A Haunting Fairy Tale: Exploring The Girl From The Other Side

In The Girl From The Other Side: Siúil, a Rún Volume 1, creator Nagabe weaves a gothic fairy tale at the border between innocence and curse, humanity and the inhuman. Published in English by Seven Seas Entertainment, this first volume introduces readers to a world cleaved in two—the “Inside,” where humans dwell safely, and the perilous “Outside,” home to twisted beasts known as Outsiders.

The story opens in a rustic, boundary-forest village upon the fringes of the Outside, where humans fear and shun what lies beyond. In that liminal zone, a little girl named Shiva, innocent and curious, lives under the care of a mysterious, inhuman figure simply called Teacher.

Teacher, an Outsider himself, is cursed—any skin contact with him carries contagion. Yet despite the danger, a bond forms: Teacher cares for Shiva, and Shiva, with her bright spirit, tempers the gloom of their world.

Shiva believes she awaits her aunt’s return; Teacher knows that the past is grimmer than she imagines. Outside pressures mount: human soldiers, suspicion, and the weight of myth—what if the curse is more than legend?

Nagabe’s art is central to the power of this volume. Stark black-and-white illustrations, with hand-drawn cross-hatching rather than heavy screen tones, evoke shadows, silence, and solitude. The contrast between light and dark is not just visual but thematic: innocence and corruption, shelter and exile, love and fear. The Outside is drawn with grotesque grace, Teacher’s silhouette majestic and mournful, Shiva bright, small, human.

The pace is deliberate. Rather than leap-frogging through action, Nagabe allows quiet moments, tea, stories, and learning to trust, to breathe. These moments deepen the sense of vulnerability: boundaries are invisible until they are crossed, dangers whispered until they become manifest.

At its heart, Volume 1 asks what it means to belong, whether love can exist when touch is forbidden, and how much of one’s identity is shaped by fear. The “cursed” Outsiders represent not only physical danger but also otherness, alienation. Shiva’s humanity is both her gift and her burden. The mystery—why she was abandoned, what the curse truly is—begins here but does not resolve. It draws you in, with the promise of more.

The Girl From The Other Side: Siúil, a Rún Vol. 1 is especially compelling because it balances beauty and dread. It’s not purely horror, nor pure fantasy romance—it lives between those genres, and that liminality is its strength. For fans of dark fairy tales, or manga that treat myth and atmosphere with care, this is a work that lingers in the mind long after the final page.

For anyone seeking an immersive reading experience that is both gentle and unsettling, this volume is a standout. As you follow Shiva’s small steps through a large, haunted world, Siúil, a Rún Vol. 1 invites you to wonder: what do we protect, what do we fear, and how do we reach across divides that tell us we mustn’t touch?

If you enjoy this first volume, there are more, and the deluxe omnibus editions offer an even richer presentation. Either way, Nagabe’s tale will likely stay with you, softly, beautifully, and with a tremor of suggestion at its edges.