Forum - View topicMieruko-chan (TV).
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Stark700
 Posts: 11762 Location: Earth |
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Mieruko-chan (TV) Genres: comedy, horror, supernatural Themes: fanservice, ghosts Plot Summary: One day, Miko suddenly started seeing grotesque beings that others couldn't. Her response was not to run, not to face them, but to do everything she could to completely ignore them. Oct. 3, 2021 (Sundays; FUNimation) |
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2984 |
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#1
I saw a promo video for this a few months back on Youtube. Ghosts aren't an original topic, but the protagonist's strategy for them certainly is. Treating the most grotesque spectral abominations as some do with narcissistic politicians: pretending they don't exist and getting on with her life. The question is: how long can she keep this going? Also, the ED animation shows the transfer student has exactly the same ability, but neither side knows about the other's talent yet. Although the central premise is Miko and her unending battle with horrifying spectral entities doing everything in their power to get her to acknowledge she can see them, the studio for whatever reason has thrown in a lot of camera shots of the female form. I'm not a fan of this, but somehow it works for this series because of the juxtaposition between chilling terror (those spectral abominations are really scary! Excellent design!), distasteful fanservice and slice-of-life. Mieruko will be Miko's nickname by the time this series finishes its airing. As a protagonist, she's deadpan, level-headed and has gradient-coloured hair (black at top, tapers off to some kind of violet at the shoulder level). The hair colour choice is interesting: a lot of schools in Japan would suspend her if she couldn't prove her hair was naturally coloured that way. Her busty blond friend is more cheerful, has a bottomless appetite and is the complete opposite of Miko both in what she can see and how she approaches life. The transfer student (also with multicoloured hair) doesn't seem like the friendly sort, but she isn't interacting with the two of them although she'll probably end up doing so if the ED animation is any clue. The OP and ED animation are vibrant, colourful and really strike an impression. The songs which go with them are in keeping with the series' central theme: she can see them but is steadfastly trying to ignore them in hopes the spectral entities give up and move on. The lyrics are absolutely hilarious; to be expected as this series sells itself as a supernatural comedy first and foremost. This is based on an ongoing manga work, so I'm expecting the adaptation to test the waters and show the early part of what has already been published in hopes of a sequel. Although it's not the best season to air series relating to the supernatural, the sheer number of works premiering lately appears to have forced this off its original position in the queue because of the coronavirus. The central premise has me sold, only thing I'm hoping for is less fanservice and more on the spectral entities and why they're so intent on Miko. |
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DuskyPredator
 Posts: 15580 Location: Brisbane, Australia |
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Yeah, the horror stuff in the first episode not half bad, but the fanservice stuff is unnecessary and distracting.
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Dayraven
Posts: 184 |
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Though I do remember early on in Bleach that Karin admits that she can see ghosts perfectly well, but pretends she can’t just to bully them. |
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ACｘS
 Posts: 965 |
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1:
Ah, it's that manga where she has to put up with seeing ugly ghosts all day! Honestly, I felt that the first half of the episode was a little slow, and I wondered why. Surprisingly, it was a good buildup to Miko's ability to see ghosts. Surprisingly good ambiance too. Didn't really expect that, especially when the OP gave me the impression that this is going to be a lulzy, silly show. Well, not quite. So far, that's a good thing. It could've gone terribly bad if the show were done awkwardly. Had the show gone with a more high-energy comedic route, it would've destroy any kind of tension of Miko suddenly seeing ghosts one night. It's handled well, and I have to give credit for that. The only problem I have is with the bum shots. It feels... weird. I know that fanservice is mostly frilly stuff, but it's just weird to have the camera point at Miko's bum-bum especially during tense moments. Like, "why?". I'm a little concerned that this show "I see ghosts but I have to pretend otherwise" gag is going to get old fast. I'm curious to know how this show intends to keep things fresh (I'm somewhat doubtful). We will see. |
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Animegomaniac
Posts: 4161 |
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Episode 1
I found the horror to be distracting from the... that's not quite right. I found the horror was enhanced by the, really, "bum" shots? What, are we 10 years old as well as British? Regardless, the word at play is "vulnerability". We are at our most vulnerable when we are at our most "stern" so to speak. However, I do agree it crossed over the line into fan service when her pajamas were so tight it outlined both her front and rear. Coupling that with the ghost designs makes me wonder exactly who this show is for. Obviously for me but I'm wondering about the larger audience. I loved the phone sequence, I immediately knew the cold opener was a horror movie and I could gush for hours over the slow, drawn out atmosphere of the rest of it. On the other hands, boobs. I'm not looking, I'm not looking, I can totally see them. Hmm, there may be larger themes at play here. Or it's all a coincidence and their "not really fanservice" fan service is intentional fan service. Still, Hana was giving me death flags even before her text got haunted. Girl A sees ghosts, Girl C sees ghosts, Girl B... Flags, so many flags... Will they go through with it or are they knowingly playing with tropes? And while both is the most obvious answer, "neither" would be the easier path to take. Based on a manga so I'm ruling out the easier path... Interesting... "From the director of Interspecies Reviewers". So the correct answer would be "All of the above plus more" then. Also rules out "bad fan service"; This guy knows his craft. |
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Blood-
 Bargain Hunter Posts: 24242 |
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Yes, the "butt cam" that apparently is attached to Mieruko is unnecessary, but so is chocolate cake yet I'm still glad it's around. I like Squishy. Not being familiar with the source material, I have no idea how Mieruko is eventually going to deal with her problem but clearly simply ignoring the ghosts isn't going to cut it.
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camseyeview140
Posts: 241 |
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This show needed to cut out the cringe-inducing fanservice and focus on more of the show being a horror comedy.
It works way better as a horror-comedy and not every anime needs to have fanservice. Heck, most fanservice drags anime down. The horror elements are so good and the gag of the ghosts being like "you really can't see me? That sucks...bye jerk" and I think if the show can do more of that, that would be great. Then again, this is the same director behind Interspecies Reviewers so...I guess the fanservice is sadly here to stay. 6/10 so far. |
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Tony K.
 SubscriberModerator  Posts: 11452 Location: Frisco, TX |
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Episode 01: Can You See Them?
First half is a bit of a slow burn, but I feel it sets up the horror elements pretty well. There's actually a decent amount of fanservice in this, but I think I read it's inherent in the source. It's not crazy like High School of the Dead, but be aware it's there. Personally, I feel it balances out the scary stuff, as those moments can be a bit in-your-face. This is the first production I've seen from Passione. And I think it looks quite nice. Character designs look pretty close to pics I've seen of the manga and the color feels balanced between the day and night scenes (not too bright, not to dark, and with pretty good line detail). Speaking of which, dimly-lit and nighttime shots have a little bit of grain added to them, which I feel adds to the creepiness. Should be interesting to see how they utilize that for future episodes. Sound and music play a big part in the horror stuff. The ghosts have this kind of echo-y reverberation in their voices, which is a nice touch. I recommend you definitely watch this at night with the sound turned up. Miko, voiced by Sora Amamiya (Akame from Akame ga Kill and Elizabeth from Seven Deadly Sins) plays a very good deadpan when she's brushing off the ghosts, but then also does a great job internalizing her fear and bewilderment. I'm guessing this will go more towards the route of "episodic comedy" rather than "paranormal detective" like most other titles of this genre do; more Way of the Househusband than Ghost Hunt. The caps I took are a bit ambiguous on purpose. I didn't wanna' show the fanservice or too much of the ghosts. You'll have to watch the show for that.          
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2984 |
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#2
The series is showing more of its hand. This episode is really three story arcs compressed into one, which I suspect is the theme going forward until it's time for the main plot to develop. Unfortunately it looks like the fanservice is going to be integrated to some extent into the presentation, especially if the trend established in the first arc is any indication. To the show's credit, after the first arc it became less common and when it is there it DOES contrast heavily for substantial comedic effect with the spectral horrors Miko is desperately trying to ignore without her heart giving out. Even if Miko isn't the first person in anime terms to be able to see supernatural entities and pretend otherwise, in recent memory I'm quite sure she's the only one who can do so but has zero defence against these entities except to feign ignorance and hope they leave her alone. Her best friend Hana is a cheerful airhead who has an unfortunate habit of attracting the wrong kind of attention, which is made worse by the fact that she's unaffected by the entities. Miko on the other hand has come really close on several occasions this week to inviting retaliation. There are distinct characteristics with the supernatural entities in this franchise: they crave attention, some of them hang on to their baser human instincts when living, they're not extremely intelligent (they seem to react purely on instinct) and they're not an exclusively terrifying existence. It's the last point which might be salvation for Miko, since the abandoned cat story was a really nice fable about appearances not being what they seem. More stories like the abandoned cat one and less like the one featuring the infirmary would suit me. As far as the laughs are concerned, it's the infirmary and donut shop arcs which generate most of them, so if fanservice is the price to pay for having a good laugh while the show airs so be it. |
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Animegomaniac
Posts: 4161 |
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The "moral" of the cat story was "Don't judge a book by its cover"... but that's also what the series is, Miko Versus the Curious Scary Looking Dead. There's also something of a "What?" conclusion in regards to the cat story as the implication seems to be spoiler[the guy's wife and two cats died at the same time] and that's just weird. And then there's the deal about the other guy who Miko also judged him by what she saw. In regards to the other two.... I have questions about that nurse.... right, the talking ghost from the start, "Is that you, sensei?" I knew something was bugging me about how the nurse was introduced... She Totally Sees Them. She doesn't quite have the double bottom line to the eye but it is faintly there. Also, is she knowingly bait? "I hear she makes her own blend of perfume." What an odd and specific rumor. And the donut shop... I don't know how normal it is to have "prayer bead" donuts and I also don't know how normal it is for ghosts to line up to be eaten at a "shop" two stores down by a gigantic spirit. This world is really weird and Miko's not paying attention to the right things. |
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ACｘS
Posts: 965 |
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2:
"I wish they tone down the fanservice--" *brings a whole dump truck of fanservice* Face it: the show is practically enjoying itself with the fanservice (maybe more than some of the audience). I'm not even sure if it's some kind of weird fetish to see girls in different states of undress with spirits creeping up to them. It felt like that's what the show's going for. By the end of the first half of the episode, I was already questioning myself if I can tolerate any more of this "YABAI" routine. It's becoming way too formulaic: Miko seeing a new spirit, and Hana the token clueless (can I say bimbo?) friend who always finds them in an odd situation where a spirit is just lying to make its surprise. How long can the show keep doing this? And how long can I put up with it? Towards the end of the episode, it felt a little better than Miko can see not just bad spirits, but good ones too. At least now we know that the show is expanding towards something else. That's the only saving grace to a show I'm already growing tired from the second episode. I'm barely holding on until the next episode. Please tell me there's more to this show than just the above. |
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Nom De Plume De Fanboy
Exempt from Grammar Rules
Posts: 638 Location: inland US west, pretty rural |
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I am also having these problems, so I spoilered myself a bit with tvtropes about the webcomic/manga. I have not read the original. Which hasn't ended yet, by the way. In general, the icky stuff spoiler[ eases off a bit. ] Small bit of good news about Mieruko: spoiler[ Mieruko does get some agency against the spirits. ] In the original, the fanservice spoiler[ did taper off.] I don't know if that will be the case in the anime. Some future characters spoiler[ are "good guys" who help Mieruko. ] spoiler[ In varying amounts and with varying degrees of success. ] My biggest problem, myself, is I don't like horror in general, so this is probably just not a show for me. I have already been fast forwarding through big chunks of this show. So I may drop it. Which is too bad, the quality of the presentation seems pretty good. |
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DuskyPredator
Posts: 15580 Location: Brisbane, Australia |
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Maybe I am asking the questions of thinking too hard or something. But my thoughts of the spirits is whether they actually are ghosts, or sort of phantoms created and influenced by environment and psychology of people. Such as explain the severed head spirit because her friend was afraid of the idea of a severed head in her locker, the groping spirit appeared the sort of lewd discussion of going commando, and the spirits lining up to be eaten being reflective of people lining up to buy. Even fit into the different energy coming off of the friendly looking guy and scary looking guy, with the spirit in the box something like a manifestation of people wanting to protect the kitten, along with its cat like characteristics
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Nom De Plume De Fanboy
Exempt from Grammar Rules
Posts: 638 Location: inland US west, pretty rural |
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Ep 3.
Regrettably, the icky hasn't been reduced much. Fan service is quite a bit less, mainly because no one is changing clothes. Miko is still soldiering on. I would go insane if I was seeing that stuff. We do get the arrival of an old lady street seller of magical stuff, who calls herself the GodMother. She may be of some small help. Though her first, and even best, spoiler[ efforts are failures. ] She goes to visit her kids, but I don't think it is to spoiler[ retire. I hope it is quite the opposite. ] And the girl with the multi-color hair is trying to lurk and watch this GodMother. Her lurking is the best humor in this ep, which doesn't have much to my mind. |
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