So, I'm A Spider, So What? puts a spin on the "Isekai" genre, where instead of finding herself transformed into a great hero or even a villain in a new reality, the heroine finds herself reborn as a spider-like background monster. Fans are probably aware of the series' manga, but with a series like this, where audiences aren't entirely sure what the main character's own name is, those who haven't read it yet might be surprised at what they find.
And it isn't just the story inside the manga, part of its production might come off as a surprise to the most hardened fans of manga, anime, and light novels.
10 So I'm A Spider, So What? actually started as a novel series by Okina Baba before gaining a light novel, a manga, & an anime adaptation
Anime and manga feel so interconnected that people tend to assume if a new anime is coming out, it's based on a popular manga series. The truth is that there are plenty of exceptions; anime that came before the manga, anime and manga released alongside each other, and anime and manga that both started out as other media.
This series is an example of the latter: So I'm A Spider, So What? actually started as a novel series by Okina Baba before gaining a light novel, a manga, and an anime adaptation. That said, the manga did predate the anime series.
9 The manga is usually considered a seinen aimed at young adult men
Manga is usually thought to be gendered, but this series proves it's a lot more complicated than that. Just because the series has a female protagonist, spider or not, this doesn't mean the series is considered shojo. After all, shojo doesn't always have to have a female lead, either.
The manga is usually considered "seinen," which is "youth"-oriented manga, usually aimed at young adult men. Generally, the earlier novels were aimed at a male demographic, as well. The series conflates this with the "Isekai" genre, which sends characters to other worlds, often through some form of reincarnation.
8 Kumoko is virtually the sole focus in the manga
Kumoko, a play on spider which probably isn't the heroine's real name, with her misadventures as a spider, tends to be the main focus of the original manga. While this is technically the case in all versions, she's virtually the sole focus in the manga.
The other reincarnated characters who appear in the earlier versions, like Shun, generally don't appear beyond cameos and bonus material, although they've been restored for the anime adaptation. This seems to suggest the manga is meant to be enjoyed as supplementary material for the novels, rather than its own adaptation.
7 Kumoko is A Scavenger
In her new life as a spider or taratect, Kumoko learns that her new siblings keep eating each other, with her mother getting her children, too. Eventually, she finds herself eating one of them, earning her the title of "Kin Eater," although the circumstances are different between the manga and other incarnations.
In the manga, the taratect she consumes was already dead by the time she found it, having been killed by an adventurer. In other versions of the story, she actually killed it herself, albeit in an act of self-defense.
6 Characters inside of the story usually see Kumoko as a horrific spider-like monster
Kumoko's color scheme varies between what media fans are seeing her in at the moment. She's pink in the manga, black in the novels, and mostly white in the anime, with some art making her a stylized purple. The light novels split the difference and make her a variety of colors, from pink to brown to gray.
The manga also makes Kumoko's mouth look a bit more jagged in appearance than other versions, with the anime drawing it straight outside of her fangs. That said, Kumoko's cute appearance is normally just for the reader's benefit. Characters inside of the story usually see her as a horrific spider-like monster.
5 Kumoko Wants To Become A Spider Centaur
In the manga, Kumoko's ultimate goal is to become an Arachne, a special spider-human hybrid, with a human's torso and upper body where the spider's head would normally be. It technically contains both a spider brain and a human brain. Kumoko's ultimate plan is that this new form could help her better interact with humans.
In Greco-Roman mythology, Arachne was a seamstress who offended the goddess Athena by boasting and was eventually transformed into a spider, often believed to be the first spider and mother of the race, in addition to being the namesake of the "arachnid."
4 Kumoko is A Bit More Fond Of Ronandt
Ronandt Orozoi is an elderly chief among wizards who develops a connection to Kumoko: he can recognize her in her various forms and eventually starts worshipping her.
Kumoko's reaction to him is to ignore him at best and to be disturbed by him at worst. In the manga, however, upon first seeing him, one of her first reactions is to admit he might be her type.
3 The Manga is A Bit More Condensed
Generally speaking, in keeping with the manga giving more focus to Kumoko, the storyline can come off as a bit more simplified compared to the original novels. For comparison's sake, as of 2021, the manga has 9 volumes, while the light novels have at least 14, with the novels.
Added to that, while both series usually start out with Kumoko on her own, she encounters other characters she can interact with more or less 30 chapters into the manga, but this took around 150 chapters into the web novel. The manga also has been known to introduce characters earlier than in the original.
2 There Are Bonus Stories in Kumoko's universe
Another appealing aspect of the manga format is that it allows for bonus stories to appear for Kumoko's universe found in the volumes. They are sometimes presented as comics and other times as printed text stories.
They can be anything from an explanation of the food chain in the series' universe to Kumoko discussing her desire to try roasted monkey meat or a discussion of a battle.
1 There's A Spin-Off Manga, So I'm a Spider, So What? Daily Life of the Four Spider Sisters
Starting in 2019, the series has also gotten a spin-off manga with a rather long title: So I'm a Spider, So What? Daily Life of the Four Spider Sisters. In this version, four alter-egos created by the heroine obtain their own bodies.
Gratin Tori is credited with working on the spin-off manga, with Asahiro Kakashi as the writer of the earlier manga and Tsukasa Kiryu as the illustrator of the earlier light novels.
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