The Girl from the Other Side: Siúil A Rún, Volume 4

とつくにの少女 / Totsukuni no shōjo #4

by Nagabe, Adrienne Beck (Translator)

A FATE WORSE THAN DEATH

Shiva's little white lie has had devastating consequences. While she reels from the shock of the horrific events that have unfolded, Auntie reveals to Teacher how Shiva came to live under her roof--and the cruel fate that awaits all who are afflicted by the curse.

Genres: Manga, Fantasy, Graphic Novels, Comics, Horror, Fiction, Young Adult

180 pages, Paperback

First published October 10, 2017

About the author

Please also see ながべ.

He studied Fine Arts at Musashino University. At first, he was more interested in illustration, printmaking, and painting than in manga. However, when he considered the best way to make a living from his art, he decided to focus on the world of Japanese comics and trained himself, rather than the usual approach of working for several years as an apprentice to an experienced manga artist.

He was still a student when his first work, The Boss Is an Onee, was published. He soon attracted attention for his distinctive drawing style, his fantastical and melancholic plots, and his use of fantasy characters and anthropomorphic animals.

Reviews

[s.penkevich [hiatus-will return-miss you all] · Rating 4 out of 5]

Woah. I just finished this volume and…

I CANNOT put these down and now that I’ve finished the fourth volume of The Girl From the Other Side you best believe I’m going to start reading vol 5 the second I finish typing this. So much happens in a single volume and even if it doesn’t seem like that much territory is covered plotwise, the landscape of emotions and lore expands fast. But we do get a bit of a breather for a moment here…but how safe can we feel?

Once the tenderness gets you feelin’ all the feels the fear comes screaming back in. There is also more to learn about the curse and the horrifying consequences that come with it, which really adds to the moral and existential conundrums the characters are wrestling with. But I did really love the moment where a baking mishap covers everyone in flour and we finally get a good look at the faces of the cursed ones.

But then things get REAL dark…

Wow I love this series and wow you NEED to read this. The story is so gripping and the atmosphere absolutely slays. READ THESE, you are welcome.

4/5

[Whitney Atkinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have nothing new to say about cute, wholesome, but darkly interesting these books are. This isn't my favorite volume in the series pace and content wise, but it's definitely kept my interest for all these volumes and it's up there with my favorite mangas I can't wait to own. Time to harass my library to buy the last volumes in the series hehehe.

[Shaghayegh · Rating 4 out of 5]

بعد از مدت‌ها بهش برگشتم و این تأخیر اصلا به خاطر خود داستان نبود. چون فایلش رو گیر نمی‌آوردم و به لطف علی، تونستم با کیفیت عالی پیدا کنم.
این دفعه هم قطعات پازل رو آروم آروم داره کنار هم می‌چینه تا کلیت داستان، در عین حال که کامل نشده پیش ببره. فضای سیاهی که با معصومیت شیوا و دنیای بچگانه‌ش شکل گرفته و سوالات بی‌جوابی که همچنان باقی مونده. (سر هر جلدش باید همین حرف رو انگار بزنم.)
نشون دادن تمایز معلم از بقیه برام جالب بود و اون احساساتی که درش شکل گرفته، واقعا قلبم رو به بازی می‌گیره. طراحی هم که زیباست و سیر داستانی هم داره بیشتر جون می‌گیره. (دنیا به آخر می‌رسید اگه چنین کوفتی تو زندگی تک تکمون حضور می‌داشت؟)
شخصیت‌پردازی و فضاسازی هم راضی‌کننده هستن. خلاصه که تجربه‌ی دلچسبی هست و هنوز ریزجزئیاتش از ذهنم پر نکشیده؛ چون سادگی عجیبی داره و به جون خواننده به احتمال زیاد می‌شینه.

پ.ن: خالقین نامحترم، با شخصیت‌های محبوب من بهتر تا کنین.

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Volume 4 of this fantasy/horror series, A Fate Worse than Death, featuring Shiva, Teacher, and Auntie and more backstory about the world and its history are revealed even as we move forward with the story in the present. Back and forth, back and forth. It’s as much a story of gradual uncovering as it is anything else.

So: There’s an Inside, where humans fear/suffer some kind of curse or infection from beasts of the Outside. Auntie, who had rescued Shiva from Teacher’s house in the Outside, tells Teacher about how she found baby Shiva in the forest and raised her; Auntie learns, too, that Teacher has also for some time raised and protected Shiva in the Outside. So for a time, the (newly cursed) Auntie invites Teacher to be with them, creating a kind of family for the little girl.

But it’s a kind of unfolding process; the more we know, the more that happens, the more questions we have: What is happening with the progression of Auntie’s curse? Why is it different for Teacher? How is it Teacher is changing as he connects more and more with Shiva? And that name, Shiva (who has the name of a deity who is a destroyer of evil and transformer of life), what can that mean for sad Teacher, and the world?

In this fourth volume of a dark, brooding tale, still very much cloaked in mystery, there are at least three twists we might not have expected. That’s good storytelling, I say.

[Arghavan-紫荆 · Rating 4 out of 5]

احساس میکنم ازینجا داستان بالاخره داره جون میگیره، یکم بیشتر درباره همه می‌فهمیم و در جریان قرار می‌گیریم.
پایانش هم خیلی غیرمنتظره بود، طوری که دلم میخواد همین الان بعدی رو شروع کنم!

[The Artisan Geek]

30/8/20
Excellent as always!! Also got to know more about the curse which is cool :)

30/8/20
Read the first three volumes in one go, no it's time for the next three :).

You can find me on
Youtube | Instagram | Twitter | Tumblr | Website | The Storygraph

[Dani ❤️ Perspective of a Writer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Check out more manga and graphic novel reviews @ Perspective of a Writer...

A quiet fairy tale begins in a land distant and hazy where there are two kingdoms. The Inside is where humans cower worried the twisted beasts of the Outside will come a curse them with a touch. A young girl named Shiva lives on the other side, in a vacant village with a demonic guardian known only as “Teacher.” And so starts our tale... a little girl comes to rely on an inhuman beast...

Uhhhhh WOW! What a freakin' ending to this volume!! Geeze this woman was not a nice person, especially in contrast to Teacher but no, no, no, I didn't see that coming at all! Needless-to-say I was on the edge of my seat in this volume because I was so worried about her motives but I was also so hopeful in the small moments of homemaking that the three had together. I seriously NEED to see what happens next?! How will Shiva react...!

The art gets quite dark at times and I think its a gorgeous atmospheric tool that the mangaka uses to key us into sinister forces... Teacher really becomes a function of the light in this volume and we see that come out in the art and how he worries and wonders. He like Shiva listens to his gut and follows that instinct in a way that tears you apart more than any contrivance does in other stories! It's so gorgeously done by crossing perfect sparse art with tight story and the best characters...

I can't say anything about the plot except that we learn more of Shiva's history and its gorgeous and sad and mysterious! We aren't making any ground learning what the freak is going on but we are learning what each side is willing to do... And POW! If you love twists you won't even be able to guess at what is happening unless the mangaka wants you to so that the anticipation will build then WHAM another twist...

The Girl from the Other Side: Siúil A Rún vol 4 tears Shiva's world apart and only the fact Teacher is there for her keeps her together... They keep turning toward one another even as forces conspire to tear them apart... I can't wait to read the next volume of their journey on the other side!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Authenticity
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Tension
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Plot
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Art

______________________
You can find this review and many others on my book blog @ Perspective of a Writer. See my manga and graphic novel reviews in a special feature called Saturday Morning Cartoons...

[Francesca · Rating 5 out of 5]

La quantità di terapia di cui Shiva ha bisogno…

[Mizuki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now, that's a fairytale series that is more than worthy of getting a decent live action movie adaptation!!!!!!

The plot twist in the very end, OMG OMG OMG!!!

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Definitely took a twenty minute “bathroom break” at work to devour this... not sorry.

[Drew Canole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Here the Aunt, now a Outsider, stays with Teacher and Shiva. It's a pretty simple volume as Teacher and the Aunt adjust to the new relationship and butt heads a little bit.

Some more mysteries pop up near the end as it's revealed there's more than just physical changes - some mental ones too - when you become infected.

I enjoyed the little moments like the three of them preparing a pie and making a huge mess including getting fully covered in white flour which makes the black skeleton like faces seem less scary rendered in just white.

[Victoria ✮⋆˙ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series just keeps getting more interesting

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

فکر کنم به حد کافی از کیوتی‌ش گفتم.

فقط اینکه کم‌کم داره مشخص میشه داستان ار چه قراره.

[rachel, x · Rating 4 out of 5]

#1) The Girl from the Other Side, Vol. 1 ★★★★★
#2) The Girl from the Other Side, Vol. 2 ★★★★☆
#3) The Girl from the Other Side, Vol. 3 ★★★★☆
#5) The Girl from the Other Side, Vol. 5 ★★★★☆
#6) The Girl from the Other Side, Vol. 6 ★★★★☆
#7) The Girl from the Other Side, Vol. 7 ★★★☆☆

➸ Trigger warnings for abandonment, memory loss, dead bodies (only depicted wrapped in sheets).

Blog • Trigger Warning Database • Twitter • Instagram

[Neil R. Coulter · Rating 5 out of 5]

"All the things I did that I thought would help and protect her . . . Can I be truly sure that they were the right things to do?"

The intrigue and mournful tone of the story continues in this volume. We learn more about the effects of the curse, but still no clues about the identity of Shiva and Teacher. Mysterious changes are happening quickly to Auntie--why is her progress through the curse different from Teacher's? What is it that's supposed to be happening with Shiva (destroyer of evil and transformer, like her namesake deity?), that might reverse the curse and heal Teacher's heartache? The questions keep building in this amazing, beautiful series.

[Leah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another volume that absolutely put me through the ringer. This storytelling is fantastic! I empathize with the characters so much, and I just want everything good to happen to them. Shiva, Teacher and Auntie's relationship dynamics were so fascinating here. And that cliffhanger! OMG!

[spalanai ⛤ · Rating 5 out of 5]

the teacher—hear me out—

[Fatemeh Bahrami · Rating 3 out of 5]

اوه!

[Joana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this is my favorite volume so far, and it's also the saddest... the insertion of the Auntie into this story, and, more than that, into the Teacher and Shiva dynamic, changes so many things, and there is new sadness into that, but also so much love from this girl, who is just filled with joy for loving them both!!! And then sadness again as you go deeper into this curse and what comes from it, and you leave with this book with more questions, and maybe starting to have more of a glimpse into this world!!! Again this series is a winner, and I'll keep recommending it!!!

[honeybean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shiva's aunt begins to forget her place and then.... - what is happening with the larger black creatures in this story? Who is the mother? Why is the curse affecting Shiva differently? Can't wait for the next volume.

[Starr ❇✌❇ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series continues to be wholesome and yet also a mix of depressing and creepy! I am very sad by the ending of this, but also incredibly intrigued by this new information and the dangers awaiting poor Shiva.

[Etienne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Slower, more of casual day to day life in this one, but still so good! I think I'm not impartial anymore with this series... just loved it so much!! A series to discover!

[Dhia Nouioui · Rating 4 out of 5]

seeing auntie gradually lose the memories she had as a human....is very sad. And those outsiders are up to no good.

[Ignacio · Rating 4 out of 5]

El dibujo como suma de estética y narrativa es apabullante. Episodios como el dedicado a cocinar el pastel, entrañable hasta que aparece un cierto cariz trágico, son maravillosos. La tragedia a la que están condenados los malditos, más allá de su conversión en "monstruos"; el amor de la criatura por la niña... El relato, muy sólido en la sugerencia, continúa avanzando despacito y deja con hambre.

[ozzluc · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is just getting better and better

[blok sera szwajcarskiego · Rating 5 out of 5]

koniec mangi: babcia zostaje zjedzona 💀💔🫂
dodatek stronę później: 🌸💮pieczemy ciasto 💮🌸

[Milo (if lost, return to hot fictional character) · Rating 5 out of 5]

MY 100Th BOOK!!!!

loved this one a lot

[Zara · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5
I have no idea what just happened but they put unnecessary stuff in the book (still nice tho)

[yel ᰔ · Rating 4 out of 5]

[Volume 4 rating: ★★★★☆.25]

January 11, 2013

**The Girl from the Other Side Volume 1
**The Girl from the Other Side Volume 2
**The Girl from the Other Side Volume 3
**The Girl from the Other Side Volume 5
**The Girl from the Other Side Volume 6
**The Girl from the Other Side Volume 7
**The Girl from the Other Side Volume 8
**The Girl from the Other Side Volume 9
**The Girl from the Other Side Volume 10
**The Girl from the Other Side Volume 11

My overall thoughts will be posted at the final volume

Possible spoilers ahead, you've been warned...

Chapters 16-20

After returning back to their house outside the wall, Shiva has her moments of self-blame because of what happened in the small village, where all the villagers were killed after being 'cursed'. She thought that her single white lie caused those horrifying, tragic scenes that she witnessed and also caused her Auntie to transform into an Outsider. It was too much for a small child like her to bear all of this, but her Auntie assured her that it was not her fault at all.

On the other side, Teacher learned a bit of truth about Shiva being adopted by Auntie when she was still a baby after being abandoned in the forest, and no one knows who left her there and where she actually came from. It's also quite obvious that she's blaming Teacher for what happened to Shiva and accused him of touching her and giving her the curse, even calling him a monster. Seeing the Teacher feel some strange, unknown feeling in his heart, which we all know as a feeling of pain and despair, my heart is also aching for him. He felt that all he did for Shiva all this time only caused the little girl to bear all the sufferings. Just like Shiva, he also has his own moments of self-blame. He felt distant while looking at the other two, feeling like he's someone who shouldn't be there. He felt so insecure and the unease is just growing in his heart.

I was actually kind of resentful to the old lady when she tried to convince Shiva to go with her and leave that place, just the two of them. That little bit of moment when the Teacher was waiting for them to come back, I was feeling the anxiety he was feeling as well. She's a child and even though she likes being with Teacher, I still don't know how she will react if her Auntie wants the two of them to leave that place. But even though she's a child, at the end, she's also a smart child. Shiva noticed the tension growing between the Teacher and Auntie and because of her, the misunderstanding between them was somehow resolved.

Shiva? Who might that be? -- Auntie

I actually still stand by my guess about the memory possibly fading after turning into an Outsider. I've already mentioned it in my past review how Shiva noticed that the Teacher kept forgetting some things he used to say, but it appeared as an unnoticably small detail that one can overlooked it, until this volume. Auntie's condition made me feel so sure. I don't want Teacher to forget Shiva because if that happened, I can already see myself shedding tears.

Though that's not what surprised me, but the last part of the volume. Because of the unique, gloomy art style of this manga, it was quite hard for me to discern who it was but I think that head that was thrown by the other Outsider was Auntie's? I still don't know what happened but it really caught me off guard! I also still don't know where those other Outsiders stand in this story and I can't wait to know more!



[ 2019-2020 READING SPREADSHEETS ]
[ NEW READING SPREADSHEETS ]

[streuselschnecka · Rating 3 out of 5]

Again, a good read, but after a series of reading the previous volumes - not so great anymore. Even though the plot moves forward, and I keep finding out new things, I feel like I'm reading the same thing over and over again. After all, man does not live by atmosphere and artwork alone, I want something more.