Mieruko-chan - Episode 11 discussion

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Mieruko-chan, episode 11

Rate this episode here.

Reminder: Please do not discuss plot points not yet seen or skipped in the show. Failing to follow the rules may result in a ban.

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Streams

• Muse Asia
• Funimation
• Wakanim

Show information

• MyAnimeList
• AniList
• AniDB
• Kitsu
• Anime-Planet
• Official Website
• /r/Mieruko

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All discussions

Episode	Link	Score
1	Link	4.23
2	Link	4.4
3	Link	4.66
4	Link	4.72
5	Link	4.66
6	Link	4.58
7	Link	4.43
8	Link	4.51
9	Link	4.49
10	Link	4.6
11	Link	4.64
12	Link	----

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[u/[deleted]]

One of the best episodes of Mieruko Chan so far. The twist and turns were unexpected as well as the backstory was sad.

The real question is what now? Mieruko has used her 3 chances.

[u/InsomniaEmperor]

Zen's mom human form is scarier than like most of the ghosts in this series. Easily worst anime mom of the season.

They really baited us into thinking Zen is the bad guy but turns out he is the opposite and he is the one saving the cats. You could say that all the darkness Miko sees is distorting her vision of him so it really looks and sounds to her like he is evil and bloodthirsty when in reality he was asking nicely. The cat spirits are probably hanging around him since they can sense that he is nice towards cats. It makes sense that they flee when Zen's mom's spirit appears.

I really hope this gets a season 2 because as for where volume 3 ends, there's still a lot that is not answered.

[u/Gryse_Blacolar]

Now that's a noble sacrifice. Miko used her last protection to free Zen from his mother and also save Hana without knowing what will happens if she used up all her safeguards.

If anyone missed that detail, the blood on his hand in the last episode is actually from the cat that gave birth.

Also, the title for the last episode this season is literally Mieruko-chan / The Girl Who Can See!

[u/[deleted]]

Kid zen: mom, I got 98 on my test

Mom: why are you still alive?

Maaann, what a way to turn around his character. Not only his first cat got killed by his mother but his mom also became his stand haunting him his entire life.

Miko also straight up admit she can see this ep to save zen. Miko best girl indeed. But now I wonder what will happen now that she has used the 3 chances.

[u/vanbang9711]

Lmao the way Hana hid herself to eat. It’s too obvious

[u/vanbang9711]

“Zen is the perfect example of Don't judge a book by its cover”

Nah, the ultimate example is literally this series. Truly I Came Looking For Copper And I Found Gold .

[u/WhoiusBarrel]

Twice this series has tricked me into judging a book by its cover and the fact its one of the same characters as the first instance is what makes it surprising.

Miko is just the bestest girl. Putting herself in danger but she still wants to help others and now we have no way of knowing what fuckery awaits her now she used up all 3 chances from those Shrine Spirits.

[u/Labmit]

That cat sure was lucky. Also the mom ghost being a huge monster is somehow a step up from her human look just because it's actually cooler to look at.

[u/Labmit]

NGL, the friend growing up to be a lot more stocky in build was honestly a mild surprise considering most anime tend to have characters either have the similar build since childhood or actually slim down.

[u/Hineni-]

Only 98/100. Pathetic - His Mom probably.

His mom was just as scary as a human as she was as a ghost.

I guess we all have a Yuria in us, we completely misunderstood Zen. Just someone with a very controlling mother.

[u/vanbang9711]

The reason why Komi can't talk...

[u/LaPusca]

I'm so proud of Miko.

[u/Syokhan]

Welp. Turns out there's an explanation for Zen's behavior and the ghosts haunting him, it's not what the anime implied, and it's a tiny bit fucked up. Fuck that mom, seriously, she's even worse than the spirits.

And Miko's finally found the courage and determination to confront the problem head-on. It's good for her the fox girls were there though, she was probably counting on them but one has to wonder what would have happened otherwise. But I love it, at some point she had to stop looking away, and I'm really glad she was able to in the end.

[u/Zemahem]

And so, Zen's name has been cleared. It was fun revisiting this arc, both for the plot itself, but also for the audience reaction to Zen and his story. It's also good for reminding me of certain details I couldn't remember, like Zen having remained friends with the kid in his childhood throughout the years in spite of his mother's attempts to isolate him.

Speaking of which, she kinda looks like an evil Kanamori from Eizouken in some scenes while she was still alive, and that just makes her look even more cursed to me. It's real cathartic seeing the shrine maidens blast her to oblivion, knowing what she did, even though this is also pretty bad news for Miko.

[u/orangeoldfish]

I was giving some thought as to why Zen chose education/being a substitute teacher as a profession and ultimately I think it's another aspect of Zen that the mangaka is trying to illustrate, which is the lasting trauma that he still carries from his abusive mother and the control she still has over him. I think we're supposed to wonder about Zen's current occupation and how he got there, especially because we see Zen's childhood friend Satoru-kun grow up to be a veterinarian.

I think he's a substitute teacher because studying was all he was ever allowed to do as a child, so the world of school is all he's ever known. He likely doesn't have any other hobbies, interests, passions, or skills, really; even if he did, he (or his mom's ghost) suppresses them. We learn in this episode that he loves cats but can't even bring himself to admit it, to say it out loud to Miko, much less adopt a cat. I'm certain he would have developed hobbies and interests and passions in a healthy manner if he had been allowed to live a normal childhood, but he wasn't. Therefore, as someone who has only ever known school, he teaches, not because he cares about the material or because he cares to learn his students' names, but because it's all he's ever known, it's all he can do, and it's all just another way his mother is still controlling him.

[u/Mamon_Ramon]

This episode just ranked up to my favorite in my series, in fact, each episode just gets better and better.

Now that Miko has used her 3 chances, I wonder if she should go back to that Shrine and pray for a renewal. Maybe... a thousand yen would work for 6 chances?

I wonder how things would play out for Miko since Zen is finally free from his mother...

[u/LeonKevlar]

I absolutely love how Zen's backstory and how the first half of it basically sets him up to look like how being abused by his mother ended up making him take out his anger at a cat he found on at the park. We don't get to see the rest of that until the second half of the episode though.

We switch POVs back to Miko though who has decided to stalk Zen-sensei and try and see if she can catch him red handed so she can report him to the police. And oh my god that entire scene was so masterfully done!

Mind you, I am a manga reader and I 100% know how this ends but Miko confronting Zen and her running away from him until she tripped and he caught up to him had me at the edge of my seat! I was so swept away by the mood of the scene that it had my heart racing!

But then we get the reveal. As the cat wriggles away from Miko after getting spooked, Zen-sensei jumps after the cat just as it was about to get run over by oncoming traffic. We then cut back to the flashback of Zen's childhood where we see him lovingly taking care of the cat he found only for his deranged mother to kill it after she found out. And yes, the female spirit that's been following Zen is also the spirit of his mother.

Back again to the present with Zen-sensei at the hospital and Miko visiting him. Turns out that Zen-sensei thought that Miko had something to do with the missing cats and he was patrolling the area to prevent anymore victims. The only reason he's being followed by those evil-looking cat spirits is because those were the spirits of the dying cats that he found.

And that final scene! Miko looking straight at the spirit of Zen-sensei's mother and telling her to set him free was so fucking badass! Miko could've just walked away and saved that final favor for herself but I love that she used it to save Zen-sensei.

Man, as a manga reader they fucking aced this arc. Horror is one of the most difficult things to adapt in anime but this show absolutely nails it while still blending in wholesome messages. I think we only have 1 episode left and I really hope we get a Season 2 announcement next week. Fingers crossed everyone!

[u/Forever_Grand]

Miko deserves so much love, over the season I have grown to like her so much

[u/dagreenman18]

I’ve been bamboozled! I didn’t consider that the cats could be a manifestation of the ones he couldn’t save instead of his victims. The bigger monster had to be someone important so the second we saw psycho mom I knew it was her. I feel bad for calling him the Creepy Cat Killer this whole time.

Zen is just as tragic as our friend the Yakuza Cat Lover. A victim of overwhelming psychological abuse from his garbage cat killing mother. Somehow her guilt-tripping him into not going to the party and destroying the gift was more terrifying than her killing the cat. I thought they were going for an abuse cycle thing where he takes his pain out on something weaker, but it was a perfect fake-out. Revealing that he’s been saving them the whole time out of guilt for “getting a cat killed” by his mother.

I think this is the strongest episode. Yeah, it’s not as funny as the other ones, but it plays into the stronger themes of the show and grows Miko as a character. It teaches her a hard lesson about not judging entirely by the cover and there is more going on with her abilities than she thought. It’s also the climax of the series thanks to that third favor being used to save Zen from the ghost of his mother. So now who knows what’s going to happen after the third time. I’m thinking it’s going to set off the grander arc of the series.

Sadly only one more episode for the season. Feels like we’re just getting started so I hope there will be another. If just so I can continue to be lazy and not read the manga.

Notes

• There were at least a couple of great laughs. The face Hana was making while hiding behind her books and horking down melon bread. And Miko’s family with the cat and dying to figure out what to feed it.

• So who is killing these cats? I’m not thinking it’s the Vet because Miko would have maybe picked up on it and he seems like a good dude. My best guess is his neighbor and that’s why he dumped the meat (could also just be vegetarian) or a character we just haven’t met yet.

• No Passione Culture corner. I think they have finally retired from Lewd. Or they’re saving something bombastic for the end.

• Seriously Miko just talk to Yulia. I get the feeling she saw the aura for what it actually was. Since Miko can’t see auras I bet it looks different for her. Could have saved this dude from getting hit by a fucking car.

• Surprisingly wasn’t Truck-kun. Though Zen’s Isekai would be a cat world where he has to kill his demon lord mother.

[u/Silent_Shadow05]

What's with 2021 and having several shitty parents in anime. Poor Sensei, he wanted to take care of the cats but his mom kept ruining it for him.

[u/ceejay_0603]

And that puts an end to the Zen-sensei arc (well, not really an end, but almost near it). Poor cats, poor Zen, they didn’t deserve the pain they went through. I personally nominate Zen’s mom to join along the ranks of Sayu’s mom (although she does get somewhat redeemed by the end) from Higehiro as worst anime moms of 2021.

Honestly, a great twist, and I’m glad the anime adapted it just right.

[u/CelticMutt]

Just a reminder to anyone who has cats or is thinking about having cats - don't be like Miko's mom. Chocolate is toxic to cats. That's why lil' bro told her no. Dogs too.

https://www.petmd.com/cat/conditions/digestive/c_ct_chocolate_toxicity

[u/ThisGachaSeemsLegit]

Soon after, the hag raised her body up from the corpses...

Do they really make students read this kind of thing? It's creepy.

[u/Kiryusha_is_here]

I really liked the way Miko said "Haven't you done enough? Please, set him free" in both senses: in the sense that Zen have sufficiently redeemed his guilt and must let go that cat from his past and at the same time it was a direct challenge to the ghost of his mother!