The Girl from the Other Side: Siúil, A Rún, Volume 8

とつくにの少女 / Totsukuni no shōjo #8

by Nagabe

WHEN ALL HOPE IS LOST

For Shiva’s sake, another life must be sacrificed. Teacher thought he had steeled himself to commit the deed, but perhaps some lingering trace of his humanity stilled his hand. Unable to harm others, he realizes the only recourse is to instead sacrifice himself. But what remains once the soul is gone?

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

184 pages, Paperback

First published September 10, 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

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Teacher's Memories (spoilers, if you are reading, but you would not be surprised by anything, really)

Nagabe is a master of subtle gesture and pacing and delicate line work, but if you were the slightest bit impatient about when things might actually be happening, this is the volume. So Shiva is a Child of Light and Teacher is/was a Cursed one, but her protector, and they have been pursued by the leader of the Church (something like the Pope). In this volume I was suddenly reminded of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials series where something like The Catholic Church wants to take the souls of children.

So, to save Shiva's soul, Teacher reveals the depth of his love for her in giving up his own soul for her (which I know, sounds like the Biblical story of Christ's sacrifice on the cross), which results in the (gradual) loss of his memories, including his memories about her. It is anguishing to see Shiva realize this as she tears at her chest, wanting to remove what he has given to her. Then the Church captures her and takes her away, imprisons her. In this moment we see more than ever the love she has for him. In prison, someone, we know not who or why, gives her the Teacher's pocket watch, which has been inscribed to her. I think volume nine is available in English soon. Clearly, anyone reading volume eight will drop everything to find out how things proceed. In volume eight there are moments you will remember, for sure.

[Victoria ✮⋆˙ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh wowwww, this volume was so heartbreaking !

[Brooke (Books are my Favorite!!) · Rating 4 out of 5]

what remains once the soul is gone?💟💟💟💟

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

Oh my, poor Teacher! I really need to know what happens next.

[Drew Canole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Instead of stealing another soul by killing a insider, Teacher instead sacrifices himself - able to heal Shiva but now he's just an empty shell with no memories. We get more background of the insiders and their religious leader (a sort of Pope, god embodied on Earth type of guy). They come and capture Shiva and Teacher (with no memories) sort of watches them unsure what to do.

Certainly no longer the slow introspective series it once was, but Nagabe never loses the heart and spirit of the story. Masterful story-telling with fantastic artwork. Some of the most subtle art I've seen in manga.

[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!!!!!!

Things aren't going well for the little girl and the Teacher, soldiers from the Inside are hunting them down, the Teacher has a hard decision to make in order to save the little girl's life from the deadly Curse.

The artwork is still hauntingly beautiful, the story is still going well, it's slow paced and poetic at the same time. 5 stars.

[Neil R. Coulter · Rating 5 out of 5]

After some volumes of not much happening: stuff is happening. Whoa. That was shocking.

[Francesca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Picchiatemi con una mazza chiodata e farebbe meno male di questo volume

[buket · Rating 5 out of 5]

SOBBING 😭😭😭😭 this one was so cruel 💔💔💔💔💔💔💔

[Perusing Panels · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nagabe is an expert at pacing and creating palpable atmosphere. Just beautiful.

[Etienne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very quick read, not the most money worth in term of time/money but definitely worth every penny in term of enjoyment. Good story, interesting twist in this issue, not the most «precise» art, but I like the style and it also have a special emotional effect with me since it's truly the series that bring me into the manga world! Love it!

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5
God this is just so sad now.

[Dhia Nouioui · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think the man who visited her in the dungeon is actually the king. Most of his talk felt like an old man reflecting on and regretting his life.

[Malli (Chapter Malliumpkin) · Rating 5 out of 5]

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

Content/Trigger Warnings: Graphic injuries, impalement, talk of democide, grief, starvation, attempted sacrifice, terminal illness

“This time I will surely save you.”

Friends, I love this series with every fiber of my being! These characters, this world, just everything about it makes me melt into a puddle. I have been following these characters since I got my hands on the first volume and to say this isn’t a new favorite would be doing it a disservice. Also, if you haven’t read my full series review yet, please go check it out so you have a better idea about this world and these characters!

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

This is the volume where it finally happens, the church final captures Shiva. So the majority of this book we follow her perspective and the things that befall her after Teacher saves her life. In previous volumes, we learn that the church has been trying to capture Shiva because of a prophecy that claims if you sacrifice the child of white from the Outside then the curse will be lifted. However, things don’t go according to plan when things take a turn for the worse during the ceremony.



I have said this so many times, this series is so good at building a story-line and anticipation! Not to mention that this author has a tendency to end their volumes on a cliffhanger. I have never come across a manga series that ends on so many intense cliffhangers. Now, I may be over selling it. However, in all my time reading manga, I have never wanted to acquire a series so fast because of the way the story-line is built and how each volume ends. Each volume is it’s own master piece at painting the bigger picture of the story that’s unfolding and it makes the reader become fully invested.

I really loved that we see a lot of character development in this volume. In past volumes there was character development, but in this volume we really get that sense of what the main characters mean to one another. Teacher makes the ultimate sacrifice to save Shiva, while Shiva realizes how much she wants to stay with Teacher after being captured by the church. We already had a sense of how important each main character was to the other, but this volume has both main characters acknowledge their love for one another, the importance of each other, and how they don’t want to lose one another. This is a very similar character development that you see in the manga series, The Ancient Magus Bride between Elias and Chise. I love these type of character developments and I really enjoy when characters realize the importance of their love interest or their companion/friends.

“You were like the light of a flickering candle flame. Too faint to illuminate the path ahead. You were so small, so slight and fragile. A breath could have extinguished you. And yet… You were all that I needed and more.”

Of course, we also see more of the church and His Majesty in this volume. We’ve seen bits and pieces of them in past volumes. Along with scenes of soldiers sent by the church venturing through the Outside, but we never had a volume that fully involves the church. In this volume, we learn that His Majesty is terminally ill with a type of heart condition that keeps becoming worse. We also have this sense that the church is pulling a lot more strings then it lets on. The last scene we have of the priest leaves a dark, ominous feeling that would lead to speculation that something far worse is coming or the possible potential of the church taking matters into their own hands. Either way, this volume has more darker themes than one would expect.

And I have to mention how the author includes these important moments with specific items. Near the end of this book, Shiva interacts with a stranger within the prison she’s being held in. This stranger ends up bringing her the pocket watch that Teacher gave to her. Turns out, Teacher had the pocket watch inscribed to Shiva to show how much he valued her, how important she was, and ultimately gave this pocket watch to her. Now going back to the stranger, we have no idea who this person is or what their true motives are. However, my guess is this person will be revealed in a later volume that shows them helping Shiva escape captivity or secretly be a Cursed One. Either way, I have no doubt that this person is going to be of great importance in volumes to come.

Overall, I absolutely loved this volume. I can find nothing wrong with this series and I truly love it with my very being. I can’t believe we have to wait until August for volume nine volume nine to be published in English! However, we have a cover for the volume and it is absolutely stunning! I can’t wait to see what the next volume will hold in this dark fantasy. Seriously, if you haven’t picked this series up yet, let me be the voice that tells you to give this manga series a chance! It’s so good and I recommend it with every ounce of my soul!




|Blog|Instagram|Twitter|YouTube|

[delaram · Rating 5 out of 5]

تا پایان چیز زیادی نمونده و معمولاً به این قسمت از کتاب‌ها که می‌رسم، وقتی شخصیت‌ها تنها و بی‌پناه می‌مونن، باید یک جرقه‌ی امید هم وجود داشته باشه. شاید همیشه در دنیای واقعی پیدا نشه اما کتاب‌ها فرق دارن؛ می‌خونیمشون تا از پسِ ناامیدی نرسیدن به این روشنایی بر بیایم یا چشم‌هامون رو نسبت بهش حساس کنیم و مسیر آهسته از میون تاریکی مشخص شه. امیدوارم اون نور این‌جا هم باشه‌.
تا حالا این قسمت از داستان دردناک‌ترین، غم‌انگیزترین و در عین حال بهترین بوده.

[Angigames · Rating 4 out of 5]

Colpo di scena ASSURDO che… se ci ripenso… no… no…😱
Adesso si che sono curiosa di sapere cosa farà il maestro!

[em · Rating 5 out of 5]

hocam geri gellll

[Catarina Prata · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Girl from the other side volume 8 was as all volumes of this story were: nostalgic, sad, profund and beautifully drawn. This series is one of my favorites and the author is extremely talented in portraying emotions. The black and white colouring adds so much to this work instead of taking it away and the story continues to be a well thought out emotional masterpiece. Can not wait for the next one!

[Clara (clarylovesbooks) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'M CRYING

[Armita · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm sobbing--

[kristyn ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ · Rating 5 out of 5]

“to shiva” 😭😭

[streuselschnecka · Rating 4 out of 5]

FINALLY, the storyline has moved on well! It is sad, quite unexpected, heartbreaking but fascinating, and the spark of hope still glows.

[Pattrain · Rating 5 out of 5]

ich muss sofort die nächsten chapter lesen

[Bahar meow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Is he really aware of what will happen after he gave his soul to her?

[Kalina Mincheva · Rating 5 out of 5]

Още една невероятно интересна част от пъзела на тази история се нареди. Саможертвата на Teacher даде нов шанс за живот на Шива, но съдбата ѝ изглежда все по-мрачна, особено след като момиченцето бива отведено зад стените на замъка, при "праведните" поданици на кралството. Там разбира се дебне друга конспирация, а може би просто историята набира сила към своята кулминация. Не знам, но знам че трудно се чака следващ volume в тази сага.

[Valentina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ne parlo su Youtube: https://youtu.be/xt2epBp-HNA?t=1915

[Christina Pilkington · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one's a tear jerker. And that cliffhanger ending? Next one, please.

[Illy · Rating 5 out of 5]

So great, literally so heart warming yet sad. Shiva and teacher love each other so much it hurts. I just want them to have a good happy ending.

[Josh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful, sweet, and heartbreaking. Things long in the works are coming to pass, but it will take all that Teacher and Shiva possess to make it through.

[Fatemeh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hearbreak, sacrifice, oblivion and loneliness.
Can't wait to read the next book.