History Manga / Arachnid

* MakeMeWannaShout: While bored from fighting Hibiki, Dinoponera suddenly stuns everyone in the corridor with a loud scream. She does it again later to escape after being defeated by Alice, but Kabutomushi isn't affected and almost crushes her.

* BladeOnAStick: Kabutomushi wields a halberd with enough strength to shove people far away and make craters on the ground.

An official English translation of the series was made available on [[https://global.manga-up.com/manga/79 Square Enix's Manga UP! app]] in July 2022. Due to the 13-years gap between the original publication and the English one, as well as the existence of the sequel, beware of spoilers below.

* CharacterTitle: Of course ''"Arachnid"'' refers to Alice the spider-girl herself and it also fits Sasori the scorpion-girl in the 12th volume cover. The official English translation at the Manga UP! forces this trope by changing the codename ''Kumo'', which means "spider", to "Arachnid".

* GratuitousRape: Most of the characters in the series are [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil sexual predators]], victims of rape or [[RapeLeadsToInsanity both]]. In ''Arachnid'', Alice starts out almost getting raped and fights off creep after creep only to become partly responsible for an outbreak of "rape zombies" that tears most of Japan apart. Surprisingly, out of all named characters only poor [[spoiler:Dinoponera]] has the dubious distinction of being raped by the army ant zombies. The story even ends with Gokiburi threatening and failing to rape Alice in a comical way.

* NoEnding: ''Arachnid'' ends with next to no closure... so ''Caterpillar'' can catch up and turn into a sequel? Nah, that ends with an unsatisfying SequelHook too.

** Alice Fujii is designed as a look-alike of Turis Flag from ''Jackals'' and wields the same kind of weapon as her. In an early pilot for the story, Alice actually was named Turis. Alice then became the base for Pure Inui in ''Killing Bites'' and Himeno Endou in ''Himenospia''.

* ItRunsOnNonsensoleum: Other than Kabutomushi and her implanted armor, most of the characters don't seem enhanced. But even when their tricks are just plain supernatural, they're able to do them because they somehow fit in their insect motif, without any further explanations other than [[HandWave "they did special training"]].

** Geji [[{{Expy}} looking and to some extent acting]] like [[Manga/NoMatterHowILookAtItItsYouGuysFaultImNotPopular Tomoko]] is adressed in a parody side chapter.

* BluntYes: Hibiki says this when Alice asks if he had a [[HoYay "deep relationship"]] with Kumo. Oki then bluntly asks if he is gay. [[VerbalBackspace He confirms it again but then he backpedals.]]

* DoubleStandardRapeFemaleOnFemale: Gokiburi being forceful on Alice, trying to goad her into having SexForSolace and declaring out loud that she wants to rape her over and over when that fails is PlayedForLaughs.

** The volume prints censored a gory murder scene and removed swastikas from scenes where nazis are mentioned. There's some other minor art changes and at least one modified line in there too. Ginyanma's bullets, for instance, originally looked organic but were redrawn to look technological instead.

* ImprobableWeaponUser: If an Organization assassin uses a weapon, it'll be an extremely weird one. Alice's WeaponOfChoice, for instance, is the "Kumoito", or "Spider's Thread", a length of spider-silk with a hooked blade on the end that works rather like a cross between RazorFloss and a GrapplingHookPistol.

* DarkSkinnedBlond: Riock and Dinoponera.

For Shinya's other takes on people fighting with animal abilities, see ''Manga/KillingBites'' and ''Manga/{{Konchuki}}''. Yū Sasuga's ''Manga/TerraforMARS'' and Fujimi Yasutaka's ''Manga/TheIslandOfGiantInsects'' also deal with this kind of concept.

** From the time Kabutomushi and Yoriko meet, there is blatant foreshadowing that [[spoiler:Kabutomushi is going to kill Yoriko later]].
** When a couple of villains try to screw with Kabutomushi's head with nerve gas, it doesn't work on her... or on Yoriko. [[spoiler:Which turns out to hint at her supernatural abilities.]]

* GratuitousForeignLanguage: Dinoponera sometimes speaks in thai.

* NotJustATournament: The Arachnid Hunt involves starting a [[spoiler:zombie outbreak fueled by rape]] to allow the Organization to kill half of Japan's population. The Boss, who had manipulated Alice's whole life, attempts to force Alice into becoming her final Suzumebachi servant. Suzumebachi and Hanakamakiri were plotting to [[spoiler:make Alice the new Boss]], and ''Blattodea'' reveals Kirigirisu ''also'' had plans of his own that required both Alice and [[spoiler:Sasori]] to live.

** Some scenes involving [[spoiler:Kuramoto]] are later retold from her perspective, showing what her true intentions were.
** One early flashback is framed as Yoriko thinking back to when her father left her, but that actually was [[spoiler:her adopted son]].

An official English translation of the series was made available on [[https://global.manga-up.com/manga/79 Square-Enix's Manga UP! app]] in July 2022.

An official English translation of the series was made available on [[https://global.manga-up.com/manga/79 Square-Enix's Manga UP! app]] in 2022.

** In ''Arachnid'', the magazine version of Chapter 54 had a scene about how Sasori murdered her own parents, [[{{Gorn}} tearing them open and leaving the organs exposed.]] This got [[NothingIsScarier blacked out]] in Volume 11.

** [[spoiler:Yoriko]] has the flat-out supernatural psychic ability to mind control people. And for as long as she's perfectly in control of her Suzumebachi enforcers, she somehow remains ageless.

* AttemptedRape: Alice from her uncle in the very first chapter, and then Oki from Hibiki's thugs in Chapter 12. The trope recurs every now and then until it escalates [[UpToEleven to absurd levels]], as a major plot point is the entire student body of Alice's school being brainwashed into raping people [[spoiler:and turning the whole country into a massive orgy]].

** A minor one. When Alice is feeling bad about being all hurt and bandaged up with an eyepatch, Yoriko and Oki tell her [[BandageBabe she looks stylish and cute.]] Sara was introduced at around the same time, and much later it turns out she's pretty much wearing her eyepatch for the sake of fashion.

** Hibiki helps out Alice against the Media army ants but is anticlimatically kicked into a hole by Oki and isn't seen again afterwards, with Oki merely assuming he's been zombified at some point. Fortunately for them, ''Blattodea'' eventually revealed, with no explanation, that the two escaped just fine.
** Geji starts helping Alice and Oki but is easily captured along with Oki by the army ants. Like with Hibiki, Oki assumes she got rape-zombified offscreen.

** Geji is pretty much the cute and cool assassin [[Manga/NoMatterHowILookAtItItsYouGuysFaultImNotPopular Tomoko Kuroki]] would daydream of being. The extra content of volume 8 freely admits this with a parody chapter focusing on the traits they share and a sketch of Geji by the author which is literally Tomoko.

** Alice normally is [[BewareTheNiceOnes a gentle and kind girl]], but in battle she becomes much colder and creepier.
** Kumo is said to have been one of the coldest and most efficient killers in the Organization.

* StockholmSyndrome: Alice starts thinking of Kumo as a father figure while he trains her. [[LimaSyndrome Kumo does return the feelings]], but still goes through with his plan to make her kill him.

There's also a 2012 spinoff named ''Caterpillar'' (キャタピラー), which was published on Young Gangan. It was illustrated by Isuka Hakozaki until his sudden passing in 2013 and then by Hayami Tokisada after a year-long hiatus.

It focuses on an assassin named Imomushi who was led into a battle royale situation of her own on a cruise ship to figure out the truth behind the murder of her sister, a year before Alice became involved. Although it is a prequel, it is best read after ''Arachnid'' for its development of recurring characters and because it contains spoilers for how the main story ends.

''Arachnid'' ended on December 2015 at 72 chapters and ''Caterpillar'' on April 2018 at 97 chapters. The two [[StealthSequel share their setting]] with ''Manga/{{Jackals}}'' and are followed by the 2017 Sengoku period spinoff called ''Manga/ChoubuNoShinobi'' and a 2020 sequel titled ''Manga/{{Blattodea}}''.

For Shinya's other takes on people fighting with animal abilities, see ''Manga/{{Himenospia}}'', which is an ''Arachnid'' reimagining of sorts, and ''Manga/KillingBites''. Yū Sasuga's ''Manga/TerraforMARS'' and Fujimi Yasutaka's ''Manga/TheIslandOfGiantInsects'' also deal with this kind of concept.

!!'''Arachnid and Caterpillar contain examples of:'''

[[folder:General]]

** Hanakamakiri leaves a farewell letter to Imomushi after the Arachnid Hunt, stating he betrayed her to follow Suzumebachi's orders because he loves her and wants to ensure the Organization will never put a hit on her head again. Imomushi is actually enraged that he's being such a drama queen that he keeps skipping on their promise to have sex sometime.
* AnimalMotifs: ...or rather, an insect motif, each for every assassin. However, given Alice and Imomushi are protagonists, those two get a handful of different spider and caterpillar species motifs for the [[NewPowersAsThePlotDemands sake]] [[CrazyPrepared of versatility]].
* AllMenArePerverts: With or without the Queen's Rule brainwashing, few men in the story aren't always harassing women and trying to rape them.
* AlmightyJanitor:
** The Shidemushi are the the Organization's CleanupCrew and their older leader appears rather ominous, but none of them are ever shown in a fight.
** Suzumebachi worked as a mailman before he got promoted to front man of the Organization.
** Osamushi and Kagimushi work as mangakas. To be specific, they're expies of Creator/OsamuTezuka and Creator/ShotaroIshinomori.
* AsYouKnow: Chapters 26 of ''Arachnid'' and 25 of ''Caterpillar'' begin with a recap of the current situation. Justified in the latter case since the story had been on hiatus for nearly a year.
* AssassinOutclassin:
** A bunch of assassins are called to kill Alice for a reward, but they all fail and even fight amongst themselves because the reward increases with every assassin killed. What makes it a less than bright idea is that the target is a CrazyPrepared TrapMaster who's familiar with the place the hunt is set in and she even got some days of prep time for the event because Sasori babbled about it to her before.
** Same goes for Imomushi in the prequel, who isn't very worried about being on a ship full of people trying to kill her.
* AttemptedRape:
** Alice from her uncle in the very first chapter, and then Oki from Hibiki's thugs in Chapter 12. The trope recurs every now and then until it escalates [[UpToEleven to absurd levels]], as a major plot point is the entire student body of Alice's school being brainwashed into raping people [[spoiler:and turning the whole country into a massive orgy]].
** Hanakamakiri is the DesignatedVictim of rape attempts in the prequel.

* BarbieDollAnatomy: Played straight in ''Arachnid'', but thanks to its seinen perks ''Caterpillar'' has detailed breasts.

* BigBad:
** "Army Ant" Sara Kurokawa claims she's the boss of the Organization. [[spoiler:But she is a decoy who follows Kuramoto's orders. And Kuramoto isn't the boss either. Yoriko is]].
** "Swallowtail Butterfly" Yanagi Akiho fills this role in the prequel. [[spoiler:But actually it's Imomushi's own sister Mika posing as Yanagi.]]
* BigBadFriend: A plot twist in both stories.
** In ''Arachnid'', [[spoiler:Kuramoto is responsible for the school-wide orgy during the Arachnid Hunt and Yoriko is behind everything]].
** In ''Caterpillar'', [[spoiler:Imomushi's sister Mika is in control of the Death Caterpillar hunt]].
* BittersweetEnding:
** ''Arachnid'': [[spoiler:Alice, Oki and Kabutomushi survive the Arachnid Hunt, but it was a complete disaster. Alice loses her trusty living knife and feels terrible about Kuramoto's and Yoriko's deaths, despite them being false friends towards her. She discovers her entire life was a plaything of the Organization, which is still going strong despite Yoriko's death. Japan is in the middle of a zombie apocalypse that the Organization intends to use as an excuse to kill even more people in plain sight and build their utopia. Every other character is either missing or zombified. Finally, Alice gives in to her bloodlust and sets out to crush the zombie hordes all on her own after parting ways with Oki.]]
** ''Caterpillar'': [[spoiler:Likewise, Imomushi survives the Death Caterpillar hunt but is unable to save her sister. One year later, she fails to kill Suzumebachi as revenge for him lying about her sister's death, but Hanakamakiri brings her back home. Hanakamakiri actually had a deal with Suzumebachi for Imomushi to be spared in exchange for him helping Alice become the new Boss, and feels so ashamed over it that he leaves to parts unknown. A very annoyed Imomushi then sets out to find both Hanakamakiri and Alice.]]

** Nazis are referenced in both stories, with NoSwastikas in effect during the transition from the magazine releases and the volumes.

** Every once in a while there's a chapter in ''Caterpillar'' that takes place during the period Imomushi and Hanakamakiri were getting to know each other.

* ButNowIMustGo:
** After the Arachnid Hunt is over [[spoiler:and Japan is being ruined by the nation-wide orgy]], Alice leaves Oki to fight off [[spoiler:the zombie apocalypse]] and take down the Organization for good.
** Hanakamakiri makes a deal with the enemy Suzumebachi so that by turning [[spoiler:Alice]] into the new Boss and guarding her, Imomushi's life will be spared and he will be in a position to ensure no one in the Organization will ever target his partner again. He leaves Imomushi a farewell letter and disappears, thinking she wouldn't forgive him for such a "betrayal".
* ButtMonkey:
** After an imposing introduction, Hibiki becomes a subject of comic relief as not only Dinoponera repeatedly humiliates and beats him silly, but he's also a victim of his own DynamicEntry gag and is kicked into a hole. [[spoiler:Then the guy actually gets zombified offscreen.]]
** Riock has an expanded role in the prequel, but all it amounts to is trying and immediately failing to punch people.
** Most of Oki's screen time in the prequel is spent on the background looking stupid.
** Also in the prequel, Himekuwagata's three partners also spend all their time just looking stupid in the background and are defeated in all of 5 seconds once they do take their chances at fighting Kabutomushi.
* CarnivalOfKillers: The "Arachnid Hunt" in the main story sets a prize on Alice's head that increases every time one of the participating assassins is killed. In the prequel, Imomushi is also the target of one. The people attacking her carry a series of envelopes with details on how her sister Mika was killed and rich people are betting on the outcome of the fights.

** Dinoponera's "Concentration Driving Force" ability gives her heightened senses comparable to Alice's. And while it is mentioned Alice's senses can't save her from sufficiently fast attacks, Dinoponera is agile enough to avoid practically anything. This ends up subverted, though, when it's shown Dinoponera is actually really short-sighted when making plans.

** Inaho Enoki from ''Vector Case File'' appears twice in ''Caterpillar'' to give fun facts about certain bugs, but she's merely a cameo with no effect on the actual plot.

* DarkerAndEdgier:
** Zig-zags between this and LighterAndSofter when compared to ''Jackals''. ''Arachnid'' is a campier story and the violence level is maybe a step lighter, but it uses rape tropes far more frequently.
** ''Caterpillar'' has more graphic violence and uncensored nudity.

** In the prequel, Riock is shocked when Imomushi beats him in a fist fight and pledges his loyalty to her.
** Dinoponera ''claims'' she's looking for strong people to fight and befriend. In reality she doesn't know when to stop beating people and is hardly impressed no matter how much they manage to survive her. And so this never works out.

* DoubleStandardRapeFemaleOnFemale: The female rapists in the series aren't portrayed in any better light than the male ones. However, Gokiburi and Imomushi being forceful on Alice and Hanakamakiri, respectively, is PlayedForLaughs.

** Paraponera and Ground Beetle to Ageha, but [[spoiler:Paraponera kills Ageha to provoke Imomushi when he realizes they're actually sisters]].

** ''Arachnid'':
*** Sara sends her Media soldiers after Kabutomushi and Dinoponera, apparently not knowing that Dinoponera [[spoiler:has been raped and zombified by the army ants by that point]].
*** Subverted in regards to [[spoiler:Kuramoto being the actual Army Ant Queen]] while Sara has her and Alice captured, as it is revealed Alice had known about her betrayal in advance thanks to being paranoid enough to set strings on her.
*** At the end, Gokiburi praises Alice for putting the safety of others over her own. The irony here isn't just that Goki is just playing nice [[SexForSolace to force Alice to have sex later]], but how Alice defied the Boss exactly because [[IJustWantToBeFree she values her own freedom]] over the safety of her friends and the whole world itself.
** ''Caterpillar'':
*** The encounter between Imomushi and Dinoponera is reprised in its entirety, if only to remind the reader of the ant-girl, that she actually wasn't as tough as her father and to leave them wondering just what became of her after she [[spoiler:got raped offscreen by the ant-zombies]].
* EnfantTerrible:
** Digger Wasp, a boy who wants to brainwash girls and put them on dominatrix outfits.
** The Weaver Ant triplets in the prequel, who try to force women to "play doctor" with them.

* GratuitousRape: Most of the characters in the series are [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil sexual predators]], victims of rape or [[RapeLeadsToInsanity both]]. In ''Arachnid'', Alice starts out almost getting raped and fights off creep after creep only to become partly responsible for an outbreak of "rape zombies" that tears most of Japan apart. Surprisingly, out of all named characters only poor [[spoiler:Dinoponera]] has the dubious distinction of being raped by the army ant zombies. In ''Caterpillar'', both Imomushi and especially Hanakamakiri have RapeAsBackstory and the matter is shown more graphically since it was a ''seinen'' publication. The stories even end with both Gokiburi and Imomushi threatening and failing to rape their love interests in a comical way.

* {{Hammerspace}}: Kabutomushi hides her Kabuto Horn halberd folded in half under her shirt, but it's still far too big for it to make much sense. Then there's Geji who hits Oki with a heavy filled sock that she was still wearing on the previous page. And also Sasori, who hides a scorpion tail larger than herself under her coat. Hanakamakiri often pulls her scythes from out of nowhere, too.
* HeelFaceTurn:
** 'Cockroach' Oki, the PsychoLesbian assassin, would be the most obvious example (and overlaps somewhat with HighHeelFaceTurn), though Yoriko, the AlphaBitch who befriends Alice after the latter saves her life, serves as a less extreme case.
** In the prequel, both Riock and Kumo end up fighting on Imomushi's side after antagonising her.
* HotSpringsEpisode: The Febuary 2015 [[FakeCrossover crossover]] between ''Arachnid'', ''Manga/{{Caterpillar}}'' and ''Manga/KillingBites''.

* IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming: Both ''Arachnid'' and ''Caterpillar'' are {{One Word Title}}s, and named after animals.
** Chapters are named after dialogue or monologues [[TitleDrop said in them.]]

* JapaneseBeetleBrothers: Kabutomushi is a girly, intense and incredibly strong rhino beetle lady. ''Caterpillar'' also has four Stag Beetle-themed people trying to pick on her.

* LanternJawOfJustice: "House Cricket" Hibiki and "Sia ferox" Riock.
* LateArrivalSpoiler:
** The cover for Volume 11 depicts Sasori with her surprise scorpion tail. Volume 12's cover heavily hints at a big plot twist, but at least it had already been revealed in the end of the previous volume.
** Chapter 59 of ''Caterpillar'', first released while ''Arachnid'' was nearing its end, spoils the major plot twist of [[spoiler:Yoriko]] being the Organization boss. The last two chapters also give the gist of what happened over the course of the Arachnid Hunt.

* MadScientist: Jigabachi, who installed the mechanical tail on [[spoiler:Sasori]].
* MakeMeWannaShout:
** While bored from fighting Hibiki, Dinoponera suddenly stuns everyone in the corridor with a loud scream. [[spoiler:She does it again later to escape after being defeated by Alice, but Kabutomushi isn't affected and almost crushes her.]]
** Her father Paraponera also pulls this off against Kumo to distract and (try to) shoot him dead.
* MaleGaze: Lots of it.
* MercyKill:
** Alice does this to Kumo after she's forced to fatally wound him.
** Caterpillar finds Paraponera's raping one of his targets and shoots her dead from out of pity.
* MoodWhiplash: The tone of both stories and how seriously they take themselves varies a ''lot'' from chapter to chapter.

* NearVillainVictory:
** The Boss nearly kills Alice by throwing her off the roof of the school, but Kabutomushi kills her and Oki saves Alice. Even so, Japan is still torn apart ''even worse'' than the Boss planned in the following year.
** Paraponera defeats and nearly kills Imomushi during their rematch, but dies from his injuries while aiming at her.

* NotJustATournament:
** The Arachnid Hunt involves starting a [[spoiler:zombie outbreak fueled by rape]] to allow the Organization to kill half of Japan's population. The Boss, who had manipulated Alice's whole life, attempts to force Alice into becoming her final Suzumebachi servant. Suzumebachi and Hanakamakiri were plotting to [[spoiler:make Alice the new Boss]], and ''Blattodea'' reveals Kirigirisu ''also'' had plans of his own that required both Alice and [[spoiler:Sasori]] to live.
** The Death Caterpillar is actually a "Pest Control" meant to weed out traitors and kill wealthy civilians who are obstacles to the Organization. At the end of ''Caterpillar'', the Ageha ship is [[spoiler:flat-out nuked to cinders]].
* NuclearWeaponsTaboo: Gleefully averted. The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are said to have been ''arranged'' to the advantage of the Japanese goverment secretly led by the Organization Boss and, in ''Caterpillar'', the ''Ageha'' cruise ship is nuked to cinders when the nuclear reactor within Osamu Tezuka's body is destroyed.
* OneWordTitle: ''Arachnid'' and ''Caterpillar'' are the names of entries in the series.

** Osamushi got rejuvenated at some point after he retired from the manga industry and disappeared.

** As previously mentioned, the volume prints censored a gory murder scene and removed swastikas from scenes where nazis are mentioned. There's some other minor art changes and at least one modified line in there too. Ginyanma's bullets, for instance, originally looked organic but were redrawn to look technological instead.
* ItsPersonalWithTheDragon:
** Alice believes she can make the Organization collapse if she kills Suzumebachi, [[spoiler:who turns out to be her own father]].
** Paraponera earns this relationship with Imomushi in the prequel when he fatally injures [[spoiler:her sister Mika]] while Imomushi was trying to make peace with her.

* RapeAsDrama: Sexual assault is a constant in both stories, with several female characters having attempted or successful rape [[RapeAsBackstory in their backstories]] and a few [[RapeLeadsToInsanity becoming unhinged]] and attempting to get others raped as well.

* SequelHook: ''Arachnid'' and ''Caterpillar'' close with several loose ends and an TheEndOfTheBeginning situation, as the Organization [[spoiler:starts a zombie apocalypse in Japan to curb the country's population and start some sort of utopia. It is shown Suzumebachi and Hanakamakiri were plotting for Alice to become the new Boss and start an utopia]]. Kabutomushi and Gokiburi are then shown looking around for the missing Alice after an unknown amount of time has passed.
* ShamelessFanserviceGirl
** Geji gets her clothes stolen by Goki but doesn't complain much. She doesn't want to walk home on her undies, though.
** Imomushi has a few scenes in the prequel where she ends up fighting or casually walking around while nude.
** Also in the prequel, Bokugehamushi has the power to grow long spikes all over her body and wears nothing but a robe because of it. She goes on to glomp Riock's head to point-blank him.
* ShownTheirWork: The series incorporates the behaviors and characteristics of real-life bugs into the assassins and they're pretty accurate too. In fact, there are sections where the narrator explains these to the audience and they wouldn't be out of place in a National Geographic Channel documentary. ''Caterpillar'' in particular has some interesting trivia about obscure bugs.

** Chapter 45 of ''Caterpillar'' has Inaho Enoki [[TheCameo from fellow bug manga]] ''Vector Case File'' discussing bark mantises. Chapter 46 has the [[NoCelebritiesWereHarmed in-universe equivalent]] of ''Kamen Rider'' creator Creator/ShotaroIshinomori talking about crickets.
** If Shotaro Ishinomori is an assassin in this setting, couldn't that mean his real life teacher Osamu Tezuka, the God of Manga, was one too? Yes, it does, and (a bug themed) Astro Boy is referenced in his backstory.

* SkywardScream:
** Alice screams in despair after she kills Kumo.
** Imomushi screams for four pages after [[spoiler:her sister]] dies for real.

* SpidersAreScary: Alice normally is [[BewareTheNiceOnes a gentle and kind girl]], but in battle she becomes much colder and creepier.
* SpotlightStealingSquad:
** Dinoponera is pretty much the VillainProtagonist of volumes 8 to 10.
** Kabutomushi gets a ton of focus in the prequel while fighting a group of her pupils.
* StealthSequel: At first, all the reused elements from ''Manga/{{Jackals}}'' could be seen as mere [[ProductionThrowback production throwbacks]]. Then Roxy and her Alligator blade are directly mentioned in Kabutomushi's backstory, establishing the two series do share the same setting.

** "Army Ant" Sara is helpless in battle but [[TheMinionMaster turns the entire student body of her school into her brainwashed minions.]]

** Dinoponera's foster father, Paraponera (Bullet Ant), had many of the same abilities as her and was tough enough to survive a grenade exploding on his face.
** The Weaver Ant triplets have abnormally high strength and a device on their palms that lets them easily hold anything over their heads.

* TheUglyGuysHotDaughter: Dinoponera to Bullet Ant, but she's adopted.

* WebcomicTime:
** ''Arachnid'' had 54 out of 72 monthly chapters take place over the course of a single afternoon.
** Flashback breather chapters aside, ''Caterpillar'' also takes place in a single setting over the course of a single day. This lasts until chapter ''93'', with the next one being a time skip into ''Arachnid'''s everlasting afternoon.

** In ''Caterpillar'', there are a couple of villains that don't escape the Ageha ship with Imomushi but aren't shown getting killed in the explosion either.

** Every time Riock tries to punch somebody in the prequel, he gets either blocked or countered and then is knocked out silly in one move.

** This trope is really all Riock is used for in the prequel. And yet even he defeats more people on and off panel than Oki does...

[[folder:Arachnid]]
* ABirthdayNotABreak: Alice's mother died on Alice's birthday, just after promising to take her to a theme park sometime.
* AbnormalAmmo: One of the assassins is [[ColdSniper a sniper named Gin Yanma.]] She sits hidden on some building and kills people from afar. [[BoringButPractical Seems simple enough]], but then it turns out her bullets have dragonfly wings for them to travel farther and faster.
* AbortedArc: Imomushi comes to Alice's school to question Suzumebachi about her sister's death, implying he's still hiding something important about that from her. Nothing comes out of this in ''Arachnid'' proper because not only Imomushi gets more or less killed (or was she?) with little fanfare and isn't mentioned again, [[spoiler:but Suzumebachi is also killed later]].
* AcademyOfAdventure: A polite way to describe Alice's school. A less polite (though somewhat more accurate) description would be 'death-trap crawling with murderous psychos', from the students to the teachers. Even the Organization Boss is lurking there somewhere and there's a huge incinerator for body disposal. Despite coming to realize how dangerous her school is, Alice ''still'' finds herself going there because she has nowhere else to go.
-->'''Alice''': "You said that... you'd negotiate with the Organization... Specifically, where would we go to? And who should we speak with?"\\
'''Oki''': "[[LampshadeHanging School.]]"
* ArchnemesisDad: [[spoiler:The front-man of the Organization, Suzumebachi, is revealed to be Alice's father]].
* ArmorPiercingQuestion:
** Yoriko asks Alice if she, a kind person who wasn't able to kill a bully like her, could really be a murderer. Alice had killed two people in self-defense by then, but lies to preserve their friendship. She feels guilty about it and eventually confesses the truth to Yoriko.
** To break Alice's guard, Imomushi suddenly asks her if she's a virgin. In the background, Amenbo and Riock look like they're actually waiting for an answer.
* AndTheAdventureContinues: [[spoiler:The story ends with Alice facing the rape zombie apocalypse that's overtaking Japan. Kabutomushi and Oki are also travelling on their own through the urban wastelands]].
* ArmorPiercingResponse:
** When Kuramoto is talking to Alice about her issues with bullying, Alice insists her troubles are no big deal when compared to people who have it worse. Although she seems to disagree with Alice's reasoning, Kuramoto still protects Alice from being raped, at her own expense, while saying the same. [[spoiler:The truth is that she deeply resented Alice for being so forgiving to people who have mistreated her]].
** Dinoponera asks Alice about how her upbringing was like and if she fought in any wars. Alice and Kabutomushi reply she's a plain schoolgirl who's been trained for less than a month. Dinoponera ''flips out'' at this, angry that Alice could attain her skills so quickly just because of some ability she was born with.
** Alice finally admits to Yoriko that she is a murderer, but Yoriko doesn't think that's an issue after all. Alice is so overjoyed that [[spoiler:she completely misses [[MoodWhiplash Sasori spawing into the room and killing Yoriko right after]]]].
* AssholeVictim:
** Yoshio, Alice's abusive uncle in the beginning. Given how Kumo's murder of Yoshio prevented him from raping her, Alice is practically thankful to Kumo for it.
** Mudake is introduced while surrounded by unconscious girls he's heavily implied to have raped. He's caught by Sasori and presumably given a gory offscreen death.
* TheBadGuyWins: [[spoiler:Yoriko dies but is easily replaced and Japan is destroyed by the rape zombie apocalypse. The Organization intends to start a whole new society from its ruins and presumably take over the rest of the world later.]]
* BadassCreed: Alice has a "kill or be killed" motto.
* BatterUp: In chapter 12, some of the people working for Hibiki are holding Nail Bats. It's rather amusing that one of them has a ''[[GolfClubbing Nail Golf Club]]''. Even more amusing when Alice swings it at his face.
* BladeRun: Dinoponera sits on Kabutomushi's halberd when Kabuto first tries to attack her, then hangs on it to avoid being smashed into the ceiling. Later she also walks on the halberd's pole, too.
* BlatantLies: A teacher demands to know what Kabutomushi's massive spearlike weapon is. Having used it to shove two people out of the building, she tries to claim it's a mop.
* BluntYes: Hibiki says this when Alice asks if he had a [[HoYay "deep relationship"]] with Kumo. Oki then bluntly asks if he is gay. [[VerbalBackspace He confirms it again but then he backpedals.]]
* BolivianArmyEnding: The story ends with [[spoiler:Alice surrounded by the zombie hordes that destroyed Japan and about to charge against them]].
* {{Bookends}}:
** Near the end, Alice confronts [[spoiler:her biological father, Suzumebachi,]] in a [[RooftopConfrontation rooftop]], much like how she had to fight her parental substitute Kumo in the beginning. Ginyanma even watches over both fights.
** The story begins with Alice's uncle trying to rape her and ends with a horde of [[spoiler:sex zombies]] after her unmentionables.
** Chapter 1 is titled "No choice but to Kill", which is Alice's CatchPhrase. Chapter 72 is titled "In Order to Live", where her catch phrase is the unspoken answer to that title:
--->'''Alice''' (Chapter 1): Before you kill me... I have no choice but to kill you!
--->'''Alice''' (Chapter 72): I am Kumo. I have become a single arachnid who, in order to survive the lawless world... in order to live...
** One of the poster collectibles that came with volume 14 was a redraw of the cover page from chapter 1.
* BrainwashedAndCrazy:
** At one point Oki is controlled by a device from Digger Wasp, who gives her a dominatrix outfit and has her believe he is Alice. Oki's colorful personality actually isn't affected, but she doesn't notice [[NotHimself how unusual]] "Alice's" orders (such as torturing her friend Yoriko) are even when Digger Wasp is detailing the effects of his mind control right in front of her.
** Meanwhile, Sara leads and spreads mindless zombie-like students around for them to overpower and rape her enemies. [[spoiler:Kuramoto turns out to be the one responsible. Through exchange of bodily fluids, she can spread a virus that places the infected under her will. Sara retains her consciousness because she's been given a role by Kuramoto, but after Kuramoto is killed both Sara and everyone else appears to go brain dead permanently.]]
** [[spoiler:Yoriko]] has the flat-out supernatural psychic ability to mind control people. And for as long as she's perfectly in control of her Suzumebachi enforcers, she somehow remains ageless.
* BrickJoke: When asked by a shocked teacher what she is doing with a large spear, Kabutomushi claims it is a mop. Later, Yoriko is seen fending off the zombiefied student mob by swinging an actual mop at them.
* TheBully: Yoriko is terribly cruel to Alice in the early chapters, to the point Alice considers killing her, but after the first encounter with Sasori, Yoriko has to keep Alice with her for protection and the two begin to get along.
* CarCushion: When Abu gets defeated by Kabutomushi, he's shoved out of the building and falls right on top of a nearby car.
* CerebusRollercoaster: The manga has [[RRatedOpening a very grim start]], what with poor Alice almost getting raped by her uncle, staring death-from-a-random-assassin in the face and deciding to kill him instead, then forming a bond with him only to get forced into a fight to the death. After this, however, the story develops into a battle royale with quirky characters and increasingly absurd powers. Once Dinoponera comes along, everything goes off the rails until the mood crashes down again with the army ant zombies raping the entire school. After [[spoiler:Dinoponera's]] implied rape scene is [[MoodWhiplash followed by some more slapstick]], the entire supporting cast [[ShooOutTheClowns gets written off]] so Alice has to handle the three last danguerous evil assassins on her own. Plus, the sex zombies are part of a plan to [[spoiler:genocide Japan's population]], and [[spoiler:they succeed]].
* ColdSniper: The moody-looking Ginyanma wanted to just kill Alice after she killed Kumo, reasoning they wouldn't be able to make her one of them.
* CompanionCube: After killing Kumo, Alice spends a week talking to a teddy bear as if it was him, trying to cope with her loss.
* ConvenientlyAnOrphan: Alice. [[spoiler:Her father, Suzumebachi, was chosen to be the front-man of the Organization but his concern for his family screws up the Boss' mind control powers. In frustration the Boss tries forcing Suzumebachi to kill his family, but in disgust from killing his wife he manages to resist and refuses to kill Alice. The Boss then makes plans to have Alice become his successor, leading to Alice and Kumo meeting.]]
* CosmicPlaything: Alice's life was pretty much ruined from even before her birth. She comes to endure the realization of that along with several other physical and emotional misfortunes over the course of a single day.
* CoversAlwaysLie: The cover for Volume 14 shows Alice smiling wholeheartedly. Nothing of the sort happens in the ending.
* DamselInDistress: Early on, Oki fakes kidnapping Yoriko to bait Alice. But later Yoriko is captured by the Sand and Digger Wasps to be tortured by a brainwashed Oki. She tries to stay out of Alice's fight against Dinoponera, but Dinoponera jumps behind her anyway to get a reaction from Alice. [[spoiler:When Alice reunites with her later, Yoriko is attacked by Sasori.]]
* DarkestHour:
** Chapter 61. [[spoiler:Yoriko has been "killed" and practically everyone has been captured by the student mob or is missing. And Kuramoto began the mind control process on Alice, who still doesn't have a clue of her true intentions. It gets subverted, though, as Alice had already figured out her plans and easily kills her before moving on to fight Suzumebachi]].
** The aftermath of the final battle. [[spoiler:Alice managed to kill Ginyanma but had to sacrifice the Kumoito in the process. Then she collapses on the floor and isn't able to lift a finger anymore. For real this time. Problem is, Yoriko STILL wants her dead and throws her out of the rooftop. That's when Kabutomushi comes back and blows Yoriko off the building while Oki rescues Alice.]]
* TheDarknessGazesBack: The unknown Organization Boss is represented by a pair of ominous wide eyes staring from out of the darkness.
* DeerInTheHeadlights: Alice is shocked when Kumo tries to kill her at the beginning, but then she jumps to chomp his neck off. She later becomes feared for being able to avoid being completely frozen even in such dire situations.
* DecoyProtagonist: You know that cool looking assassin that keeps Alice in his house? Alice kills him at the end of the first volume.
* DeusSexMachina: The Army Ant Queen is revealed to have a virus transmitted by her bodily fluids that allows her to mind-control people.
* DisappearedDad: Alice has been told that her father died before she was born, but Kirigirisu reveals that he's actually alive. The father turns out to be [[spoiler:Suzumebachi, of all people]].
* DisproportionateRetribution:
** The beginning of the story sees Yoriko and her gang bullying the orphaned Alice. Later we learn that [[spoiler:Yoriko made Suzumebachi murder his own wife because his concern for Ayana and Alice messed up Yoriko's agelessness powers. Yoriko not only is responsible for Ayana's death, but she was beating Alice [[KickTheDog out of spite]]]].
** Having a ChildSoldier background, Dinoponera finds it unacceptable that Alice could get on her level in a matter of days just because of some ability she was born with. She overreacts to that and utterly drops her already twisted {{kawaiiko}} ways to torture and kill her horribly.
** Seeing how Alice had been having a life as miserable as hers, [[spoiler:Kuramoto]] thought she could spare Alice and recruit her. But then she gets to know Alice and finds she is nowhere as cynical as her. Just because of that she decides she ''will'' enjoy ruining Alice's life.
* DroppedABridgeOnHim:
** The protagonist of the prequel, Imomushi, was introduced in ''Arachnid'' with business of her own to take care of. Not too long after, Suzumebachi stabs Imomushi from behind while she's trying to fight Dinoponera and she apparently dies instantly in a most unceremonious fashion. The ending of ''Caterpillar'' gives context for what her motivations and reveals Hanakamakiri showed up right afterwards to rescue her.
** Hanmyou decides to flee from Hibiki rather than keep fighting him and Alice, but runs straight into Riokku, who instantly beheads him with a punch.
** After the height of her plot-relevance, Dinoponera [[spoiler:is easily defeated by Sasori and is tossed to get raped offscreen by the army ants]]. A very cruel and abrupt FateWorseThanDeath that was only resolved in ''Blattodea''.
** Hibiki helps out Alice against the Media army ants but is anticlimatically kicked into a hole by Oki and isn't seen again afterwards, with Oki merely assuming he's been zombified at some point. Fortunately for them, ''Blattodea'' eventually revealed, with no explanation, that the two escaped just fine.
** Geji starts helping Alice and Oki but is easily captured along with Oki by the army ants. Like with Hibiki, Oki assumes she got rape-zombified offscreen.
* DynamicEntry: Hibiki is fond of arriving from out of nowhere [[ConvenientlyTimedAttackFromBehind with a Rider Kick]] to begrudgingly save people. Later he's the one on the receiving end of a surprise dropkick from Gokiburi.
* EvilAllAlong:
** [[spoiler:Kuramoto]] pretends to be a friend to Alice, but turns out to be one of the masterminds behind the Arachnid Hunt.
** [[spoiler:Alice spends much of the plot protecting Yoriko and is heartbroken when she gets killed by Sasori, only for Yoriko to return alive and well later, revealing herself as the real Boss of the Organization]].
* ExactEavesdropping: Alice sneaks a string leash on [[spoiler:Kuramoto]], intending to keep track of her in case they got separated. To her luck and dismay, however, she's able to listen through the strings to a conversation between [[spoiler:Kuramoto and Sara that reveals Kuramoto was her enemy all along]].
* ExoticEyeDesigns: Alice's pupils and Dinoponera's irises turn bright and ripple when they concentrate. Sometimes they get both effects at once when they're [[DeathGlare ticked off]].
* EyepatchOfPower: Sara wears one over her right eye. Alice wore one while recovering from the battle with Hibiki, but then she looked cute rather than powerful.
* EyesAlwaysShut:
** Kamakiri acts like this before attacking Alice.
** Likewise, Kabutomushi often talks with closed eyes when she's just pretending to be friendly.
* TheFaceless:
** Alice's mother Ayana has her face hidden during flashbacks, until more of Alice's past is shown in chapter 48.
** The Organization's boss is first depicted a a pair of creepy wide eyes staring from the dark.
** When Ginyanma first appears, she's completely obscured by shadow and looks like a man wearing googles and a beanie.
* FoeTossingCharge: Kabutomushi carves a path through Sara's zombified student mob with no trouble, even when Sara sends giant built men at her.
* ForeheadOfDoom: Yoriko's hairstyle.
* {{Foreshadowing}}:
** Sometimes Suzumebachi acts like he's actually concerned about Alice's survival because [[spoiler:he's her DisappearedDad]].
** Yoriko once reflects on how she's been alone since "who knows when". [[spoiler:She's 100-years-old.]]
** When Suzumebachi was promoted to his current position, the previous hornet told him he was getting too old and the Boss needed "renewed vitality". [[spoiler:We later find out the Boss is able to remain ageless for as long as she has a strong mental control over somebody]].
** From the time Kabutomushi and Yoriko meet, there is blatant foreshadowing that [[spoiler:Kabutomushi is going to kill Yoriko later]].
** When a couple of villains try to screw with Kabutomushi's head with nerve gas, it doesn't work on her... or on Yoriko. Hm...
* GhostCity: The final chapter has [[spoiler:Japan in middle of a zombie orgy, with people shambling all around and violating anyone they see. But then the epilogue with Oki and Kabutomushi has no one in sight. The city around them seems deserted and nearly every building shows signs of decay]]...
* GoombaStomp: Dinoponera at one point almost impales Hikibi's head, but is distracted when she notices Alice is on the floor above her and just stomps Hibiki instead.
* GratuitousForeignLanguage: Dinoponera sometimes speaks in thai.
* HappinessInSlavery: Oki, after her HeelFaceTurn. It helps that Alice isn't remotely interested in having a slave, and just treats her as a friend instead. [[spoiler:Sara also feels this way about Kuramoto.]]
* HardWorkHardlyWorks: Having fought alone in wars during her whole life, Dinoponera expected to find a kindred spirit in Alice, but becomes enraged upon finding out she only recently became an assassin and despite this was able to master her ability in a couple of weeks.
* HellBentForLeather: For whatever reason Anabachi dresses Goki in a {{stripperiffic}} dominatrix costume after brainwashing her. [[http://arachnid-manga.wikia.com/wiki/File:Kabutomushi_and_Geji,_Fuji_Alice.jpg A bonus poster]] features Alice and Geji in their own bondage getups, plus an unamused Kabutomushi in the background, if you ever wondered what they'd look like in those duds.
* HisNameIs: [[spoiler:Suzumebachi]] gets killed right before he reveals to Alice the identity of the Organization's Boss. [[spoiler:Yoriko greets Alice right after, so it's like she just killed Alice's father [[ForTheEvulz to be a bitch]].]]
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: How Alice has defeated some of the assassins thus far.
** Kamakiri (Praying Mantis) is made into stabbing his chest with his scythes.
** Hibiki gets bounced back into a wall while peforming his strongest flying kick. He feels ashamed enough over it to admit defeat.
** Amenbo (Water Strider) is held underwater and drowned, though she [[BalloonBelly holds long enough underwater]] for help to arrive.
** Despite her best efforts to defeat Alice, Dinoponera still gets tangled up and is forced to stab her own leg.
** Ginyanma fails to snipe Alice and [[spoiler:this reveals her position, leading her to get sniped by Alice's magical knife in return]].
** [[spoiler:Yoriko]] drops [[spoiler:Alice]] off the school's rooftop, only for [[spoiler:Kabutomushi]] to arrive and blow her off too.
* HyperAwareness: Alice, Kumo, Oki, Sasori and Dinoponera have their own ways of feeling the environment around them and instantly countering any attacks.
* IJustWantToHaveFriends: Alice has been lonely and shunned by people, Oki doesn't seem completely ok with being alone and hated, and Dinoponera, who also grew alone, would like to meet someone she can symphatize with even though she's too deranged and picky.
* IdiotBall:
** For a while Alice is made to look like the Arachnid Hunt caught her completely unprepared despite her having heard from Sasori something was going to happen, but she eventually reveals she did spend the past week setting traps everywhere inside the school.
** Alice carelessly walking into the room Imomushi, Amenbo and Riock are on. Isn't the Kumoito supposed to let her listen to conversations from a long distance?
** Dinoponera loses her mind while fighting Alice and devolves into trying the same backstab over and over.
* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice: Dinoponera repeatedly impales people not necessarily to kill, but to have fun watching them scream because of her stings' [[ToThePain "24 to 48 hours of great pain"]] venom. Alice in particular gets stabbed all over her arms, legs and butt just because Dinoponera was that much pissed off at the time.
* [[ImplacableMan Implacable Woman]]: Dinoponera steamrolls everyone on her way to meet Alice, completely [[NoSell unharmed by anything she couldn't block or dodge.]]
* ImOkay: Only five "insects" are dead by the 40th chapter, a few of the recurring characters even say so after getting back up from the ground.
* InadvertentEntranceCue: One scene has Imomushi stating she didn't necessarily come to Alice's school to fight her but is interested on the reward on her head. Cue awkward silence as Alice enters the room.
* InsectQueen: Sara, who is Army Ant-themed, can dominate weak-willed people and is followed around by brainwashed minions. [[spoiler:Turns out she's tasked with guiding them, but isn't the one doing the brainwashing...]]
* InsistentTerminology: Spiders are always referred to as "arachnids" as if they were the only ones, leading to odd sentences when the narrator has to talk about scorpions at the same time.
* InvoluntaryGroupSplit: When a bunch of assassins invade Alice's school to kill her, all she wants is to get her friends out of there, but they keep getting separated for some reason or [[LetsSplitUpGang another]]. It is then subverted in that the splits weren't involuntary at all -- [[spoiler:Kuramoto and Yoriko were responsible for the Arachnid Hunt and wanted Alice trapped inside the school]].
* {{Irony}}: The two times Oki told an opponent to be her slave, she became enslaved instead.
* ItsPersonal: Hibiki hates Alice because she killed Kumo. At first he doesn't realize Kumo forced her to do that, but even after Alice tells him he considers her an enemy.
* JusticeWillPrevail: Having watched a little too much tokusatsu shows, Hibiki claims to fight for justice and love, and regards his opponents as evil.
* {{Kiai}}: Hibiki repeatedly shouts [[ThePowerOfLove "LOVE"]] while stomping people and Dinoponera [[EvilLaugh laughs madly]] when pummeling faces.
* KillingIntent: When in danger, Alice puts all her focus on how she can kill or at least terrify her enemies. Only Suzumebachi [[KnowWhenToFoldEm gets her afraid enough to flee once.]]
* LimitedWardrobe: Alice pretty much stays in her school outfit.
* MajorInjuryUnderreaction: People who get injected with Dinoponera's venom seem to endure it impressively well after a few moments of thrashing and screaming. Word has it that real life dinoponera or paraponera venom hurts like hell for around 8 hours and lasts for over a day. Dinoponera claims her venom is worth a ''thousand'' stings, so its understandable for her to be surprised at [[MadeOfIron how tough]] her fellow bug assassins turn out to be.
* TheManBehindTheMan: Sara is behind Suzumebachi [[spoiler:but Kuramoto is behind her-- no wait Suzumebachi is actually behind them both. And behind him is the real Organization boss, Yoriko]].
* ManlyGay: Hibiki, a tough guy who is very passionate about his obsessions and how he loved Kumo.
* MartialPacifist: Despite her killing instinct, Alice would rather not murder anyone and fights only to protect herself and the few friends she has.
* MissingMom:
** Alice's mother, who was supposedly DrivenToSuicide after too much stress.
** Apparently, Yoriko's mother died while giving birth and her father is always away.
** Dinoponera's mother died from gunshot wounds while protecting her baby daughter.
* NearDeathExperience: This trope tends to trigger the killer in Alice, while Dinoponera is shown on a flashback awakening her own super concentration technique to survive an ambush, at [[ChildSoldier a very young age]].
* NoEnding: ''Arachnid'' ends with next to no closure... so ''Caterpillar'' can catch up and turn into a sequel? Nah, that ends with an unsatisfying SequelHook too.
* NoSell: Dinoponera seems immune to blunt damage. She gets blown away by a kick to the face and then just stands up with [[SmugSmiler a smirk]]. After this she gets stomped countless times and just gets a bit embarrassed, without damage even to her clothes.
* NotWhatItLooksLike: After Oki defeats Geji, she undresses her to take her clothes, since Oki had [[ItMakesSenseInContext been dressed on a dominatrix getup by Digger Wasp.]] Alice, who didn't know anything, finds her doing this and gets disturbed. Because she's ''[[LesYay jealous]]''.
* OnceMoreWithClarity:
** Some scenes involving [[spoiler:Kuramoto]] are later retold from her perspective, showing what her true intentions were.
** One early flashback is framed as Yoriko thinking back to when her father left her, but that actually was [[spoiler:her adopted son]].
* TheOneGuy: Hibiki is basically the only male character who manages to stick around and continue contributing to the plot after his first defeat, as well as one of the very few with any remotely heroic characteristics. Even then, he's still just as after Alice's head as anyone else in the Organization is, so his status as a protagonist is circumstantial at best.
* {{Otaku}}: Hibiki and Riock are obsessed about the Kahen Rider show. Dinoponera doesn't go about it like them, but is still rather disappointed that Japan isn't populated with magical girl warriors like in the ''Sailor-Force'' anime she watched as a kid.
* PeoplePuppets: Alice can trap people with her threads to force them to move against their will. And if she happens to be paralysed, she can pull herself around too. She calls it [[GratuitousItalian "Marionette del Ragno"]] in chapter 49.
* PoliceAreUseless: As per usual for a setting with a omnipotent secret crime syndicate.
* RooftopConfrontation: Alice fights her master and father figure Kumo on the top of a building. [[spoiler:[[BookEnds At the end of the Arachnid Hunt]], she confronts her evil disappeared biological father, Suzumebachi, on the rooftop of the Ouran High School]].
* ReallyDeadMontage: After Sasori poisons [[spoiler:Yoriko]] to death, Alice cries over her body while reminiscing their times spent together. [[spoiler:It doesn't stick. For a while. When Yoriko is about to die for real, Alice goes over the same thoughts, regretting how things have turned out.]]
* SacredFirstKiss: Alice laments how her first kisses were stolen by her rapist uncle and a crazy girl who wanted to kill her. Her long french kiss with [[spoiler:Kuramoto]] doesn't yield any good memories, either.
* SailorFuku: Dinoponera likely wears one either because she assumes that's how japanese schoolgirls dress or just because she likes looking like a Sailor Scout.
* SchoolBullyingIsHarmless: Alice tries to downplay the horrible bullying she suffered from various classmates when Kuramoto asks her about it, [[spoiler:unknowingly earning her ire as Kuramoto herself had a past of being bullied and raped and couldn't stand to see Alice attempting to be happy with her lot in life]].
* SexForSolace: At the end of the series, Gokiburi plans to "comfort" a depressed Alice and is actually willing to flat out rape her if that's what it takes [[spoiler:but is ditched without a word. Alice monologues that she actually wouldn't mind letting the roach have her way, but is afraid of eventually going insane and killing her for whatever reason]].
* ShadowArchetype: From her looks to personality, backstory and abilities, Dinoponera is pretty much Alice with a more physical fighting style and whose lonely background as a child mercenary made her [[{{Jerkass}} mean and deranged]].
* ShaggyDogStory: The story spends over 2 volumes on Dinoponera's time as the primary antagonist and her [[InsaneTrollLogic stupidly violent]] attempts to make friends. But despite all that focus Dinoponera doesn't really affect the story in any way and after Alice defeats her, she doesn't get to [[DefeatMeansFriendship reason with and befriend Dino]] or beat some sense into her or anything. Instead, [[spoiler:Sasori ambushes Dinoponera and gets her gang raped by the army ant students. [[PutOnABusToHell And then she's never seen again]]]], making her participation in the plot depressingly pointless.
* ShooOutTheClowns: The entire supporting cast gets PutOnABus by way of being cornered by a mob of zombie-like brainwashed students who want to rape them, so Alice has to fight through Sasori, the Army Ant Queen and Suzumebachi all on her own.
* StockholmSyndrome: Alice starts thinking of Kumo as a father figure while he trains her. [[LimaSyndrome Kumo does return the feelings]], but still goes through with his plan to make her kill him.
* StoryBreakerPower: Alice's a CrazyPrepared InstantExpert with razor-sharp reflexes and a RazorFloss tool that is guaranteed to snatch up her enemies no matter what. She pretty much handles everything by herself and tanks a ludicrous amount of damage until the end. [[spoiler:It's no wonder Alice loses the Kumoito at the end, and even then it's because she uses it as a bullet to ''snipe an enemy miles away from her''. Despite this, it doesn't feel like her odds of single-handedly beating a zombie apocalypse with her bare fists and a shovel have lowered at all.]] The author acknowledges this in the afterword for the final volume, stating Alice became too invincible to be the main heroine any longer, and that he started thinking about what kind of bug could take her place in a [[Manga/{{Blattodea}} future sequel]].
* SuperDrowningSkills: Alice can't swim. Good thing her sports teacher Shinobu is willing to help her learn, huh?
* TakeThatKiss: Dinoponera suddenly hops near Alice and kisses her, telling her to pay attention. The motionless Alice's stunned, blushing expression [[LesYay speaks volumes]], especially considering what her [[ForcedKiss previous kiss]] [[AttemptedRape was like.]] However, Dinoponera is a very danguerous person trying to pick a fight with her and [[ClingyJealousGirl Oki is right there screaming in rage.]] Dinoponera then notices Oki and just happily ''[[SmugSmiler glances]]'' at her. It's made even more [[AwkwardKiss awkward]] by how not long before this [[ShipTease Alice had accused Oki of cheating on her.]]
* TalkToTheFist:
** Hibiki starts a hated argument against Riock over who between the two of them is worthy of the Kahen Rider title but Riock quickly sucker punches him through a wall.
** Alice brags to Dinoponera she just needs two or three days to surpass her concentration power. Dinoponera defensively crosses her gauntlets and cries that she won't even give Alice the chance, but is interrupted by her own blade suddenly being forced by strings into her leg.
* ThatWasNotADream: After Alice brings Oki home, she dreams about the roach girl sweating oil to bypass the sound detection of her thread and then shooting Yoriko to death. [[CatapultNightmare Alice wakes up]] to see that Oki really escaped from her with that bizarre method... but only [[PantyThief to play with Alice's panties]].
* TheseHandsHaveKilled: Alice may be determined to kill when necessary but feels guilt over it.
* ThisIsReality: At one point Alice is at a villain's mercy and can only hope for somebody to conveniently appear to save her, but reality isn't that easy, says the villain. [[BigDamnHeroes Guess what follows]].
* TimeStandsStill: Alice and Dinoponera can freeze time by thinking really hard, or at least [[SuperReflexes their perception of time]] is what slows down. They're able to [[FlashStep teleport around]] at the drop of a hat, but aren't immune to people attacking them quickly enough.
* TooPowerfulToLive: The excuse Kumo uses to fight Alice to the death.
* TookALevelInBadass: Alice every now and then.
* VoodooShark:
** It is eventually explained the Kumoito can do everything it does because it is a LivingWeapon. This ends up raising more questions about how it was made, but the story doesn't explain anything beyond that.
** So Kumo decided to make a [[SuicideByCop suicide by Alice]] and she would become all helpless and homeless after that had Yoriko not helped her, but wait, some volumes later it is revealed Kumo did hire Kabutomushi to take care of Alice after his death and that she took the task seriously. What was Kabutomushi doing between that and the Arachnid Hunt, then?
* WhamLine:
** Prior to the Arachnid Hunt, Suzumebachi saying the Organization boss is lurking in the Ouran school.
** Dinoponera telling Alice about her Concentration Driving Force is more of a in-universe example, as she had practically spelled it out earlier and her role as an EvilCounterpart[=/=]ShadowArchetype look-alike to Alice make her having some sort of HyperAwareness ability rather obvious.
** Sasori telling Alice she's going to die to her poison like [[spoiler:her mother did]].
** [[spoiler:Yoriko admiting she's the boss and explaining that, among other things, she has lived for over a century]].
* WhamShot:
** Sasori killing [[spoiler:Yoriko from out of literally nowhere, [[MoodWhiplash right after Yoriko told Alice she doesn't think badly of her for having killed before]]]].
** [[spoiler:Kuramoto]] revealing herself as the true Arachnid Hunt mastermind.
** Suzumebachi looking at a locket with a picture of [[spoiler:his daughter and ex-wife-- [[LukeIAmYourFather a baby Alice and her mother]]]].
** [[spoiler:Yoriko]] coming back from her supposed death with uncertan motives.
* {{Yandere}}: PlayedForLaughs when, after befriending Alice, Oki tells her she would kill any boys Alice liked.
* YouKilledMyFather:
** Kumo killed Alice's uncle but since he was an abusive asshole who was about to rape her, she doesn't care. However, when Alice figures her mother's suicide must have been staged by the Organization, she vows to kill the ones responsible, which turn out to be [[spoiler:her own father, Suzumebachi, who killed his ex-wife with poison he got from Sasori]].
** Imomushi killed Paraponera, who was Dinoponera's foster father. Dinoponera doesn't mind it, apparently glad that her father died in battle against a WorthyOpponent.
* ZombieApocalypse: The disturbing sex-induced mass brainwashing that happens among the students during the Arachnid Hunt, with the Army Ant Queen as their leader. [[spoiler:The situation worsens until the story ends with Alice facing a country-wide rape zombie apocalypse on her own]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Caterpillar]]
* AllJustADream: Towards the end, Imomushi finally has sex with Hanakamakiri but then wakes up and sees it was just a dream after all. Hanakamakiri had just rescued her and left her home leaving only a farewell letter.
* TheBaroness: Akiho is a sadistic sexpot dominatrix in a nazi uniform who wants to ruin Imomushi's life for no good reason.
* CallForward:
** Imomushi catching a knife [[NowThatsUsingYourTeeth with her teeth]], referencing how she does that to Alice's and Dinoponera's weapons during the Arachnid Hunt.
** Kumo and Paraponera fight each other, mirroring the battle between Alice and Dinoponera in ''Arachnid''.
** When Jigabachi explains how he's using electrodes to paralyse Imomushi, he mentions the method can be improved to mind-control the victim, which later happens to Gokiburi in the main series.
** One minor villain, Unka, holds a grudge agaisnt Paraponera for apparently tricking him into tripping a landmine, but Imomushi argues that Unka himself was too weak and just got left behind. This is similar to Dinoponera's backstory in ''Arachnid'', where she fails to keep up with her father and is left to die alone.
** Kabutomushi fights a shape-shifting girl who in her teen form looks suspiciously like Dinoponera and only defeats her by using the Heracles Horn that, in ''Arachnid'', she regrets not being able to use against Dinopo. Kabuto incapacitates her foe by chopping off her leg, similar to how Alice defeats Dinopo by forcing her to stab her own leg. The difference is that Kabutomushi refuses to kill her student but later insists Alice has to kill Dinoponera.
** As Imomushi is being beaten up by Dinoponera, an extra scene shows her thinking Dinopo is far too naive and childish to be able to beat a ''[[TheDreaded creature]]'' like Alice Fujii.
** The very final scene is a CallBack to Imomushi talking to Alice back at the Arachnid Hunt, saying that the cause and solution for any troubles must be within oneself. It changes her lines a little so she tells Alice to carve her own path without depending on anyone, echoing Alice in the final ''Arachnid'' chapter saying a murderer like her cannot depend on other people.
* ComplainingAboutRescuesTheyDontLike: DeathSeeker Kumo is defeated by Paraponera fair-and-square but Imomushi saves his life. Later she has to drag his injured body out of the ''Ageha'' while he practically throws a tantrum begging her to leave him for dead.
* DoubleWeapon: Kabutomushi's Heracles Horn is revealed to be a giant double sword that can fold to slice people.
* GladToBeAliveSex: Even though Hanakamakiri promises to spend a night with Imomushi after they return alive from the Ageha ship, a year goes by and nothing happens for no real reason -- with only a bait-and-switch dream scene of the two having sex at most. Imomushi then gets frustrated at Hanakamakiri departing for betraying her in a way she doesn't give a damn about and starts shouting she'll [[QuestForSex find and fuck him]] even if she must resort to rape, mirroring what happens between Goki and Alice in ''Arachnid''.
* HerbivoresAreFriendly: The assassins introduced here mostly have the traits of herbivore bugs, but this only serves to give them weirder ways of killing people.
* LoadBearingBoss: [[spoiler:When Osamushi dies, he detonates into a nuclear explosion that obliterates the Ageha ship. Imomushi manages to escape with Amenbo's help and brings along every other assassin that managed to make it to her. All the other guests and civillains die in either horror or blissful ignorance.]]
* MustNotDieAVirgin: Before going into the Ageha cruise ship, Imomushi had been trying to convince Hanakamakiri to have sex with either prostitutes or herself while saying it'd be a shame if he happened to die a vigin.
* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Two [[BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy high-ranked assassins]] based on Creator/OsamuTezuka and Creator/ShotaroIshinomori are introduced in this prequel.
* NotUsingTheZWord: Averted; Hanakamakiri refers to the rampaging army ants as "sex-zombies" in his farewell letter to Imomushi. By ''Manga/{{Blattodea}}'', he starts just calling them "ants" instead.
* OffscreenVillainy: It is mentioned that Kabutomushi isn't much better than her master and most of her students die during training. However, this is never shown to the reader. All examples given of her dealing TrainingFromHell on her students are either PlayedForLaughs or justified on her part.
* OrphanageOfFear:
** The Orphanage Miki[=/=]Imomushi and Mika lived in. The employees beat Miki up for making trouble at school and the director's daughter, who goes on to become the main villain, sexually abuses Mika for years in exchange for Miki not being sent to a reformatory.
** Kabutomushi was raised and trained in what turned out to be one of those. Her once-beloved master killed her best friend for kicks. Once the beetle girl takes his mantle as Kabutomushi, she ends up treating her own pupils only slighty better as Himekuwagata accuses her of letting [[OffscreenVillainy most of them die during training]].
* OvernightAgeUp: Himekuwagata initially appears as a child who represents the ''Dorcus rectus'' species, but she suddenly grows up and starts calling herself a ''curvidens''. Then she finishes her transformation into a ChainmailBikini-clad ''titanus'' adult. Her three forms are actually split personalities who consider each other sisters and are all conscious at the same time.
* PostClimaxConfrontation: After the Death Caterpillar game is done with, the story skips to a year later in the Arachnid Hunt where the reader then knows just why Imomushi is enraged with Suzumebachi. He sics Dinoponera on her, and the battle between Imomushi and Dinopo is reprised panel-by-panel as it was in the original. After Suzumebachi knocks Imomushi out and Dinoponera leaves, it is revealed Hanakamakiri came to retrieve her partner, and that she and Suzumebachi made an agreement of eventually forcing Alice to take over the Organization.
* {{Prequel}}: The first 93 chapters take place a year before ''Arachnid''. From 94 on, there's a time skip into the Arachnid Hunt and the story becomes a POVSequel, but unfortunately Imomushi misses most of the event and the story stops in chapter 97, just short of becoming a proper sequel.
* ProductionForeshadowing: Chapter 25 starts with an AsYouKnow recap that suggests bug-themed assassins have been around since ancient times. The 2017 manga ''Manga/ChoubuNoShinobi'' establishes itself as a prequel in the Sengoku period by reusing the group shot of the assassins during a similar narration. Oddly enough, the samurai character in the panel got redesigned for the latter one.
* QuirkyMinibossSquad: A colorful quartet of Kabutomushi's stag beetle students comes to challenge her out of anger over her abusive training.
* {{Retcon}}: When Imomushi is getting [[TheWorfEffect worfed]] by Dinoponera at the Arachnid Hunt, she thinks to herself that Dinopo seems even stronger than her father Paraponera. By the time that scene is replayed in ''Caterpillar'', though, readers have seen Dinoponera lose like a chump to Alice and Sasori, how frail she is deep down and how Paraponera fought to his last breath against Imomushi and nearly killed her. The scene is extended so Imomushi takes back her statement and doubts Dinoponera will stand a chance against Alice.
* SleptThroughTheApocalypse: When Imomushi is taken home after Suzumebachi knocked her out, she wakes up and is dumbfounded by the ongoing [[spoiler:sex zombie apocalypse]] happening outside her apartment.
* SplitPersonality: The story introduces a split personality disorder that changes people's appearances, to the point of them [[DualAgeModes aging back and forth]] as seen with the Kuwagata "sisters".
* TakeThat: One chapter has a cameo of Inaho Enoki from ''Vector Case File'' as she gives a lecture about misinformation in entomology. She's asked [[Manga/TerraforMARS if cockroaches can evolve and become huge and agressive]], and replies that's 100% false.
* UnsettlingGenderReveal:
** Imomushi tries to bathe with Hanakamakiri soon after meeting her, and is surprised to see Hana is actually a male crossdresser. Although Hanakamakiri tries to beat her up in response, afterwards he doesn't mind that she keeps treating him as a man.
** Hanakamakiri is forced to lift his dress as a way for Imomushi to [[SpotTheImposter tell him apart]] from a master of disguise. He is really embarrassed afterwards as Kumo assumes he's a VillainousCrossdresser and Riokku starts bugging him about it.
* UseYourHead: Imomushi's main method of attack is to nail her shoes to the ground and then catapult herself head-first on enemies, though she sometimes goes for a MegatonPunch instead.
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