In 2018, a friend of mine who I trust for anime recommendations pointed me towards a new manga. His pitch to me was that I might like it since it won some writing awards and was about theatre kids. As a former high school theatre kid, this naturally appealed to me, and later that day, I looked up the series and began to read. My friend had failed to mention two important factors about this series: it is set in an anthropomorphic animal world and is also incredibly horny. After reading three chapters, I stopped.
The year is now 2020, and I would like to talk to you about…. Beastars.
Beastars is a manga series by Paru Itagaki that has been running since 2016 and received an animated adaptation in 2019. After my previous experience, I avoided the animated series until someone who I consider having discerning taste and a low tolerance for cheap horniness, recommended it. I want to make it clear how much I did not want to be in the situation I am now. I did not want to like Beastars, much less love it.
That is my pitch for the series. I will be borrowing the structure of Super Eyepatch Wolf’s videos for this article. There will be spoilers for the anime going forward. If you are curious and want to know nothing going forward, this is your stopping point. Check it out. No judgment if it is not your thing. I understand. But, if your curiosity is piqued by anything you have heard, Beastars is both excellent and worth your time. If you would like to know more about this series or have seen it already and are interested in discussing both the show and manga, then please stay a while.
What is Beastars?
The series begins with a murder at the prestigious Cherryton School. This may be the inciting incident, but the series spends equal time focusing on the internal struggles and relationships of the cast as they navigate the divides between carnivores and herbivores. Our protagonist on this journey is the gray wolf Legoshi, stagehand in Cherryton’s drama club. Though Legoshi is a character we follow most closely, he is far from the on perspective on display. The story frequently shows us the lives and struggles of different students and shifts point of view. Other characters include a panda psychiatrist, a Labrador roommate, and mafia made up entirely of lions. Two significant characters are Louis, a red deer and star pupil of the drama club, and Haru, a dwarf rabbit who runs the school's gardening club. Much of the anime focuses much more on the world and the relationships between Legoshi, Haru, and Louis.
The real goal of season one is to sell the audience to the world of Beastars. When I say “sell,” the intent is not simply to make the world appealing. See, Beastars is following in the grand tradition of Beast Fables. In other words, it is using animals to tell a human story about a moral or lesson. This series is about a great many things, but this piece will focus on one in particular: embracing the uncomfortable. This is a story about characters having to confront questions about themselves and, by extension, society. It is a coming of age story about self-discovery and what makes a just society. Through our characters, we witness their society at different levels. What begins with the microcosm of the Cherryton school, becomes black markets and business districts. But if we are going to talk about the themes and world of Beastars, we need to discuss whose eyes we see the most of it. We need to talk about Legoshi.
Legoshi’s World
When we start the series, the audience is shown the murder of Tem, the alpaca, and see various students react the following day. For this section, the audience follows the perspective of the angora goat Els. She is nervous about a gray wolf named Legoshi, who is framed more like a horror monster than a theatre kid. The incident comes to a head when he confronts Els later that night and presents her with a love letter from the deceased Tem. This moment illustrates the gulf between Legoshi’s perception as a scary and intense wolf and the quiet, awkward teenager he is.
Legoshi is a large carnivore and wrestles with that aspect of his identity for the better part of the entire series. Though he is strong, he resents it and merely seeks to live in the shadows. This self-loathing comes out in nearly all his interactions. He is always wrestling with what it means to be a carnivore and the kind of person he wants to be. Legoshi literally would not hurt a fly but also loses control and attempts to devour Haru in episode one. His understanding of the world, as well as the audiences, grow in parallel. One of the best examples of this comes from the sixth episode when Legoshi and the other carnivore students happen across the Black Market while outside campus. The Black Market is an open secret in the world of Beastars. It is a place where carnivores can go to buy and consume meat, which is strictly illegal. Legoshi is repulsed by this but is chastised by his fellow carnivores for being naïve. He is told that the Black Market is necessary and a cornerstone of peaceful herbivore/carnivore relations but flatly rejects it. This moment works on multiple levels and is an excellent example of the kind of story Beastars is telling. It teaches us essential information about the world but also allows the audience to explore their feelings on it with Legoshi. This moment also ties neatly into the coming of age story that is being told. Part of becoming an adult is stepping outside the cave and learning how the world works. You learn about injustices that society allows to happen for the sake of order, and it is up to the individual how to respond. Rather than seeing the Market as a necessary evil, Legoshi flatly rejects it and is deeply opposed to ever partaking in meat. This is tied up in personal resentment and romantic feelings towards Haru.
There is so much that adds to why Legoshi is the perfect protagonist for this kind of story. His internal struggle with what it means to be both a male and a predator in a complicated world makes him the perfect POV character in addition to being genuinely compelling. He has an emotional vulnerability that makes him stand out. Much of his struggles are internal, and he barely needs any external pressure to fall apart into despair and confusion. His battles with the parts of himself he is not ready to accept, which in turn are projected onto other characters and stories. While this could play as cheap drama, it combines nicely with the audience trying to get to grips with the world as well. Understanding yourself is even harder when the world around you is so rife with inequality and injustice that to keep being compassionate feels like a losing battle.
Speaking of justice in the world of Beastars, it is time to bring up the beautiful, belligerent Louis.
Louis, Louis, Louis
When the audience is introduced to Louis, it is through the eyes of Legoshi. He is popular, well-spoken, and the furthest thing from a carnivore. In short, he is everything Legoshi wants to be. During the same episode, the audience also sees another side. This is the side that eschews tact and compassion for grabbing his fellow actor by the mouth and while angrily telling them to learn their lines. If there was one word that describes Louis, it would be duality. It is a significant theme throughout Beastars as nearly all characters have two different sides to themselves, but Louis’ stands out for how it helps explore the world. Beyond his high school fame, Louis is poised to become the next Beastar (a real title) and inherit his father's role as boss of the Horns Conglomerate. To the public, he is beautiful and perfect. His more aggressive tendencies that flare up when dealing with Legoshi and his fellow club members are hidden from public view. While this two-facedness is compelling, it is not the real source of duality in Louis' character. The real difference comes in his dark past. Louis originally grew up without a name and only a product id number, as meat in the Black Market. This origin is vital as it provides Louis a unique perspective since he has lived at both the top and bottom of society. While the world seems to be more inclined towards herbivores at first, Louis' experience shows that real privilege lies in one’s class more than one’s species. It makes him the perfect character for exploring some of the more complicated moral questions in Beastars’ society, especially considering how well he contrasts with Legoshi.
Louis is someone who, like Legoshi, is perfectly suited for the kind of story he inhabits. If you are going to tell the type of story that asks whether your fictional world is just, you need to have someone who experiences life from the top and the bottom. When I mention duality and how it is an essential aspect for Louis, this also extends to how he relates to other characters. One is a lead actor, and the other works the lighting. One is a charismatic herbivore, and the other is an awkward carnivore with a scary face. Legoshi regularly mentions how Louis walks in the light while he lives in the shadows, further bringing up the contrast between the two. What is more, they both have similar conflicts concerning self-loathing. While Legoshi resents his size and power, Louis despises his own physical fragility. Still, he directs this out as bigotry towards carnivores. He spends most of the anime hating Legoshi, who he views as someone only pretending to be weak despite having the kind of
power he wants. This is especially telling in a scene where Louis uses his signature mouth-grabbing technique as he angrily tells Legoshi to “take responsibility for his strength.”
Legoshi’s response is that it does not mean anything for him to be strong since he is expected to be. This highlights the dynamic of these characters as foils of each other. They contrast each other in such a way that both are made infinitely more interesting. We get a solid image of what both hate about themselves and what they wish they could be. This duality becomes even more fascinating when one looks at their relationships with Haru.
Haru, the Chad of Beastars
While Louis and Legoshi have been the focus so far, it is my humble opinion that Haru is the true MVP of Beastars and that she elevates it from good to great.
When we first meet Haru, she is the subject of bullying and rumors of being the ‘school slut.’ She handles it with dignity, refusing to give in to the harassment. What really bothers her is the infantilization and condescension she receives from larger animals, carnivore and herbivore alike. This is due to her small stature as a dwarf rabbit and as a prey animal. She is yet another example of how characters in the series must confront questions about themselves. We see her resentment focused less inward, like Legoshi, but also not directed outward as bigotry towards other animals, like Louis. Between the two, she has the most in common with Legoshi. They both struggle with people (er, animals) not seeing them for who they are but instead objectifying them into standard examples of their species. While she is older and more world-weary, this is much her coming of age story as it is for Legoshi or Louis. This matter is even further complicated by the love triangle the three find themselves in. While the dynamic has earned a negative reputation over the years, Itagaki uses it to great effect in this story. I am not going to go into too specific detail because it could fill an entire section, and this is running long. The dynamic enhances what each character has or lacks while pushing them towards character growth. It is compelling as hell and helps push all three characters’ arcs to completion. These factors are all fine and well but are ultimately not why Haru elevates Beastars.
Haru really comes into her own in the final third of the series. While this is the time in the series that all significant characters complete their arcs, it is Haru’s perspective that becomes the most compelling. The season up until this point has mostly been from Legoshi’s view, as he becomes certain of his love for Haru. This becomes most clear when he fights Louis and declares that he will save Haru’s life with or without help. Watching our young wolf fight the lion yakuza is very cool; the aspect of this storyline that stands out the most is when we shift to Haru’s point of view. While she mentally writes her will, the audience gets their first real sense of what Legoshi means to her. He was the first person who saw Haru as herself, not with pity or as a sexual object. This inspires her pride and dignity, and she acts with defiance in the face of her impending doom. This moment is critical because one of the most crucial narrative needs of this story is to sell you on the relationship between Haru and Legoshi. They both saw each other as themselves, not as wolves or rabbits. Learning that the feeling between them is mutual in such a meaningful way makes their relationship and the challenges along the way so much more compelling. It allows them to bring different, interesting aspects out of each other. While many stories have romance and couples getting together, Beastars stands out by giving each character equal agency. This is especially important because it allows the story to avoid making Haru a “sexy lamp” for Legoshi to possess. This is not merely because they do not have sex. Their big end-of-season moment is just both acknowledging their mutual feelings for each other but still have a long way to go. These moments would not work at all if not for our shift to Haru and her perspective. The romance between these two, similar to the dynamic between Luis and Legoshi, adds to interpersonal dynamics while deepening them. It is what makes the story of Beastars beautiful.
Animal Aesthetics
Oh right. The visual art of this visual medium. That would probably be an important subject to talk about in a piece about why you should watch/read something.
The first and most immediate aspect of Beastars’ art to talk about is the animation. The studio responsible for its excellence is Studio Orange. While my personal preference is usually 2D animation, I am a huge fan of Orange’s work. In many ways, Beastars is the continued development of the visual work they did with the impressive Land of the Lustrous (2017). The studio plans out the expressions and poses of the characters in 2D while then using the free camera movement and angles that 3D allows creating impressive cel-shaded animation. Beastars was also a challenge since the animals had different shapes and sizes, increasing the amount of work needed to model and rig them. If you are interested in some of the technology and techniques used in the series, I highly recommend a ‘Studio Highlight’ video done by the Canipa Effect. Something that really stood out to me was the creative shots and framing the studio used for the dialogue-heavy scenes. Instead of simple shot-reverse-shot, there are often innovative blends between what characters are looking at and their expressions. These make what are usually less visually interesting scenes convey more about how characters are feeling while directing the audience’s attention in parallel. These factors come together to give the series an incredibly unique look. This is important because the manga also has a unique style that could not be conveyed in 3D nearly as well. The animation is an excellent example of both a studio pushing themselves to create new and remarkable work as well as the adaptational changes that appear when going between two mediums.
Before discussing the manga, I would like to take a moment to talk about the music. Music is something I know relatively little about on a technical level, but what I can say is that Beastars has an incredible soundtrack. Its intro song, Wild Side by ALI, is an energetic joy that is accompanied by some fantastic stop motion animation. The entire soundtrack uses a litany of instruments and styles. There are hints of jazz, classical, and more for the various scenes and characters. For example, Louis has his themes based around jazz, while Legoshi’s instrument is the trombone. In an interview with Otaquest, Composer Satoru Kosaki talks about the various decisions he made to both give the soundtrack a sense of unity while also drawing from various musical genres. If you enjoy watching the show, I highly recommend listening to the soundtrack on its own. It does not disappoint.
While the addition of colors, motion, and music all make the animation a much watch, I still heartily recommend the manga. Paru Itagaki began the series in 2016 for the serialized Weekly Shōnen Champion manga magazine, where it has continued to the present. In 2018, it won the 11th Annual Manga Taishō Award, as well as various other accolades. One of the immediately present things one notices when reading the manga is its unique art style. It oscillates between having light, charming linework to moments of equally expressive high detail. The Itagaki has an incredible eye for detail for both backgrounds and character
design. She has listed a variety of influences that give the manga a style that is truly one of a kind. There is also the bonus of getting to watch an artist grow over time. At the start of the series, the art (especially of Legoshi) is less consistent and leans into a more unsettling, horror kind of vibe. As the series goes on, the reader gets to watch the style develop and be refined to what it is today. This is one of my favorite aspects of reading manga. It is one of the few mediums that feels like it comes from one author, and it is a genuine joy to watch a style grow and develop over time. Itagaki also has an excellent handle on comedic timing in the manga in addition to her action and suspense. Despite not being a comedy series, she is excellent at creating a humorous panel to panel transitions that lead to bursts of laughter during the series' lighter moments. That said, the series is no stranger to suspense or action. If you enjoy manga at all or just want to read about events that have yet to be animated, I cannot recommend the Beastars manga highly enough.
Beauty in Ugly Things
If I were to discuss what Beastars is about, I would say that it is about finding beauty and understanding in uncomfortable things. I have spent countless words talking about why the characters are well-written or how the craft of the series is good. Still, plenty of others possess all these qualities. What art speaks to you is ultimately a very personal thing. One cannot understand beauty without a sense of ugliness, and Beastars always gives me a strong sense of that. It is a series that covers uncomfortable topics for most viewers and never takes the easy way out. While in an often frightening and cruel world, it tells a beautiful story of love and understanding. The theme of understanding is not just in love between Haru and Legoshi, but something each character wrestles with internally. Moments of joy and affection are nearly always undercut with uncertainty and fear about oneself. It is also a world where there are frightening degrees of inequality and cruelty. But these moments of contrast are what make Beastars beautiful. It is the way that Legoshi wrestles with his instincts and emotions but comes out a compassionate hero. Haru endures ostracization and loneliness but never relents her dignity. The two of them inspire each other. They make their way through the murky woods of the uncomfortable, only to reach the other side stronger and happier than they could have been having they never taken the journey. That story is beautiful and could not have existed without the parts of Beastars that make it difficult to talk about. To me, that is what makes this story so incredible.
Now What?
Now that you have heard my shpeal, what to do next? This part, more than any other, is just my opinion, and however you choose to watch or read the series, it will be good. I recommend starting with the anime on Netflix. The manga is incredible, but the anime is more immediate in how it grabs you owing to its medium. It also works as a better entry since the manga is still finding its footing in the beginning chapters while the animation was made knowing where the series would be going. The best example of this is Louis' characterization. In the manga, he kind of just comes off as a jerk, with it is not immediately clear why he would be popular. The manga does develop his character, but the animation knows where he is going and is better prepared, building to it more smoothly. I do recommend both since Itagaki’s art is unique and amazing, but the anime is a better first experience. Watch the first season, then start in chapter 48 of the manga. If you, like me, like to compare adaptations, then I highly recommend starting from chapter 1, but only if you want to.
I recommend watching the series as soon as you can. Without wanting to spoil, this show is going to POP OFF in season 2. The themes discussed earlier are only going to become more prevalent and interesting. There is so much from later in the series I would love to talk about. If you liked this, please let me know. I cut two pages from this and will probably write about Beastars again. This show has phenomenal character writing and world-building to be found anywhere while also coming in an incredible visual package. The show is different and covers subject matter that is rarely handled well in the best of shows, but it is worth the initial discomfort. If you can make it through episode 3, you can make it through the rest of the series. Thank you for your time, and I hope you have a great time walking on the wild side.
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