Reasons Why I Believe Miko Nakadai is a Bad Character:
1) She Has Close to Zero Character Development and Never Learns Her Lesson
In every season of the show, Miko always sneaks off to places she shouldn’t go without anyone’s knowledge.
Season 1:
Followed Bulkhead to the Nemesis, almost getting her, Jack, and Raf killed.
Sneaked after the Autobots to see a zombie robot, getting herself and the boys trapped in an alternate dimension with said zombie robot.
Pulled up a ground bridge to a literal active battle zone, resulting in Bulkhead having information uploaded into his processor that ate away at his memory.
In the same episode, took him away from the safety of the base, putting him in a vulnerable position that nearly got him beheaded.
Season 2:
Sneaked aboard Wheeljack’s ship to go after Hardshell.
Season 3:
Stowed away on the Wrecker’s mission with Wheeljack’s help. You could argue her asking to come is character development, but I believe it’s because she knew Wheeljack, who did not inform his team about this, wouldn’t say no. And also because he wanted to spite Ultra Magnus.
And in each case, Miko never faces consequences for her actions. The only one to call her out is Jack, but only in one of the early episodes. None of the Autobots reprimand her for her mistakes, even though they nearly get herself and others killed. But, by the end of the episode, things either work out for Miko, or her actions and behavior are rewarded or validated in some way. While, yes, she does acknowledge her mistakes, it doesn’t mean anything if she keeps making them over and over again.
Also, I just never got the feeling she truly learned to take the war as seriously as she should have. Throughout most of the show, her recklessness came off more as just wanting to be part of the action, or because she thinks it’s fun, instead of doing it for the sake of being helpful.
While Miko seems to have calmed down somewhat in season three, she’s still basically the same by the end of the show. She doesn’t really learn or grow in anyway in episodes where she’s the main focus. While there were some moments that showed potential depth and development to her character, the writers never truly expanded or followed through on it.
2) There’s No True Depth to Her:
Throughout the series, we never learn anything about Miko’s life, except the very little she mentions in one of the early episodes. The only things she says is that her parents are loving, she has two cats, took piano lessons since she was three, and went to the best schools.
Since we don’t see or hear from her parents at all in anyway, it’s hard to gauge what their dynamic is really like. Instead of the show hinting that her parents could actually be overbearing, neglectful, or really strict (which would help to explain her rebellious behavior), we get nothing. Miko basically says she was just bored of her life in Tokyo and wanted something more fun.
Her relationship with her host parents is also a mystery as they are only mentioned in passing and they never interact once with one another. The closest thing we have is Miko actively ignoring a call from them in the very first episode. It also seems she thinks pretty poorly of them, but we never know why.
Because of this lack of information and interaction, Miko’s character is actually more flat compared to the other’s.
There is no real explanation behind Miko’s recklessness. Nothing that indicates why she’s against following orders or staying out of trouble. The only thing we have is speculation with no concrete evidence. Instead of having a reason or some thought process that makes sense to her on why she does what she does, Miko comes off as a girl who just doesn’t like being bored and wants to do whatever she wants regardless of the danger she puts herself and others in.
There are even moments where she acts unpleasant for no reason. She just says or does whatever with no clarification as to why, and it’s never brought up again.
We do see some moments in the show where Miko is rather smart, but only when the plot calls for it. Most of the time, she was portrayed as being unable to think things through before charging into dangerous situations.
When she isn’t being used as a plot device, she’s reduced to a background character who makes unnecessary jokes. It would make sense if this is because she’s trying to dissolve tension, but it came off more as her never taking things seriously or truly comprehending the magnitude of what’s happening.
There are some attempts at adding depth to her character, but those basically stop as soon as they start. The best example of this is in Tunnel Vision, where we’re supposed to get the idea that Miko feels like she doesn’t do enough to help the team. While it’s a nice idea, the problem is it’s very poor execution.
Jack, who basically did all the talking before they were interrupted, was the one who said that she felt like she wasn’t contributing enough, not Miko herself. She didn’t even confirm what he was saying was true, and her attitude towards him was more akin to jealousy that he went to Cybertron. This makes it feel like she wanted to be the hero who does cool things instead of Jack. And the issue isn’t even resolved by the end of the episode, and she offers no apology to him for her behavior.
While an in-depth backstory is not always required for characters, it definitely would have helped for there to be an explanation as to why Miko is the way she is. Instead of someone who has a level of complexity, the writers came up with a spoiled girl whose basically a rebel wannabe thrill seeker wanting to do whatever she wants regardless of the consequences.
3) She’s Overhyped and Glazed By Fans and Even The Show:
One main issue is how the show, in one way or another, frames Miko’s recklessness in a positive light. Even though she nearly gets herself and others killed, her actions aren’t seen as bad because something good came out of them. None of the Autobots get mad at her, even saying things that would make her feel better or assuage her guilt. There’s really no forethought when it comes to most of Miko’s actions, things only work out because of pure dumb luck and plot armor.
Another instance is Miko killing Hardshell. The moment gets more hyped than necessary as she only fired a missile. But, at the end of the episode, the show frames it as if she’s now some menace to the Decepticons. Wheeljack calls her a “natural”, and Megatron looks “scared” when he hears what happened to Hardshell, almost as if she killed him with her bare hands instead of pushing a button.
And some fans make it sound like she’s the only one of the kids who’s done in a bad guy. Jack killed an Insecticon himself by using scraplets to eat away at it when he was on Cybertron. And, if you want to count the scraplet episode, Raf is technically the first human to kill something in the show.
There are even fans who have said Miko could defeat Megatron if she was in the Apex Armor. While it is indestructible and strong, she is a complete novice compared to the Decepticon leader who has been fighting for centuries in a war and honed his skills as a champion gladiator. She couldn’t even hold off Predaking, who Megatron was able to get the upper hand on because of his own strength and cunning.
Miko also has no real skills that are of any help to the Autobots. The show tries to make the audience think she’s an important member of the team, like in Tunnel Vision where Jack says she helped take down the Decepticon ship in Flying Mind. But she literally did nothing that contributed any use to the situation.
And the accomplishments she does have are pretty much meaningless as any other character could have done what she did. Unlike Jack and Raf, who have moments where their talents were essential and applied to them, the same can’t be said for Miko. You could remove her from the show entirely and practically nothing would change.
Lastly, some fans make it sound like she has zero flaws, and they can get very defensive if you criticize Miko, even if it’s valid. They even accuse others of being racist or misogynistic. While that is the case for some people, there are those that aren’t fond of Miko because her writing and character are genuinely bad. And, because she’s overhyped, new fans of the show can become disappointed if and when she doesn’t meet their expectations.
Conclusion:
I want to end this post by saying I’m not trying to bash or disrespect anyone who likes Miko regardless of how she is. As long as it’s in a reasonable manner, you do you. This is just basically me venting my issues with how she was portrayed throughout the series.
While I genuinely believe she deserved better by the writers, and did have the potential to be a good character, I don’t think I’ll ever like the version we got in the show.
