The Radical Child

BEASTARS, Vol. 17 by Paru Itagaki
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

As with its predecessors, Volume 17 of the Beastars manga opens with a synopsis of events from prior volumes and a visual depiction of the dramatis personae. The red deer Louis is in college and spends more time with his fiancée Azuki, her father being an executive, and seeks reinvolvement with the Shishi-gumi. Louis introduces his gray wolf friend Legoshi to the triad’s leonine members, whose numbers had dwindled since he had last headed the group. They visit the black market to seek the leader of the Kopi Luwak, a musk cat named Deshico who specializes in producing coffee beans.

Meanwhile, Melon has become an adjunct professor at Haru’s college, lecturing about the first herbivore-carnivore war that destroyed the harmony between the two dietary factions. The gazelle/leopard hybrid openly expresses his desire to devour the dwarf rabbit. Throughout his criminal past, Melon’s horns had gotten him off scot-free for his heinous acts so long as he wore his facemask to conceal his leopard portion. Back to Legoshi, he returns to his apartment to find Haru, with whom he wants to be more honest.

Legoshi ultimately decides to take down Melon himself, their battle starting at the Shishi-gumi headquarters before proceeding through the black market and then Central Street, where the police become involved and automatically target the wolf since they still perceive Melon as an herbivore. Itagaki follows with depictions of Legoshi’s biological changes as he aged, along with the metamorphosis of a two-page comic panel from a previous volume. This installment of the Beastars manga was like its predecessors enjoyable, although the lack of gray between carnivores and herbivores is still noticeable.

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