than those above the rings in unsubstituted 1 (-20.8 ppm), indicating somewhat reduced aromatic character in the former two. NICS analysis further suggested significantly less pronounced aromaticity on the 1,3-diaryl substituted five-membered ring for both compounds, as seen in the less negative shifts compared to the unsubstituted five-membered ring, consistent with the ACID plots. The aromaticity calculations of 9 also revealed that it behaved like a hybrid of 1 and 2. 9 however had even higher NICS values than 2 (see Table ), which can be ascribed to the coplanar arrangement of the phenyl substituents with respect to the pentalenide core (0° dihedral twist compared to 30.2° in 2)