Menhera-chan is a manga by artist Ezaki Bisuko. Depressed Ordinary High-School Student Momoka Sakurai is one day attacked by jealous classmates possessed by a demon. Her stuffed rabbit begins to speak to her, telling her to spill her blood on it. When she does, he empowers her to become the Magical Girl Menhera Pink (or Menhera-chan, as her friends call her). Armed with a magical box cutter, Menhera-chan can defeat the demonic forces... Maybe.
The manga and its characters became very influential in Japan's alternative fashion scene, inspiring a new subgenre of Harajuku fashion called "Yamikawaii" (creepy cute). The manga itself was designed as an outlet for Bisuko's suicidal feelings as a result of studying for his entrance exams into school and as such deals with dark subject matter, such as Parental Abandonment, self-harm, and suicide.
This manga features examples of:
- Adults Are Useless: All the adults seen within the manga are either black shirts, useless victims, or flat-out evil.
- All Amazons Want Hercules: Momoka says she will only consider Ougi's feelings for her when he grows a backbone.
- Ascended Fangirl: Himeko begins as a crimefighter copying Menhera and Sakubaru. She later becomes empowered by Usatan to fight as Yumekawa Purple.
- Barrier Warrior: All the wristcutters can summon a barrier with their necklaces.
- Best Her to Bed Her: While Ougi's infected by Yandere-chan, Momoka agrees she will date him if he defeats her in combat.
- Blood Magic: Usatan only works through the power of blood and the wristcutters must draw blood in order to transform and engage in combat.
- Brainwashed and Crazy: Ougi, one of Momoka and Sumire's classmates, becomes brainwashed by Yandere-chan.
- Darker and Edgier: The manga as a whole compared to other works in the magical girl genre. Notably, the girls themselves are also older, with Momoka and Sumire being 17 and 18 respectively and Himeko even older as she's a year above them in class.
- Driven to Suicide: Momoka's mother. It turns out to have been part of the Dark Lord's plans. Later, Momoka herself tries to kill herself upon hearing the truth.
- Family-Unfriendly Death: Momoka's mother's death is shown in graphic detail and Momoka herself walks into the scene.
- Half-Human Hybrid: Momoka's father is a demon, making Menhera herself half demon.
- It's Not You, It's My Enemies: Momoka shows interest in dating Ougi, but decides she must put her mission first. See below for Ougi's response.
- I Will Wait for You: Ougi promises to wait however long it takes for Momoka to defeat the demons.
- Knight of Cerebus: The Dark Lord. His appearance proper in the manga causes things to get much darker for our heroines.
- Non-Action Guy: Ougi, Momoka and Sumire's classmate, tends to get dragged into their messes despite being a normal human with no combat prowess.
- Our Angels Are Different: The wristcutters are clearly meant to be angelic beings, with the power to sprout wings while transformed and opposing demonic forces. These angels just run on The Power of Blood and suffer greatly.
- Power Gives You Wings: Part of the wristcutters' power set involves growing wings to fly around.
- Secret-Keeper: Ougi witnesses Momoka transforming into Menhera-chan and from then on has to keep the wristcutters' secret.
- Troubled, but Cute: The whole idea behind the comic; the mangaka Ezaki Bisuko was upset with Japan's stigma surrounding mental illness and used the Menhera-chan characters to draw awareness that despite having a cute facade people could be suffering inwardly. Thus the girls suffer with Parental Abandonment and mental illness.
- The Unfavorite: Sumire is one to her mother, who abandoned her when she fell in love with the Dark Lord.
- You Are Not Alone: When Momoka becomes infected with an Evil Seed, Sumire, Himeko, Usatan and Ougi all try to convince her to return to normal using The Power of Friendship. After some additional beating, it works.
