Tocukuni no šódžo

The Girl From the Other Side: Siúil, a Rún features a strange yet quite powerful and touching story, although what bothers me is that nobody explained the environment in which it all takes place, so I am still a bit confused about the show. Emotionally, it works; Shiva is cute, Sensei is likable and more human than many others, and their interactions are enjoyable. The whole thing has a strong mystique and a strange bittersweet atmosphere. However, as I mentioned, I really have to make a lot of assumptions about what is going on, where the story is headed and how everything works, and the anime’s creators have not made that easy for the audience. They hardly explain anything at all, they just show some stuff on-screen, probably as they reckon you are familiar with the original manga. So you know who the Outsiders are, why the soldiers are moving through the world, where the local people are trying to get to, and why there is this strange emptiness. Perhaps there is a lot of symbolism hidden in the show that escapes me. Either way, I hope I got the gist, enjoyed the feelings it generated and the fairly simple skeleton of the narrative, and understood its message. Animation-wise, it is interesting; everything strikes me as a retro show (the 80s and 90s). Well, I will probably have to watch it again soon to appreciate everything fully, or perhaps I could try reading the manga because this is exactly one of those cases, which make you think you need to know more to understand fully. 6.5/10 so far. (2022.04.06)