>>283407429
The funny thing is, she has all the markings of a character I ought to dislike: she's a Yaya, flat, short, twintailed, can never say no, gyaru, and worst of all a tsundere. And yet she's written so endearingly I can't help but support her. There are a few aspects that play into this. Firstly, as I was reading the manga as it was realeasing, it seemed to me the author had done too good of a job making Shiori seem like a monster, and Hinako was little better, being so defined by a rather realistic, non-romanticized depiction of depression. Miko above all was the human element in the story. Granted, subsequent plot twists did put more stock in Shiori's character. It also helps that she has zero tsun towards Hinako, and all of it is directed at fish instead, who deserves it and more. She's also gracefully accepted that Shiori can offer Hinako something she herself cannot, and instead of trying to leverage Shiori's shortcomings to sabatoge her run in the Hinakob owl, she sets her straight on what's best for Hinako.
And while Hinako is on board with fish x fox, Miko really deserves someone better. Both Hinako and Shiori are selfish hitodenashi and for all Miko has done, she deserves someone who isn't a total project.
Matataki was the first major shakeup to the expected Kirara formula, but the Bad Alien arc was the highest degree of dramatic gayngst and really elevated the manga for me. Visual design aside, they're nothing alike.
