The concept behind the Mieruko-chan anime and manga is really fun! There’s a girl who can see ghosts and otherworldly beings! However, these ghosts tend to be pretty dangerous! It’s best to pretend they don’t exist, so they don’t latch on and cause even more trouble. Which means we get to essentially see a slice-of-life horror series about a girl desperately trying to pretend these creatures don’t exist and going about her life while they try to get attention. It can be pretty interesting! With Yen Press‘ Mieruko-chan Official Comic Anthology, we get to see an array of mangaka other than Tomoki Izumi tackling the story, and it works out incredibly well. The only thing is, people who don’t know Miko might not enjoy it all as much.
There are 13 stories in Mieruko-chan Official Comic Anthology, which seems appropriate given the horror history around that number. Yousuke Katayama, who did Nioh: Konjiki no Samurai, Muhyo and Roji author Yoshiyuki Nishi, and Sayman Dowman all have one-shots throughout. All of them are brief stories mostly independent of actual events or story beats throughout the original story. Most of them star Miko, though ones like “Yuria’s Sunset Patrol” and “Hat! Hat! Hat!” focus on Yuria and Rom instead. Given the reliance on knowledge of who everyone is, from Miko and her ability to Hana and her overwhelming life force, there are some subtleties that every mangaka incorporates to ensure the reader knows how well they understand the source material.
What surprised me is the overall quality of all of the pieces. I can’t think of a single one of these stories that I didn’t enjoy. All of them capture the general atmosphere of the series well. I especially liked “One Who Knows the Girl Who Sees” by Nakan Yabeya, as it reminded me of the situation with Miko’s father. Shikiji Sorakura’s “Little Old Man Day” is fun, due to the situation being encountered and the dynamics between Miko and Yuria and Miko and Hana. I also am a big fan of all the Yuria stories in here, as they do a good job of capturing her misconceptions about Miko and her own passion for dealing with the supernatural.
It’s also genuinely a treat to see different mangaka take on various kinds of ghosts. Because of the range of artists, each with their own direction, we get to see a wide range of new encounters for Miko and the other characters. Michiru Noroi’s “Fright of the Fitting Room” features an incredibly spirit with amazing design that is so well-executed. I think it’s the best ghost in the volume and loved the execution.
In short, someone who already knows of Miko and her predicament from the manga or anime will probably really enjoy Mieruko-chan Official Comic Anthology. Especially if they’re so familiar with it that they also know supporting cast members like Yuria and Rom. If you don’t have that general awareness of the show, it can still be fun. Many of the one-shots don’t really require a lot of context or knowledge beyond “this girl can see ghosts and spirits, but pretends not to.” However, it really comes together when you’re already a fan.
The Mieruko-chan Official Comic Anthology volume is available now, Yen Press also handles the manga, and the anime is available on Crunchyroll.
