Mantis Woman is a horror anthology manga written and drawn by Senno Knife. Released in Japan in 2000, it got a limited English language release in 2003. It features six stories based on various Japanese Urban Legends.
The series features examples of the following tropes:
- Ankle Drag: The ghost of the girl who drowned in the school swimming pool tries to drown Miyajima by pulling her under by her ankle.
- Asshole Victim: The people who end up dead aren't particularly nice.
- The Zenda Family tries to kill these people but sometimes they judge and kill people for very minor crimes.
- The rich family in the last story are cruel to their servants and are introduced talking about how they've ruined people they associate with.
- Be Careful What You Wish For: "Hell's Gumball Machine" sends a vile imp that kills people to grant your wishes. For example, one boy wished his teacher wouldn't give any more tests. The imp nearly killed the boy's teacher. Imagine the heroine's horror who merely wished for her parents to stop fighting all the time.
- Beauty Equals Goodness: The heroine characters who survive the stories are drawn as attractive young women, while the antagonists often feature much less attractive appearances, going into Gonk territory.
- Creepy Doll:
- Mantis Woman makes living dolls with the heads she collects.
- The stuffed koala toy from "Koala Is Watching" contains the spirit of a student who hanged himself after being rejected by girls.
- Disproportionate Retribution: Some of the "crimes" the Zenda family murders people for are minor social annoyances, not anything warranting death.
- Gorn: Bloody deaths and mutilations happen throughout, but most of the truly violent acts happen off-panel.
- Karma Houdini: The Zenda Family might have been defeated by their own death machines but they somehow escaped and moved to another town to continue their type of "Judgement".
- Off with His Head!: The modus operandi of the titular Mantis Woman.
- Sentient Phlebotinum: The last story revolves around a snake creature that brings wealth to its owner, with the caveat that if it gets free, it will seek retribution for its use.
