The Other Side

**The Other Side** (向 (む) こう, *Mukō*?, lit. "opposite side; beyond") is the world of non-living entities. It has also been referred to as **That World** (あの世 (よ) , *Ano yo*?), in opposition to **This World** (この世 (よ) , *Kono yo*?), the world of the living.

## The Curtain

The Other Side is not a physical location, but rather a non-physical realm that overlaps This World. This World and That World are essentially laid on top of one another, and only separated by a thin "curtain". At times, distortions can form and cause the curtain to tear, allowing entities to pass through. It is possible for a human to send entities back to That World and seal up the hole in the curtain.

## Entities

There exist **Entities** or **Beings** (存 (そん) 在 (ざい) , *Sonzai*?) from The Other Side. They are similar to ghosts or spirits of people who have died.

They have been described as an accumulation of the souls of the dead and the strong emotions of the living, which have mixed together within That World and were then reborn back into This World. For example, when Kurebayashi's husband died, his soul returned as an entity likely due to her strong desire for him to return. This process is also referred to as the cycle of Samsara, the cycle of reincarnation, or the cycle of death and rebirth. Therefore, That World is not considered "evil" and This World is not considered "good". Although some entities can be frightening or cause damage to human beings, this is not always the case. This was demonstrated when an entity warns Asako of an incoming car, saving Yuuki's life in the process.

Kurebayashi calls these entities **Impurities** (ケガレ, *Kegare*?). In Shinto, kegare describes a state of defilement or pollution. It can result from deliberate acts such as criminal violence, or it can result passively when one encounters death, childbirth, or illness. Kegare can cause negative outcomes for both the defiled person and the community they belong to. It is noted by Kurebayashi that the souls of the dead are still preserved enough to recognize them within the impurity.

It is possible for humans to create a curse that makes use of an impurity. The ritual for doing so appears to involve digging up an old grave. When the impurity returns to the person who cast the curse, that person obtains the memories the impurities gained while carrying out their task.

### Effects on Humans

According to "Hikaru", entities are lonely beings, and they will immediately attempt to stick to or enter humans that look at them. By entering a human, entities can influence them into violent or abnormal behavior that they would not normally partake in. This is likely due to the hallucinations that the entities induce.

For example, when a being found in Yoshiki's bathroom entered him, he began seeing hallucinations of large, brain-like creatures that surrounded and harassed him; the hallucination then invoked an old memory of himself arguing with Indou Hikaru and tackling him. In real life, Yoshiki tackled "Hikaru" in the same manner, resulting in Yoshiki beginning to drown "Hikaru" in the bathtub. He only came to his senses and stopped after "Hikaru" forced the entity out of Yoshiki's body and consumed it.

"Hikaru" describes this effect as "touching" or "meddling" with a human's mind – although unlike other entities, it appears that "Hikaru" does not need to enter humans, only gaze into them. By meddling with their mind, the human starts to hallucinate to the point that they reach a mental break, and then they eventually die "all on their own". Dying on their own seems to refer to some form of suicide. In the case of Matsuura, her hallucinations caused her to push her own fist into her throat and choke herself to death. In another case, a man ran naked in the courtyard of Kibogayama High, and slit his own throat when stopped by faculty.

Additionally, it is possible for encounters with strong entities to result in some form of impairment on the human, shown by how "Hikaru" permanently damages Asako's hearing. Additionally, Tanaka is completely blind due to a spiritual impairment from many years in the past. Even when examined by doctors, there is no physiological cause for his blindness.

### Sensing Entities

Animals are naturally able to sense entities. The neighborhood cat Mince-aniki is never fearful or aggressive toward humans, but it fears "Hikaru" and typically hisses and runs away whenever he is near. Additionally, the Hamster that Tanaka carries with him reacts to the presence of entities.

As for humans, the average person is completely unable to sense entities. However, some are able to perceive and interact with them, although this ability exists on a spectrum. In the case of Asako, she can hear and speak to entities, but cannot see them; whereas other members of her family can see but not hear them. Others such as Matsuura and Kurebayashi describe having a general feeling or intuition that an entity or bad energy is present.

According to Tanaka, by looking at these entities, one becomes more likely to be found by them. This is affirmed by Yoshiki's experience on the Mountain Path – when Yoshiki looked into the forest and saw an entity, it immediately looked back and attempted to enter him.

Tanaka also states that fearing these entities makes a person more of a target to them. This is demonstrated by Asako – she does not see entities as evil, she does not appear to be especially afraid of them, and she believes it to be normal to communicate with them. As a result, she is strong enough to withstand a spiritual attack from "Hikaru". Even though he intended to kill her, she survived with only hearing loss in in her right ear. Furthermore, since fear makes a person more vulnerable to entities, it may be possible to "train" oneself to tolerate them better – in theory, repeated exposure to entities will reduce fear and vulnerability as the person becomes more accustomed to their presence. "Hikaru" and Yoshiki try this method, and according to "Hikaru" it has been somewhat effective in building Yoshiki's resistance.

## The Great Brain-Snatcher

According to Kurebayashi, "Hikaru" is not the same as an impurity, but is more like a being that attracts impurities like a lightning rod. She assumes that he is something that exists outside of the cycle of Samsara. Therefore, it appears he is something not strictly of This World or That World.

## Gallery

Yoshiki sees an entity in the Kibogayama forest (Ch.3)An entity puts up a fight against "Hikaru" (Ch.3)Kaoru encounters an entity in the bathroom (Ch.10)An entity drags Yoshiki into the water (Ch.11)An entity targets Yoshiki (Ch.19)The entity used by Tanaka returns to him (Ch.19)Kurebayashi's husband reaches out to their son (Ch.20)
## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Volume 5, Chapter 22
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Volume 3, Chapter 15
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Volume 4, Chapter 20
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Volume 4, Chapter 19
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Volume 1, Chapter 5
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Volume 2, Chapter 11
7. ↑ Wikipedia: Kegare
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Volume 1, Chapter 3
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Volume 3, Chapter 12
10. ↑ Volume 3, Chapter 16
11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Volume 4, Chapter 17
12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Volume 1, Chapter 2
13. ↑ Volume 1, Chapter 4