Mietemasu yo! Aizawa-san - Vol. 5 Ch. 26 - And Then There Were None!

[MangaDex]

 

[Beltaro]

NEW

• Mizu face reveal!
• Michi gained/recovered supernatural xray nightvision.
• Honda did something to Masaki she hasn't been forgiven for.

Karasuma has some weirdly incomplete knowledge of Michi. She seemingly recognized Mini Michi, yet couldn't identify Michi's AAA(MA?) seal. She's mildly surprised at Michi's supernatural sight, but not wholly shocked she could do it. It's likely part of whatever powers Michi lost with her memories. But then Karasuma was unaware Michi is a fan of her dead girlfriend's idol group. Which is a real ??? even for the goofy out of touch exorcist lady.

I'm getting the impression they weren't that close even if Karasuma is protective of her. And I've been chewing this thought since last chapter: what if Karasuma was a friend of Michi's mom? Hell, what if the time Karasuma failed Michi was her mom's death? Total speculation but it would explain her current distantly protective relationship. It would line up if Karasuma knew Michi when she was younger but not during the period Michi was with Aizawa.

It's also very curious Karasuma is here for "reconnaissance" and doesn't act when Mizu strangles another girl on stage. Instead she reassures Michi it's going to be fine. So what does Karasuma know that she's allowing this to happen? What is she really here to observe? Obviously Mizu is a harmful spirit, but I only see 2 conclusions: either Mizu is powerful enough she can't be exorcised so easily or Mizu is connected to something larger. Either way she needs Mizu to expose herself.

Anyway, fucking harsh. Non thinks Ange strangled her. I think Tear didn't recognize it was Ange in the dark until the last second (rather than accusing Ange of being possessed). Honda thinks Masaki hates her, and we don't even know enough there to say that's untrue. And of course Ange has to come to terms with what she unconsciously did. Not even mentioning how the unstable titular ghost is going to take the news. Usually when a chapter is this dark and has this much going on it's the end of the volume.

We're certainly trending in a horror direction. Hard to imagine things going back to fluffy slice of life, and this still isn't nearly as bad as it can get. Not that Dorothy won't find plenty of excuses to squeeze in humor. But like I've said, the status quo needed breaking to advance the mystery. Michi can't keep lying to herself that things will work out if she stays passive. Dorothy did say Honda vs Masaki will be the main event this volume, so I expect next chapter to touch on what Honda needed 'forgiving' for. And Dorothy also said we'd learn DeLphi's past, probably as Tear tries to salvage the group. I don't know how she can manage at this point. But Mizu might not let them stop.

Something about Ange strangling Non is more disturbing to me than all the previous ghost shenanigans. It's physical, it's deadly, and maybe moreso that Non is completely innocent to all this. We've been in relatively safe waters so far - as freaky as Aizawa gets on occasion it never felt like she was putting Michi in mortal danger. Danger Michi was already a little steeped in. That legless ghost in ch8 got her, but again it wasn't so violent. And the festival was more of a metaphysical threat. This is Mizu baring some fangs and Dorothy burning bridges. If Non's not safe no one is.

Masaki's still unreadable. It's becoming clear her habit of 'always saying the wrong things' isn't an accident. She really has no interest in the concert even if she seems to like DeLphi. And can she actually tell they're cursed? Her bitterness to Honda is the real thing, but maybe she isn't holding as much a grudge as Honda thinks? She seems disappointed Honda gave up on her dream. Whatever, I like the darker side of her coming to light.

• If Karasuma has the same sight-beyond-sight Michi now does, there's a legit excuse for always keeping her eyes closed
• On page 14 you can see Mizu's left eye if you look close enough

 

[gelert10]

I always look forward to your analysis @Beltaro after I finish the new chapter. This is a wonderful little series and I can't wait for the next part after each release.

 

[Colonel-Picquart]

Wow what a chapter!
I think Masaki 100% has true sight and can see exactly what's happening to Delphi, that could mean her happiness at Honda's band getting in trouble might be twofold. Schadenfreude on the one hand and potentially on a deeper level 'I'm glad Honda didn't join the unwitting ghost victims'

 

[shemper]

Thank you for your work!

 

[Mangamoz]

It's that time again sweetie, time to reread "Mietemasu yo! Aizawa-san" from chap 1 yet again cause I have no fucking idea what is happening or who is who.

 

[Hikineet]

Thanks for the chapter.

 

[Paraguayito]

Who was Mizu again?

 

[Nosebleed]

I swear every time a new chapter of this comes out I have to reread the last like 10 chapters to remember who everyone is or what is going on. Idk why this is the only manga this happens to with me. It's not really same-face syndrome or anything, each character is distinct, but for some reason all the subplots and side characters just don't stick in my memory. I think it's the slow release coupled with how densely packed with info each chapter is. Whenever this is over I bet it'll be a blast to reread from start to finish.

 

[emmadrew]

I don't know why, but somehow I absolutely did not expect DeLphi to go on hiatus again. This really is a huge status quo change. I wonder if Delphi are going to start interacting with Michi and the rest of the main cast more, now that they cannot ignore the spiritual bullshit going on. Thank you for the TL!

 

[onedumninja]

So the 5th member was a demon or made a deal with one? Somehow she went away but now she's coming back for them...

 

[T-sama]

Man good thing there was a blackout, cause otherwise how they would explain Ange actions as a health issue? That she suffers from "I need to strangle this bitch" syndrome? That the other girl was into it and saying "harder mommy"? No way their PR team would be good enough to deal with that

Unless they decide to rebrand De:Lphinus as a menhera idol group I guess, surely there's audience for that right?

Instead of handshake event they would make strangling events where Ange strangles all her fans

 

[Beltaro]

Two things I thought more on:

• Mini Michi looks like Michi at middle school age. Dorothy had a deliberate middle school flashback in ch4 before introducing Mini Michi in ch6, breaking the ice a little. Well maybe Karasuma doesn't know Mini Michi - maybe she knew middle school age Michi. If we're accepting she knew Michi's mom which is already pretty baseless but hey.
• ...Does Karasuma actually know Aizawa was in De:Lphinus? Like why is she surprised Michi is here. For real. Did she know Aizawa well at all? This would seemingly confirm she knew Michi long ago and not recently (ie she did not meet Michi through helping her and Aizawa before dying.)

Who was Mizu again?

"Mizu" is just the name I've attributed her.

Spoiler: sailor moon theory RTA

So Dorothy loves Sailor Moon. The 5 main girls in Sailor Moon have a specific naming pattern (surnames begin with an 'element'). The 4 DeLphi girls have the same naming pattern and Dorothy dropped a hint with *Ki*do Ange wearing a Jupiter shirt like Sailor Jupiter, *Ki*no Makoto. Anyway the weird part is there weren't 5 DeLphi girls and *Mizu*something was missing. But it became clearer there was a secret 5th member. So 99% chance her name begins with Mizu__. And it's easier than saying "the ghost haunting DeLphi every time."

Anyway. We don't know much concrete facts about her. According to Masaki, she was in the DeLphi tryouts and seemed like a perfect fit but never made it in for some reason. Tear also fondly refers to there being 5 members of DeLphi. So Mizu must have passed auditions but something unfortunate (like dying) kept her out.

So now she's haunting DeLphi. She's desperate to kill Aizawa, though weirdly there don't seem to be hard feelings there?Unlike with Non. RIP (she's alive). And back in chapter 18 Tear had a quick flashback to what might have been Mizu's death. We'll probably learn more very soon as the author said this volume would detail DeLphi's history.

So the 5th member was a demon or made a deal with one? Somehow she went away but now she's coming back for them...

This is pure speculation so don't take it too seriously but I'm going to tie together a lot of details (and ramble):
We know from ch14 Tear started out as some kind of possibly occult underground idol. She had a weird past. So what if she accidentally(?) made a deal with something for fame. It's been mentioned several times things are going great for DeLphi even in spite of Aizawa's death. This would also kinda tie into the myth of Delphinus, with the group murdering someone for wealth. But Tear seems too nice to have deliberately sacrificed 2 members.

Anyway this "something" would likely be the spirit Michi encountered on the mountain the night of Aizawa's death. It's REALLY common in Japanese folklore for dangerous spirits to be sealed on mountains, and for them to grow stronger during festivals, and Aizawa died during Obon - the festival of the dead. But we know Aizawa was sick like Ange for a while before dying. It's unclear if Mizu was haunting her.

Anyway!
Hard left turn, this mountain spirit has something to do with Michi's mom. There's all these exorcist elements that don't add up to the idol plot: Karasuma not punching Mizu out months ago while 'investigating the source', Michi's mom suddenly getting big foreshadowing, Michi herself not really being connected outside Aizawa, Sayaka having some powerful bloodline. Karasuma laments not doing enough for Michi in the past and that she might make things right now. If Karasuma is connected to Michi's mom, this might refer to Michi's mom's death, not Aizawa's death. Which means investigating Mizu is connected to whatever killed her.

There's probably a much bigger plot brewing in the background here DeLphinus is just caught in the middle of. At some point the manga plans to swap from centering on Aizawa to centering on Michi. Which is not that crazy since she's the protag and a POV character in a mystery with amnesia is always suspcious.

Tying it back from the tangent!
Mizu just happened to be the first victim. Her actions suggest she needs to spread through DeLphi like a 'curse virus'. She needs to finish the job with Aizawa. She's a vessel for this. Aizawa might have ended up a curse vessel too if Michi hadn't protected and sealed her. The other strange thing is Mizu is desperate to keep DeLphi going forever. This definitely leans towards there being some faustian deal for DeLphi's success. Mizu's actions don't add up in an entirely sane way but there's surely more to the big picture here.

 

[DJNebulous]

Kind of reads like Masaki is either somehow tied to or aware of just whatever/whoever the curse is. That smile did not seem like something she had any sense of humor or shame behind.

 

[Kitsune_115]

I will leave the theory to the curious ones!

MY JOB HERE IS DONE

 

[Nautical]

Yeah those text dumps were very intimidating, hopefully the brave ones will make it digestible.

 

[Orangechrisy]

That face on page 14 is so so so creepy, geeeeeez

 

[galaxia9]

The mystery deepens. I do hope we start getting some answers soon, I love the series but I'm forgetting the questions. Thanks for translating and the analysis.

 

[beThereShortly]

Thank you very much for the chapter! I love the amount of speculation this story encourages.
Unfortunately, I have nothing to add to the discussion so I'll just say this:
The way ghosts are drawn in this manga is real spooky!

 

[Loner210]

I think this series deserves a horror tag...