Nagabe

I found that I liked this little volume of side stories more than the entirety of the series. The coziness of a human girl basically being raised by a monster, I feel, was the strength of the series; especially since there was always a conflict between human Shiva and her Outsider teacher. They couldn't touch or she would be cursed. And when that wasn't a concern, there was interpersonal conflict between them since there was only so much of the world the child Shiva understood, and her show more teacher was constantly conflicted as to whether or not he was a fit guardian and wondering exactly who or what he and Shiva were. Really the main series starts out as a dark yet still whimsical slice of life but then as the story goes along it starts to ask all these questions about the Outsiders and the soul, and what makes a person a person, and there's so much back and forth about who or what Shiva is that it really started feeling pretentious and it absolutely tanked my enjoyment of the series. But these little side stories feel like what the series should've been and the tone it should've maintained throughout that it just didn't: a simple series of stories with our two main characters just being together, no matter what comes their way.

There's no external conflict in these side stories, they're more just bonus chapters that could easily fit into the main story that just didn't make the cut. You also get none of the supernatural mystery or questions about the soul, so if you found that aspect of the main series pretentious as well and just wanted pure, wholesome fluff? You'll enjoy this volume. It still makes me mourn the fact that the rest of the series couldn't be this way though. show less

Shiva and Sensei have left their home because of the soldiers. They find and settle in a new cottage, but things don't stay quite for long...

Some chapters were really fun, with Shiva just enjoying youth. One time it snowed and they were having a snow day.

But Shiva's also really mature for her age – that might be because she's so watchful and perceptive. And has many patient people around her. Some conversations are truly amazing and I love reading these. The fact that Shiva also sometimes show more appears more mature than characters from other mature stories I've read, is truly mesmerizing, but makes this Manga even more beautiful.

The story is progressing and more mysteries have been revealed, which, again, also only brings more questions to the table. But it's so fun thinking about all the possibilities and theories on how things may or may not unfold!

It also has melancholic bits, suddenly, right in the middle of a funny chapter. As a sucker for melancholy, I'm all here for it, though.

Some of my theories include: (spoilers, read on your own risk!)
- The woman in the locker could be his wife, but I feel like the locker is just something he either found at the cottage or woke up next to it, after getting cursed. Idk, maybe they are related, might even be his mother or something, but... I don't think so. Who knows.
- We haven't seen any young cursed children so far. Maybe children simply aren't affected of the curse? Could be due to them being more connected to nature and having the "purity" of being young.
- So, Albert either is Sensei or Albert cursed Sensei. Or that's what Sensei thinks. But maybe Sensei was Albert in his previous life, got cursed, became a tree, returned to Mother, and was reborn again, resembling his old cursed form. And for some reason has the memories as well. But are these memories? Maybe it was written in one of the journals, that Albert, the cursed human, kept, and Sensei read them then. So many times until he thought they are his own.

Sensei being so obsessed on insisting he was a human before, reminded me a lot of racism. I don't know if the author had the black and white race struggle of our world in mind, but they do have – suspiciously – a lot of similarities.
Now, this isn't a political story, so I hope I won't discourage anyone reading this. Just what I think.
I mean, all humans are white, and when you get cursed, you become "a black child", which are "children of darkness". While I haven't heard the argument that dark-skinned people in our world are children of the devil, it still kinda is or feels like a reference to our political problems... Idk.

Honestly, though, the black children are really beautiful and the more the characters say it's a curse, the more it feels like a huge brainwashing that was done years ago. Centuries maybe even. I don't see a curse at all when looking at them. Looking at the white people and how they treat others of their own kind in their society, however, that reminds me of evil beings.
I really hope that there won't be a plottwist of the "god of white" being the good guy after all. He has to be the bad guy, since there's no way he isn't. 

Gorgeous artwork as always.

-07.11.23 show less

I went into this hoping it would be similar to Ancient Magus's Bride and while the bare bones is somewhat aligned, it's a whole different ball game.

The Stark artwork here - with the shadows telling more than the actual words at times - set the scene quite well. It's almost a fable at first. A young girl lives with a monster awaiting her Aunt's return at the edge of an abandoned village. The woods are haunted, the monster is under a curse the girl lives mostly in obliviousness.

The tale grows show more darker as the book goes on however. Deeper. More menancing as others see the girl and decide she's a threat.

I can't wait to read the next volume. show less

I was drawn to the cover of this manga at the bookstore and delighted by the description and the illustration throughout. This is described as a “quiet fairy tale” and that is a wonderful description of this book. I really enjoyed this a lot; it’s mysterious and very different from other manga I have read.

The illustration is detailed and beautiful and I loved the scenes between Shiva and the demon, Teacher, that takes care of her. The scenes between them are sweet and humorous all at show more once, and I enjoyed the father-daughter relationship they have developed. Teacher takes care of Shiva with what seems to be a some puzzled bemusement as he learns to navigate her desire for tea parties and storytelling. Shiva’s childish enthusiasm was sweet and contagious and fun to read about.

The whole story is shrouded in mystery. Some of the mythology behind how the Outside and the Inside became separate is given; however there is a lot of mystery around this Curse. Supposedly if an Outsider touches an Insider then the Insider is cursed to change into an evil demonic beast. This has caused the Insiders to hate and hunt the Outsiders.

The book ends on a cliffhanger which has me dying to know what happens to Shiva next. I loved how this story flowed and how sweet, mysterious, and humorous it was. This was a very unique manga and I definitely plan on continuing the series.

Overall this is an amazing manga that is very different from other fantasy mangas I have read. This manga builds a unique world around the quiet and fairy-tale-like life of two creatures that aren’t meant to live in the same world. The illustration is beautiful and easy to follow and I enjoyed it a lot. I would recommend to those who enjoy fantasy manga and those to whom the description of “a quiet fairy-tale” manga appeals. show less