Title: Mieruko-chan Vol. 12
Author: Tomoki Izumi
Publisher: Yen Press
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Pages: 162
Genre: Sci-Fi, Supernatural, Horror
Publication Date: April 28, 2026
The Story
We pick up with Seto and Miku at the karaoke club. There, Seto reveals that he knows both Rom and Mitsue, which calms Miko down just a bit. There, he reveals that he doesn’t have the gift of sight as she does, but demonstrates that he’s on her side by having her let one of the monsters into the room so that he can exterminate it. He is able to detect where they are by the shadowy men surrounding him, each with their own name.
After their meeting, Miko rejoins her friends. After karaoke finishes, she feels bad that she wasn’t able to get a shiny Lambun for Hana, so she stops by this really creepy shop that sells occult items and tea! (It would have been better if it were frozen yogurt, or frogurt as it’s seemingly called!) She has to play a guessing game to find out which blind box contains the Lambun; however, she receives a little help, and the shop owner instantly realizes that Miko can see. Feeling bested, the owner just gives it to her. After Miko leaves, we see Mitsue enter the shop to get some tea!
We are then taken to Mitsue, who is tending to Rom’s injuries, and the tea is part of his healing therapy. While she does, Seto visits her and fills her in on all of the details about what happened to Rom. Despite their meeting being cordial, it seems that Mitsue is a bit wary of Seto for some reason. Meanwhile, at school, Miko gives the Lambun to Hana, but when she learns that she got it from a reseller, she feels guilty, so Michiru takes it instead. As they are walking, Michiru instinctively saves Miko from a falling vase. Shortly after, something unexpected happens!
The Characters
They continued to build off the mystery surrounding Seto without actually answering anything. There is still something off about him, but one thing is for certain: he has a genuine interest in Miko, but it’s not so much her that he’s interested in. There seems to be a spirit of a man following her around, and Seto feels he’s quite dangerous, so it seems as if he’s only interested in her to get to him… like that man is his prime target or something. Even Mitsue has her doubts about him, or at least she knows the kind of man Seto truly is.
Speaking of Mitsue, it was good to see her again… even if she is a little worse for wear these days. Even with her aging body, she still has the heart to look after her pupils, which is why she’s tending to Rom. Of course, she doesn’t let him off the hook with kindness, as she lectures him about the dangers of the stunt he pulled. Still, it’s nice to see her caring for him, and in a way, still looking out for Miko with her tone with Seto.
As for Miko… while not much development was had with her, she did have a tender moment at home with her family. Even though she doesn’t want to truly acknowledge it, she is happy that she can see her father. At first, she didn’t know how to handle it, but it seems as if she’s becoming more and more accepting of the situation. The same type of transformation is happening between her and Michiru as well. At the end of this volume, despite Michiru’s possession, she’s becoming more comfortable around her, and with the way the volume ended, that comfort may actually grow a bit more.
Final Thoughts
After what seemed like a filler last time, we had some interesting plot development. The attention of the series has returned to this mysterious male spirit that keeps following Miko around. Given Seto’s reaction to it, we know that this spirit is exceptionally dangerous, but there are still a lot of questions to be answered. Not just about the spirit, but about Seto, his connection to Mitsue and Rom, what his full backstory is, how it pertains to Miko, and if there is something they are not telling her about her gift of sight. A lot of those questions were made very apparent in this volume, which tells us that we’ve got quite a bit to go before we get any answers.
I’m not sure if things are going to escalate in the next volume, but there are a few things that were set up here that could indicate an escalation. While I don’t expect us to fully confront and solve the mystery of that male spirit, I am guessing that we might get some more information on it. I’m thinking we might get another meeting between Seto and Miko to possibly further reveal some details. But Seto did say that he was going to take care of things himself, so that second meeting might not be necessary. I have a feeling Seto wants to just take care of all of this in the background without getting Miko involved, but we all know that in manga, the main character typically gets involved, so we’ll have to see just how involved Miko gets.
Based on their meeting, I can probably predict Mitsue will be involved, and much to her chagrin, a not-yet-100% Rom will get involved, too. As for the ending… it feels like one of those plot devices that serves as an excuse for Miko to visit Mitsue again, which would tie all the previous plots from this volume together. We’ll see, though!
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This item was provided for review by Yen Press
