Mieruko-chan - Vol. 3 Ch. 21

[Ironclad]

I feel like the tiger mom trope gets shoehorned in a lot. Shouldn't he be a doctor or an engineer or Norman Bates? High school teacher doesn't really fit.

 

[Swagner]

My theory:

Spoiler

That thing possessing him isn't his mom, because his mom's still alive. I bet she's the one killing the cats.

 

[pajamawolfie]

I bet he can see spirits too, based on a comment he made to Miko. Whether or not he's torturing the pets, he's being tortured by the ghost of his mother. Look at his eyes. He can't remember his students' names. He seems really out of it.

As to his flashback, my guess is that he took out his frustration from being abused on pets. At least one time. Or maybe he was comforted by petting stray animals, or tried to keep a pet, and his mother forced him to kill it. Actually, that's extremely likely. She looks like the kind of woman who would make her young son kill a kitten. This is bumming me out.

For all we know, the animal spirits could be following the mother instead of Mr. Zen, but because his mother's living in him, it looks like they're there for him.

 

[Escanor935]

This looks really interesting, maybe the spirits are part of her mother or something like that?

 

[caitsith]

Oh, that's a twist. That's very twisty.

 

[Randomizer]

If he lives, maybe he can become her boyfriend.

 

[Fluffyfish]

nani

 

[NuMu]

This story actually had foreshadowing. Remember the punk guy that they gave the kitten too? The cat ghost following him looked happy. The cat ghosts following the teacher look to be in agony. He definitely wasn't doing good things to those cats.

 

[SparkyLark]

Oh shit, what if the teacher can see ghosts too? Maybe not the ghost of his mom, though.

 

[BestBoy]

@Flare3500 If he dies I think his mother's ghost will blame Miko and start haunting her instead. That'd force the story to move forward with the Kitsune.

 

[InfiniteVerisimilitude]

Yeah my bet is also that

Spoiler

The guy might be all right bu that the ghost is still ruining his life.

 

[nikonekonya]

I don't care about the teacher, I just want that poor kitten to be okay ;A;

 

[Avrune]

woahwoahwoah that was unexpected, genuinely curious to see the next chapter! Hope the kitty is ok.

 

[Teddy]

For those who are suffering cognitive dissonance from believing the man was evil since the webcomic.

There is a clear solution gentlemen, that we aren't seeing.

He's thinking "Nobody's killing that cat except for me!"

 

[clarksonhector]

bruh im so fucking confused right now

 

[fitizen]

Ohhhhh that's his mom

 

[Juli0n]

He is about to be isekaid and is going to have a long chat with his mother

 

[Qelix]

If he isn't actually evil, I'm a bit disappointed. That would be a by far too simple heel turn. We had no evidence he might be good....Okay. We also had no concrete evidence he is evil, except of pictures, that spoke for themselves. So we all became convinced he is evil and it sound like the perfect setup for a good heel turn event, right? Well, but it doesn't feel right. It feels shallow. Maybe it would feel better, if the heel turning event would have had been something else. This self sacrifice is just over the top and rushed. Doing something slower would have that a deeper impact and it would have been creepier. For exsample he might already have had a cat at home, that is scared, but well feed. And even though he (in a creppy manner) honestly tries to care for it, the mother endangers it. And slowly it dawns on us: He isn't really (that) evil.

Edit: Also that flashback should have happened a few chapters earlier and not in the same chapter as the "reveal".

 

[TrueGoddessReincarnation]

This is slowly becoming a bad manga.

 

[relic626]

I think its possible that he's just messed up from his upbringing. His Mother could be the spectre that's always protecting him "Don't look at him" Pretty overprotecting imo.
Its possible that he likes cats and when they pass on, their spectres stay with him also possibly out of affection and to protect him.
He clearly has taken a liking to cats and/ or broken things judging by how he leaped to get the cat.