Mieruko-chan - Vol. 4 Ch. 28
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for your question : yeah , the last page is a young god-mother , the japanese texts are : godo-maza mitsue = god-mother mitsue . signed by the mangaka izumi .
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Holy shit! It's Elias! Is that where he goes to when he leaves Chise at the house?
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the PLOT in this manga is so fucking good, better than your average battle manga. this chapter had "End of Season 1" written all over it
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I can't let go of the fact that those three mouths (p. 16) have different teeth (sharp, flat, no teeth). I feel that may be a reference for something in japanese folklore or something like that. I don't know, just feel like it is. But it might be just a detail the author put to give the illusion of more depth to the world. I don't know but I can't stop thinking about it lol
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@Chiakoi I think that's an interesting point. It's possible that granny can only see malevolent and 'neutral' spirits. It's also possible that the reverse is true, and she can see the harmless and sometimes dangerous ones, but the truly dangerous ones are invisible to her. Somebody else also mentioned that there might actually be two separate things in play here: ghosts and demons, and the MC can inexplicably see both, while most people can only see one.
I guess the truth is still up in the air, because we don't really know if the fox god and it's attendants are malevolent or not. It's starting to look like they might be, but then, the author did double punk us, with the teacher being set up as the cat killer, absolved, and then casually revealed to be a vigilante murderer. So I'm not sure if they're evil or not. But the important thing in play here is that granny could not see the fox god, and could only see the attendants as blurs. So whatever they are, they fall into the realm of things granny can't see.
I'm starting to wonder if the key to all of this is actually the MC's friend, Hana. Let's not forget, the hag ghost that was eating other ghosts was following Hana around, not the MC, so strictly speaking, the fox god and the mikos didn't really save the MC at the shrine, they saved Hana. And we already saw that Hana's aura can hurt ghosts that aren't powerful and outright kill weaker spirits. The hag was using her aura to cook the troll spirits before eating them. Maybe the MC's mistake is assuming that this is all about HER, when in actuality this is actually about her friend instead.
@kenx What novel was that? Do you remember?
I guess the truth is still up in the air, because we don't really know if the fox god and it's attendants are malevolent or not. It's starting to look like they might be, but then, the author did double punk us, with the teacher being set up as the cat killer, absolved, and then casually revealed to be a vigilante murderer. So I'm not sure if they're evil or not. But the important thing in play here is that granny could not see the fox god, and could only see the attendants as blurs. So whatever they are, they fall into the realm of things granny can't see.
I'm starting to wonder if the key to all of this is actually the MC's friend, Hana. Let's not forget, the hag ghost that was eating other ghosts was following Hana around, not the MC, so strictly speaking, the fox god and the mikos didn't really save the MC at the shrine, they saved Hana. And we already saw that Hana's aura can hurt ghosts that aren't powerful and outright kill weaker spirits. The hag was using her aura to cook the troll spirits before eating them. Maybe the MC's mistake is assuming that this is all about HER, when in actuality this is actually about her friend instead.
@kenx What novel was that? Do you remember?
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@Lord-Raine
I think it was Bel, amor más allá de la muerte ("Bel, love beyond the veil" or something like that).
I think it was Bel, amor más allá de la muerte ("Bel, love beyond the veil" or something like that).
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( edited )
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@Drophobia woah thanks for the new read
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No, no, no!
Do not lewd the granny!
@Lord-Raine
I'm leaning towards the straight up power curve theory. Higher connection/strength lets you more clearly see stronger beings. Shrine spirits are hard to figure out, I feel like the 3 deal trade is not in MC's favor and they're no longer to be trusted. Maybe Hana was the price.
Do not lewd the granny!
@Lord-Raine
I'm leaning towards the straight up power curve theory. Higher connection/strength lets you more clearly see stronger beings. Shrine spirits are hard to figure out, I feel like the 3 deal trade is not in MC's favor and they're no longer to be trusted. Maybe Hana was the price.
That's still a "neutral good" in my books.
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@Degernase "That's still a "neutral good" in my books."
Yeah, but it's going to cause fucking problems later on. His mother may have been a monster, but she was also part of an ecosystem surrounding him that we did not understand at the time. As I've said before in the comments of other chapters, we already know that spirits can eat other spirits to get stronger. It's almost certain that his mother was eating the ghosts of the criminals he was killing, which is why they weren't causing problems before, and why she was so powerful and bizarre looking. Now that she's gone, the violent and deranged people he kills are going to become ghosts and then be free to do whatever they like. The devil that was sitting on his shoulder cleaning up his messes on the supernatural side is GONE. That's going to be an ISSUE in the future.
The real question here isn't even the fox god or the attendants, honestly. The issue is the 'reapers,' for lack of a better term. The spirits that seem to be part of a process that removes other spirits from this world. Are they malevolent? Would they hurt humans, or do they only care about other spirits? Gruesome as they may be, are they actually the allies of the living, or are they simply a much more dangerous predator that largely ignores people? That's the real question here. If she absolutely had to, could she run and find the barbed wire axe ghost from the bus, or the voodoo dreadlocks goat butler from the restaurant, and rely on them to get rid of whatever was chasing her? Or are they actually the most dangerous ghosts of all? We don't really have an answer to that question, and I think that's going to be what really matters going forwards from here. The axe ghost, at least, doesn't seem antagonistic. If anything, he seems to be going out of his way to protect people, putting his axe into people one at a time to 'exorcise' them, specifically hunting for the kinds of ghosts and spirits that hide in people.
Even the hag monster the MC lead to the shrine to 'deal' with wasn't actually threatening her or her friend. That's worth pointing out. All it did was following them around like a puppy and eat all the other spirits that were attracted to them. While it was unsightly to look at, was it actually evil? Or was its presence a blessing in disguise, that the MC unwittingly got rid of? We don't know.
Yeah, but it's going to cause fucking problems later on. His mother may have been a monster, but she was also part of an ecosystem surrounding him that we did not understand at the time. As I've said before in the comments of other chapters, we already know that spirits can eat other spirits to get stronger. It's almost certain that his mother was eating the ghosts of the criminals he was killing, which is why they weren't causing problems before, and why she was so powerful and bizarre looking. Now that she's gone, the violent and deranged people he kills are going to become ghosts and then be free to do whatever they like. The devil that was sitting on his shoulder cleaning up his messes on the supernatural side is GONE. That's going to be an ISSUE in the future.
The real question here isn't even the fox god or the attendants, honestly. The issue is the 'reapers,' for lack of a better term. The spirits that seem to be part of a process that removes other spirits from this world. Are they malevolent? Would they hurt humans, or do they only care about other spirits? Gruesome as they may be, are they actually the allies of the living, or are they simply a much more dangerous predator that largely ignores people? That's the real question here. If she absolutely had to, could she run and find the barbed wire axe ghost from the bus, or the voodoo dreadlocks goat butler from the restaurant, and rely on them to get rid of whatever was chasing her? Or are they actually the most dangerous ghosts of all? We don't really have an answer to that question, and I think that's going to be what really matters going forwards from here. The axe ghost, at least, doesn't seem antagonistic. If anything, he seems to be going out of his way to protect people, putting his axe into people one at a time to 'exorcise' them, specifically hunting for the kinds of ghosts and spirits that hide in people.
Even the hag monster the MC lead to the shrine to 'deal' with wasn't actually threatening her or her friend. That's worth pointing out. All it did was following them around like a puppy and eat all the other spirits that were attracted to them. While it was unsightly to look at, was it actually evil? Or was its presence a blessing in disguise, that the MC unwittingly got rid of? We don't know.
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@Lord-Raine
Let's start going down the list of what we might consider to be at least somewhat safe assumptions.
1. There seem to be 2 kinds of basic spirits, those that linger because of their own attachments and those that linger because of others attachments. For the latter, I'm specifically thinking of the cats that followed best vigilante around. Notice how they ascended by themselves after the mother let go of her grip on him and he came to peace with things.
1. Then there's the third type, those that have developed a consciousness beyond lingering memories. Among them I doubt that there are any truly altruistic spirits, at best they have a symbiotic relationship with people and the way humans benefit from them is purely coincidental.
3. The spirits/demons are only uninterested in people because they can't directly interact with them. Saw someone mention how some Japanese lore on spirits suggests that they can only physically interact with humans that acknowledges them, sounds likely to be the case in this story with how desperate they are to get reactions and the immediate attack once they manage to ascertain it.
Notice how that "hag monster" which was following Hana was 0.2 seconds away from murdering them once she was truly certain MC knew of her presence, which is when the shrine spirits attacked. Maybe she'd still be unable to physically harm Hana, though.
4. One formerly weak spirit that ate 9 weak ones is much more dangerous than 10 weak spirits. Stronger ones seem capable of influencing people's emotions and are immune to defenses that work against weaker spirits (like the bracelets and rocks, which are probably warding them off with imbued life force).
Therefore it's not a good thing to have one grow ever stronger, like the mother. Even these reapers or gate keepers seem to struggle a bit once things go too far.
5. Strength seems to increase their cognitive function as well. These basic bitch "lost spirits" are just stuck on repeat whilst those that managed to grow stronger have more advanced autonomy and personality. Like that one pretending to be a kid fishing for reactions. Strength of the lingering attachment itself probably corresponds to their "starting strength" so to say, which makes them more likely to hunt other spirits and grow even stronger.
6. The gatekeepers and hunters (like train axe dude) are probably just more advanced spirits that take part of a larger societal structure, they're most likely acting out of self interest but in the "lawful evil" fashion if we're using DnD terms.
Because think about it, spirits are the last remains of a once living being. Spirits are also food. If renegade spirits interfere with the human world to the point of extinguishing all life, no new spirits will be created. But that's under the assumption that souls/spirits don't enter an endless reincarnation cycle and there's only ever a fixed amount.
Let's start going down the list of what we might consider to be at least somewhat safe assumptions.
1. There seem to be 2 kinds of basic spirits, those that linger because of their own attachments and those that linger because of others attachments. For the latter, I'm specifically thinking of the cats that followed best vigilante around. Notice how they ascended by themselves after the mother let go of her grip on him and he came to peace with things.
1. Then there's the third type, those that have developed a consciousness beyond lingering memories. Among them I doubt that there are any truly altruistic spirits, at best they have a symbiotic relationship with people and the way humans benefit from them is purely coincidental.
3. The spirits/demons are only uninterested in people because they can't directly interact with them. Saw someone mention how some Japanese lore on spirits suggests that they can only physically interact with humans that acknowledges them, sounds likely to be the case in this story with how desperate they are to get reactions and the immediate attack once they manage to ascertain it.
Notice how that "hag monster" which was following Hana was 0.2 seconds away from murdering them once she was truly certain MC knew of her presence, which is when the shrine spirits attacked. Maybe she'd still be unable to physically harm Hana, though.
4. One formerly weak spirit that ate 9 weak ones is much more dangerous than 10 weak spirits. Stronger ones seem capable of influencing people's emotions and are immune to defenses that work against weaker spirits (like the bracelets and rocks, which are probably warding them off with imbued life force).
Therefore it's not a good thing to have one grow ever stronger, like the mother. Even these reapers or gate keepers seem to struggle a bit once things go too far.
5. Strength seems to increase their cognitive function as well. These basic bitch "lost spirits" are just stuck on repeat whilst those that managed to grow stronger have more advanced autonomy and personality. Like that one pretending to be a kid fishing for reactions. Strength of the lingering attachment itself probably corresponds to their "starting strength" so to say, which makes them more likely to hunt other spirits and grow even stronger.
6. The gatekeepers and hunters (like train axe dude) are probably just more advanced spirits that take part of a larger societal structure, they're most likely acting out of self interest but in the "lawful evil" fashion if we're using DnD terms.
Because think about it, spirits are the last remains of a once living being. Spirits are also food. If renegade spirits interfere with the human world to the point of extinguishing all life, no new spirits will be created. But that's under the assumption that souls/spirits don't enter an endless reincarnation cycle and there's only ever a fixed amount.
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@Degernase
I think those are some pretty fair assumptions to make. The only thing I would contest is the types of spirits that tend to exist. There are a few more types. There are spirits that get attached to people and follow them around, or are attached to a specific location and just stay there. We've seen that. There are spirits that seem to survive entirely by possessing the living and influencing their behaviors. We've seen that. There are what I'm going to call "weirdos," which are just strange spirits that hang around and don't really seem to have any attachments, like the vending machine squid man and a few others we've noted in the background. And then there are the spirits that do seem to have some purpose or design they are pursuing, something that motivates them, like the axe guy, who seems to spend all his time hanging out on buses and trains and fishing possessor spirits out of people so he can stuff them in a sack and do... something, with them.
There are also literally just straight up ghosts, which I think deserve a typing of their own. Just the souls of dead people, who aren't mutated or distorted in any manner. You can even talk to them, if Granny doing so to the dead husband of her friend is any indication. Dead humans seem to be completely safe, though we may see that tested in the near future, if any of the victims of vigilante teacher come back. If it weren't for that freakish thing that ALSO seems to live in her house, we don't have any reason to suppose she couldn't talk to her father and let him know she can see him. The only reason would be that informing him would also constitute making it aware that it can be seen, which would, of course, not be a good idea.
We do still have a few very important questions that don't have answers. One of which is, can she even BE hurt by these spirits? I'm not saying they pose no threat at all, obviously they do. But so far, we have yet to see any of these spirits actually injure anyone. She ASSUMED axe man's axe would cut her, but would it really have? We still aren't entirely clear on precisely how dangerous ANY of these things actually are. They pose some amount of threat, between the amounts of almost nothing to horrific. It's somewhere between those extremes. We don't know where.
We actually have a good grasp of their power levels, though, because the attendants have shown us that. The mutated hag is the most dangerous thing we've ever seen. It killed both attendants and required the Inari/Kyuubi/Fox God to intervene directly. The trashcan spider was extremely dangerous and absolutely outmatched the kids and all the other ghosts present, but wasn't strong enough to kill even one of the attendants. The ambush kid was stronger than the trashcan spider: unlike it, the kid was able to kill one of the attendants, which means that the kid is actually VERY strong. That was a completely unfair and one-sided encounter for any spirit medium. It's basically the supernatural equivalent of a trapdoor spider or anglerfish. And finally, the mother was stronger than the trashcan spider, but not as strong as the hag. Like the ambush kid, she also killed one of the attendants before being put down.
One of the things I really enjoy about this series is the air of mystery and danger. There are a bunch of very basic questions that we still don't have answers to, and absolutely nothing is made clear. Even the authorities on the spirit world, like Granny, are very obviously shown to have limited knowledge. Granny can't see the reapers, and doesn't know anything about them. Hopefully, we DON'T get clear answers to any of these questions soon. We will probably find out more about the attendants and the Fox God, because they seem to be making themselves part of the plot now that they've intervened the promised three times, but I hope that a lot of the basic questions about the setting continue to remain unanswered, at least for a little while.
We will probably get some answers, though, because obviously the Goth Urahara magician is being set up to provide some exposition. He's the only other person that could see the Fox God. But hopefully he keeps his explanations to a minimum, because it's the mystery of all of this that makes it so good. This story is much more frightening precisely BECAUSE of the fear of the unknown. Once we know things, it becomes substantially less scary.
I think those are some pretty fair assumptions to make. The only thing I would contest is the types of spirits that tend to exist. There are a few more types. There are spirits that get attached to people and follow them around, or are attached to a specific location and just stay there. We've seen that. There are spirits that seem to survive entirely by possessing the living and influencing their behaviors. We've seen that. There are what I'm going to call "weirdos," which are just strange spirits that hang around and don't really seem to have any attachments, like the vending machine squid man and a few others we've noted in the background. And then there are the spirits that do seem to have some purpose or design they are pursuing, something that motivates them, like the axe guy, who seems to spend all his time hanging out on buses and trains and fishing possessor spirits out of people so he can stuff them in a sack and do... something, with them.
There are also literally just straight up ghosts, which I think deserve a typing of their own. Just the souls of dead people, who aren't mutated or distorted in any manner. You can even talk to them, if Granny doing so to the dead husband of her friend is any indication. Dead humans seem to be completely safe, though we may see that tested in the near future, if any of the victims of vigilante teacher come back. If it weren't for that freakish thing that ALSO seems to live in her house, we don't have any reason to suppose she couldn't talk to her father and let him know she can see him. The only reason would be that informing him would also constitute making it aware that it can be seen, which would, of course, not be a good idea.
We do still have a few very important questions that don't have answers. One of which is, can she even BE hurt by these spirits? I'm not saying they pose no threat at all, obviously they do. But so far, we have yet to see any of these spirits actually injure anyone. She ASSUMED axe man's axe would cut her, but would it really have? We still aren't entirely clear on precisely how dangerous ANY of these things actually are. They pose some amount of threat, between the amounts of almost nothing to horrific. It's somewhere between those extremes. We don't know where.
We actually have a good grasp of their power levels, though, because the attendants have shown us that. The mutated hag is the most dangerous thing we've ever seen. It killed both attendants and required the Inari/Kyuubi/Fox God to intervene directly. The trashcan spider was extremely dangerous and absolutely outmatched the kids and all the other ghosts present, but wasn't strong enough to kill even one of the attendants. The ambush kid was stronger than the trashcan spider: unlike it, the kid was able to kill one of the attendants, which means that the kid is actually VERY strong. That was a completely unfair and one-sided encounter for any spirit medium. It's basically the supernatural equivalent of a trapdoor spider or anglerfish. And finally, the mother was stronger than the trashcan spider, but not as strong as the hag. Like the ambush kid, she also killed one of the attendants before being put down.
One of the things I really enjoy about this series is the air of mystery and danger. There are a bunch of very basic questions that we still don't have answers to, and absolutely nothing is made clear. Even the authorities on the spirit world, like Granny, are very obviously shown to have limited knowledge. Granny can't see the reapers, and doesn't know anything about them. Hopefully, we DON'T get clear answers to any of these questions soon. We will probably find out more about the attendants and the Fox God, because they seem to be making themselves part of the plot now that they've intervened the promised three times, but I hope that a lot of the basic questions about the setting continue to remain unanswered, at least for a little while.
We will probably get some answers, though, because obviously the Goth Urahara magician is being set up to provide some exposition. He's the only other person that could see the Fox God. But hopefully he keeps his explanations to a minimum, because it's the mystery of all of this that makes it so good. This story is much more frightening precisely BECAUSE of the fear of the unknown. Once we know things, it becomes substantially less scary.
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@Lord-Raine
I think the mentality of spirits depends on multiple factors, such as what is actually tying them down and the feelings surrounding that but also how long they've been spirits. Staying as spirits for too long will almost certainly deteriorate the mind in more than one way.
I considered both of them in my somewhat broad category of spirits with lingering attachments.
Again, lingering attachments. The spirit went away after she talked with his daughter and convinced her she wasn't to blame for his death. Same with the senile old woman's husband that MC helped with the safe combination. MC's father probably feels like he abandoned the family and has a guilty conscience, pretending everything is normal.
I think the mentality of spirits depends on multiple factors, such as what is actually tying them down and the feelings surrounding that but also how long they've been spirits. Staying as spirits for too long will almost certainly deteriorate the mind in more than one way.
You're right, I forgot about those. Maybe their lingering attachments weren't strong enough to make them manic about them, so they faded with time as their minds deteriorated. But since their attachments went unsolved, they're still unable to pass on.
My take on it is that it's either a roaming "gatekeeper" or a former medium that hates spirits.
I'm 95% sure that we've had a scene where one physically grabs MC and she is unable to pass through the grasp. Even if I'm wrong, them not being able to hurt her would be the biggest plot twist out of everything.
This is about the power level of the medium, it's talked about. She flat out says that MC must have much greater power if she's able to see things she isn't. The granny medium can see the vague aura of stronger spirits, whilst her "apprentice" can't even see that. Meaning the gatekeepers are several times stronger than the things granny only see the aura of.
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One thing I think gets overlooked is that Miko is actually very different from the other mediums in two ways. First, the mediums seem like they've had their powers their whole life, where as Miko was very suddenly able to see them, with no explanation or seeming reason for why. Poor girl was just standing by the bus stop in a light rain, and suddenly this creepy monk thing with it's stomach carved out and a baby inside was asking if she could see it.
Secondly, and more interestingly, is that she can't see life aruas. Again, this is something we've seen every medium do, from Julia to Romm, and Miko can't. If Julia can do it, it's really nothing special.
So we have an ordinary if slightly gloomy high school girl suddenly able to see the dead. And not just random little spirits, she can see everything, from spooks to ghouls to the closest thing we've seen to a god. And that’s all she can see, no life aruas for her. Nothing living, just the dead. There's something going on there, even if I don't know what.
Secondly, and more interestingly, is that she can't see life aruas. Again, this is something we've seen every medium do, from Julia to Romm, and Miko can't. If Julia can do it, it's really nothing special.
So we have an ordinary if slightly gloomy high school girl suddenly able to see the dead. And not just random little spirits, she can see everything, from spooks to ghouls to the closest thing we've seen to a god. And that’s all she can see, no life aruas for her. Nothing living, just the dead. There's something going on there, even if I don't know what.
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@Nottheunmaker
Those are good points, so could It be possible Mieruko isn't supposed to be alive or something? Since it seems like the plot is definitely picking up lately.
Those are good points, so could It be possible Mieruko isn't supposed to be alive or something? Since it seems like the plot is definitely picking up lately.
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@Euclaid_Galieane
It's possible, but nothing we've seen indicates that she's had a near death experience she wasn't supposed to survive. Again, her seeing these things is very out of the blue, and is treated as such by her. There's no precipitating event. It's possible we simply lack that information, not having key information is very common in this comic, but that feels forced.
One possibility, though unlikely, is that she's possessed. If a powerful spirit has infestated her, that could explain the sudden spiritual sight. You have a reason why, just as way to be near Hana and warm itself off her life arua fairly regularly. Though that wouldn't explain why the Ax-man didn't chop it out of her back at the bus. Or why the thing at the shrine didn't rip it out of her.
Honestly at this point her ability is purely inexplicable, and probably will remain so until the relevant information is dispensed.
It's possible, but nothing we've seen indicates that she's had a near death experience she wasn't supposed to survive. Again, her seeing these things is very out of the blue, and is treated as such by her. There's no precipitating event. It's possible we simply lack that information, not having key information is very common in this comic, but that feels forced.
One possibility, though unlikely, is that she's possessed. If a powerful spirit has infestated her, that could explain the sudden spiritual sight. You have a reason why, just as way to be near Hana and warm itself off her life arua fairly regularly. Though that wouldn't explain why the Ax-man didn't chop it out of her back at the bus. Or why the thing at the shrine didn't rip it out of her.
Honestly at this point her ability is purely inexplicable, and probably will remain so until the relevant information is dispensed.
