling, even when nothing's wrong.

That's the creative choice that sells the whole episode. In the end, Mari's fears aren't something she overcomes through dry logic but with the support of somebody else who's been in the same place. What pulls her out of that spiral and lets her open up to others is an act of trust and reassurance by Yohane. It allows for that classic Love Live! happy ending without ever feeling cheap, which makes it all the more joyful to see these two weirdos posing together, enjoying themselves together with the community they were so hesitant to approach.

Altogether, it makes for an affecting episode, bringing this new version of Mari into the story properly in a way that feels unique to Sunshine in the Mirror's interpretation of these characters. It feels weird to say that this fantasy spinoff with flying motorcycles and talking animals delivered one of the most emotionally grounded and down-to-earth stories in the entire franchise, but I guess that's the magic of Love Live! at work.

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Yohane the Parhelion -SUNSHINE in the MIRROR is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.