This Week in Anime

Is Mieruko-chan Scary, Sexy, or Both?

Steve
Nick, I'm excited today to talk about an anime I feel uniquely qualified to review each week, because I too can only function by ignoring the grim concatenation of dark monstrosities that cloud the periphery of my every waking moment.

In my example, though, I'm on my phone retweeting good pictures of Shuten Douji.

Based on a series of gag web comic strips that were then expanded into a full manga by Tomoki Izumi, Mieruko-chan posits a simple question: what if a high school girl suddenly gained the ability to see the supernatural? And the answer is she makes this face a lot.

So rarely do we see a main character so doggedly determined not to be an anime protagonist. There's a gaggle of would-be shonen heroes chomping at the bit to get their hands on a power like this, but Miko just wants to be left alone. It makes her instantly relatable in a fun, subversive way.

Truly it is a mystery of paranormal proportions.

Honestly, jokes aside, even though this is a genre-heavy series, there's plenty of room to read between the lines of Miko's daily struggle, and that subtextual space enhances Mieruko-chan a lot for me. But it also plumbs some very different depths at the same time lol.

I mean I respect horny that respects novelty, so the above example, at the very least, qualifies as interesting to me. But overall, yeah, it's extremely funny that you'll have a scene with this exquisitely rendered maggot-infested hell creature, and then BAM here's an entire ass and/or boob.

Yeah, like, personally, I'm amused rather than offended at the fanservice in Mieruko-chan. Horror especially has long walked hand-in-hand with the lascivious, so I went into the show primed to expect a certain degree of tastelessness. Where it becomes a sticking point, though, is when it starts being juxtaposed against Mieruko-chan's developing narrative aspirations, which treat these characters more seriously than gag or cheesecake fodder.

Right! I love how understated that particular example is too. The series, however, does pull out all the stops for its creature design, which takes plenty of creative avenues to make these ghouls look as gross and otherworldly as possible. Like, they literally recruited at least one of the monster designers—Hiroya Iijima—from Jujutsu Kaisen. That's pretty above-and-beyond for a comedy anime!

I have a powerful need for a Nendoroid of the little naked guys who scamper around and collect loose change. Even Miko thinks they're cute.

You can instantly understand why her first instinct is to avoid these fetid fellas—and also why it's so bone-chilling for her to have to put up with this bullshit every day. Miko already looks perpetually tired thanks to good character design, but it's easy to imagine a version of this show that descends fully into the psychological horror of wading through this horrible spirit world without anyone to help or guide her. Mieruko-chan, though, would rather spend time on butt buns, and I can't blame them for that.

I'm glad that edge is there, but I'm also glad it's not any more pronounced than it is. The show already juggles so many other different tones—jump scares, horny, trash paranormal TV, sight gags, wholesomeness, etc.—that it needs some restraint. Like I said earlier, though, I'm perfectly okay with the show swapping out some of the horniness and comedy for more serious character/plot development, which does seem to be the direction we're heading in.

Yeah I appreciate the ways we've seen the spiritual world unfold beyond Miko's perspective—and how they've universally reinforced the fact that Miko's sight is Very Strong and she's pretty much on her own. Like, when the spitting image of a wizened old crone can't help you with your ghoul problem, who can?

Yulia may have some extrasensory talents, but she could use some more regular old sensory ones.

I really love that one-off gag Miko used to ward away the ghost of Mrs. Vagina Mouth has since blossomed into an actual character trait.

She's learned from the best, and she wields death in those arms of hers.

They really went and knocked the wind (and maybe a couple tears) out of me with a cup of pudding. It's so obvious in retrospect, too, but Mieruko-chan proves to be shockingly deft in setting that up. Like, up to that point, we're so primed to expect all of the apparitions Miko sees to be these scary unknowable monstrosities, down to this one right here!

That's been my most pleasant surprise in watching the anime—how sincerely and beautifully it captures these genuine moments of emotional connection and catharsis. Even the simpler earlier example similarly subverts your expectations to saccharine-sweet ends.

It's the first time we (and Miko herself, probably) begin to consider her sight not just a curse, but something that can help people too. The example with the old senile woman is the show's crowning achievement so far, imo. Not only does Miko use her power for good, but she for the first time risks the spirit discovering that she can see him. And he does.

And man, I am a really big fan of this adaptation. The choice to make her stand there alone silently for a few moments is so simultaneously powerful and understated. Spot-on direction.

Yeah I'm sure it has a perfectly valid reason to be using Hana's rack as its own personal ambulatory ghoul grill.

I enjoy the implication that Hana's bottomless appetite for sweets is a consequence of her extra-strong aura needing extra-sugary food. Anything that means I get to watch an anime girl wolf down a stack of pancakes is good worldbuilding to me.

BFFs!!

Typical Instagram user vs. Average Twitter poster.

That whole scene flits so quickly between horror, comedy, and mystery that it really is a good microcosm of the juxtapositions that work well in Mieruko-chan. By the end, both Miko and the audience are left with a sense of awe and plenty more questions than answers.

And it's not like she needs additional help losing sleep when she gets eyefuls of these lovely delights on a daily basis.

Shoulda called this show Ganbare Mieruko-chan.

Yeah can I get uhhhhhhhhh one scary little invisible gremlin.

Truly, being Miko is suffering.

And the ED, which features a bubblegum-pop call-and-response where the response is the bloodcurdling screams of the damned. That's the Mieruko-chan mood right there.