Vampire and Class S may not be the most obvious pairing of genres, but they work surprisingly well in Aya Haruka’s Kiss on the Scars of Girls. The film takes on the classic yuri characteristics of Class S, an isolated girls’ school with strong traditions, and gives meaning to the typical “sisterhood” bond by turning all the students into vampires. Therefore, the mating sister is tasked with teaching the young how to eat humans without catching or killing prey. It doesn’t necessarily mesh well with other forbidden rituals in Class S history, such as tea parties and other Victorian trappings. However, if there is such a rational reason for the existence of sisterhood, these issues are essentially negated. The main couple in this volume is Emile and Eve. The book begins with Emil turning 14 years old. This means it’s time to move out of the dorm room she shares with her colleague Yucca and into a new double room with Eve. Emile is giddy with excitement, but Yucca, like Eve, is much more reserved. At first, I don’t really understand the reason for Eve or Yukka’s feelings, but Eve does have a good reputation at school. Rumor has it that she’s already a bully who fell into a sorority program, and at first glance, that seems to have some truth to it.
She tries to prevent Emile from living together, but mostly ignores Emile’s insistence. This saddens Emile, but she is usually unfazed unless she gives up and returns to her old room. Eventually, Eve is forced to reluctantly take on the job of guiding Emile through the intricacies of drinking human blood, and then things take a turn for the better—not because the experience is fulfilling, but because a vampire hunter is about to kill Eve. This is because it has become. From this point on, the story takes on a darker tone, which gives the book many benefits. That doesn’t mean it has to be dark (or grim dark, which has been largely avoided so far), but rather that it distracts the reader from more comfortable assumptions about the story. The vampires aren’t just a way for Haruhana to distinguish her work from other series; they’re an actual plot point just as important as the yuri. The school’s remote location means it’s only near (as far as we know) one small human town, meaning all the girls are feeding from a relatively small pool. The implication is that this makes them uniquely vulnerable to vampire hunters, which begins to change the question of Eve’s attitude from “What is her problem?” to “What happened to her in the past?”
That question doesn’t feel too difficult to answer as the book progresses, but it remains a bit of a mystery regarding how it fits in with the overarching plot. Yucca’s fourteenth birthday and her sister’s bond with Shiki contribute to this, not because it raises doubts about Eve’s past experiences but because it makes us ask how frequently tragedies happen to the students. We only see two adults in the entire volume, and of them, the school nurse is the sole grown-up to get any development. She is far less concerned about what is being brought into her clinic than one might expect, but this lack of surprise on her part and the information the young girls are receiving is concerning. will be done. Are schools involved or disinterested? There is reason to suspect that someone is using the school to eradicate vampire students, or at least that the school cares about something other than the students’ care and well-being.
The yuri portion of the story mainly revolves around the idea of longing. Yucca has clear feelings for Emile, as does her friend Violetta. Eve is hesitant to end her bond with Emile, but her younger girl makes her determination to be closer to her even stronger. Eve’s insistence that Emile is not her sister can also be read through a romantic lens. However, since the meaning of sisterhood has nothing to do with brotherly love, it is likely that Eve also rejects romance with Emile based on his own experience. Small touches and longing glances move the romance forward and give it an air of forbidden love, but nothing suggests that we should move away from girl-on-girl romance, as was the case with many older Class S titles. No one says. It feels like a modern interpretation of the subgenre. Haruka’s art is definitely attractive.
Thanks to the sophisticated and detailed presentation, all characters are easily distinguishable from each other, giving the impression of a hazy environment. The uniforms are reminiscent of mid-century, the town looks like it’s from the 19th century, and the school nurse is dressed like a modern woman, giving it a timeless feel. The art is pretty dark, but it helps the story. The plot doesn’t get dark until the fourth chapter, but the graphics hint at things long before the plot reaches that point. Kiss the Scars of the Girls is an unusual combination of genres. There is more going on at school and in the city than anyone knows, which even Eve may suspect. This work, which combines a dark story and heartbreaking romance, is exciting for S-class yuri fans, and is worth a look for all yuri readers.
This manga has been the best one that I have read so far and one of the best yuri ones that I have seen in a while. I hope that the series turns out well and can’t wait to see what they do next with it in the next coming issues.
