Kaii to Otome to Kamikakushi
Mysterious Disappearances

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Mystery manga that contain supernatural/mythological/folklore beings. May only make mention of these things or may actually be set in a world where they're real. "Beings" includes creatures, spirits, youkai, gods e.t.c. People with supernatural powers are not included.

Only series focusing on or centred around said beings have been added. Only the first entry has been added if it's part of a series and manga only.

"The world is a stage, and we’re all just players. But we don’t get to choose our roles."

Semi-Noir is characterized by some elements as cynical heroes, stark lighting effects, frequent use of flashbacks, intricate plots, and an underlying existentialist philosophy, albeit not necessarily followed by bleak, eventual prognosis of events to come.

The isolation from society of the typical semi-noir hero was underscored by the use of stark high-contrast lighting. Classic images of semi-noir included rain-soaked streets in the early morning hours; street lamps with shimmering halos; flashing neon signs on seedy taverns, diners, and apartment buildings; and endless streams of cigarette smoke wafting in and out of shadows.

The inherent subjectivity of Expressionism is also evident in semi-noir’s use of narration and flashback. An omniscient, metaphor-spouting narrator frequently clarifies a characteristically hemi-labyrinthine semi-noir plot or offers a subjective, jaded point of view. Tension and suspense are increased by the use of all-knowing narrators and flashbacks, in that the audience is always cognizant of impending bleak turn of events, even with presence of plot armor to save the day at the eleventh hour.

The heroes of semi-noir generally share certain qualities, such as moral ambiguity, a fatalistic outlook, and alienation from society. They also exhibit an existential acceptance of random, arbitrary occurrences as being the determining factors in life. Such compassionless pragmatism is found in the most noble, as well as the most tarnished, of semi-noir heroes. The weakest of such characters exhibit an abundance of tragic flaws.

Semi-Noir villains are often characterized as homme fatales or “spiders”; in the words of one critic, they are “comfortable in the world of cheap dives, shadowy doorways, and mysterious settings.” They cunningly and ruthlessly manipulate their counterparts to gain power or wealth.

Nevertheless, the semi-noir villains often evoke sympathy, as they are frequently victims of emotional or physical abuse, with such victimization providing impetus for their vengeance. They are trapped in passionless or violent bonds of contract/servitude and resort to murder as a means of escape, usually destroying their conspirators in the process.

(list will be kept updated)

Internet urban legends, online horror stories, hoaxes, forum posts, 2chan musings, and more. Or simply put, creepypastas. This stack will range from direct adaptations to allusions.

As always, view this stack in list mode. If you know of more entries, please let me know!

For the badge-based item entries in the yearly Manga Reading Challenge. As there is an entire decade's worth of MRC events with a myriad of badges provided by various talented artists, this will be a multipart stack. All series are marked with their respective first badge year.

Note: If you don't see a title from a specific badge in a given year here, it's either in a previous part or I failed to find the source for it. My apologies if it's the latter.

MRC 2023 badges: https://myanimelist.net/forum/?goto=post&topicid=2070198&id=68389967
MRC 2024 badges: https://myanimelist.net/forum/?goto=post&topicid=2141704&id=70463361

Stack series Pt 1: https://myanimelist.net/stacks/63297
Stack series Pt 2: https://myanimelist.net/stacks/63302
Stack series Pt 3: https://myanimelist.net/stacks/63350
Stack series Pt 4: https://myanimelist.net/stacks/63351
Stack series Pt 5: https://myanimelist.net/stacks/63388
Stack series Pt 6: https://myanimelist.net/stacks/63459
Series stack Pt 7: https://myanimelist.net/stacks/63460
Series stack Pt 9: https://myanimelist.net/stacks/63502
Series stack part 10: https://myanimelist.net/stacks/63504

Continuing from the previous list, here are more manga that I think fans of DC's Vertigo imprint would enjoy! And to spice things up a bit, I'll be including some manhwa titles in this list as well.