I've largely been into anime since my younger brother introduced me to Fullmetal Alchemist back in the late 2000s, and the era of streaming television towards the end of the following decade really unleashed my horizons regarding my selection of what to watch. Randomly browsing Netflix, I discovered Beastars, based on the manga by Paru Itagaki, which instantly enticed me given its exclusive animal cast. Disney's beloved Zootopia had also recently came out some time before, with the anime adaptation of Itagaki-san's series, incidentally, having similar themes, yet is enjoyable in its own right in spite of some major flaws.

Beastars occurs primarily at Cherryton Academy, where an alpaca student, Tem, is brutally devoured by a carnivore student, sparking a cold war between the carnivorous and herbivorous animals attending the school. The main protagonist among the former is the wolf Legoshi, and from the latter the red deer Louis, both with strong feelings for a doe dwarf rabbit named Haru. The blooming romance between Legoshi and Haru really, really brings to mind the relationship between Nick Wilde the fox and fellow rabbit Judy Hopps from Zootopia, which truly makes me wonder if Itagaki took inspiration from the animated film when composing her manga.

The anime focuses on Legoshi seeking Tem's killer while wrestling with his attraction to herbivores like Haru and dealing with her fellow lover Louis. A lion mafia, the Shishi-gumi, plays part, attempting to dominate the herbivore meat black market, with plenty of violence, naturally, present throughout the series, making it semi an adult version of Zootopia, with some sexual themes abundant also. Legoshi eventually begins to train under the panda psychiatrist Gouhin to ultimately confront Tem's killer at the end of the second season. Another wolf, Juno, has an unrequited attraction to Legoshi.

Beastars is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful animes I've ever watched, with gorgeous animation and excellent music, handsome male and gorgeous female characters, solid English voice performances that fit the various animal characters, and mature themes that really appealed to me. Perhaps the biggest issue is the mangaka's apparent unfamiliarity with the concept of omnivores, which do exist beyond the human world, with Tem's killer, for instance, being of an omnivorous species (I'm not really spoiling anything since the murderer doesn't appear until the same episode they're revealed). There is also the typical laziness of untranslated opening and ending credits, not to mention occasional off dialogue like "Where has that Legoshi gone?"

Regardless, my love for the anime inspired me to read the original manga, which I equally loved, and I will happily be watching the third and final season when it releases.

RECOMMENDED?
YES

He was 68.

He created the Dragon Ball animanga series and was the character and monster designer of the Dragon Quest franchise and Chrono Trigger, among others. This leaves only Yuji Horii, the scenario writer of DQ (composer Koichi Sugiyama died back in 2021), and it seems the twelfth promised mainline entry (The Flames of Fate) is now far greater vaporware than it was before, and since Toriyama to me is somewhat irreplaceable (and Sugiyama too to an extent), I doubt it will become a Franchise Zombie like other game franchises have become (i.e. Final Fantasy). Rest in peace, Toriyama-san.

Beastars, Vol. 1 by Paru Itagaki
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Ever since I watched the original Fullmetal Alchemist, Japanimation, colloquially called anime, has fascinated me, although I wouldn't realize that most Japanese animated series derived from manga, Japan's equivalent of comic books, with the Land of the Rising Sun, in fact, the origin point for what would ultimately become contemporary comics. One particular modern anime that would catch my attention is mangaka Paru Itagaki's Beastars, with my first exposure being the anime adaptation, of which I have a positive impression, and, upon the official English release of all volumes, make it the honor of being my first manga.

The first volume occurs in a world inhabited by anthropomorphic animals, divided based on whether they’re herbivores or carnivores, starting with the brutal devouring by one of the latter beasts of an alpaca student at Cherryton Academy named Tem, with even more hostility consequentially arising between meat-eaters and vegetarians. Legoshi the wolf, active in the school's drama club as a crewmember, hears news of this and gives Els the alpaca a love letter that Tem wrote before his demise, although naturally, she is wary of the lupine and fears he will devour her.

The actors in the drama club are rehearsing for a school performance of a play focused on a grim reaper named Adler, with Tem initially having a role in it. Further active in the acting troupe is the red deer Louis, who admires Legoshi’s ferocity and wants him to be a lookout for Zoe the goat, Tem's replacement in the play. Legoshi soon has a run-in with a rabbit named Haru, with whom he seems to share a special connection, with the lapine fearing the wolf will devour her. Haru herself faces ostracization from other herbivores such as a harlequin rabbit.

That night, Legoshi fitfully sleeps, and has conflicted feelings about Haru, with his instincts insisting he devours her, although in the animanga's world, eating meat is a crime, with school cafeterias attempting to compensate for the nutritional shortcomings carnivores consequentially face; baring fangs is also taboo for meat-eaters. Animals exemplifying the best characteristics of society receive the eponymous title of Beastar, with Louis wanting the play to send a message to the polarized society. The first manga volume ends with Legoshi meeting Haru in the school garden, and it was for me a solid experience, with some quirky extra content after the main comic.

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