Kanako Inuki is a Japanese manga writer and illustrator born on November 28, 1958, in Hokkaido, who later moved to Tokyo as a young girl. She is widely recognized by the title the Queen of Horror Manga, a designation earned through her prolific output and significant influence on the horror genre in Japanese comics. Inuki made her professional debut in 1987 with the short story Orusuban, which was published in a special edition of the shōjo manga magazine Shōjo Friend. Her entry into the industry coincided with the beginning of a major horror boom in the Japanese manga market during the 1990s, during which she became one of the leading authors, publishing extensively in magazines such as Horror House, Horror M, Suspiria, and Suspense & Horror.

Inuki has created a substantial body of work, with several notable original series and collections. One of her best-known series is Fushigi no Tatari-chan, also known as Strange Tatari, which was published from 1991 to 1998. Another significant work is Presents, a short story collection serialized from 1993 to 1998 that follows a girl named Kurumi who, after being denied birthday presents, becomes an ageless spirit that delivers macabre gifts that expose human vanity and greed. Her series School Zone, published between 1996 and 1997, is considered one of her most famous works and draws directly from her own fears and experiences with social anxiety and the cruelty of children. Other major titles include Bukita-kun, Kuchisake Onna Densetsu, and Hell Mother.

The adaptation history of Inuki's work includes her original creations being used as the basis for original video animations as early as 1992. This directly connects to the user's example, as she is credited as the original creator behind anime works such as Gakkō ga Kowai! Inuki Kanako Zekkyō Collection. Her manga has also been published internationally, with English-language releases of School Zone and Presents in North America by Dark Horse Comics and DC Comics' CMX imprint in the 2000s. More recently, Kodansha has released the collection Be Very Afraid of Kanako Inuki! to reintroduce her work to audiences, and her manga has also been published in Brazil and France.

Recurring themes and a distinct artistic identity define Inuki's work. Her stories are characterized by a rich style of terror that is heavily influenced by Japanese folklore, tradition, and moralizing ironic humor. Children frequently serve as protagonists or central figures in her narratives, as she believes her perspective as a woman makes her more perceptive to the psychology of children, whom she describes as pure but capable of unique cruelty. Visually, her art is noted for blending creepy elements with a cute or cartoony aesthetic, often featuring characters with bizarrely large eyes and grotesque features, a style that subverts the visual tropes of traditional shōjo manga. Her work frequently explores the dark results of wishes and desires, delivering moral lessons about vanity, selfishness, and greed.

Inuki's significance to the industry is substantial. She was a key figure in the 1990s horror boom in Japanese manga and has maintained a lasting legacy as a pioneering female creator in a genre where she has been crowned its queen. Her primary artistic influences are Kazuo Umezu, a founder of the horror manga genre, and Hideshi Hino. Beyond her creative work, she has contributed to the industry as a judge for the Kanako Inuki Manga Award and as a selection member for several horror manga magazines. She has also held significant academic positions, serving as a visiting professor at Osaka University of Arts since 2008 and as a lecturer at Tokyo University of the Arts starting in 2014. Solo exhibitions of her work have been held internationally, including at the National Museum of China in Beijing as part of the first Japan-China Non-governmental Cultural Exchange in 2001 and in France in 2011.