English Dub Review: Mieruko-chan “Yep, She Sees Them”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

When Miko’s brother Kyouske notices her acting strange, he decides it’s only for one reason: she HAS to have a boyfriend! Unbeknownst to him, she’s not seeing any guy in particular.

Our Take: 

As seen in last week’s episode, Miko’s best chance of keeping the ghosts away from Hana fell apart, literally. To make things worse, Miko’s brother joins in with the involvement, although with a different perspective on her behavior. If you think the ghosts groping Hana was awkward, then you haven’t experienced anything like this.

After spending the first three episodes with Miko and Hana, Mieruko-chan places its focus on Miko and her younger brother Kyousuke. Kyousuke was last seen briefly in the show’s first episode, so I’m happy to see that this episode is giving this character a chance to make an actual first impression. Kyousuke is the type of brother who’s pretty stubborn towards his older sibling but is willing to protect them from harm regardless. In this case, he comes to suspect that Miko might be in an abusive relationship with a boyfriend. However, in actuality, Miko’s still getting creeped out by the ghosts that appeared in stores, vending machines, and even her bathroom. I guess some spirits don’t know the meaning of the word “privacy”.

If you’ve seen the previous episodes, then you’d already know what to expect from its formula. Four episodes in, and the show slowly shows tiny signs of fatigue in its concept. Fortunately, its new focus on Kyousuke and comical moments managed to maintain my attention for a bit longer. Although, that doesn’t mean they overshadow the cracks left behind regarding the formula.

But, of course, it isn’t without a couple of surprises in its story as well. Two of which come from the very end of the episode. It shows Miko placing the chestnut pudding she bought from the store on her father’s funeral alter, revealing that her father has been a ghost the whole time. This was because the father didn’t get a chance to apologize to Miko for eating her pudding last year before his tragic death. Not only did it showcase more of Miko’s ability to see good ghosts, but it provided a surprising and sentimental twist that came out of nowhere yet managed to be heartfelt regardless. Another surprise appeared in the post-credit scene where we see that Miko can now see ghosts through television broadcasts. It looks like she won’t be watching television for a while.

Overall, “Yep, She Sees Them” is another good continuation that maintains the creepiness and the amusement of avoiding spirits. Its fresh perspective from Kyousuke and surprising twists managed to keep its formula from swiftly losing its frightening edge. Although, I’m not entirely sure how long it’ll keep itself going. Hopefully, the arc will continue to provide more exciting scenarios in the next episode amid Miko’s ghostly encounters.