The Girl from the Other Side: Siúil, A Rún, Vol. 7

とつくにの少女 / Totsukuni no shōjo #7

by Nagabe, Adrienne Beck (Translator )

OF MONSTERS AND MEN Hounded by two transformed soldiers desperate for salvation and with Teacher reeling from revelations about his own forgotten former life, the past finally catches up to Teacher and Shiva. With danger closing in around them at terrifying speed, is there nowhere safe for them to live a normal life together...?

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

180 pages, Paperback

First published March 9, 2019

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

[Victoria ✮⋆˙]

god this series is beautiful

[Brooke]

For you, I must become monstrous

[Drew Canole]

Tons of action in this one as Teacher and Shiva get confronted by the two infected soldiers. Later Teacher goes to battle with Insiders to try and steal a soul to help Shiva who appears to be infected now.

Teacher has a change of heart before delivering the killing blow and ends up with his foot chopped off and when he goes back to the cabin, Shiva is missing.

Lots of action in this one and a super quick read.

Can’t wait to see where this goes.

[Dave Schaafsma]

The gentle but frightening-looking Teacher and the girl (from the other side) Shiva have been running from two different factions (outsiders and soldiers?), trying to find some place to safely live, but the slow, intimate pace of this suspense of this often silent story gets disrupted at last as one of the transformed soldiers who have been trailing them finds Shiva when Teacher is away and she becomes (seriously) injured. It would appear she may be dying, so Teacher, with the help of some crows and other creatures, decides to battle some of the intruders with the hopes of saving her life/soul.

The solution he seeks and then backtracks on involving soul capture/restoration involving another human is a bit confusing, and as usual with this series, remains shrouded in mystery. And then, when he returns to find Shiva. . . cliffhanger.

An action volume, at last! Gorgeous art, as usual, atmospheric and gripping.

[Etienne]

I've been waiting for this one to get out for a while and it was worth the wait. Awesome! Maybe I was to out due to read one but for me this one of the best so far!!! I really like it!

[buket]

hmm this took a dark turn really quick

[Bogi Takács]

This series continues to be interesting. With as few spoilers as possible, two characters end up with a disability/illness in this volume (a different one for each) and I am wondering how that will develop. There is also a sizable amount of action and a sizable amount of ???.

I think my library is a bit behind buying this series, this volume just came in and it was published in August, so I think I'll have less time to wait until the next volume and the resolution of the GIGANTIC CLIFFHANGER.
_____
Source of the book: Lawrence Public Library

[Francesca]

Maestro nella sua Joel Miller era

[Malli (Chapter Malliumpkin)]

🥀 Volume One ★★★★★
🥀 Volume Two ★★★★★
🥀 Volume Three ★★★★★
🥀 Volume Four ★★★★★
🥀 Volume Five ★★★★★
🥀 Volume Six ★★★★★
🥀 Volume Seven ★★★★★
🥀 Volume Eight ★★★★★


Content/Trigger Warnings: Violence, guilt, disembodiment, death/murder

“The plain truth is that one girl’s life can save everyone. Isn’t it hubris to imagine salvation will come without sacrifice?”

Okay friends, if you’ve been here for a hot minute then you know how obsessed I am with this series. And it just keeps getting better and darker! I can honestly say that this might be my favorite volume in this whole series. It was so good and I can’t get over the fact that we’re going to have to wait till 2020 for the next volume. I need it now, in my hands, so I can scream into the void how much I love these characters.

If you’re not familiar with this series yet then here’s the breakdown. Keep in mind, this isn’t a spoiler especially if you’ve made it all the way up to this volume. However, I will do my best to keep this volume as spoiler free as possible.

Divided Land

🌻 The Inside – Where all the humans, like you and me, ruled by the King and the Church, patrolled by armed forces
🌻 The Outside – Where the Cursed Ones exist, abandoned villages, also where Teacher and Shiva exist
🌻 The Inside – Where all the humans, like you and me, ruled by the King and the Church, patrolled by armed forces

Factions

🌻 Humans/Mortals – Like you and me, live on the Inside
🌻 Cursed Ones – Beast like creatures, plagued with The Curse, feared by mortals, roam the Outside
🌻 Humans/Mortals – Like you and me, live on the Inside
🌻 The God of Light – Creator of happiness and peace
🌻 The God of Darkness – Trickster, plays pranks on the God of Light, steals away happiness, cause of The Curse

Characters

🌻 Teacher – Main character, horned Cursed Child, guardian of Shiva, either a scholar or doctor when mortal
🌻 Shiva – Main character, child of Light, protected by the most holy, innocent, companion to Teacher
🌻 Teacher – Main character, horned Cursed Child, guardian of Shiva, either a scholar or doctor when mortal
🌻 Father or Head Priest of the Church – Orders for constant capture of Shiva, believer of the “prophecy”, orders soldiers to cause democide, aid of his royal majesty
🌻 Mother – Intentions unknown, creator of the Black Children
🌻 The Black Children – Created by “Mother”, similar to Teacher, wish to obtain Shiva’s soul



Now that you understand a little more about the book, volume seven picks up where volume six left us. Clutching our pearls and hoping Teacher kicks some series butt. Oh yes, I think we all want Teacher to throw down and pull a moment of “YOU. SHALL. NOT. PASS.” on these corrupted soldiers. It was probably one of the most tense ways to start this graphic novel off and I’m not going to lie, I was choking a little bit. The first chapter of this graphic novel is gut wrenching and may cause the water works to flow. I know I shed one or two tears especially the whole scene we get with Shiva. That first chapter just packs a hard hitting punch to the gut.

What I wasn’t expecting from this book was Teacher going into a “two personality” situation or I guess it would be a Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde situation. All of the volumes in this series so far have been building up to this point. We know how much Teacher cares about Shiva, but his love is so thick and deep that he is emotionally tearing himself apart. And in this one scene, we get a double conversation he’s having with himself or his inner self and you know he’s at that ledge of debating how far is he willing to go to protect Shiva. I think it’s brilliant that we’re seeing him show so much emotion and really pushing that line of staying within one’s own values and principles vs. doing whatever it takes. It was beautifully done and I loved how the only thing that brought him out of his own conversation was scooting a cooking pot across the floor. It was so well done and I loved watching him fight himself.

“I will become as monstrous as I must.”

Through this entire series, I have always loved and stood by the relationship Teacher and Shiva have and I still stand by it. That entire ending, I don’t think I’ve loved an ending more with a book, with a series, in general. Nagabe does an incredible job of showing the blurred lines of right and wrong, doing enough and going too far. Even more so when you’re at a crossroad in life and you have to make an insanely hard choice. This ending was such a mix of emotions by Teacher and honestly, a book has never made me reevaluate my own morals and how far I would go for the ones I love and care about. Not to mention, I loved how Nagabe painted Teacher in a light of being the most human he has ever been in this whole series. It’s just wave of emotions and I just loved it. It flowed beautifully and ended in the most cliffhanger way possible.

Overall, I refuse to go into any more detail about this book because the best way to go into this series is to not know a lot about it. I will say this, when you start volume one and get to volume seven, it’s a slow build of this series becoming darker and darker. Not to mention the stakes become higher and higher. It’s so well done and I have never been this addicted to a graphic novel series the way I am with this series. I can’t recommend this series enough and if you have been debating this series, just buy the first two volumes. You won’t regret it, trust me. Plus, it’s never too early to start building a dark, spooky TBR!




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[Jan Agaton]

still loving how quick these are, but there have only been a couple that hit higher than 3 stars

[streuselschnecka]

I don't know anymore if all these volumes are blending together for me or if there really are many themes being repeated here. I have to admit that there was a bit of action so that I was sitting on the edge of my seat for much of this volume, excited about what would happen. However, the ending was similar to the previous one. Shiva was once again left alone and once again it did not end well. This is starting to get boring... However, I sincerely hope this will push the plot forward.

Additionally, I hope there will be some good fairy tale narration, just like in the first volumes! After all, the whole concept of the story is very fable-like, as if taken from a legend.

[Ketelen ✩]

Omg how am I gonna survive until the next volume comes out???

[ozzluc]

I am falling more and more for this manga

[Mizuki]

Premise: The Girl from the Other Side is a sweet, slightly gloomy but engaging fairy tale about a little girl in white (named Shiva) and a humanoid horned black beast (named Teacher) living in a small cottage among the wood, in a world which is divided as Inside and Outside, Cursed and Uncursed.

The people from the Inside fear the Cursed Ones (black and beastly humanoid creatures who wander in the woods) from the Outside, so they protect themselves by surrounding their towns with a great wall to keep the Cursed Ones and their Curse out. But at the outskirt of this wall, live an oblivious little girl who stays with her Teacher and awaits the return of her 'Auntie'. But when human soldiers start searching the woods, things can become very dangerous for the trusting little girl.

The main characters continue to search for a safe place to live their lives quietly whilst the soldiers from the walled kingdom keep chasing after them, for the priest in the walled capital believes the little girl holds the secret to break the terrifying Curse.

Once again there are still so many questions! Who are the Black Children and who is the mysterious entity known as Mother? What's their goals? Is the Teacher really an ex-human and who was he? Why is the little girl starting to get sick now? Is she also Cursed?

With so many questions and uncertainty, the author continues to lead us through the heart-achingly beautiful and quiet landscape of the dark, dark woods as the story gets a bit more brutal and unsettling.

For some reason I really do like the Black Children (a bunch of Cursed, talking creatures in the forms of dogs, crows, deer etc who do the Mother's bidding, or so it seems), they are amazing!

[Leah]

I just keep giving these books 5 stars, but it's always so deserved! This volume was one giant conflict that kept going all the way to the very end. Teacher's choices on how to protect Shiva was heartbreaking, but it all felt incredibly necessary. I have no idea what's going to happen because of course instead of a resolution, we got a cliffhanger! Can't wait to dive into volume 8!

[Seb]

Un peu d'action, un peu de suspense. Ça change des tomes précédents. On va espérer que cela continue sur cette lancée 🤞

-----
(automatic translation)

A little action, a little suspense. It's a change from the previous volumes. Let's hope it keeps up this momentum 🤞

[rachel, x]

#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 ★★★★☆
#4) The Girl from the Other Side, Vol. 4 ★★★★☆
#5) The Girl from the Other Side, Vol. 5 ★★★★☆
#6) The Girl from the Other Side, Vol. 6 ★★★★☆

… I still can’t believe I’m giving a book in this series less than four stars 😔 the art style is an all-time favourite but the plot really fizzled out in this volume. It was repetitive and a little, dare I say, bland. I want more Teacher & Shiva moments.

➸ Trigger warnings for loss of limb (by self-injury), murder & attempted murder, knife & sword violence, home invasion, and kidnapping.

Blog • Trigger Warning Database • Twitter • Instagram

[trestitia ⵊⵊⵊ deamorski]

This vol was rough. I cried and screamed and cried some more. I cried for Shiva. I cried for Teacher. Don’t mind me pls I’m just…



OH GOD I’M DYING

[Duck]

CW: violence, gore, body horror

ANOTHER CLIFFHANGER? IN MY GOOD GAY HOUSEHOLD???

Anyway, there were some twists where I genuinely gasped, and some really good pivotal characters moments too. So great job, but I want more nowwwww

[Jillian -always aspiring-]

I still feel the sense that this story is going in circles, but the mystery aspect continues to intrigue.

[Sol]

Violence, fear, and desperation abound in this volume. Teacher is terrified that not only will he lose everything, but that it'll be completely his fault... and maybe it is? Hard to say...

The fight scenes in this volume were so damn exciting! It seriously made my heart pound with fear to see Shiva in real, terrible danger like this. I wanted to jump out of my skin at the idea of her getting hurt in any way. For a manga that can be very tranquil and atmospheric, I thought that it handled more high-energy scenes really well, with terror and suspense.

I will say, the thing I find least compelling about this series is its own attempts to exposit its lore. I find it really hard to wrap my head around the worldbuilding of this sometimes, and it can be easy to check out when characters are explaining things to you, especially in only abstract terms. It's understandable enough to follow, but I don't feel as though its good storytelling. That's my main detractor for this volume.

[Ignacio]

Cada vez que este tebeo se aleja de las estampas de fantasía y se acerca a la acción, con figuras humanas enfrentándose a los monstruos, sufre. A Nagabe se le notan demasiado sus debilidades, más cuando más dilata las escenas. Mucho mejor a la hora de contar el dilema del doctor.

[julia ☆ [owls reads]]

Eu tava me perguntando sobre como as coisas iam progredir em termos da maldição e!!! me arrependo dos meus questionamentos!!! Volume muito tenso e preocupante, que ainda revelou mais algumas coisas bem interessantes sobre a construção do mundo. O relacionamento da Shiva e do Sensei continua a aquecer e fazer doer o meu coração.

[delaram]

داره از همه چیزش مایه می‌ذاره تا شیوا رو نجات بده. لبریز از مهربونی و خوش‌قلبیه. اما یه‌کم دیگه پیش بره عضوی از بدنش باقی نمی‌مونه بخواد براش بجنگه. 😭

[Pattrain]

shiiiivaaaa🥹🥹🥹😭😭😭😭

[ThatBookish_deviant]

4.25/5

[syd]

4.25 ⭐️

“if… it is for your sake… i will become as monstrous as i must.”

this story only keeps hurting me but i can’t stop now, just let my small family be happy together 😭

[Willow]

I just made up my mind to read the last volume. my mind's made up! I'm going to read indeed! I was like, What?! my heart skipped a beat when the teacher figured out she wasn't in her bed. where has she gone? can't wait to read the next volume!

[Joana]

I hadn't read any installments in this series for awhile, but I decided to pick it up last night, and this is so good (and I'll definitely pick up volume 8 in the next few days!!)
The earliest volumes were very much "vibes-only", but the action has been picking up, each chapter ends in a cliffhanger, that makes you not let go of the book!!! The danger is here, and it's both internal and external, everything between the Teacher and Shiva is at risk, and at the same time the world is becoming bigger, with more characters interacting with them, but still the focus always being in their relationship!!!
This is just a really good an beautiful series about familiar love and taking care of each other!!!

[Dhia Nouioui]

The visuals in this chapter were really interesting especially towards the end.