There are many works of manga. And several styles for audiences of different age groups.
And everyone can have fun in their own way. Only some end up going further and becoming more than an illustrated story.
So it is with Totsukuni no Shoujo, or The Girl on the Other Side which finally arrives in Brazil through the Darkside Graphic Novel label.
Originally published in 2016 in Japan, the manga has already won an American version and in September will arrive on DVD with the eighth edition. But this is in Japan. It will be done by Wit Studio, the same as for Attack on Titan.
This work created by Nagabe is intimate and Darkside has managed to make a great publication, with an internal paper with a good weight, which does not disturb the reader by flipping through it, does not stick and is also not transparent. They seem crude details, but that many people do not even notice to hinder their fun, with glued pages like the couché or even sheets so thin, that they become transparent and we can see the drawing on the other side. And this gets in the way and a lot!
The hardcover remains the trademark of the publisher and the Japanese reading standard, that is, from left to right, is respected.
The Girl on the Other Side is a manga in the fairy tale style, where we have the little girl Shiva who lives with Sensei. He is cursed and cannot be touched as he can pass on to Shiva.
And here we already have the first dilemma of life, inside black and white pages, with contrasts between these two characters, the forest, the house, animals, that is, in everything!
How to live without being able to have the affection of another being? For a child, this is not so simple, because he needs this warmth - he would write humanly, but that is forwards - because sometimes he wants to hug because he is happy, he wants to be hugged because he is sad among so many things that only the contact can transmit between any being.
Imagine not being able to touch by the sight of a child and then by the eyes of Sensei, knowing that you must protect this little child from a hostile world, but where he is also the most dangerous of all. Having this control is not simple.
During the first chapters, we have only the house where they live and a village that was abandoned due to the curse. We don't know what happened to the world. Just like Shiva, who just waits for his aunt.
And slowly, with simple pages and a clean and detailed layout, Nagabe takes us through a story with emotion and expressive language.
Duality is shown all the time, but at the same time it doesn't even exist, because Shiva is so simple and naive, it reminds us that only we who create and name our doubts.
And that human beings can be much more cruel than a curse. For this reason, I avoided writing “human warmth”, as this affection and affection can be given by any being.
The Girl on the Other Side it is a manga to be read and reread. And to be shared with the closest people and to remind you at all times that we create colors for good and evil, or prefer to live in the ashes. After all, who said the universe needs to be like this?