Genjitsu no Yohane: Sunshine in the Mirror

I'm writing this as of episode 5 and I intend to update it once the season finishes.

We all know action animes that are so popular that it gets a slice-of-life spin-off that's all about being comedy focus most of the time. But what if a slice-of-life anime got an action-focus spin-off? We get this beautiful masterpiece.
Genjitsu no Yohane started out as an April's Joke from the sunrise staff surprisingly became an actual anime with deep messages and gripping character development. They could've made this anime as a joke, but they didn't. The staff went above and beyond with this anime, and I praise them ... for that.

The story - as I'm writing this right now, the story hasn't reached it's conclusion yet. But as of episode 5, the potential is there. They've introduced a lot of story beats that is super interesting to know. This anime is more of a character-driven story rather than a narrative-one, which is something you see a lot in other shows. I'm gonna keep this review spoiler-free so I won't mention anything beyond this point.

The characters - so far, they've introduced the main casts of the original Sunshine casts in such a way that they still feel like the original characters, but also different to their original so that they'll have new synergies with one another. For example, the way Yohane is in this anime and Yoshiko in the original Sunshine act is different, but their personality is the same old lovable fallen angel. It's also fun to watch Yohane undergo wonderful character development every episode as she learns more about the world around her.
My favorite character so far is Chika Takami. She's really the glue that holds this anime together. But she's also not stealing the spotlight; if I have to explain it, Chika is like the sauce that amplifies the flavor of the main dish, Yohane.

The animation - even as an action anime, the main selling point of Love Live is still the songs and the dance that comes with them. And let me tell you, the dance animation here is on another level. Sunrise really is the Best in the industry when it comes to human CGI. I've praised them a lot before, but I really feel like they reached another Peak here. The action scenes are also amazing as well. It's not ufotable level of course, but it's not lacking for an anime made in 2023.
The art of course is beautiful. The art of Love Live has always been top-notch since Sunshine, and I'm happy to say that they've continued to be Peak here as well.

The music - It's originally a music anime. So do you really expect me to give this category any less than 10?

I'm really happy with my conclusion with this review. It's unbiased and really tells you the actual quality of the show.

Love Live Nonsense.

When Yohane the Parhelion: Sunshine in the Mirror was announced, I think everyone thought it was a joke considering its first announcement trailer dropped on April Fools Day. A weird spin-off of Love Live Sunshine, which is considered to be the best Love Live by the fandom, which is wrong because the best Love Live is Love Live Superstar. The story takes the girls of Love Live Sunshine and plops them in a fantasy setting… sort of.

I say “sort of” because I don’t know if it is set in a fantasy setting, considering we’re introduced to the main protagonist Yohane, the alter-ego ... of the chunibyou Yoshino from the main Sunshine, as she’s performing for an audition in not fantasy-looking Tokyo. After getting grilled by her mum for being a total failure she's forced to return to her port town home via the fantastical Japanese Bullet Train. There she is greeted by a giant telepathic dog and mocked for being a silly boo-boo head. Here is when actual fantasy things start to happen. It’s pretty jarring and hard to explain anything about this show. If you have no prior knowledge of Love Live Sunshine and its cast of moe blobs, you will probably be confused most of the time.

Of course, as a Sunrise production, the art and animation are pretty fantastic. With wonderfully expressive characters and beautiful backdrops, I can see the appeal that would attract Love Live Sunshine fans. My main issue lies in its general premise or lack of commitment to it.
From the four episodes I’ve watched Sunshine in the Mirror feels like it’s trying to be a moe blob idol anime combined with a lacklustre fantasy setting with magic and stuff but it doesn’t excel at either. It can't choose which side of those genres it wants to lean into and the result is an inoffensively mediocre story which feels safe yet is hard to follow unless you're a Live Love Funshine connoisseur.

Then again those Wuv Wive Wunshine girls are very fun. Yohane is very charming in her silly way and the rest of the crew all have their perks. I don’t know. I have never been so confused about my feelings towards a Long Dive before. Would a say it’s bad? No. Would I say it’s good? That is a tricky question. Your average Dove Five Bumshine fan will enjoy it and has been considering its MAL score, which is great, but for the rest of us, it’s inoffensive. Would I recommend it to someone? Probably not. I wouldn’t be surprised if the entire premise turned out to be in Yoshino’s imagination or in a video game or something considering Yohane is her chunibyou alter-ego.

5/10 Mediocre

Animation and songs are nice.

Characters redesigns are fun, but you won't know their personalities unless you watched Love Live Sunshine!!.

Story beats are a remix of Sunshine!! in worse : girl in small town doesn't think she's special but turns out she's the most special one of them all for... reasons. She met girls who became instantly her friends for... reasons. She struggles because she feels she has to do it alone but turns out she doesn't have to. The end.

Genuinely speaking, it doesn't have the heart you'd find in SIP or Love Live Sunshine!!. The character of Yoshiko / Yohane who could be ... entertaining in Sunshine!! became a watered down version of Chika from Love Live Sunshine (the main character of Sunshine who's basically invisible here) and all the story beats are rehashed and worse versions of things you've have already seen in other Love Live anime.

This anime feels mostly aimed at Yoshiko's fans and if you are one of them, the note is probably bumped to a 7, but for anyone else, even if you loved Love Live Sunshine!! and want to see again characters you loved but who aren't Yoshiko, just rewatch the original show because you'll get basically nothing.