Mononoke-zoushi

I was interested in reading this manga, since most of the horror manga I encounter are either shounen or seinen. The protagonist Tenome (or "The Eye of the Hand") is an interesting character. She's a traveling performer who goes to different sake houses. Unlike some female horror protagonists, she's confident, intelligent, and can take care of herself, which makes for more enjoyable reading. She frequently winds up naked, which is a little annoying, but it doesn't impact her sense of agency, which is something at least. She starts the series as a teenager, but grows into a adult over thecourse of the first volume. The chapters are episodic in nature, with each one concerning Tenome meeting some monster or other supernatural creature. In some cases, one chapter will follow the events of the previous chapter. Many of the setups are the same, where Tenome meets a person who turns out to be deceiving her (or themselves). We learn a little bit more about her as the story progresses (but not a lot more). She also meets a girl named Shao Tsu, who becomes her companion. The setting is in the time period before, during, and after World War II. Many of the chapters have to do with the devastation Japan experienced during and after the war. The art style is kind of different, but not in a bad way. It looks like charcoal style art blended with more 'normal' manga style. It works well for the story. Spoilers: Tenome isn't present in the final volume and we don't learn what, if anything, became of her. Based on the postscript, it appears that the author had intended to write more of a story. If there had been an explanation or proper ending, I would have given the manga a 7 instead of a 6, since I don't like being left hanging.