WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Episode 3 of Mieruko-Chan, "She Still Sees Them," now streaming on Funimation.
The emotional rollercoaster continues for Miko as she finds herself continuing to face terrifying ghouls roaming the world around her. While her reactions are all in good fun for viewers, Miko finally takes it upon herself to do something about the frightening spirits that haunt her once-mundane daily life. With Hana tagging along, Miko sets out to find something to help ease her of her ghostly burdens.
Every ghost that’s appeared on the show so far has had its own unique design. They’ve all been horrifying to look at, and a new standout is introduced with each episode. It’s easy to see why Miko is so distraught when confronted by these grotesque spirits, and the fact that she’s still able to play things off with a relatively straight face is nothing short of impressive. Of course, some of the ghouls she encounters are so scary that she can’t help but react to them.
As was alluded to in the first episode, Miko decides that prayer beads are her best option after scattering salt around her room proved to be useless. When she and Hana head out to buy some at a local shop, Miko is confronted by a myriad of spirits. This episode has the highest count of ghosts seen in the series so far, and a few manage to stand out from the rest.
Miko encounters a four-headed ghost on the bus, which she initially thinks is just a normal girl. When it finally reveals itself to her, Miko has to put on a brave face before smartly calling for a stop and tricking it into getting off. At a local café, she sees the spirit of a jealous woman clinging to a flirtatious young man. When the ghost – which has a sort of sandworm-like mouth and snake-like tongue – thinks that Miko is flirting with the man she’s clinging to, Miko once again shows off her resourcefulness and redirects its attention.
Once Miko and Hana get the prayer beads, the duo stumbles into an alley filled with terrifying ghosts. Miko is overjoyed when it looks as though her investment is paying off, but she’s soon brought back to reality when a significantly more powerful spirit destroys them. Feeling sorry for Miko, Hana suggests that she turn to a local fortune teller for replacements.
The store is owned by an elderly woman named Godmother; a medium who used to have significant spiritual energy in her youth but now resorts to conning her very gullible clientele. Miko and Hana approach her, with Miko still haunted by the spirit of the ghost that broke her first set of prayer beads. After another cheap pair of prayer beads meet the same fate, Godmother gifts Miko with her strongest pair. These break too, prompting the elderly con artist to close shop and go live with her son in the countryside.
Godmother might’ve been swindling her clientele, but her psychic abilities were legitimate. She was astute enough to notice Miko’s abilities, and while her tactics proved to be ineffective, she did momentarily provide Miko with some hope. The most interesting thing to come out of this encounter is the revelation that Hana likewise has some sort of spiritual ability. She has a strong spiritual aura that both attracts ghosts and protects her from them. Of course, this is bad news for Miko, as she’s likely going to run into even scarier monsters whenever she’s around her friend.
