Halloween Read 3: For Manga Lovers - Something Funny and Something Scary
Mieruko-chan - Tomoki Izumi
This is one of the underdogs in the horror manga category. It is a beautiful blend of humour and horror. The premise is simple but has a formula that will never fail.
Miko is a normal high school girl who can see ghosts while her friends and family are oblivious to them. She is extremely smart and brave in combating the situation by ignoring their presence. Her best friend Hana, who is bubbly and carefree always runs headfirst into dangers she can't see and Miko constantly has to think out of the box to keep Hana safe.
There are several self-contained episodic chapters, but there is an overarching plot that combines all the characters cleverly at the end. There are some heartwarming elements of friendship, sacrifice and compassion that will hit all the right chords for readers with a gentle predisposition.
The story is funny and at the same time bone chilling with gory monster drawings. Tomoko Izumi interestingly gives the normal point of view of other characters juxtaposition with Miko's point of view of the same scenes with ghosts. Certain scenes might stay with you for longer.
If you are looking for a simple story with a medium level of creepiness, without complicated characters and twisted plots and hidden profound messages this is a good pick.
-Preethi