Another volume of Mieruko-chan is here, which means it’s time to see if Miko can handle another round of attempting to blissfully go about her day and act like she can’t see any of the numerous grotesque spirits along the way.
She…she fails…internally!
So yes, there’s a horde of creepy spirits that appear, each one more terrifying than the last. “Oh I’m just gonna go to the vending machine and get a drink and totally not act like that grotesque worm-like creature is staring right at me.” “Oh there’s totally NOT an epic battle between the spirit that’s haunting my friend Hana and some little masked shrine maidens.” The most terrifying situation occurs when she’s on the train with her younger brother, where a spirit in a raincoat swings at people with an ax, hoping to kill a spirit. And it was at that moment her totally being too frightened to react might’ve saved her soul. (It did just require her to get new underwear however, leading her brother to think the wrong thing when she said why she had to stop by a store)
But despite her freaking out, I did mention she’s failing, but only to herself. Outwardly, no one else can see her actual terror, or in one case, instead misconstrue her emotions as anything but amazing. See: Yuria, a girl who was trained by that old lady who closed her shop in the first volume. She learns Miko is the one who got her to close, and after tailing her, realizes she can see spirits. The good news for Miko is Yuria would be the first human that can actually see spirits, so confiding that to her would certainly lessen the burden on her shoulders each day.
The bad news is Yuria can only see low-level spirits, which is why Yuria not seeing that gigantic, abnormal creature in the school’s gym storage room while Miko can is a major problem! And it only gets worse when Miko, Hana, and Yuria go on a trip and while attempting to walk into a tunnel, a bunch of spirits appear of all levels. Obviously Hana can’t see them at all but is a bit spooked at going in a dark tunnel; Miko can see all of the spirits; meanwhile Yuria, thanks to this experience, believes Miko’s an extremely strong spiritualist.
So yes, this is the rare case where actually telling someone like Yuria she can see spirits might actually backfire! But Miko continues to become increasingly worried about what she’s able to see, and she wonders why she can. She’s not sure what she can do about it, but based on how this volume ends, she’ll have to deal with it…and maybe take action before it’s too late.
Mieruko-chan volume 1 did had some fanservice, but this volume went true horror-comedy here. We did also get a chapter involving Hana, her bottomless stomach, and going into a cursed abandoned building. Between that and the continued hilarity of juxtaposing what Hana can see when they hang out vs. what Miko can see, this is the volume that showcases it’s real strengths as a horror comedy. Looking forward to more, and wonder how many more gross spirits can appear in one series!
