Mieruko-chan (2025)

Drop the film, read the manga

As a reader and fan of the manga, this live-action is yet another failure as an adaptation to the silver screen, as most manga live-action adaptations are.

There are two things worth praising in this film, the first are the looks of Hara Nanoka because she has the looks that might remind the original protagonist and that's it, she kinda looks like Miko, but she can not act like her, it is frustrating. The same can be said about every other character that is both in the manga and in this film, sure they have glimpses suggesting they were inspired by the original, but they are far from it. The second thing is this film's original character, it was not an ideal presentation, but they went for something new, not the romantic pair that usually happens most of the time and doesn't suit the original work at all.

What else is there to talk about? The story? What story? It has terrible pacing, a patchwork team of small stories stitched together trying to create an idea, but instead of aiming to create a peak for the story we have several small mounds that makes the storytelling bumpy, draggy, lazy and boring. The film is 97 minutes long, but it feels like watching a 27 hours documentary of paint drying.

Besides the new character, the film also had some creative freedom to expand some things the original doesn't bother much with, like Miko and Hana's classmates, 30 students and there are some faces that appear more than others, so you could say that some 10 girls there are side characters, when in the original their schoolmates are barely shown. I also disliked their take on Zen and his arc in the manga is way more interesting and dark; Hana feels like a generic bubbly girl - which is a bit ironic considering how she also is a "generic bubbly girl" in the manga, but she has her own characteristics that weren't shown properly or just hinted as easter eggs, like her lambda rabbit keychain on her bag -; Yuria feels like she is 75% adapted and 25% original character (I went with 50/50 at first, but by the end of the film she clarifies a few things that makes her seem more like the original from the manga); another good adaptation was Miko's dad, but her mum and her brother didn't feel like the real deal, she is way less compassionate as for her brother they have a great sibling relationship, which didn't translate well to the cameras and; Miko, why did they have to ruin the whole shrine moments and create their own thing? It is appalling.

GHOSTS! Did you think I would forget it, my dear manga reader? Did you see the pretension on those movie makers when they have shown their "ghosts?" Pathetic, isn't it? If you only watched the movie and you liked it, the ghosts in the manga are SO MUCH BETTER, here they are mostly generic, pathetic little ghosts that you would see in low budget films. The original? We have all kinds of terror, the best part? Unlike Miko in the films, the original one keeps a straight face 99% of the time, as if the spirits aren't even there, only to break down crying afterwards to show that she is also scared to death of them.

Anyway, skip this, read the manga, even if you dislike the fan service the manga was known in the start, don't worry because the author drops it fairly quickly and we are back to just scary, terrorizing ghosts and a girl just trying to live her "ordinary" life.

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