Summary
Mieruko-chan is a unique horror comedy anime that blends scares, humor, and touching moments, making it an underrated gem for horror fans. While not terribly scary, the series does feature disturbing ghosts that Miko ignores, leading to humorous results. Tense scenes with malevolent spirits deliver some real scares. The series’ greatest strength is its humor, with amusing banter between the characters and Miko’s hilarious reactions to scary ghosts. It also has some surprisingly beautiful and emotional moments.
Originally a webcomic published on the art archive site Pixiv, the horror comedy series Mieruko-chan was originally released in 2018 and was adapted into an anime in 2021. The series follows Miko Yotsuya, a high school student who suddenly gains the ability to see ghosts and tries to solve this problem, and by ignoring it and hoping it goes away, Mieruko-chan becomes really scary, funny at times and even heartwarming. This unique blend of emotions makes Mieruko-chan is an underrated gem that many horror anime fans should check out.
The title is a play on Miko’s name, which is difficult to explain in English, but means “Miss Able-To-See Them”, with “them” being the ghosts that Miko sees wherever she goes. Where does she go? While not particularly scary, Mieruko-chan is still one of the best horror anime on Crunchyroll. This is thanks to its unique premise and horror-comedy angle, which is evident in the description of the series provided on Crunchyroll:
She can see the dead… she just chooses to ignore them. Anyway, that’s Miko’s plan with horrifying (and sometimes hilarious) results.
Mieruko-chan is a unique combination of fear, humor, and touching moments
Mieruko-chan (2021)
Fans of traditional horror may actually be disappointed by how scary Mieruko-chan is. As disturbing as many of the ghosts Miko encounters may be, most of them don’t actually do anything. Miko’s constant attempts to avoid facing the ghosts by pretending they are there are largely successful and generate much humor. There are some tense scenes where Miko and her friends are threatened by more sinister spirits. When simply running away isn’t enough to escape them, Miko is saved by the mysterious and terrifying fox god she accidentally summoned while praying at a local shrine.
Even more than the macabre aspects of Mieruko-chan, the series’ greatest strength is its humor. Even though there are ghosts, Miko and her friends are still pretty typical high school anime characters. Miko and her friends and family have a great relationship and engage in some really fun banter. At the same time, Miko’s reactions to scary ghosts that suddenly appear in strange places are always very funny. From a horror comedy perspective, Mieruko-chan also has many surprisingly touching moments. There are several moments where Miko witnesses benevolent ghosts helping their living relatives and even helps them perform one last act of kindness for their loved one before helping them move on. These moments really have beautiful emotional weight and are a nice counterpoint to the scares and gags in the rest of the series.
One of the biggest complaints about anime adaptations is that the series is too reliant on fan service. While it’s never made explicit, there is a tendency to put characters in suggestive positions, even in the anime’s creepier moments. This was present in the original manga version of Mieruko-chan, although it was eventually removed as the manga continued. Fan service in anime happens so often that it may annoy some viewers, but Mieruko-chan is still a series worth watching.
Mieruko-chan may not be as scary as some other classic horror anime. Even so, it’s an incredibly memorable and unique blend of scares, jokes, and genuinely touching moments. There really is no horror comedy quite like Mieruko-Chan, making it one An underrated gem that more Horror fans should check out.
Mieruko-Chan’s anime adaptation is available to stream on Crunchyroll, and the manga’s official English release is available on the Crunchyroll Store.
Watch Mieruko-Chan now on Crunchyroll