A serviceable slice of life with horrifying creature design

~~~__This is a review of chapters 1-28
(current at time of review)__~~~

~~~The image that got me interested in the manga
~~~

~Story~
Mieruko-Chan is the story of a girl that suddenly is able to see monsters/demons/spirits everywhere. As far as she knows, she is the only that can see them. If she gives any sign of being able to see them, they will attack her so she must continue to act as normal as possible in the face of the terrifying creatures. Often they will try to get a reaction out of her, and most of the tension comes from her holding it all inside.

The first half is a fairly repetitive pattern of Mieruko-chan doing some normal activity, a demon appearing, her going wide-eyed but not reacting, then the demon leaving and Mieruko-chan crying out of relief and pent up fear. This pattern got relatively old, but the varied and unique creature design kept me intrigued until the story began to explore the world and mechanics more. Without spoiling anything, the manga begins to explore questions of why these demons are there at all, can anyone else see them, are they all bad, and what is/are their goal(s)? Since we are only 28 chapters in right now, I am pleased to report that the story and world is developing at a nice pace and there are most likely answers on the horizon.

I think the story so far is serviceable to deliver the horror creature designs very well and the intrigue of the world is good enough to string these scary moments together. The slice of life aspect is decent, the character interactions are decent, and there is even the slightest hint of ecchi in there if you are into that. Overall as of right now, the main reason to read this is for the creature designs, but if the story continues to develop at the current pace, I could easily see that being a draw as well.

~Characters~
The main cast is fairly bland and fits into a stereotype of unaware best friend, loli tsundere, stock younger brother, etc. Some of the more recent characters are getting better back stories, but overall the characters are not too memorable as of yet.

~Art~
This is why we are all here. The creature design at best makes the back of my spine uncomfortably itchy, and at worst is just generic zombies. When the situation calls for it, the creature design steps up to the plate and knocks it out of the park. I recommend not looking up any of the art if you are interested as the reveals of them are very well executed in context.

What I enjoy most about this series is stark contrast between the cute slice of life, light, rounded world and characters to the textured, shadowy, and dripping creature designs. The art alone is worth reading the manga for if you enjoy visual horror and unique creatures. Some are more simple and some are overwhelmingly grotesque and complex, but combined with the unnerving minimal dialogue they say, I felt all the creeping eeriness and disgust I look for in horror manga.

~Overall~
While the story and characters are nothing special at the moment, the art and unique setting are too good to pass up. If you are okay with amazing art in the way of truly terrifying creature design, and a story that strings it all together well enough but is slowly gaining my genuine interest, I'd recommend checking Mieruko-Chan out.

I plan to stay up to date on this manga, but most likely will not be returning to update this review.