A Menina do Outro Lado, vol. 2

とつくにの少女 / Totsukuni no shōjo #2

by Nagabe, Renata García (Translator)

Os darksiders pediram mais mangás na casa do terror. A DarkSide Books ouviu o chamado dos leitores e publicou o primeiro volume de A Menina do Outro Lado, de Nagabe. O traço ímpar e delicado do mangaká tocou o coração de todos que mergulharam nesse conto de fadas dark — e os leitores pediram mais.

É hora de comemorar! A DarkSide Books mais uma vez ouviu os pedidos dos seus amados leitores e vai lançar, em abril, a continuação de A Menina do Outro Lado. No primeiro volume, somos apresentados a um país dividido, onde perigos espreitam na floresta e nas redondezas, e conhecemos a história de Shiva, uma encantadora menininha que foi acolhida pela estranha criatura meio animal e meio humana que ela chama de Sensei.

Ela não pode tocá-lo, senão será amaldiçoada. Quando um forasteiro invade a casa que eles habitam e toca no rosto de Shiva, tudo parece estar perdido. Com mais perguntas do que respostas, Shiva e Sensei partem em uma jornada em busca da verdade. Estaria a garotinha correndo perigo? E poderia a floresta revelar tudo aquilo que eles precisam saber? A atmosfera envolvente e cheia de contrastes de Nagabe — sua arte obscura e repleta de sensibilidade, o jogo de luz e escuridão, um mundo assombroso e convidativo — continua sendo sua marca registrada neste segundo volume ainda mais emocionante.

A Menina do Outro Lado é uma fábula sobre a criação do afeto e o amor entre duas criaturas tão diferentes, mas com muito a compartilhar. Para os fãs da obra, mais uma novidade: um curta animado feito pelo estúdio japonês Wit Studio será lançado em setembro de 2019. A direção da animação que adapta a história de Shiva e Sensei ficará com os japoneses Yuutarou Kubo e Satomi Maiya.

Enquanto isso, do lado de cá do planeta, A Menina do Outro Lado — Volume 2 chega para os leitores no padrão de qualidade sobrenatural da DarkSide Books que só quem aposta no escuro conhece: edições cuidadosas, da capa dura à tradução feita diretamente do japonês, e um universo de detalhes para você explorar a cada página.

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

176 pages, Hardcover

First published September 10, 2016

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

[Whitney Atkinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume delves a lot into the backstory of the curse so I thought it was a needed and interesting continuation, even though I thought the drawings were a bit harder to comprehend because the darkness made it difficult to discern character shapes and who was talking and what was happening. But I still think the idea behind this series is brilliant and seeing the monster's inner turmoil was so sweet. I'm definitely pestering my library for the rest of this series.

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

The Girl From the Other Side is such a wild ride of dark fantasy and ferocious fear just…don’t lose your head. But the vibes here are IMPECCABLE. Dark mysteries are brewing and bubbling over in scalding hot twists yet the story is delivered as quiet anxiety and a rather tender coziness. Like huddling around a small fire under a shelter just barely keeping the damp cold and rain away on a dark night. Volume 2 of The Girl From the Other Side picks up right where the first left off and launches right into deeper mysteries as the world building and new revelations come screeching out through the trees. And the art goes SO hard.

Nagabe has really created something special here and I can’t get enough. Teacher, an “outsider” cares for Shiva, a girl abandoned in the wilderness outside the safety of the village walls but cannot touch her because apparently that is how the curse of the dark beasts of the outside spreads. Yet when we last saw Shiva her cheek was getting clapped by a horned beast and…somehow she seems okay.

Are we getting a Last of Us sort of thing or is this about to spiral into something far more sinister with the new talk of “Mother’s” souls being brought back and the ominous hole in the ground. Oh yea, that hole is also under the water and a talking head brings us there. I’m sure thats fine…

But for real this series GOES OFF. It is so cool and I am so hooked and I will think about nothing else until I read more. I love the art, I love the vibes, I love the mystery and how can you not love Shiva. This volume really dives into Teacher’s internal conflicts and wrestling with morality and while sure, he may go axe-murderer sometimes he’s a real sweet guy. I SWEAR. Also weirdly hot, don’t judge me. Or do, I stand by it. These volumes come at rapid fire and end on such intense cliff-hangers that, TRUST ME, you’ll want to have as many volumes as possible on hand before starting. And start you should because this series is amazing. Go, go get some now. You are welcome.

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stories about traveling to “the other side” include Stranger Things (The Upside Down) and Neil Gaiman’s Coraline. The Girl from the Other Side is fantasy, involving two kingdoms; it appears to be dark fantasy, richly atmospheric, with an increasing sense of foreboding regarding—again, as in the above stories--a vulnerable little girl in peril. This volume largely features the relationship between young Shiva and (seemingly? in appearance only? demonic) Teacher. He appears to be her protector and advocate, and we hope this continues. See that amazing cover art? That’s the weird bird creature Teacher.

But fantasy bleeds toward horror in that The Outsider touches Shiva in her sleep, and could this make Shiva an Outsider, too? And then the Outsider is decapitated (sorry for the light spoiler, but you wanted to know that the creepy Outsider would have to carry his head around, if he’s scary and possibly bad, and would have to pay for his possible badness, right?), so that qualifies as horror, right? The impact of this manga gets largely carried by the darkly beautiful pen and ink art, where atmosphere dominates explanation, where some macabre world-building is still going on at the expense of plot clarity, but now I’m in, so I‘ll be patient.

[Mizuki · Rating 5 out of 5]

The artwork is so damn stylist and awesome! It's poetic, lyrical! It is like you are invited into a secretive, enchanting, bygone world of fairy tales and mysteries! It is just...glorious!



In this volume two, our two MCs, the little girl and The Teacher (a humanoid dark beast with horns) get more interactions with other characters (mostly the other beastly Cursed Ones) and the little girl's missing aunt shows up by the end! But where did the Curse come from? Was The Teacher also human before he became a Cursed One? Why The Teacher is unaware of his own origin when the other Cursed Ones seem to be in the know? And more importantly, will the little girl be alright after she returns to the human society? (well, we know things can never be so easy when humans and their schemes are involved!)

This series is just so endearing! This' is a fairytale series that is more than worthy of getting a decent live action movie adaptation!!!!!!

[Shaghayegh · Rating 4 out of 5]

مانگا واقعا زیباست.
این بار سیر داستانی بیشتر جون گرفته و اطلاعات بیشتری به خواننده داده شد. اما هم‌چنان معماهای کشف‌نشده‌ای وجود دارن که باعث میشن بخوای سراغ اثر بعدی بری.
نقاشی‌ها گاهی تشخیصشون سخت میشه، مخصوصا وقتی که موجودات تاریکی به تور هم می‌خورن و پس‌زمینه بیشتر مشکی میشه.
احساس می‌کنم که ارتباط مانگا و اون ترانه‌ی ایرلندی داره بیشتر مشخص میشه چون به آهنگی اشاره شد که معلم نمی‌فهمید چیه، اما میدونست یه ترانه‌ست و حس میکنم این همون ترانه‌ست.
راجع به شخصیت‌ها و گذشته‌شون هم بیشتر فهمیدم ولی در کل یه طوری پیش میره که همچنان تو خماری بمونی.
از معدود آثاری هست که می‌خونم و شخصیت‌های اصلیش رو دوست دارم ^^

پ.ن: من یه مدت کوتاهی هست که حوصله‌ی کتاب‌های متنی رو ندارم و برای اینکه دچار ریدینگ اسلامپ (به قول بعضیا رخوت در کتابخوانی) نشم، به مانگا و کمیک پناه بردم. به نظرم میتونه راهگشا باشه.

[The Artisan Geek]

12/7/20
I definitely liked the first volume better, I was a bit confused during the middle with all of the curse talk -- would have loved to have been given just a little bit of more information. Anyway, I am still very excited to continue.

12/7/20
Finished the first volume before I went to bed last night, excited to continue the story :)

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

[Leo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a atmospheric, dark yet beautiful manga that's gives an unique and mesmerizing reading experience. Loved every minute of this book. It's a perfect length but sometimes I just wanted more, which makes me glad I got a few more books on this series left to read. i highly recommend this manga especially now in autumn and spooky season, but it can be easily enjoyed at anytime in the year. It's spooky with out being scary

[destiny ♡ howling libraries · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the first volume a bit better, but I'm not sure I'll continue the series. The art is so lacking in detail and so dark that I'm not a big fan of it, and I'm really not enjoying the way this is two volumes in a row where we're being given bread crumbs without any explanation for any of it. If anything, the world and "curse" are so much more confusing now than they were in the first volume! I'm sad to say I don't think this is for me.

✨ Content warnings for: child endangerment, kidnapping, violence

———
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[Fatemeh Bahrami · Rating 4 out of 5]

از سرتاپای این مانگا زیبایی چکه می‌کنه.

+ امیدوارم سوال‌های ایجاد شده هم‌راستا با هدف مانگاکا باشه. خیلی ناراحت می‌شم اگه در ادامه سوتی بده یا از پس حل معماها بر نیاد.

[Tina Haigler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review to come :)

[UTO · Rating 5 out of 5]

5⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
واقعیت اینه با این که خیلی ساده اس، یه اقتباس از سیاهی و سفیدی هست. ولی انگار نه انگار که فقط همی�� دو رنگ داخلش وجود داره. همه چی بین تنالیته این دوتا به تصویر کشیدن شده.
دنیایی که نصف شده این طرفی و اون طرفی ها سفید و تاریکی، معلمی بدون روح که از دنیای اون طرفی هاست و روح نفرین شده یه دختر بچه رو می خواد نجات بده.
اصلا خیییلی قشنگ و لطیفه برعکس چیزی که توی ظاهر داستان نشون میده.🥺✨
با خوندنش قشنگ دارم عشق می کنم.🫢

[Amir · Rating 3 out of 5]

شخصیت اصلی داستان، از ما اطلاعات بیشتری داره اما باز هم خیلی چیزها برای خودش نامعلوم و سوال هستن. داستان اطلاعات خاصی نمی‌ده بلکه شخصیت اصلی، سعی داره معماهایی رو برای خودش حل کنه. حالا ما با بررسی افکار این شخصیت، می‌تونیم دست و پا شکسته چیزی کشف کنیم. در واقع شخصیت کاملا آگاهی نیست و پرت از کل ماجرا هم نیست. این حد وسط بودنه به روایت کمک زیادی کرده.

[Brooke (~!Books are my Favorite!!~) · Rating 5 out of 5]

To be touched by an outsider is to become an outsider

Really impressed with the gentle intrigue of the storytelling.

[Victoria ✮⋆˙ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm loving this series so much it's so eerie

[Arghavan-紫荆 · Rating 3 out of 5]

هنوزم نمیدونم
Siúsil, A Rún
چرا توی عنوانش هست.. اگر کسی میدونه لطفا بهم بگه.
مثینکه اسم یه آهنگ سنتی ایرلندی هست و یعنی "عجله کن، عشق من" ولی تا اینجا اصلا نمیدونم چه ربطی به داستان داره!

[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...

I ADORED the first volume of The Girl from the Other Side: Siúil, A Rún and had to pick up the next volume ASAP! And I raced through that volume as well... The lean story has the perfect balance of art, action and feels! There is also this mystery of the curse and the Inside and Outside and why they are that way. Teacher seems to get some answers but he is dissatisfied with them. We see the Inside encroaching on Shiva and Teacher in an ominous way and the fallout from events in volume 1 make Teacher's job protecting Shiva even more difficult.

I didn't expect the events and cliffhangers of The Girl from the Other Side vol 2 as they seemed to come about too swiftly... but really is worked quite well... you may think this is going to move slow since the volume 1 took some time to setup the world and Shiva and Teacher's situation but this volume explodes out of the gate and doesn't look back. Caught in between the the simple and beautifully tender relationship between this beast and a little girl. I'm anxious too see where we go in volume 3 as Shiva is about to meet some demons like she's never known.

We see the world expanding through the art as we come to a lake... I won't reveal anything but its so mysterious and the art just adds so much atmosphere to the entire story. There were a lot more dark frames in this volume too and I think it was spot on to how dark Shiva's life is becoming even as Teacher worries over her. It's Teacher though that I want to see bring some light back... I look forward to how he does that and how it comes out in the art!

It's certainly a fact when men in power learn of an unknown variable that they will look to seize it and work it to their advantage. Poor Shiva is caught in the crosshairs of various powers and only has Teacher to stand in the gap with her. She is so innocent and pure that she doesn't realize her danger. Simply through her nature you can see why Teacher is so effected and feels so keenly to do all her can for this little girl!

The Girl from the Other Side vol 2 takes the story right to a place that makes your heart fray and the mystery heighten! Just who is Teacher? What is up with Shiva? And what can the power of their bond do to help themselves?! This is a manga that anyone can enjoy... even those who doubt their desire to get into this format should pick this series up and see if it doesn't challenge them to keep reading!!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 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...

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

اینهمه تیرگی و سیاهی بکشی و لطیف‌ترین داستان هارو بگی؟؟!🥺
چطور می‌تونه 😭😍

یکم بک‌استوری داشت و یکم بیشتر میفهمی چی میشه
البته یکم واقعن زیادی تاریک کشیده بود و پیچیده شاید بود ولی خب میشد فهمید چی به چیه.

[Drew Canole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Doesn't really expand the story a whole lot. The mysteries seem to be created just for the reader. The Teacher knows what's going on but doesn't feel like sharing it in his narration.

Still nice and eerie. The Teacher and the girl are great characters, their relationship feels very believable.

[Neil R. Coulter · Rating 5 out of 5]

When David Lynch was making the original Twin Peaks series, he said that he really had no intention of ever revealing who killed Laura Palmer. Rather, Lynch wanted to continue peeling away the layers of the town and its residents, always learning just a little more, but never finding the ultimate solution.

I'm thinking about that as I read through Nagabe's amazing The Girl from the Other Side series. Nagabe seems to share Lynch's delight in simply letting one scene transition to the next, always raising more questions, but never quite answering the previous ones. (As a side note, if Lynch were ever interested in trying an animated film, The Girl from the Other Side would be a great choice for him.) I really like that slow, patient unfolding of the story and its characters and world. I don't know what the ultimate answers will be, if we're ever given them. But I am very much enjoying the story.

In book 2, the tone becomes significantly more macabre--the kind of macabre where you can find a line like, "Please stop batting my head around. . . . It is not a toy," and where the head of a villain promises the protagonist that his body won't hurt her while his head and body are separated. The yearning and mystery from book 1 are still here, and though our perspective on this world broadens, we're left with more questions than answers--along with a nagging feeling that even the bits of information we're given may well be misdirection or outright lies.

Thoroughly intriguing and beautiful--this has become one of my favorite graphic novels, and the Teacher (whatever he is or once was) is one of my favorite characters.

[Timidalibreriadelriccio · Rating 3 out of 5]

Secondo volume leggermente meno forte del primo, ma che punta a mettere sul campo temi e argomenti che sicuramente verranno affrontati nelle storie successive.

I misteri si fanno sempre più oscuri e nuovi arrivi renderanno sempre più lontana la normalità del maestro e di Shiva. Si sa, la verità a volte è difficile da affrontare, ma necessaria affinché si possa essere realmente liberi.

In questo volume il confine tra mostro e umano, tra bianco e nero si fa sempre più sottile fino a quasi scomparire del tutto.

E se fosse l’uomo il mostro?

[LittleMockingbird · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm still impressed by how beautiful the artwork is. in this one it seems that the contrast between the white and black of the characters is deeper than in volume 1, and the image of the beasts themselves is a bit sharper (?) Teacher stands out not only visually but is not like other beasts and it seems that he has not met them in the past.

The story mainly focuses on the integration between little girl and Teacher with the Outsiders. although this volume leaves more questions than in vol 1 , we still learn quite a lot about the world. it turns out that it is not so easy to kill the Outsider

[Darya Madadvand · Rating 5 out of 5]

تصویرسازی‌هاش، شخصیت‌هاش، همه رو دوست دارم :)))

[Elizabeth A · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just take a look at the cover art. It's a good example of how wonderful the art is in this Manga series.

This installment of the story shed more light on this dark fairy tale of a story. To be touched by a monster makes you a monster, and Shiva has been touched by one. What will happen to her?

There are some wonderful sections in this one, especially surrounding the relationship between young Shiva and Teacher. However, there are also sections (the lake and creatures for example) that do not make sense, but I'm sure there is a larger tapestry that I am unable to see at this reading. I continue to love the art, but the story is not fleshed out enough yet for my tastes.

[Maija · Rating 4 out of 5]

The art is so beautiful.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn't too surprised that this second volume of The Girl from the Other Side drew me in more than the first. That happens a lot. The basic settings--the forest, Shiva and Teacher's home, and the abandoned village--are becoming comfortably familiar places for our two leads to come across others from both the insiders and the outsiders.

The beginning of this volume was a little too confusing, with two near-completely black characters fighting in darkness (I didn't realize Teacher's opponent's head had come off until well afterwards). The sequence after that where Teacher met "Mother" underneath the lake was atmospheric, mysterious and evocative. It also lets the reader know that both Shiva and Teacher are different from the rest of their kind.

In hindsight, that wasn't approached very subtly, laying things out through a plot contrivance. The cliffhanger at the end of this volume was somewhat ham-handed too, and felt pre-emptive. The storytelling isn't pristine, in other words.

But this is definitely interesting enough to keep on with. It's quick going, does well at setting its intended mood, and it's rather unique compared to the teen-level manga I usually read. It hasn't grabbed my heart/emotions, despite the found-family aspect which is usually an easy in for me, but that's okay. Not every story I read has to do that, as long as it has enough else going on.

[Rachel (TheShadesofOrange) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.0 stars
This is such a cute creepy fantasy manga

[rachel, x · Rating 4 out of 5]

#1) The Girl from the Other Side, Vol. 1 ★★★★★
#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 ★★★★☆
#7) The Girl from the Other Side, Vol. 7 ★★★☆☆

➸ Trigger warnings for abandonment, murder & attempted murder, (non-fatal) decapitation, arrow violence.

Blog • Trigger Warning Database • Twitter • Instagram

[tatiana ❀ · Rating 4 out of 5]

the art is stunning. i have no clue what's going on though

[Hirondelle (not getting notifications) · Rating 3 out of 5]

The art is still fantastic, jut dazzling to turn each page and take a good look. Shiva is still adorable. But the cliffhanger from the previous volume kind of fizzles out and there are so many teasers about hidden secrets, hidden plot (should I tell or not? angsty pannels for pages on end), and so far more 170 pages of art, and not much a lot more. Also plot and worldbuilding seems a big trite (though maybe that can be just classical european in theme. This actually feels more european graphic novel than manga except it is so long and drawn out, and yeah black and white art...)

And oh yeah, it gets more horror in tone, particularly the depictions of violence. It was classified as "children's" graphic novels and they classification and even the concept always baffles me - this is in children's, some SPYXFamily in adult's, why, no idea...

[Isabel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Volume 1 was like "Do you want to cry a little?"

Volume 2 will be like "Can you even Stop crying?"