Review by Karl Verhoven

Kyonosuke has been educated at home via private tutor, but that’s no longer an option, so at fifteen he attends high school for the first time. A timid personality combined with a prominent scar running down his whole face sees him bullied from the start. It seems at first that the friendly Akira will be able to protect him, but they face demons of their own.

American graphic novels aimed at teenagers are generally relatively coy when it comes to bullying. There’ll be name calling, and perhaps some jostling, but the continuing vicious assaults endured by some children in reality rarely feature. “Score. I totally smashed his face in with my brutal shot” is just the starting point for Brandon Arias, who presents a sustained, targeted campaign against Kyonosuke in school and outside. The violence is graphic, with Arias using a simple manga style accentuating the chasm between innocents and their tormentors.

What elevates Scars further is Arias gradually shifting the focus beyond Kyonosuke to incorporate the life of his primary tormentor Kenta, and the bullying becomes even more shocking. This isn’t for the teenager with triggering issues.

Arias does reach a point where the relentless assaults, mental and physical, require some form of contrast. No-one shown has any effective adult support or understanding in their life, and the continuing catalogue of abuse is beginning to lose its effect no matter how graphically portrayed. The need is recognised, though, and Arias switches the narrative, beginning with a flashback showing how Kyonosuke became scarred, a matter surely on every reader’s mind.

The final third of this opening volume reinforces the contrast, re-establishing Kyonosuke and Akira in new circumstances, but overlaid with a heavy sense of foreboding leading into Scars 2.

In dramatic terms a few more safe and tender interludes separating the early bullying would have made for a more satisfying and effective presentation, but there’s power and emotion here that ought to connect.