Review: Haitoku no Finale

Yuri is an odd genre for me, I love reading or watching it when I see it but never actively go and search it out despite my constant enjoyment of it, I guess the general vanilla tone of most just doesn’t lend itself to me searching them out. So when I found one that had striking art and implements BDSM I was intrigued. By an artist I had never heard of before in Mira I was going in blind so what did I come away thinking?

Ousen Girls Academy is an all-girls school where girls from far and wide attend. Moe is a new student enrolling and gets settled into the dorms. Upon meeting Iori Ran, a senior who welcomes her it becomes love at first sight. Smitten by her she wants to get closer but Ran pushes her away. Not giving up she follows her out one night and uncovers the reasons, an orgy of sexual desires in an abandoned dorm. What will Moe do and how will Ran react to her secret being uncovered?

What starts out with a simple setup quickly develops into a layered story with plenty of character development and turns which I loved as this is not necessarily the norm for ero works. Moe starts out as an innocent girl, one who will do anything to get within reach of Ran but as the other girls get ideas into her head and the pleasure she feels from these acts her mind changes but so does Rans. The girl she saw initially, fell in love with has changed and it affects her. What was once her castle has been taken over and she goes through the emotional wringer to try and get back some normalcy.

Every girl has development be it dorm mother or the first years who have their own relationships despite playing secondary roles for the most part and the way the come together or splice into the story to affect the others is incredibly well done. Seeing Ran and Moe together was sweet but seeing their relationship warped by outside influences and the changes take effect really hit me emotionally. I genuinely felt for Ran as she is seeing the girl she cherishes taken away from, such was the attachment I felt and the way this story drew me in. No other netorare infused story has hit me like this since Boku no Yayoi-san.

The sex scenes here take an altogether more sensual tone, I’ve noticed this with a lot of yuri and I don’t know if it’s inherently a genre staple but it becomes a breath of fresh air compared to other more hardcore works. Whether Ran is licking another girls leg, rubbing up against her, sensually touching her, biting her or twisting her it feels very light and tender instead of just rushing into penetrative or rough acts.

Some of my favourite scenes here involve Ryouko. As a dorm mother she is caring for all the girls but she secretly a masochist who runs the almost cult. From the first moment we see her in the basement wearing some exquisite lingerie I knew she was going to be a favourite of mine. Seeing her shackled, blindfolded and chained up as the girls, Ran to start with, whip her, punish her, speak down to her as she revels in it is lovely. Her scenes never disappoint and she delves further into her masochistic desires, seeing her tempt Moe over to a new side so she can be punished is lovely and the resulting punishments as she begs for more was the icing on the cake.

Aside from Ryouko the sex scenes are varied and often more on the short side which is why I haven’t gone too much into any particular one as they kind of transition into others fairly quickly which is not a bad thing. From Moe having sex with the girls in the shower or Ran pleasuring Moe in the school library to the orgies of sexual escapades that spice things up the loving work is sublime. These orgies are beautiful and instantly draw you in just like they would for the girl entering the room. The girls all laid out across the beds, licking each other, rubbing up against them, pleasuring their pussies all while wearing frilly lingerie or even masquerade masks to really heighten that cult esque feel.

I was drawn to this is the BDSM elements but here take more of a relaxed tone compared to others though do ratchet up a notch with Moe in the second volume who inflicts it on the other girls. It is an outlet of release, the girls get to shed their daily lives where they have to comply and be upright. There is whipping, crops, shackles and more but it never veers into the extreme. While this would not usually bring much to me personally I loved it, it contrasts so well with the tenderness exuded by the sex scenes. It is perfect for anyone interested in bondage but felt overawed by harder content out there.

I have gushed about this a lot but there is one issue I have with this manga which is distinguishing the characters. There are a lot of named characters here and in sex scenes especially it can be hard to tell them apart. Some like Moe have a distinct design and body type but others, especially the lighter haired girls I had trouble with. This is a minor issue in the grand scheme of things and never felt if hindered my experience.

Visually this manga is gorgeous in so many ways. The girls bodies are on the petit or even realistic side and there is little toning to them which I found interesting. The girls’ hair is finely drawn with meticulous detail, I don’t think I’ve seen such lovingly crafted hair in an ero work, it is striking and beautiful. Similarly the lingerie the girls wear is incredibly erotic yet also so feminine. Most of the girls do have similar body types which I was fine with but can see why others may take issue with, the more mature girls have larger breasts and fuller bodies.

The way the sex scenes are crafted also fit this. As aforementioned they are done more so in a sensual manner with the girls full bodies almost always in frame, caressing each other. I like this, its shows off their bodies to the fullest and how they are pleasuring each other, starting with stroking the legs, biting an ear before slowly moving upwards. It elicits a more natural feeling with their vulnerability and level of control the domineering girl has, you can see they have few options but submit to this. Again I feel that the yuri genre is part of the reason for this which allows you to appreciate the stunning art and beautiful girls.

This manga far exceeded my expectations, it drew me in and never let go. I have re-read this numerous times now and each time I spot something I didn’t before and continue to find new enjoyment. It reinvigorated my search and desire to read new yuri and that is something any medium should aspire to.

Mangaka: Mira

Release: 2014

Length: 2 voumes, 4 chapters

Availability: Mandarake

10/10