Totsukuni no Shoujo (2022)

Fans all over the world gathered to bring this piece of art to life. I was one of them! We have waited for a year for this to be released, and man...it was worth the wait. For me it really was. I started reading this manga a few years ago and I consider it my all time favorite, so I had big hopes for this movie.

As for my review, first off however, people who are familiar with the mangas might feel a little empty after watching it at first; the plot is gradually changed, however the very essence you feel between Shiva and Sensei(what the ... manga is known for) is still there. A lot of the 11 volumes story has been scrapped to be fit within a 1 hour long timeframe. A lot of the details misses or even some of the big parts, but I think that is actually fine.

Instead, we got an hour long movie about the acceptance and understanding of two individuals who were lonely, but find each other's company and warmth to live on for. The acceptance of a strange monster, shunned by the outside world...yet a small little girl that led herself into its heart - a forbidden love and friendship, presented in a very magical and colorful way. Wit Studios really did well to bring Nagabe's world and artstyle to life.

This is the base of the story that was still kept which the manga readers enjoyed about this series. And some of the smaller yet pivotal parts are still there a well.
So despite the many cuts and alters, it still left me satisfied despite wishing for a bit more details in there, but that is entirely fine as I said.
For an hour long movie, understanding the essence of this story which Nagabe created, it did really well.

Although I do not believe that this OVA is a substitute for the story and experience of the Totsukuni no Shoujo manga itself, I think that in a vacuum this is a decent experience and something that regardless if you have read the original story or not.

Regarding the story, I would have to say it was somewhat butchered here. This OVA takes bits and pieces of the real story and meshes them into some sort of weird medley that it also mixes with original material that does not really add to the overall story itself nor to the depth of any of the characters. Side ... characters or events from the manga just sort of appear and then are almost immediately set aside for the sole purpose of saying "Hey, this is a part of the original story, but we are not really gonna say what the fuck it really means for the universe or why it happens." I understand Wit only had an hour to put in the decent amount of plot that existed within the original story, but almost none of what made it here really makes sense unless you already read the manga. Still, though, the world the story exists in is cool enough for some moments that occur here that make 0 sense when isolated from the manga to be mostly passable.

As expected, and as hoped, Wit does the art style of the manga justice here. Sensei and Shiva pretty much look exactly like they did originally, and the animation still keeps that fairy-tale book sorta style that the original had. I will admit that at times the animation is a little strange or stiff at times, specifically for the characters themselves, but about 95% of the time, it is really enjoyable to look at and pick apart the little details that are fit within different backdrops, scenes, or settings. It is very different from your standard anime fare, and it also fits the narrative style, which is why I and many others love it so much.

Regarding sound design, it's nothing special. There are maybe 1 or 2 background songs that I found to be pleasant or peaceful, but the actual sounds of the OVA itself do not go above and beyond what you would expect for any decently-produced anime. The VA's do their jobs well enough to where it isn't noticeably bad, though I will say that I feel like Shiva's VA did a little better of a job selling the character and how they act (which is, well, like a kid).

Much like the story, the characters have their stories and backgrounds butchered as well. You get the general gist of what happened to Sensei, the main black bird-ram-sheep-demon guy, but none of the actual depth and anguish of the Sensei we see in the manga. Again, time constraints, but I feel like it would have been better to just give the general idea of who Sensei is rather than going into the minutia of things like his family and past life, which for someone you don't know that much about to begin with, is not the most important thing about him. I don't know what Wit thought, but the story of Shiva was way too heavily changed to the point where they sorta fucked up the purpose of her story in the first place. Not once do they ever reference why she was left in the Outside, and she really is just given the "innocent kid left in a scary world" treatment, which is really a disservice to her actual story. Also, things happen to her out of order of when they do in the manga, which might not sound like the end of the world, but the themes and overall emotions that existed with her originally existed *because* it happened in the order that it did; it made it more impactful.

I know this sounds like I hate this OVA, but honestly besides griping at the jankiness of the plot and the story of Sensei and Shiva, I enjoyed my time watching this OVA. It's great to see the world come to life, and I think that any amount of new Totsukuni no Shoujo content is worth seeing, just because of how good the original is.

TL;DR butchered plot and character stories/development, unique and eye-catching fairy-tale book-like animation, pleasant and peaceful OST music, and overall a solidly enjoyable 60 minute watch.

It's no surprise by now that Siuil a Run: The Girl From The Other Side, I feel, is one of the best manga to come out in recent years. With its rich, intentionally messy artwork, compelling storyline, intriguing characters, and solid worldbuilding, the manga resonated with a lot of people, enough for it to get a short 10-minute OVA, which anyone who's read my review of that will know I absolutely love. So when it was revealed a second OVA was going to be made, a much longer one and with voice acting, I was hyped as hell, as were many others. It took a ... long time for it to come out, as the blu-ray containing it was bundled with one of the manga volumes in Japan. While it was released in March, only in April was it more available outside of Japan, and Crunchyroll even announced they're going to stream it later. So you can imagine my excitement when this finally came out. But then I saw reviews coming in saying that it deviated a lot from the manga, and arguably not for the better. I wanted to withhold my judgment until after I saw the OVA, and now that I've seen it...they're right. However, just because it deviates from the manga a lot doesn't mean the short film doesn't have any redeeming value.

At first, the OVA tells how Shiva and Teacher first met and how they come to live together as a little family before the latter starts getting concerned about Shiva's overall safety, should she continue to stay with him. After the thirty minute mark, the OVA becomes about Teacher trying to either find a human settlement where Shiva can live in peace, or trying to save her from the curse. So yeah, it's true that the OVA really starts deviating from the manga. Like, a lot. On one hand, this is somewhat understandable, as it'd be impossible to adapt an 11-volume manga into a one-hour-long OVA, so I can respect Wit Studio's wish to not bite off more than they can chew. They say less is more, after all, if stuff like the first OVA or even The Chronicles of Rebecca have anything to say about it. But I really do have to question a lot of the OVA's adaptational choices in regards to a lot of Teacher's decisions, even if the reasons for said decisions are understandable. I don't want to spoil anything, but having read the original manga, nowhere in the manga does Teacher ever consider abandoning Shiva in any way, not even out of concern for her safety. Plus, the OVA depicts some events happening very differently than in the manga, to the point of causing confusion about how they happened and why, and even has some original content that doesn't exist in the manga at all.

That being said, the characters themselves are fine, and they're mostly true to their characterization from the manga, save for Teacher suddenly wanting to send Shiva to a human village. Shiva doesn't act too cutesy moe or overly saintly like some anime children tend to act, and her voice actress honors that characterization. But Shiva herself doesn't really have much to her here other than liking Teacher and her surface-level trauma, and Teacher gets much more spotlight here, though a lot of it is spent on angsting about the curse. Other minor characters appear, but they're barely given much in the way of significance. The voice acting is fairly well done too. Not much else to say there.

Similarly to the first OVA, The Girl From The Other Side thrives on the experimental nature of its animation and the desolate atmosphere it conveys. And really, the animation alone does the OVA justice, not only to the manga itself, but Nagabe's art style. The OVA retains the shaky lines from the 10-minute short, making them more polished, the backgrounds are beautifully painted with loving detail, and a lot of the effects that this film uses—water filters, the muted color palette, jittering shading and outlines, ink blots, manipulating light, and others I don't have names for—are all used to great effect, conveying both the desolate environment they live in, and the two characters' emotional and mental states, all with a kind of ethereal beauty that only The Girl From The Other Side can convey. The soundtrack is also much more muted and ambient, doing its job impeccably, only playing when needed, and mainly restricted to just piano pieces.

In terms of which adaptation of the original manga is the best, I'd say I recommend the 10-minute silent OVA, as that one does its own thing without deviating too far from the manga, is true to the heart of the story, and narrows its focus to just showing a day in Shiva and Teacher's life. That being said, that's not to say the 2022 OVA doesn't have redeeming value. Significant deviations from the manga aside, I think the 2022 OVA is better seen as either an alternate continuity or a separate entity from the manga, similar to how the 1997 Ie Naki Ko Remi anime deviates significantly from the original Sans Famille novel and the 1977 Ie Naki Ko anime to the point of being its own entity. Plus, even The Girl From The Other Side's original manga has some issues, particularly as it gets closer to the end. The best way to watch this 1-hour OVA is to not have your expectations too high in regards to faithfulness to the manga, because it's clearly trying to be its own self-contained story, though it makes some missteps in doing so. Or, on the other hand, you can use it as a way to get people who aren't familiar with anime into it for the first time.

In the end, the 2022 The Girl From The Other Side OVA, while very ambitious and experimental with its animation, deviates a lot from the original source and doesn't make the best decisions in doing so. But at its heart, its still a nice way to kill an hour, especially if you want to watch it as just an experimental art film or take it as just a long advertisement for the manga. Plus, I'd still take this over all the shitty ecchi and light novel isekai anime any day of the week. I kind of hope some company like GKids or Eleven Arts dubs it into English and puts it out on DVD/Blu-Ray, along with the 10-minute OVA as well. That would be great!

The legends tell of a god of light “GoL” (happiness and good fortune) and a god of darkness “GoD” (play tricks and steal joy), where “GoL” punished “GoD” by turning “GoD” into a monster, banishing “GoD” to the Outside, cursing his monstrous children with a condition that spreads upon touch. In this fascinating world, the little girl Shiva, meet a the monstrous yet kindhearted Sensei, growing closer as they learn & heal each other’s company, despite Sensei knowing fully well that this isn’t where she belongs.

Most stunning visuals of the season, even taking the production-differences of movie vs TV-anime into consideration, brilliantly presenting its ... fantastic narrative with a rough storybook-style. High consistency and with certain breathtaking moments of animation / style changes / imagery, truly brings its characters and world to life.

Heads-up:
- While Shiva and Sensei as both individuals and their connecting is brilliantly portrayued, parsing together the more fantastical elements of the story/world, can both feel cryptic and unrewarding, based on the limited material we get in this adaption.
- Some people may feel like “nothing is really happening”, despite said “nothing” being the highlight of the movie.

Favorite aspects:
- Shiva and Sensei’s father-daughter-like relationship is extremely heartwarming.
- Exceptional lighting & colors, especially loving the “darker scenes with light source, like a fireplace or something”. Feels like rejuvenation for your eyes, with how pleasant and warm it feels, brilliantly showcasing the contrast of its worlds/characters with the lighting & coloring as well.

Least favorite aspects:
- I found the mysterious elements of the story/world, purposedly leaving out certain information to be intriguing, but I was sadly left quite unsatisfied by the end, and found the most interactions/content after they left the house to be less enjoyable.
- The ending left me a bit unsatisfied.

Overall, a very pleasant viewing experience, both its audiovisual presentation and the interactions between our 2 main characters, despite leaving me a bit unsatisfied in the end.

This was an anime I was eagerly waiting for and was hoping will be one of those hidden gems. And after watching it, I have to say it's definitely not bad but still missed the mark somehow. And it looks like I'm not the only one who thinks so.

CAUTION: Contains some spoilers regarding the ending

The main problem is the lots of content that was cut out that leaves unanswered questions, a flaw that is evident even to viewers like me who haven't read the manga. But blaming the studio for this doesn't seem justified as they obviously had time constraints. Still I would've preferred if ... they had a 1-2 minute narration sequence at the start that describes how the world we'll experience in this movie actually works (a famous example would be the first episode of AoT ) & more insights into the curse and how it came (though I'm not sure if even the manga has explained it).
The way the ending was handled is also questionable. Sure, the animation and sound effects of that part were amazing but that's just it, we don't really get any direct answers. Who really is the mother, what's the curse and so on and so forth.

Now onto the animation and artsyle, it's undoubtedly my most favorite part of the OVA. It's unique, nice on the eyes, fits the eerie and otherworldly atmosphere of the world our characters live in. I won't deny some parts felt a bit stiff but can be easily overlooked as they are just minor nit-picks.

So overall, a 7/10 OVA. it's decent on its own but works mostly as a means to make the viewer interested in reading the manga due to the unanswered questions left in their minds.

Sometimes simpler is better. That's the thought I had while watching this movie/feature-length OVA for The Girl from the Other Side. I found that the manga for this movie could be cut down and shortened so it can get its themes down correctly. I wanted that to happen as soon as this adaptation got announced. What we got here was probably even better than I expected and I enjoyed it very much. It truly did the ending justice. My only complaint with this movie is that there is no sense of danger or despair here. There is one threat, but it is taken down quickly. ... If you are looking for a short simple movie and are a fan of the manga, I'd recommend this movie. The animation is also very good with the beautiful soundtrack

This review is from the perspective of someone who has not yet read the manga.

Totsukuni no Shoujo (2022) is a quiet, but absolutely beautiful story of a beast desperately clinging to his humanity. When he becomes the de-facto guardian of a charming and outgoing lost little girl named Shiva, he strives to protect her from the curse that made him the way he is.

Let's start with the drawbacks.
Without having read the manga, I'll admit that I could feel that this is a much longer story that has been condensed. At times the pacing does feel rushed, or as if something has been left out. That ... said, I believe that this OVA still stands very well on its own as a self-contained story. Not everything is spelled out to the viewer and I honestly didn't fully follow the story until the second half, but so much is communicated about the characters and the world through visuals alone, that as long as you pay attention, the experience is engrossing. The creators clearly understand the saying "show, don't tell."

The art is the main aspect of Totsukuni no Shoujo that really drew me in. This anime's visual style is a breath of fresh air in an era full of copy-and-paste, mass-produced content. The use of pencil and watercolor (and/or digital approximations of pencil and watercolor) gives a personal touch to the animation that makes it feel like the characters and landscapes jumped straight off the manga pages.
From a human perspective, the countryside feels half-dead, abandoned, somehow empty. At the same time though, the world is filled with natural beauty that is unbothered by the plights of humanity. The watercolors really bring a softness and warmth to the rolling hills and gusts of wind through the grass that mirror the warmth that Shiva brings to Sensei's life.
The characters are animated with thick pencil lines that boil as the characters move, which not only makes them feel more alive, but also gives a slight abstract, almost dream-like quality to the piece as a whole. The animators give great attention to small intimate character moments, rather than focusing all attention on one or two mind-blowing sakuga sequences. This means that every subtle action or interaction communicates something about the characters, right down to the way Sensei hesitates before taking a locket from Shiva's outstretched hands.
Every step of the way, animation is used as an impressionistic tool to help the audience understand the characters and world, without having to "tell" too much.

While I do wish this was a series, this OVA is a masterful use of an hour that I would highly recommend, especially if you like slow artsy stuff. I can't wait to read the manga!

Thank you very much for taking the time to read my first review on here!

Here it is. My fave manga series which I learned from Akidearest finally makes a proper and longer adaptation than the 10 minutes one from 2019. Both the Teacher and Shiva have SUCH GOOD VAs and tho I didn't expect Fukuyama Jun from the teacher, loved this nonetheless. I felt comfort and Ahhh the art style being so on par with the manga. MUAH chef's kiss. I am giving the show a 9 out of my own bias but this is honestly a watch that is amazing yet not for everyone. I can imagine some people getting bored while watching cuz it has such a ... chill vibe but I feel everyone should appreciate it. I would suggest everyone to read the manga

This is the first review for any Anime I have done, but I felt that it needed to be expressed how deeply I love this show.
I first found this story when wit studio released their first OVA for Totsukuni no Shoujo in 2019 and could not get it out of my mind ever since.
At the time it was a beautiful short which I had every intention to pick up the manga for but after I heard about this project I decided to hold off and wait.
Wow what can I say, this new longer almost movie like OVA was everything I could have hopped for and ... more. Wit Studio proving themself once again to be the kings of all things animated. The atmosphere the story. This show does not need to outright tell you everything. You have to do some digging to understand whats really going on. Especially I assume if you are an anime only like me.
But still I love everything about what I have seen. The characters are sweet and in the little time I have had with them already show more complexity them 90% of other media. I love the dynamic. The story is somber and sad but surprisingly uplifting and never loses sight of its goals or devolves into pure psychological speech like so many others who tred down this path. Everything about this world is still a mystery and I most defiantly still must pick up the manga. But if this was everything I ever saw it would still in my eyes easily be an outright 10 out of 10 in every category. I will be opening up a slot on my favorites list for this one aswell.

Please, please, please just watch this. It might be for you it might not, but my personal two cents is that this is a true work of art and an amazing story. Go in with an open mind and I think you will not be disappointed.

WIT Studio went on and adapted a manga I personally liked enough to make a collection of its volumes. A beautiful adaptation not to say the least but somewhat lacking in some aspects, let's see what are its flaws and strong points.

The story is what is more flawed in this adaptation, it's just nonexistent. They take the main points of the very begginning of the manga and don't develop them any further. A lot of events are skipped over in the film and at any time any context is given on why outsiders exist or anything of sorts. I daresay, this film is one that ... can only be really enjoyed if the manga has already been read.

In the other hand, the art is awesome. WIT nailed it with the style chosen (which is if not the same, very faithful to the manga's) and the representation of the sceneries are awesome. Flawless, to put it in other words.

The sound is also adequate, soothing for what it is, and the few voices that are used are well chosen except for the Professor's. The Professor's voice came across to me as emotionless and I thought it more suitable for a badass edgy anime character than for him.

Overall, the film was outstandingly enjoyable and may proof to be as much enjoyable for anyone who has read the manga. In case you want to watch it and haven't read the manga, then you won't understand anything at all.

I had great expectations from this adaptation because the manga was an enticing, breath-taking, richly imagined, and beautifully fleshed-out dark fantasy experience, but they all fell flat. I initially thought this would be an animated series, not a movie, but since that was the case, I wished they covered the story as it is instead of altering some of its events, or should I say, most of them?
Despite the huge disappointment, I got to say I enjoyed a large portion of the movie, mainly because I had already read the manga and partially because the art was magical, and the lines fell nothing short ... of poetic; however, if someone who hasn't read the manga yet picks this movie up first, they'll be colossally perplexed, so I'd recommend going over it to get the gist of its plot before delving into the movie or the OVA, for that matter.