Mieruko-chan – 06

「スゴいの見える」 (Sugoi no Mieru)
“She Sees Real Crazy Ones”

Mieruko-chan’s sixth episode was a real nail-biter after Hana attracted the attention of a particularly scary apparition with a hunger for flash-fried baby ghosts. But while Miku has her fair share of fear from witnessing a supernatural battle happening right in front of her very eyes, it also throws tension in Hana’s direction as she unknowingly navigates through a nesting area for cursed spirits.

// – ABANDONED JAPANESE OFFICE BUILDING +_// (MALLSOFT VAPORWAVE MIX)

Through the eyes of the horrifying ghost that stalks Hana, we get a good gist of the capabilities she does have as a girl whose good nature radiates holy mana. But while she is unaware of the aura she radiates when she’s enthusiastic, the spirit makes good use of it by barbecuing smaller spirits near/on her body and eating them. I suppose Passione’s experience from the salamander woman episode of Ishuzoku Reviewers came in handy for this segment.

I won’t lie though; it was another episode where I was on the edge of my seat on whether Hana would be safe or not. With her aura radiating enough to burn lower-level ghosts, I was worried about whether Hana would end up seeing some of the horrible spirits that plague Miko, especially in the haunted building that wound up being a nest for some of the nastier spirits we’ve seen so far. Even worse, I was worried that we’d see a situation where Hana would be harmed or attacked by a ghost in the exact location where you’d absolutely never want to agitate malicious spirits.

IS THIS TEMPLE A GHIBLI REFERENCE!?

Although Hana ended up being safe when she fetched the lost dog, the tension was still high during the next segment where Miko turned to a nearby shrine to rid Hana of the ghost that follows her. It is a relief that it turned out to be the one instance where Miko could turn to spirituality as a means of fighting back against the malevolent ghouls she’s had to merely endure up to this point.

It wasn’t exactly the funniest episode and leaned more into its horror aspects, but it manages to avoid being entirely tense as the scene alternates between Hana’s light-hearted conversation starters and the intense battle between holy shrine spirits and the massive malevolent ghoul. It was funny how Hana wound up being a Ghibli enthusiast who was disappointed to learn that Miko hadn’t broadened her horizons past Totoro.

Even funnier was when Hana was so focused on the beautiful sunset that she wanted to take a selfie with Miko right at the point of the battle when the shrine spirits are violently ripping apart the ghoul. Might not have been the most flattering selfie, but it definitely was a moment not to be forgotten. On a serious note, it’ll be interesting to see how her interaction with the shrine spirit will fare given how it’s her first main interaction with a divine entity.