WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Season 1 of Mieruko-chan, now streaming on Funimation.
This year brought one of the most downright terrifying supernatural slice-of-life shows to anime fans everywhere. Covering the daily life of Miko Yotsuya, a girl with the ability to see the dead and otherworldly abominations, Mieruko-chan combines comedy and horror to leave viewers shaking with both laughter and chills.
Even though Miko's best strategy to deal with the monstrosities that she faces is to simply ignore them, Season 1 left audiences with too many mysteries to just brush off. While fans still have no official news regarding further seasons, here's a breakdown of all the burning questions from the other side.
How Did Miko's Dad Die?
In one of its most emotional vignettes, Episode 4 has Miko's family gathering around the breakfast table. It then breaks audiences' hearts by revealing that her father passed away and is actually just a spirit. Few details are given regarding his demise, but the fact that he died regretting being unable to replace Miko's pudding suggests that it may have been something sudden like an accident or a previously unknown but debilitating illness.
Nevertheless, the season finale shows that even with this guilt's resolution, his spirit continues residing in the house, perhaps as its guardian. Miko may have a general policy of acting like she can't see her apparitions, but perhaps she can make an exception when nobody is looking to bond with her father, who must surely be lonely.
Will the Godmother Return?
Her eyes reopened by her encounter with Miko, Mitsue Takeda, aka the Godmother, forsook her con-artist ways to hone her actual powers in the countryside through a fulfilling life connecting with nature. Still, having received a concerning picture of Miko and her best friend Hana Yurikawa from an anonymous sender, the finale seems to be pulling her back to the city.
With her training rekindling her drive to make a difference in the world's spiritual landscape, one must wonder what role she will play in guiding Miko through her abilities. On top of that, her last-minute appearance creates speculation about who sent the picture to her in the first place. Depending on how events play out, there could be a hidden war of supernatural mediums unfolding across future plotlines.
Why Are Yulia and Miko's Powers Different?
Yulia Niguredou's debut revealed that there are more people of Miko's age with mystical sight. Miko's plan to ignore these ghouls has largely left her unable to discuss such things with Yulia, but Hana and these two have an endearing relationship. Due to a hilarious misunderstanding, Yulia sees Miko as her senior rival, which makes for a humorous dynamic.
Although it's true that Miko can see more spirits than Yulia and generally views them more clearly, Yulia can perceive life auras and other forces that Miko cannot. Hana in particular has an especially strong radiance capable of even dispelling wraiths, although only Yulia is aware of this. No clear explanation is given for these subtle differences, but they could potentially reveal the origin of such powers as both girls develop.
What Did Zen Do to the Cat Killer?
Much of Season 1's running plot cast suspicion on Miko's replacement teacher Zen Toono, who had numerous distressed cat spirits and a particularly imposing phantasm attached to him. However, once Miko's speculation that he was a cat killer was dispelled, he was revealed to be an animal lover and survivor of abuse from his mother.
Closing scenes show that he tracked down the real culprit, but the cutaway from him tasering the offender to reveal a missing person poster of the man, named Yajirou Tanaka, foretells something grim. While it's certainly hard to feel pity for someone who tortures cats for fun, one can't help but get goosebumps imagining what Zen's vigilantism led him to do with the criminal, especially since Miko was his initial suspect.
Who or What are the Shrine Spirits?
Miko's attempt to accumulate some spiritual protection by visiting a shrine initially paid off when three illuminated specters became her temporary bodyguards. With her limit of "three" of their interventions expended, Miko began hearing their bells chime behind her, leading her to consider making an offering of gratitude.
That being said, her supposed dream of the guardians being offended by her tribute may imply that they want more out of her as they continue to shadow her. If they are revealed to be just resident kami, they may want Miko, whose name is a homonym for a shrine maiden, to become their intermediary. Still, since they have the ability to best even the most formidable of demons, they could become the greatest threat to Miko's sanity and safety should they turn antagonistic.