Beastars: Part One
Author: Paru Itagaki Genre: Drama Years of Publication: 2017-2023 Pages: (per book) ~210 Number of Volumes: 22
Writing: 9/10 Plot: 9/10 Characters: 10/10 Creativity: 10/10
Overall: 9.5/10
Beastars is a popular manga/anime series featuring anthropomorphic animals trying to find themselves in the twisted world they live in. Carnivores and herbivores are constantly at odds with each other. Eating meat is a crime and deeply taboo. Herbivores live in fear that they will be killed by a carnivore. Carnivores live in fear of their own bloodlust and fear that they will kill their herbivore friends. We follow three animals: Legoshi the grey wolf, Haru the dwarf white rabbit, and Louis the red deer. We follow them on their quests to find their places in a world with strict social pressures and discrimination.
I adore Beastars. It’s easily one of my favorite manga series and Paru Itagaki is one of my favorite artists of all time. It’s the first manga series I went out of my way to collect (manga’s expensive y’all). I’ve seen the anime multiple times, I read the whole thing twice, and I’m currently collecting Beast Complex, Itagaki’s first series before Beastars. This series means the world to me.
All that being said, I still have issues with it. Oh boy! Do I have issues, but we’ll get to them when we get to them.
Like with Bloom into You, my usual format does not do the story justice. Beastars is long. 22 volumes! I’m going arc by arc character by character. I will give a rundown of the plot of the arc and will then analyze each character and what they’re doing in that arc.
Oh and by the way…
I’m spoiling everything!
If you have not read/seen Beastars PLEASE do so BEFORE reading this. It’s a wonderful manga series and I highly recommend it. So please go enjoy it.
The Beautiful Art
Now, before I dive into this series let me talk about the art first because I love it so damn much! I am not exaggerating when I say Paru Itagaki is one of my favorite artists of all time. I adore anthro art. I draw anthro art (you can click here to go see it). Something about combining human and animal traits just hits all the right buttons. There are plenty of anthro artists out there that are just incredible but I only have a few favorites (here they are [1] [2] [3] [4]) and Paru is 100% one of them.
The typical furry art style that everyone thinks of when they hear “furry art” is very… standardized. Very Disney-esque, cutesy, round, and soft. Here’s an example of what I mean (nothing against this artist btw. I’m just using them as an example). I personally strongly dislike this style. It’s boring and feels commercialized. It doesn’t capture what I love about anthros- the animal mixed with humanity. There are three types of anthro art (according to me): cartoony, realistic, and stylized. I personally prefer stylized as cartoony is boring and realistic can easily slip into the uncanny valley (Exhibit A- again nothing against this artist. I’m just using them as an example). I want to see the artist’s personality shine through their art. I want to feel what they’re going for. I want to see how they blend animal and human in their own way that stands out from the rest. My own art leans more toward cartoony and I’m fine with that because it’s uniquely me! I taught myself how to draw anthro art. I didn’t even know there was a whole community of people out there drawing anthros until I was in high school and even then, I took all of my inspiration from anime/manga and cartoons. Stylized anthro art has to hit me in all the right buttons and Itagaki’s art smashes all of them buttons!
I’ve seen some people describe her style as “animal heads on human bodies” which… kind of. Each character has a unique body shape that matches their animal counterpart. Legoshi is a gray wolf, the largest canine in the world. He’s huge! He towers over most of the other characters in the story, he’s kind of hunched like real wolves, and he’s scruffy and unkempt… much like real wolves. Louis is lean, tall, and elegant like a deer. Riz the grizzly is fucking huge and hulking with small beady black eyes, much like his real-world counterpart. The lions are the most stylized. The males are big and bulky as they should be but they each have unique hairstyles and manes which is something I haven’t seen before! A lot of people, myself included, just draw the mane as is- large, covering the neck, etc. I’ve seen some people give lions braids which… sure. But Itagaki gave each member of the Shishigumi a unique hairstyle that blends seamlessly into the neck. It’s so creative! I love it!
It’s a bit of a disservice to dumb her art style down to “animal heads on human bodies,” because it’s more than that. There’s more thought put into it. They have human proportions but they still resemble the animal they’re supposed to be. That’s the point! It ties into the horror elements of the work. It’s horrifying to see these almost-human characters give in to their base wild instincts and kill and devour each other. It’s disturbing and that’s the point. They’re wild animals with human morality and the art style captures that beautifully.
I adore her sketchy lines and character design. I like the loose, flying lines whenever she draws fur. It’s similar to how I sketch. It’s incredible how she can render all sorts of animals in such distinct ways that show off their personalities and expressions while also still resembling the animals they’re supposed to be. Even when characters are in a crowd of their species, they still stand out because she gives each character a different design. It actually reminds me of Zootopia with how- in the crowd shots- you don’t see two of the same model. Each character model is different, giving the world sense of reality and life. No two animals look the same. They each have their own personalities and lives and both Itagaki and the creators of Zootopia capture that.
It’s obvious that Itagaki loves drawing teeth and hands because they are rendered really well and are in focus quite often. Carnivores have big hands and teeth that are actually too big for their jaws, but again, that’s the point. You’re meant to focus on their hands, claws, and teeth because those are what kill. I can relate to being obsessed with drawing carnivores’ teeth. Me too. I love drawing teeth and claws. It’s fun. A little pet peeve about the teeth. The top canines are in front of the bottom canines which is not how the orientation goes. If you study carnivores’ skulls and examine their teeth, you’ll notice that the top canines are behind the bottom. This is just a pet peeve and it doesn’t ruin the art or anything, but it did bother me when I first read Beastars.
I’m not a painter. Honestly, I fucking hate painting (sorry painters) so it blows my mind how beautiful Itagaki’s watercolor illustrations are. I like how you can see the brush strokes. It gives the illusion that these furry animals are indeed covered in fur. Nothing is blended too well so you can see all sorts of colors in the characters, especially in their clothing, giving the covers a nice, more grounded, and casual feel.
Wow, I’m so deep into this and I haven’t even talked about the story. This is gonna be a long one…
Arc One: The Drama Club
Beastars arc one takes place in Cherryton Academy, the city’s top boarding school and the city’s only carnivore/herbivore co-ed. The story starts off with a tragedy. An alpaca named Tem was brutally killed and eaten by a large carnivore in the school. Tem was a member of the drama club, a club famous for its camaraderie between herbivores and carnivores. Unfortunately, his death creates a rift in the club. While the academy attempts to move on from this tragic incident, Legoshi, a shy grey wolf, tries to remain out of sight but, unluckily for him, he catches the attention of Louis the leader of the drama club. At night, while training Tem’s replacement for the play, Louis makes Legoshi stand guard. Students are not supposed to be out at night, especially after the murder, but Louis is a strict leader who expects nothing but perfection from his fellow actors and Tem’s replacement needs work.
While Legoshi is standing outside, he catches the scent of a rabbit. This scent ignites his predator instincts. He launches himself at the rabbit, capturing her, but he hesitates. He battles his blood lust internally. His instincts are telling him to finally satiate an urge he’s had since he was a pup- an urge to kill and eat meat. His moral, more rational mind tells him to let her go. Unfortunately, his wild side takes over and just before he makes his killing blow Tem’s replacement rushes out of the theater, yelling that Louis had fallen from the stage and broken his leg. This intrusion scares Legoshi and he lets go of the rabbit, accidentally gashing her arm with his claws as she sprinted away. Louis, not wanting to show any weakness, declares that he is fit enough to perform the lead role in their play. Legoshi is shaken by his interaction with the rabbit and becomes depressed. The next day after Louis’ incident, Legoshi, working alongside his fellow stagehands, is tasked to retrieve flowers for the play’s set. He is informed about a gardening club located on the roof, a club he was previously unaware existed. He and an aardvark named Kibi go to the club and, much to Legoshi’s surprise, they run into the same rabbit Legoshi nearly killed the night previously. Kibi freaks out at the sight of her and flees, leaving Legoshi alone with her. This rabbit, Haru, is the only member of the gardening club, being left alone after everyone else graduated. Nervous, Legoshi asks for the flowers he needs. Haru says she’ll help only after he helped her move some heavy plants. During the work, he notices bandages on Haru’s arm and asks out of guilt what happened. Haru says she doesn’t remember, much to Legoshi’s shock. After finishing the chores, they go to the clubhouse. Here, Legoshi debates with himself if he should tell Haru that the monster that attacked her was him. Haru misunderstands his nerves and believes he’s lingering around waiting to sleep with her. Haru begins to strip down to her underwear. Legoshi is floored and has no clue what’s happening. She approaches him and grabs the hem of his pants, teasing him. Legoshi freaks the fuck out and tells her to stop, which confuses Haru. If he wasn’t here for sex then why was he lingering around? Legoshi throws a blanket over her and books it out of there as quickly as possible. He runs into Kibi who he quickly interrogates. Kibi tells him that Haru is very sexually active with multiple herbivore boys. She even sleeps with boys in dedicated relationships. Kibi asks if she tried to do anything to him and Legoshi says no and that she’s a good person who cares about her flowers. This experience rocks the poor wolf’s world. It hits him for the first time that he’s never experienced romance before nor has he been treated like a normal guy. For years, he’s been viewed as a predator- a wolf ready to snap and kill at any moment. This is why he keeps a low profile. But Haru, this small herbivore, approached him like a teenage boy, looking past his wolfiness. Legoshi is happy about this and wishes to see her again.
The drama club’s first performance arrives. Louis’ leg has gotten worse. He refused to let anyone see it because he does not want to be viewed as weak. Despite the immense pain he’s under, he goes out on stage and performs for the students. He is able to hold out and finish the play, however, once the curtain falls, he collapses on stage. He wakes up in the infirmary with the drama club surrounding him. He asks if the public saw him collapse to which they reply no. He then appoints Bill the tiger to be his replacement for tomorrow night’s show. While Bill is performing the lead, they need someone else to replace his role, and that someone is of course Legoshi. Legoshi is a stagehand, not a performer. He’s never been on stage and his nerves are getting the best of him. Bill’s aggressive and boastful attitude is not helping him cope. However, Legoshi receives some words of encouragement from Els the Angora goat, a fellow club member. Legoshi vows to try his best. The next day, just before the performance, Louis visits Bill and tells Bill to teach Legoshi a lesson. Louis does not like Legoshi’s quiet, demure attitude. He finds his self-imposed weakness to be insulting. After this, Bill runs into Legoshi. The wolf is put off by him. Noticing Legoshi’s suspicions, Bill leaves for the bathroom with Legoshi right on his heels. Legoshi confronts him, saying that he smells something on Bill. Bill reveals that he has a small vial of rabbit’s blood and was using it to envigorate his performance. He says that it didn’t come from another student. Nonetheless, this sets Legoshi off. He vows to make Bill pay for his actions on stage. During the show, Bill plays his role but is nervous about the audience’s reactions. He knows the audience came to see Louis and is disappointed by Bill’s presence. Just as he succumbs to the pressure, a furious Legoshi marches onto the stage. Instead of delivering his lines like he’s supposed to, Legoshi slaps Bill hard across the face. The audience is shocked by this, but they’re not sure if the blow was real or just a part of the show. Legoshi continues to beat Bill up. Bill is able to get a hold of him and deduces that Legoshi must’ve killed a rabbit before since he immediately knew the smell of their blood. Bill wraps his arms around Legoshi, sinks his claws into him, and gouges deep lines across his back. Bill growls in his ears that they’re one in the same- two vicious bloodthirsty monsters. Bill continues to taunt Legoshi until Louis suddenly shows up and puts an end to their fight. He improvises an ending to the play and despite the sudden fight, this performance is more beloved than the previous night. Louis chastizes the two carnivores outside the stage until he notices a crowd forming behind him. He then pretends that the fight was intentional and keeps the two on the team.
Thoughts on Arc One
Arc one is such a great opener. Not only is it a great introduction to the world and characters, but it also immediately sucks you into its story and themes. Beastars is a dark tale. The first event we see is a student being brutally murdered by the jaws of another. This world is bloody and full of death. Something I don’t see a lot of people talk about is the horror element of Beastars. There are plenty of moments that are creepy and off-putting. Just the idea of these very human animals losing control and eating one another is gruesome and uncomfortable. And the fact that everyone else is so nonchalant about Tem’s death also shows how common this type of thing is. Legoshi almost giving in to his instincts is scary. His instincts are shown to be this ravenous shadowy beast that starts small but grows bigger and stronger. The shadowy beast hovers over him, seducing him into taking a bite out of Haru- taunting him by saying that he’s been wanting to know what meat tasted like his entire life. Legoshi, who up until this point, is shown to be a shy, awkward, and gentle wolf. To see him nearly bite off Haru’s head just goes to show you that carnivores’ killer instincts are deeply rooted inside of them. They don’t get a chance to choose to be violent. Inherently they just are and they have to fight it back.
Now, let’s get into the characters!
Legoshi- Arc One
Our main boy! He’s quiet, shy, gentle, and kind. Being a gray wolf, he is the largest canine and thus is very scary to the herbivore students. Legoshi is very aware of how society views him and so, to not scare anyone, he keeps to himself and doesn’t draw any attention. He’s considerate of those around him. He doesn’t like towering over others, especially herbivores. He also deeply hates himself. He fears his own instincts and strength. When the shadowy manifestation of his bloodlust appears before him, he cowers and tries to shoo it away, but is unable to. He doesn’t like conflict. When Kai the mongoose confronts Louis about being removed from the actors’ pool, he bares his teeth and almost punches Louis. However, Legoshi is there to stop his attack and, to subdue Kai, he growls at him, showing his teeth. Despite not liking his carnivore status, Legoshi understands how he is seen by others. He understands that others fear him and he uses that fear against them if it results in no further conflict.
His encounters with Haru change him. The first encounter is the first and only time he ever gives in to his raw instincts. When Haru escapes, he sinks into a depression and hates himself even further. Then, he runs into her again on the roof. He sees how strange yet nice she is and, feeling guilty, decides to stick around and help her out. He wants to get to know her, however, he’s so awkward. He can’t get the words out. Haru, sadly, think that his kindness is just a front. She begins to seduce him which freaks Legoshi out and he runs away. This second encounter is more important. For the first time in his life, someone else treated him like a person and not like a monster. He realizes that Haru wasn’t afraid of him, and he realizes that he’s never had a crush before. He becomes a little bit obsessed with her as he tries to navigate these strange feelings.
Bill the tiger is a great foil to Legoshi. While Legoshi hates himself as a carnivore, Bill embraces it. Bill, like Legoshi, is a large carnivore who is feared by others. However, unlike our wolfy friend, Bill doesn’t care. He carries himself with pride. He is not afraid to show off his strength and power as a tiger. He also is not afraid to indulge in his instincts. He used rabbit blood to give him a boost in confidence before he performs on stage. This shows that Bill is unscrupulous and self-centered. He doesn’t care who the blood came from and he taunts Legoshi with it. Legoshi, who is trying to recover from his bloodlust-induced trauma and hatred, cracks. He vows to make Bill pay for his crime. This self-righteousness and strong moral code are the cornerstones of Legoshi’s character. He doesn’t always think things through, but his heart is always in the right place. He didn’t like to fight at first, but when Bill proved himself to be a bad dude, Legoshi learns that he can use his strength to do good.
Louis- Arc One
The second most important character of the series. Louis is the decorated son of the Horns Conglomerate CEO Ogma. He is the lead actor in the drama club and he is one of, if not, the most popular students in Cherryton Academy. He is slated to be the next Beastar, a highly exalted member of society who represents the gold standard of what others should be. Despite all of his confidence and intelligence, Louis is a deeply troubled teen. He shoulders a lot of pressure, but he refuses to let anyone see him falter. As a red deer, he is extremely aware of how weak he truly is, especially compared to carnivores. He cannot show weakness as showing vulnerability in this world could lead to his death. So, he instead adopts a stoic, strict, and unbreakable personality. He doesn’t let anyone in, not even his own father (we will get more into this later). He dislikes carnivores for their effortless strength, especially carnivores who put up an air of weakness. He deeply hates Legoshi because of this. There’s one scene where the wolf is talking to him about the light setup for the play and Legoshi, while talking, gesticulates with his hands a lot. Louis points this out, saying that Legoshi’s body is always flaunting its power. Legoshi hides his hands, thinking that Louis is scared by his claws. Louis gets mad and pins him to the wall, asking why Legoshi doesn’t embrace his power as a carnivore. He then puts his hand in Legoshi’s mouth and asks him to bare his teeth. Legoshi refuses as it is rude to bare one’s fangs to herbivores. Louis blows up at him, yelling at him to never compare him to other herbivores. He says that he hates large carnivores like Legoshi who “slink” around and pretend to be weak. Louis doesn’t get to pretend. He is weak, but carnivores, big and small, are strong. He then forces Legoshi’s mouth open so that he could see his fangs and urges him to bite him. Legoshi nearly does but stops, and pushes Louis aside. Legoshi says that it’s not good for a large wolf such as himself to show off his strength, but for a deer like Louis, a show of power is inspiring and could bring change. This all happens after Louis broke his leg falling off the stage during a nighttime practice.
The next day, Louis- with his broken leg- performs as Adler on the stage with vigor. He gives the performance of a lifetime, trying his hardest not to let the pain get to him. Once the play is over, he collapses on stage and the rest of the club carries him to the infirmary. When he wakes, he finds himself surrounded by the club. The first thing he asks is if the audience saw his display of weakness. They tell him no and he’s pleased. He makes Bill his replacement, citing his willingness to speak directly to Louis about his injury without sugarcoating it as the reason why. As stated, Bill is a carnivore that embraces his status, something Louis respects.
Louis is one of the more complex characters in the series. In this first arc, he’s a bit unlikeable, but there’s a reason behind it. He changes dramatically over the course of the story.
Haru- Arc One
Oh Haru. Haru is interesting. She is a small dwarf rabbit. In this world, an animal as small as her is pitied because it is assumed that she will not last long. Haru, for her entire life, has been pitied and looked down upon- literally and figuratively- especially by boys. She learns at an early age that boys are nice to her because they think she’s weak and defenseless. Any “friendships” she had were superficial and disingenuous. This was true until a rabbit boy confessed to her and the two of them had sex. During sex, she realizes that he looks at her as an individual, something she always wanted. So, in order to be seen as a real person, she sleeps around. This, of course, makes her the target of ridicule and bullying. Before Legoshi captures her on that faithful night, Haru spends her day in isolation and has little to no friends at all. She tries not to let the bullying get to her. After she escapes Legoshi, we don’t see her again until he does. There, we learn that Haru is quite self-efficient and tends to keep people away at a reasonable distance, not wanting to cultivate shallow one-sided relationships. She’s very direct towards Legoshi, much to his surprise. She shows no fear. Haru is not afraid of carnivores as she feels that, being a small herbivore, she is likely to die anytime soon. Why waste energy fretting over the inevitable? After they complete chores around the gardening club and Legoshi lingers around, she assumes he’s after what every other boy is after when they see her. She tries to seduce him, but he freaks out and leaves. Haru finds this odd but later laughs, calling him weird.
I really like Haru in these early arcs. She’s abrasive but kind, lonely but determined. She openly speaks her mind to anyone and everyone, which makes her a target of ridicule amongst the herbivores. Just like Legoshi, she longs for a genuine relationship where she is treated like a person. The two of them later have a cute bond and grow better together.
Important Side Characters of Arc One
Jack the Labrador- Jack is Legoshi’s best friend since childhood. He and Legoshi share a dorm with five other male canines. Jack is a happy-go-lucky guy, the opposite of Legoshi. He doesn’t do too much in these early arcs.
Bill the Tiger: Bill is the antagonist of arc one. He is Legoshi’s foil; confident, boisterous, strong, and full of himself. He is also proud of his tiger heritage and is not afraid to indulge in his wild instincts, as shown by the rabbit’s blood he took to enhance his performance. He and Legoshi are bitter rivals for a good chunk of the series.
Arc Two: The Meteor Festival
Summer has arrived! The members of the drama club are preparing for the Meteor Festival, a festival that honor’s the memories of the dinosaurs that came before them. While the actors are excited to perform their dance for the festival, the stagehands are annoyed because they have to create all of the props. After a long day of preparing, Legoshi sees Haru being accosted by Mizuchi and her gang. Fed up, Haru wishes for the extinction of Mizuchi’s species while Legoshi stands behind her, terrifying the gang of mean girls. They run off. Haru thinks her tirade did it until she realizes Legoshi is behind her. Legoshi bends down to her height and tries to help her, but she rejects him, saying that she doesn’t like being pitied by the guys she slept with. Legoshi reminds her that they didn’t do anything. Haru asks if he wants to eat dinner with her and he agrees. Legoshi, the awkward lad, has no clue how to talk to girls and struggles to have a conversation with her. Haru, on the other hand, puts on a friendly face while her own instincts scream at her to run away from the scary carnivore. Once they’re done, Legoshi offers to escort her to her dorm since it is not safe at night. Haru’s shoe unbuttons, and Legoshi bends down to fix it for her. He then looks up into her eyes and remarks that he’s never looked into a rabbit’s eyes before. Haru then tells him her name and he his. This marks the beginning of their eventual romance. We then get a long section explaining where eggs come from. It’s not important, so let’s skip it.
The next time we see Legoshi he is with his dormmates watching a report about a gang of canines who have been killing herbivores. This makes canines unpopular among the student body. So much so that Legoshi stumbles across a pair of male students hassling a female gray wolf. Legoshi goes to defend her, saying that she is his sister. Once they leave, Legoshi talks to the first-year wolf. She laments about how much worse the bullying here is and how upset it makes her. She’s frustrated that she lets the bullying get to her, but Legoshi reassures her that it’s a good thing that she lets it get to her. It shows that she’s tough. Suddenly feeling awkward, he gets up to leave. The wolf stops him and asks about the drama club, revealing that she’s a new member. They then go to the club together. We later learn that her name is Juno.
Louis, now healed, enlists a few second-years to go into town tomorrow and attend a meeting with officials about the meteor festival. He only picks carnivores, the reason being that the pack of murderous canines is still roaming around. He’s not going to risk any herbivores’ lives. Before he leaves, he tells the carnivores to stay out of the black market. The black market is a shady part of town that sells meat. It is said to be a myth, but everyone knows that it’s real- they just don’t want to acknowledge it. Carnivores only say that to comfort their herbivore friends. Legoshi remarks that the city beyond the school walls looks peaceful and harmonious. The next day, the carnivores go into town. Legoshi, who is not used to the town, gets led around by the other students who eventually arrive at the infamous black market. In front of the market is an old herbivore who sells bits of his fingers to carnivores jonesing for a bit of meat. Legoshi is horrified. Bill jumps at the opportunity to eat a morsel of meat. Legoshi slaps him and Bill threatens to beat him up, but Aoba comes between them, taking Bill’s side. Bill tells Legoshi that the black market is how adult carnivores are able to function in society. The black market is necessary. Legoshi can’t handle this news and runs away, deeper into the market. All the smells of meat assault his senses. His mind wanders back to Haru, who recently said she wanted to be friends with him, as he dashes through. He admits that he’s attracted to Haru and thinks about her all the time, but he questions why he keeps salivating at the thought of her. He collapses in the black market. When he wakes up, he is chained up and muzzled in a strange place. A giant, intimidating panda interrogates him, assuming Legoshi is a carnivore that harms himself because of his craving for meat. The panda, Gohin, calls himself the guardian of the black market. He does not tolerate any animosity or aggression. If anyone dared, he will make them regret it. Legoshi, having no choice, goes along with his interrogation- admitting that he almost ate an herbivore, but he regained his sanity. Gohin says that he didn’t regain anything, he just put his mask back on. He says that carnivores are all slaves to their instincts, hence why the black market exists in the first place. He then reveals that he’s a therapist who helps carnivores with their bloodlust and guilt. He tells Legoshi that the meat in the black market comes from hospitals and funeral homes. Carnivores go so that they can indulge in their instincts without having to harm any living herbivores. The panda shows Legoshi a room filled with pictures of carnivores who severely harmed themselves because they preyed upon living herbivores. The guilt they felt afterward drove most of them mad and almost all of them re-offended. He also warns Legoshi that carnivores that form strong bonds with herbivores end up killing them, mistaking their bloodlust for love. He tells Legoshi to not see Haru again so as to not hurt her. Legoshi cannot do this. He believes that his love for her is genuine and has nothing to do with his hunter instincts. Gohin gives him some porno just to test him. Yes, really. If he’s turned on by the porn then he just has a fetish for small animals. If not, then he’s obsessed with Haru. Legoshi leaves in a huff, exiting the black market and thinking the panda is crazy. He then runs into Aoba who waited for him. Aoba admits that he did not eat the old herbivore’s finger. He couldn’t do it. While Aoba is explaining his conflicted feelings, Legoshi is overwhelmed with emotion and breaks down.
Days past. We learn that Haru and Louis used to (or currently are) sleeping together. Legoshi, while lamenting about Gohin’s words and his desire to hang out with Haru, gets interrupted by Juno who has developed a crush on him. She confesses. Legoshi just doesn’t compute and he leaves her confused. While working on the displays for the Meteor Festival, Legoshi sees Haru being friendly with Louis. This ignites his jealousy and he vows to get even closer to her in spite of Gohin’s warning. He and Haru walk home together. Haru confronts him about his weird behavior. She declares that he would never understand how hard it is to be an herbivore. Herbivores fear for their lives every day. Legoshi stops her from boarding another train causing them to yell at each other and attract the attention of the police. The officers assume that Legoshi is attacking her and they chase them down. They hide in the bathroom and once they’re out they talk and ultimately grow closer.
Bill scratches Louis during a practice and they have a very heated confrontation. Afterward, Louis goes to see Haru, and after that, Legoshi- smelling Haru on him- gets all jealous but doesn’t confront him head-on. Then Juno arrives and we learn that everyone loves Juno (as they should). She lightens up the room and gets everyone excited about practice once again. Louis stays behind after practice to talk to Juno. Louis helps her practice her dance for the Meteor Festival. They talk and it escalates to Juno using her strength to pin Louis down and calls him out. She declares that she’s going to be the next Beastar and that she’s going to make Legoshi fall in love with her. Louis tells her that she will have a hard time convincing Legoshi. She questions this and tries to talk to Legoshi but then the lights go out. Herbivores do not see well in the darkness. The drama club carnivores round up their herbivore companions in order to protect them. Legoshi looks for Haru. He finds her scared and as he goes to comfort him, she calls out to Louis. The lights turn back on. She startles and gets embarrassed when she sees Legoshi. He brushes it off for now and bends down to comfort her. Juno sees this and is floored.
We then get a section delving into Louis’ past. I’ll get to this later. While he’s paying his respects to Tem’s grave, Legoshi stops a carnivore from jumping Louis. The carnivore talks about how Louis will make things worse for carnivores if he becomes the Beastar. Legoshi doesn’t believe this. Afterward, he talks to Haru at the Meteor Festival area and tells her to meet up with him at 5 pm the next day. He plans on confessing his feelings to her. Once he leaves her, she gets captured by the Shishigumi aka the Lion Gang. Students find out that she’s missing and they find the Shishigumi’s calling card. The mayor, who is also a lion, reassures them that he will help find her but in reality, he is going to do nothing as it would ruin the reputation of lions everywhere. Legoshi sees this and is pissed. The mayor tells Louis what happened and admits that he plans on doing nothing. He entrusts Louis to keep the peace in school, but Louis can’t do that. He tries to yell, but the mayor tells him that this is how the adult world works. He can’t save Haru because it would shatter the public’s image of lions and it would drive the city into chaos. He then blackmails Louis, bringing up his black market past. Seeing no other way out, Louis shakes on it dejectedly. He leaves the mayor only to be confronted by Legoshi who urges him to help save Haru. Louis tells him that there’s nothing that they can do. Legoshi yells that Louis likes Haru too. Louis punches him and yells at him for pretending to be weak when he’s a wolf. Legoshi growls that he will finally use his strength to save Haru and to express how angry he is at Louis. He punches Louis in the face, sending him flying. The two get into a fight until they’re pulled back by others. Legoshi declares that he will make Haru his and then leaves to go find her.
What happens next is a lot of searching in the black market and Legoshi getting no leads. No one wants to talk about the Shishigumi. He almost gets gutted and mugged until Gohin shows up and saves him. Gohin assists him in his search and leads him to the Shishigumi hideout. Legoshi fights off some lions with Gohin’s help. Gohin urges him to channel his hunter instincts in order to fight better. They butcher their way through the lions. Gohin stays behind while Legoshi runs to Chief Lion’s room. There he brutally fights the leader. He clamps his jaws around the lion’s throat and tears it out. While Legoshi is losing a lot of blood, he and Haru stumble out of the hideout. Gohin has tied up and/or killed most of the gang so they leave unhindered. Chief Lion, who is not dead, stands up and aims a gun out the window. Right before he pulls the trigger, Louis shoots him in the mouth. He is then surrounded by the remaining Shishigumi. The last thing we see with Louis in this arc is him goading the lions to eat him as he laughs.
Legoshi and Haru go get something to eat and find a hotel to sleep in. Legoshi, despite being horribly injured and covered in blood, is still a lovable awkward mess who struggles with the idea of two of them sleeping in the same bed. Legoshi finally reveals that he was the carnivore who nearly killed her on that faithful night. Haru reveals that she already knew that, but stayed around him anyway because she likes him. She tells him that he has two choices: devour her or sleep with her. Legoshi starts feeling her up and just when he’s about to kiss her, Haru nearly jumps into his mouth- her own instincts screaming at her to be killed by him. They go the rest of the night without doing anything.
They arrive at school the next day to the astonishment of everyone. Legoshi gets told off by his dorm mother. He’s frustrated that she is not acknowledging the Shishigumi's hand in all of this. All of the adults seem to be covering it up. Juno visits him and tells him that a relationship between a wolf and a rabbit is unnatural and won’t work out. She tells him that Louis is gone and if he doesn’t return, the school’s carnivores will finally get the respect they deserve. She tells him to come to the Meteor Festival in order to get a better understanding. Juno confronts Haru. Haru tells her that their relationship is complicated. Juno then pins her to the wall and very provocatively sniffs her up and down, concluding that Haru and Legoshi did not sleep together, much to her relief. While at the Meteor Festival, Legoshi finds Haru in the crowd. He almost confesses to her when he is interrupted by Juno, who is atop a stage. She then gives a speech about how the strength of carnivores is a good thing and points out that Legoshi as living proof. She says it’s natural for them to want to help herbivores. Legoshi internally disagrees with her. After this, Juno takes him to light a candle at the Festival. We cut to Haru who is lamenting her apparent loss to Juno. She thinks about how the two wolves look great together, that they’re the perfect couple, and that she and Legoshi would never work out. She then meets Legoshi on the stairs. He left Juno to find Haru. He finally confesses his feelings to her and vows to get even stronger for her. And she tells him that she’ll wait for him.
Whoo boy! That’s the end of Arc Two!
Thoughts on Arc Two
This is top-tier Beastars. This arc establishes so much for the characters and their stories. Haru and Legoshi’s rocky relationship is in full swing. We get introduced to Juno and Gohin. The black market, the most defining aspect of the series, is established. There are many great and memorable scenes that made me fall in love with Beastars. Legoshi’s turmoil as he’s running through the black market, Juno’s confrontation with Louis, Legoshi and Haru in the hotel room, all the stuff with Louis, is just great!
The black market’s role in the world is so compelling. You can’t remove it because carnivores need it to function. I applaud Itagaki for making the black market morally gray. On the surface it’s dark and gruesome, but in practice it is something the city needs to exist. Without it, there would be more bloodshed. I love that nuance.
You get a good sense that the Shishigumi are monstrous and powerful just from how the mayor and all of the adults refuse to acknowledge Haru’s kidnapping. The seemingly peaceful adult world is corrupted and broken.
I love this arc so damn much! It’s my second favorite arc in the series. Let’s dig into the new cast members first before we return to our favorite trio.
Juno- Arc Two
I adore Juno. She’s such a great foil to both Legoshi and Louis. Just like Bill, she is a carnivore who loves who she is and what she is. She embraces her wolfy-side and flaunts it. Unlike Bill, who is aggressive, vulgar, and somewhat rude, Juno is an upstanding citizen. She is everything society wants carnivores to be: friendly, helpful, sociable, and confident. She’s also beautiful (something she’s very aware of). She represents the power, beauty, and grace of carnivores. When Haru sees Juno dance at the festival, she laments about how she could never compete with the raw beauty of a proud wolf.
Everyone loves Juno. She is approachable and thoughtful of others. She knows that she’s loved. She keeps up that appearance because it will help her achieve her ultimate goal: to become the Beastar. She wants to build a better world for carnivores, a world where they are appreciated for their strength and courteousness. She’s not afraid to use her raw strength either. When she and Louis are practicing for the Meteor Festival dance, Louis says that life comes easy for her because she’s pretty. This irritates Juno and she pushes him down onto the floor, pinning him. She reads him like a book. She says that she knows that he hates carnivores. Louis jokes about her wanting to kiss him, and she says
“I’d never do that because if I kiss you, I might not be able to stop myself from devouring you and then I’d be in real trouble… this is a declaration of war against you. I’m going to be the next Beastar. I’ll make the world a peaceful place where carnivores can shine and I’ll make Legoshi mine.”
I adore this scene! It shows just how ambitious she is and establishes her as a foil to Louis and Legoshi. Unlike Legoshi who wants to be closer to an herbivore, she keeps her distance. By plainly stating that she may not be able to stop herself from killing Louis if she kissed him, she shows that she has zero intentions of ever growing close to an herbivore.
She contrasts Louis in how she conducts herself. Louis is cold and demands respect. He doesn’t let anyone in nor does he ever show weakness. Juno lets everyone in and she openly admits to her faults and works hard to improve them. She is very collaborative and supportive while Louis demands perfection from his fellow club members. Louis is told by everyone that he will be the next Beastar due to his reputation and seemingly flawless demeanor. It is expected for him to be the Beastar. Juno strives to be Beastar. She wants it. Her arrival to the school stirs up the internal politics amongst the student body. She suspects that Louis will make the world worse for carnivores due to his deep-seated hatred for them. The other carnivore students see this too but they couldn’t voice it before due to how likely it was for Louis to become the Beastar. However, now that Juno is here competing with him, the carnivores become more vocal and active. There’s a scene where Legoshi stops a leopard from attacking Louis while he’s at Tem’s death site. The leopard tells him that he and other carnivore students are rallying to put an end to Louis so that Juno could rise. This little bit is so fascinating. Too bad it’s not followed up on :(
Now onto Legoshi. He meets her while she is being bullied. He helps her out by pretending to be her brother. Juno is immediately endeared to him because he’s a fellow gray wolf in the drama club. She develops a crush on him after he helps her with her dance routine. She tries to confess to him, but Legoshi, being the awkward boy that he is, doesn’t compute. He only sees Juno as a fellow club member and nothing more. He’s too unaware to notice that Juno likes him. She (and everyone else) believe that the two of them would make the perfect gray wolf couple. This aspect of Juno bothers me a bit. While it is cute that she likes Legoshi, I’m not a fan of how she views a relationship with him as another way to boost her reputation. She has a high standard of herself and she tries to place that standard onto Legoshi who is just… too weird to match her. Legoshi is more than just a prize to win, Juno. She is floored when she finds out that he’s into Haru. Being the competitive confident wolf that she is, she sees Haru as a rival and vows to “win” over Legoshi. Louis tells her that out of all her goals, winning Legoshi’s heart would be the most difficult one and he’s right. Legoshi is not interested in her at all, no matter how hard she tries. This culminates with her talking him up to the balcony at the festival and trying to light a candle with him only for him to selfishly leave her alone for Haru, ultimately humiliating her and breaking her heart. It was a shitty thing for Legoshi to do but it was also shitty for Juno to tell him that it’s wrong to love a rabbit and to force herself into his love life even though he has shown that he is not interested. Legoshi is her weakness. She succeeds in everything else except for love.
Juno adds a rift to Louis’ life and brings up questions about how relationships should be between carnivores and herbivores while also struggling to form a relationship with the boy she likes. I love Juno. She’s great.
Gohin- Arc Two
What a badass character, man! Gohin is a 36-year-old therapist who operates in the black market. He works with carnivores who have meat withdrawals and/or have killed herbivores. Due to the nature of his job, he trains hard in order to capture and detain the usually violent carnivores. Gohin is a no-nonsense kind of guy. He is gruff, intimidating, and crude, but he is also compassionate, honest, and patient. He deeply cares about his clients. He’s a carnivore who doesn’t crave meat- a luxury only pandas can take advantage of. When he meets Legoshi, he assumes that he is a wolf who has killed someone. Legoshi tells him that he is in love with a rabbit, something Gohin doesn’t believe. He tells Legoshi that carnivores who form strong bonds with herbivores end up killing them later down the line. They tend to confuse their love with their lust for meat so whenever they do anything intimate with an herbivore they snap and kill them. Legoshi cannot handle this idea, but ultimately Gohin is right in his case. When Legoshi is fighting a member of the Shishigumi to rescue Haru, he catches her scent on the lion and starts going feral. In his head, he declares that Haru is his prey. This shocks him and it proves Gohin right. Legoshi was confusing his desires. As dangerous as this is, he still wants to be with her.
Gohin helps Legoshi rescue Haru from the Shishigumi. When they are surrounded, he tells Legoshi to utilize his jaws. Canines have strong jaws and teeth, especially wolves. Legoshi refuses at first but his drive to rescue Haru overtakes him and he starts tearing through the lions. Gohin understands the strengths and values of each carnivore he interacts with due to him having to catch them in the black market.
Gohin is a cool concept for a character and he shows just how nuanced this world is. He’s a doctor who tries his hardest to help his fellow carnivores who have committed crimes because he understands that carnivores are enslaved by their instincts. Those who have killed didn’t do it out of malice. The rest of the world does not get that, but he does and instead of sending them to jails, he rehabilitates them and once they’re helped, he urges them to turn themselves in. Most of them do. Gohin becomes a mentor to Legoshi as the story goes on, helping shape our wolf friend into a righteous hero. Love Gohin.
Legoshi- Arc Two
Legoshi doesn’t evolve too much in this arc. He gets closer to Haru, realizes that he’s attracted to her and wants to be with her, and he learns to embrace his killer drive to do good. When Legoshi and the drama club carnivores go to the black market, he is disgusted and very much against it. He can’t handle the idea that adult carnivores need the black market just so that they could function in society safely. Bill and even Aoba the eagle try to tell him, but he can’t stomach it. He wants to be with Haru, but he can’t do that if he salivates whenever he thinks of her. Gohin says that carnivores usually mix up their love and their bloodlust and in Legoshi’s case it’s kind of both. He’s both in love with Haru and he wants to hunt her down. During his fight with Shishigumi he uses his hunter drive to track her down and fight off the lions. He goes full monster during this fight all in the name of saving the girl he loves. He didn’t know it yet, but this is the beginning of his righteous protector journey.
At the Meteor Festival, Juno states that carnivores’ true nature is to protect herbivores. They have so much power because they use it to help those who are weaker. Legoshi disagrees with this because he saw firsthand just how savage and brutal carnivores’ true power can be. He himself indulged in that savagery. The nature of carnivores is to kill and eat meat, not to protect. Legoshi used his bloodlust to help but it wasn’t his carnivore nature that made him do so. Legoshi own ethics, righteousness, and selfishness are what made him go after Haru, not his instincts.
Legoshi has a strong sense of what is good and what is wrong. He punched Louis into the sun because he, the boy Haru loves, was not going to save her (I mean… Louis was blackmailed, but still). Legoshi knows that Haru loves Louis. He knows but yet he saves her anyway. He does admit to himself that he only went after her because of his feelings for her, but we already got a sense of his moral code in arc one when he fought Bill over the rabbit’s blood. Legoshi always stands up for what he believes in and he will lay down his life just to prove his way right. During his fight with Chief Lion, internally he asks Haru, who is watching him tear out the lion’s jugular, to tame him. Really, Legoshi “tames” himself, his affection for Haru being the catalyst.
After he rescues Haru, the two of them spend the night at a love hotel. There, he finally confesses that he was the monster who caught her on that faithful night. Legoshi has been fretting over this confession the whole arc. It’s his biggest burden. It’s shocking to learn that Haru knew the entire time. It speaks volumes of her character that she still took the time to befriend him even after that encounter. She gives him two choices: to have sex with her or to devour her. Legoshi chooses to have sex with her, but they don’t go all the way because Haru’s own instincts prevent her from doing so. It’s a tragic scene honestly. It’s the culmination of everything, but yet neither one of them is ready to fully commit. They’re both left disappointed, but closer than ever before. I love the moment at the end where Legoshi says
“Haru, I’ll develop more self-control. I don’t want this world to break me or let my instincts control me. I want to make you happy. So I’ll get stronger.”
This is his goal for the rest of the series: to get stronger in body and mind. It’s a beautiful moment.
Haru-Arc Two
This is where Haru’s shining star dies. I hate to spoil that now, but after this arc, she’s a background character and it’s a damn shame.
Haru really shines in this one, though. We learn right out the jump that she and Louis has/had a sexual relationship before Legoshi stepped in. Like, they’re literally fucking at the start of volume 4. We see that she tends to disassociate when having sex, but not with Louis. Haru first met him a year ago, after he shed his antlers. She didn’t know who he was which was a shock to him. Her not knowing his reputation allowed him to show more vulnerability, more of his true self, in front her. This made Haru fall for him. However, she can never be with him because he’s already betrothed. To Louis, this interspecies relationship with Haru is frivolous and will fade with time, but Haru doesn’t feel that way. This complicates things when Legoshi shows up.
Haru’s relationship with Legoshi is initially friendly on her end, though her instincts scream at her to run away whenever she’s around him at first. We learn later in this arc that she figures out that Legoshi was the carnivore who attacked her and she was just pretending to not know. Knowing this upon a second read, it makes her earlier interactions with him even more significant. She’s giving him a chance even though she knows that he tried to kill her. She does say that she wasn’t sure at first, but after awhile she had a feeling that he was the attacker. She kept herself locked off, not knowing what his intentions were, until they had their confrontation at the train station. This scene is one of my favorites. She questions why Legoshi hesitates to talk about the day they first met on the roof. He states that that moment with Haru will be a moment he cherishes. Remember, she was the first herbivore to ever treat him like an individual. He then tells her not to give herself up to guys so easily. She tells him to not lecture her and admits to him that she expects to die at any moment so why shouldn’t she experience life as much as she can now? She then emotionally tells him that carnivores do not have to live in fear like herbivores. Legoshi could never understand what life is like for a rabbit. She tries to leave but Legoshi grabs her arm, stopping her. The two get into a scuffle which alerts the police who think Legoshi is attacking her. In a moment of selflessness, Haru drags him away to a hiding place in order to prevent him from being arrested. The two hide in a bathroom stall. Legoshi positions himself awkwardly on top of the toilet in order to not touch her. He asks if Haru is afraid of him. She focuses on his voice, noticing that carnivores speak with a growl. She wonders why he’s talking in a low voice while looking so sad.
To me, this is the scene where Haru figures out that Legoshi was the attacker. Just like before, Legoshi is hunched over her, growling next to her ears except the situation now is radically different. Legoshi, this carnivore who almost devoured her, is respecting her space even when they’re very close. This wolf values her life more than she does. He appreciates her as a person. Carnivores and herbivores are enslaved to their instincts against their better judgements. After this, she opens up to him- telling him about her attacker and expressing that she is glad to be alive because if she wasn’t, she would have never met Legoshi. From this point on, they’re true friends. However, she is unwilling to accept Legoshi’s love confession most likely due to her lingering feelings for Louis.
Let’s get into the kidnapping. This arc climaxes with the Shishigumi kidnapping Haru. Chief Lion is what is called a “gourmet,” also known as a carnivore who has a specific taste, his being the flesh of pure white animals. This is where shit gets dark so:
Content Warning: Sexual Assault.
After Legoshi asks her to meet him at the Meteor Festival the next day, she is kidnapped by the Shishigumi. She is presented to Chief Lion, the leader of the gang. He puts on this “I’m a reasonable guy” front, stating that he wants to avoid needless violence. So, he tells her to strip so that he could inspect every inch of her body. We get a horrific moment where he tells her that the humiliation she feels will make her taste better. He then spreads her legs with his cane. “I hope you understand I do not wish to violate you,” he says. This is admittedly a very hard scene to read.
Whilst this is happening, Haru recaps her entire life. Here we learn that ever since she was a child, she knew that she was destined to die by the hands of a carnivore at some point. We get a recap on how boys pitied her unless they were having sex with her. To her, her life has no value. She is just another pointless rabbit about to die to a carnivore. She questions why she was even born if this is what her life was leading towards. She thinks about Louis, the boy she can never have and sinks deeper into despair. Then she thinks of Legoshi.
“He’s not outgoing or friendly. He rarely speaks. I can never tell what he’s thinking. But this gray wolf boy has always been honest with me and is always completely himself. If I’m going to die, I like to spend my final moments being a rabbit I’m not ashamed of.”
Haru then confronts Chief Lion and says this:
“The right time to eat me has passed you by! You say I’ll taste better when humiliation makes my blood circulate. Well, I’m completely coolheaded now. You’re going to end up chewing some very tough female meat because I’m not angry or embarrassed anymore… sucks for you… this is going to be the worst dinner you’ve ever had.”
I adore this. Haru decides that if she’s going to die, she’s going to do it standing up with her head held high. The thought of Legoshi, the only animal who appreciated her fully, spurred her on. She will die fighting as a rabbit she can be proud of.
She struggles underneath Chief Lion until Legoshi jumps in and saves her. They leave the compound together. We get a parallel scene where they are sitting together eating. This time, instead of fearing him, Haru smiles at him, cementing the image of him peacefully eating into her mind forever. This wolf just saved her life and she will never forget that.
I already talked about the love hotel and Haru’s confrontation with Juno so lets move onto the end. Haru now realizes that she cannot go on without Legoshi by her side however, after Juno brings Legoshi onto the stage and then brings him along to light a candle together, Haru leaves the festival. She cannot bare to see the two of them together. Just as she’s thinking that she lost to Juno, Legoshi finds her on the stairs. They argue about how they’re too different for each other. She’s developing feelings for him too, but she is more comfortable thinking that the two of them are just inherently incompatible. Legoshi is ready to try and figure out how to be with her, but Haru is not. It’s too much work, too much uncertainty. Though she tries to run away, Legoshi is able to finally admit his love and vows to get better. Haru says she will wait for him.
As I said before, this is where Haru peaks. After this, her story mostly revolves around her trying to navigate a relationship with Legoshi. I love Haru, but she unfortunately gets shafted by the story as we go on.
Louis-Arc Two
Whoo boy! We learn a lot about Louis in this arc. Not only do we find out that he’s sleeping with Haru and may have feelings for her, we also learn that Louis used to be sold as livestock in the black market before his father Ogma adopted him. On his foot, he has a tattoo marking him as livestock #4. Carnivores jonesing for live prey go to this shady facility in the black market and buy literal children to eat. It’s deeply fucked. It is no wonder why Louis hates carnivores as much as he does. He’s seen first hand just how brutal they are. He hates being seen as weak and loathes being helped by carnivores like Bill. When Bill accidentally claws him during a rehearsal, the tiger offers to patch him up in the drama club officer’s lounge. Felines scratch each other accidentally all the time so to him Louis’ wound is superficial. However, Louis is bleeding a lot which Bill openly finds funny. He then just openly calls Louis weak to his face. Lol Bill wtf? He then admits to going to the black market and confesses that he has learned about Louis’ past. To Bill, finding out this information about the seemingly impenetrable Louis humbles him down to Bill’s level. Remember, Bill is a proud tiger who embraces who and what he is. He’s always expressed distaste toward Louis’ condescending and bossy attitude. He is way stronger than Louis so why does he have to bow to him? So, having this knowledge about Louis gives Bill a one-up over him. At least, he thinks so. As Bill leans over to gingerly touch his shoulder, Louis pulls a gun on him, tells him to not touch him and to shut up.
“This is just a gun. Why are you surprised? There are many weapons with wills of their own roaming this world. That’s why I have a gun. Now get on your knees. Your fate is in my hands regardless. If anyone finds out about my past, I’ll shoot you. Do you still dare to claim we’re equals? …Lick the floor, you bastard feline.”
Louis does not fuck around! This is interesting because earlier in arc one, he complemented Bill for being true to himself unlike Legoshi. Legoshi hid his strength and made himself seem weak. Bill is the opposite. Louis appreciated Bill for this, but here- after Bill has admitted to going to the black market and learning about Louis’ past- Louis snaps and threatens to kill him. Louis hates carnivores who pretend to be weak, but he also hates being compared to them. He doesn’t want to be equals with Bill, a carnivore who has tasted meat. To Louis, carnivores are blood-hungry monsters. He can never relate to a carnivore because he knows what it is like to be perceived as food by them.
He goes to Haru’s garden and gets patched up by her. Louis relationship with Haru is a one-sided one. Haru is clearly in love with him, but Louis does not share her feelings. He can’t. He’s betrothed. Even if he was in love with Haru, he couldn’t be with her because his life is already planned out for him. He finds their interspecies relationship to be frivolous and temporary. Louis does care about her though because she is the only animal in the school who treats him like a person. She didn’t even know who he was when they first met which was a shock to him. Due to her having no expections about him, he is able to open himself up more to her. Not too open, but more than he usual. And then there’s Legoshi…
Legoshi finds out that Louis and Haru have a thing going on. His jealousy makes him more confrontational toward Louis. Louis already doesn’t like Legoshi so he finds his behavior weird and annoying. Riled up, Louis tells Legoshi to leave his personal feelings out of the drama club. He then tells the rest of them to focus on the rehearsal. Anyone who fucks up during the festival will be put on backstage polishing duty. Louis just sucks out all of the fun in a room with his presence. He expects nothing but perfection from his fellow members. He doesn’t have friends, he was workers who bend to his whim. When they don’t, he punishes them. This is in stark contrast to how Juno approaches things.
When she arrives, she immediately lightens the mood and makes everyone (except for Louis) happy. Shelia the cheetah-leopard (her species keeps changing. Idk what she is) informs Louis that Juno has been making an effort to be friendly with everyone. “She got a totally different charisma from you.” Louis brushes this off, saying girls have it easy because people will like you more if you’re attractive (this is true btw). We then get one of the many great scenes in the wonderful series: the Juno/Louis conversation.
Louis confronts Juno while she is cleaning up the rehearsal hall. Juno takes this opportunity to practice with Louis. While leading her, Louis slips out a pretty sexist comment about how Juno doesn’t have to try so hard because guys will look at her no matter what. Juno rightfully takes offense to this. Louis tries to apologize, but his comment only confirmed a theory Juno was cooking up: he hates her. He hates all carnivores. She pins him down and we get the speech I already wrote out earlier. Louis cannot get from under her because she’s too damn strong. We get this exchange:
Louis: “You’ve proved you strength already. Actually, I might prefer to be devoured by you than by Legoshi or Bill.”
Juno: “I would never bare my fangs at you. Girls hate to fight.”
Louis: “I’m surprised you’d say that since you’re so ambitious.”
Juno: “Can’t I be ambitious?”
Louis: “I didn’t say you shouldn’t be. But your ambition seems to stem from an extremely inflated sense of self-worth. You believe you can have beauty, status, males- anything you want. Your first wish has already been fulfilled. But I’ll prevent you from getting your second wish. Your third wish is to make Legoshi your mate, but that won’t be easy. It’ll be a lot harder than you think.”
Juno: “What? Why do you say that?…”
Louis: “Then watch him closely. Eventually, you’ll realize I’m telling the truth. I guess it’ll be a good reality check for someone as arrogant as you.”
Louis reads her like a book, completely unfazed by her challenge and her show of strength. He uses her feelings for Legoshi to get a leg-up on her. He knows Legoshi will never look her way. I adore this scene for how it shows their dynamic. As stated before, Juno is a foil to Louis in basically every way. She would’ve made a great rival if he let her challenge get to him, which he does not. Louis could care less. Juno may be stronger than him physically, she may have the student body by her side, she may have more friends than he does, she may be extremely ambitious, and she may actually achieve the Beastar title, but she will never have Legoshi. This notion shatters her resolve. Louis knows that Juno, much like him, is a perfectionist. Her life is not complete unless she has everything that she wants. Louis is not going to get in her way because he knows she will fail. I find Louis’ complement(?) about wanting to be killed by her interesting. To him, Juno is a perfect mix of Legoshi and Bill. She’s a gray wolf who tries her hardest to be friendly and welcoming, similar to how calm and kind Legoshi is. She’s proud and embraces her carnivorous strength wholeheartedly just like Bill. However, she does not feign weakness like Legoshi. She does not indulge in the darker sides of her instincts like Bill. She’s the first carnivore we see Louis respect. If Juno were to break character and just kill him, he wouldn’t stop her. Strange complement Louis, but it’s interesting nonetheless.
Also let me just talk about the strong sexual tension in this scene. Sexuality is a huge theme throughout Beastars. When he’s pinned down, the first thing Louis asks is if she’s going to kiss him. Way to think so much of yourself, Louis. Juno says that if she would, she would not be able to stop herself from killing him. There’s that “bloodlust mingling with sexual desires” theme again. It’s ever-present. We’ll dig even deeper into their sexual tension later on.
Now let’s dig into Louis’ past. Louis was sold as livestock in the black market when he was five years old. He did not know how to speak, write or read. Selling live herbivores is taboo even in the black market. Remember, the black market’s meat come from funeral homes and hospitals. No one is directly killed and then sold (as far as we are told) so this livestock ring is incredibly shocking and horrific. Louis watched friends of his leave and never come back. One day, he sees an herbivore for the first time in his life, a red deer named Ogma. Ogma is the chairman of the prestigious Horns Conglomerate (idk what they do, don’t ask me). He’s sterile but needed an heir so he went to the black market to buy Louis to raise him as his own. Little Louis did not want to go because he did not want to leave his friends behind. Ogma liked the fight he had in him. Ogma… is not the greatest dad. Little Louis fought him all the way out the livestock facility. Ogma, sensing that Louis will not obey him, decided to throw Louis in a den of hungry carnivores armed with a knife. Instead of fighting them, little Louis turned the knife onto himself- preferring to kill himself than be killed by carnivores. Ogma pulled Louis out of the den, telling him that he has a strong sense of pride, even at such a young age. He accepts Louis as his son.
“You’re exactly the diamond in the rough I was looking for… you have pride, little boy. That’s what I expect from my son. You’re going to change the world.” [Ogma bends down and hugs Louis] “Do you understand what I’m telling you? You must channel your rage and grief into strength… Louis.”
Louis has a very rocky realtionship with his father. Much like himself, Ogma does not show a lot of emotion. Whenever they’re together, they behave like they’re in a business meeting. Ogma has planned out Louis’ entire life for him. All Louis has to do is comply and fulfill his duty as the heir to the business. This is why Louis is so sheltered and gruff with others. His father expects nothing but perfection and compliance from his son. Louis passes those expectations onto others. I don’t like Ogma that much.
When Haru is kidnapped by the Shishigumi, the lion mayor pulls Louis aside and tells him what happened and why he’s covering it up. Louis questions why he’s telling him and the mayor says that Louis leads the school.
Mayor: “You need to understand how the adult world works. When you become the Beastar, you’ll have to deal with the Shishigumi yourself."
…
Louis: “A cover-up won’t fix anything! There must be something you can do!”
…
Mayor: “You must be prepared to ensure that the public never, ever finds out about this incident. Do you understand? Because right before entering college, I had all my fangs extracted and replaced with false teeth. I spent four million on orthodontic surgery to create this law-abiding image you see before you. And I did it all so that one day I could become mayor of this town. I’ve worked for years to reform the public image of lions. If that image were to be shattered and the town to fall into a state of panic… who could repair it? …If you watch quietly from the sidelines and manage to carry off the Meteor Festival successfully, I will reward you by covering up your sordid past.”
Louis hesitates but ultimately takes the mayor’s hand, sealing their deal. Louis laments about felines for a bit before running into Legoshi who tries to urge him to rescue Haru. This leads to the confrontation I wrote out earlier. This scene is very dark. The mayor, due to his own self-interest, is willing to let a student be killed by a gang of criminals because he believes by letting them sully the image of lions, the town would turn on him. The adult world is cruel and full of blood. This is Louis first taste of it. He already knows how dangerous the outside world is, but to see a leader so bluntly disregard the safety of one of his citizens all for his own gain disguised as “looking out for the town" shocks Louis to his core. Louis expects to be the Beastar. The Cherryton student body already sees him as the leader of the school. Is this what being a leader is supposed to be like? Are leaders supposed to disregard the lives of others just to keep the peace? Is he supposed to let go of his feelings toward Haru so order can be maintained? Louis ultimately sides with the mayor because he wants to let go of his troubled past. His foot is forever marred with the mark of his past, but the mayor is giving him an easy way out. All he has to do is pretend like everything is fine. He decides to do this because it is expected of him. And then Legoshi happens.
Louis tries to explain that maintaining order is more important than the life of one person. While he’s saying this to Legoshi, internally he tells himself to believe in what he’s saying because he needs to. He lambasts Legoshi for feeling so strongly about this issue, stating that the wolf should be used to using deception to keep the peace. Legoshi always hides behind a weak face and refuses to use his strength out of fear of scaring others. Legoshi, extremely pissed by this point, decides that he will finally use his power to send Louis flying across the clearing. He punches him… hard. Legoshi, surprised by how strong he is, goes to help Louis but Louis kicks him in the stomach. The two start fighting until they are broken apart. Legoshi declares: “You can succeed in this world and climb to the top but I will make Haru mine,” before running off. Louis lets him go.
We don’t see Louis until the end of this arc, right after Legoshi and Haru are fleeing the Shishigumi complex. Just as Chief Lion is about to shoot Legoshi from the top window, Louis appears behind him and, with a gun directly wedge between the lion’s jaws, says this:
“Excuse me, but I’m invovled in this too. I won’t allow you to hurt her anymore. You’re going to beg for your life. Show me what it looks like when a carnivore trembles with fear. Show me! I want to see you cry and blubber. Now! Beg me for forgiveness!”
[Chief Lion starts to beg. Louis shoots him]
“Too bad. I needed to teach you a lesson. There’s no such thing as salvation.”
Louis’s life used to be in the hands of carnivores who only saw him as meat. Here, he is flipping the script. This lion’s life is in his hands and he chooses to not even let the beast speak before he takes his life.
The rest of the gang show up. Louis declares that he is done fighting corrupt adults. He’s lost everything he held dear. His pride, his honor, Haru… He’s ready to die. When the lions ask who he is he answers “I’m number four.”
“I’m product number four. Catergory- live food. I’m small and weak, but I guarantee my meat is delicious. Devour all of me. Leave only my horns behind. But be grateful when you eat me.”
He then starts laughing hysterically. This is Louis’ final moment before we see him in arc three. This action, killing Chief Lion to save Legoshi and Haru, is the first selfless act we see Louis commit. Louis is someone who, before now, put himself and his reputation above all else, even above those he cared about like Haru. When the mayor offered to erase his past, he accepts because it is in his best interest to do so. He is expected to lead and to lead means to sacrafice others in order to keep up your appearance and to keep order. But Louis is troubled by this. He knows this is deeply wrong. He wants to be free of his past, but he could not let someone he cared about die in order to achieve that. This selfless act causes some sort of dissonance in his mind. He lets go of his pride and embraces his past wholeheartedly just to save Haru. He went back to the place where his story started to commit a self-sacrafice. He has been groomed his entire life to be perfect, to not let the past catch up to him, to rise above and lead others, but he let all of that go to do one last good thing. But even when he’s goading the lions to kill him, he tells them to be grateful when they eat him. To leave only his horns, the symbols of his pride, behind. Just like Haru, he will go down standing with his head held high.
This is one of the most memorable moments in Beastars. When the anime came out, I saw so many people talk about this moment as the point that made them appreciate the show. And I don’t blame them. It’s an incredibly powerful and tragic moment. For the first time, we see Louis break. He dehumanizes himself, calling himself “number four,” and throws down his weapon- his facade shattered. Louis is easily the most complex character this series has to offer and I love him for it.
Important Side Characters of Arc Two
Chief Lion is the exact type of monster herbivores think all carnivores are like. Itagaki has already told us that predatory blood hunger and sexual desire can become mixed and muddled. When the two mix, danger strikes. Chief Lion represents that danger to a T. He’s a monster who fully embraces all of his desires, violating his “food” when he doesn’t need to. He thrives off the humiliation and fear. Later we learn from Ibuki, a member of the Shishigumi, that Chief Lion believes that lions are indeed the rulers of all animals. Lions do not bow, they dominate. To submit is to admit that you are not a real lion. He is ironically killed by Louis in this arc, but he leaves an impression behind, showcasing how depraved carnivores like him are.
Running Themes
Beastars is about a lot things. Here are my takes on what those themes are.
Primal Desire and Sexuality: As stated before, Itagaki has shown that carnivores tend to mix their desires with their bloodlust, which often leads catastrophe. Carnivores have to keep their emotions in check as to not harm their herbivore companions. Being attracted to them is dangerous. We see Legoshi go through this. Does he want to be with Haru or does he want to kill her? Turns out it’s both but he chooses to tame his carnivorous drive in order to stay by Haru’s side safely.
Sexuality is a huge theme throughout which is nice to see because I’m so use to anime using sexuality as a way to have fan service instead of using it to explore characters. I loved Bloom into You because exploring one’s sexuality is a big theme in that as well. We’re following teenagers! They’re gonna be horny. At the very least use that horniess to explore character growth.
Discrimination and Stereotyping: Now I want to debunk this notion that Beastars is an allegory for discrimination. It’s not. At all. It has elements of discrimination but it’s not about that subject. Zootopia is, Beastars is not. Beastars is too strange to be a one-to-one allegory to realworld discrimination and racism. It shatters when you think about it for more than five seconds. People aren’t out here IRL eating one another. We ain’t doing that. Now, Beastars does have moments where discrimination and stereotyping between species happen. We see it when Juno is bullied for being a wolf due to recent attacks caused by canines. We see it with Louis in all of his interactions with carnivores. We see it with Haru and how she’s belittled by everyone because of her species. And we see it with Legoshi who is feared by the other students because he is a gray wolf. So there’s elements of discrimination and stereotyping in the story but Beastars is not about those subjects.
Societal Expectations: Throughout these arcs (and the rest of the series) we see our main leads struggle with their purpose in society. We see what society expects them to be and we see them wrestle with the notion. Haru, being a small rabbit, is expected to die soon so she saw very little value in her own life until she met Legoshi. Legoshi is seen as a dangerous large wolf so he hid away and stayed silent. Louis is the son of a respected businessman and a red deer. He has the most pressure put onto him. He is expected to be proud and unbreakable, but deep down he is deeply troubled and angry. He knows he’s physically weak, but he has to put on a show of strength because it is what his father expects. Throughout the series we see our leads break down these ideas and become their own people. To me this is what Beastars is about: Discovering where one belongs in society and breaking the mold if it doesn’t fit. I like this a lot. I will dig deeper into this as we go on.
End of Part One
Man, this is long. Orignally this was going to be one long post going over the entirety of Beastars, but no. It’s too long. As you can tell, I adore this series. I have a lot to say and discuss and we’re just getting started. I hope those who read this understand my love and appreciation for this series. If you read this and you haven’t read/seen Beastars then you did yourself a disservice. Please go read/watch this series. It’s brilliant. It has flaws (oh boy does it have flaws), but the good stuff is so damn good! I can’t wait to discuss arc three as it is my favorite arc in all of anime/manga. I’m serious.
