In a lot of school-set media, there’s the usual stereotype of the clumsy girl as a protagonist, or sometimes a small, geeky boy. Netflix’s Beastars, a new anime based on the popular manga by Paru Itagaki, gives us both a male and a physically much larger version of the trope, and also a number of unique aspects that have helped the series rapidly gather a following.
The series follows Legoshi, a shy gray wolf (dub voiced by Jonah Scott) and stagehand at the private Cherryton School’s prestigious drama club, alongside a variety of anthropomorphic animal students. After a surprising encounter with her one night, he befriends a dwarf rabbit student named Haru (Lara Jill Miller), a gardener bunny who is known for dating a bunch of guys and is often picked on by the other rabbits because of it.
This draws him into conflict with the club’s leading actor, a deer named Louis (Griffin Puatu) who’s lobbying for the title of the school’s “Beastar”, a respected animal with elite status who can help bridge social gaps. The new wolf girl in school, Juno (Lauren Landa) wants to reach Beastar status herself though, and she eventually turns the love triangle into an emotionally complicated cube.
All of this occurs in the wake of a savage murder on the campus of an alpaca student, and tensions are on the rise due to a carnivore animal being suspected. This doesn’t make the atmosphere for the already inwardly troubled Legoshi any easier, as much as his longtime dog friend Jack (a very charming Ben Diskin) tries to help. As his relationship with Haru becomes more serious, we begin to see how complicated not just their own chemistry, but the entire Beastars world is.
From that description, it’s hard not to imagine Beastars as “Zootopia inside a classroom”, with far more adult-oriented content. They’re both stories about animal worlds with their own systemic issues, and their four heroes all deal with bullies. (The amount of crossover art between the two is growing rapidly.) But where Zootopia focuses directly on the characters’ microaggressions to show the dangers of profiling, Beastars’ depiction of prejudices puts more attention on the animals dealing with their natural instincts.
The normally sweet Legoshi’s hormones light up whenever he’s near Haru, and through some cool CGI visuals, he’s shown to struggle with his more animal-like nature as his blood vessels flash like a Christmas tree, torn between wanting to mate with the rabbit and also gobble her up like a snack.
And he’s not the only carnivore dealing with these urges- when a tiger student named Bill (Kaiji Tang) suggests trying fresh meat from hospital cadavers sold at a black market for carnivores, the young wolf is mortified he would even suggest that. Louis’ backstory also reflects on the darker nature of this anime and its systemic woes, detailing his history with a brutal gang of lion crooks.
This show is an example of a slow burn that really impressed me. The unique innovations of the world certainly don’t hurt. But it’s so impressive how the writers get episode after episode’s worth of tension based around the introverted 17-year-old Legoshi just figuring out how to talk to a girl. For someone that age whose body is going through changes, it can be the most nerve-wracking thing in the world.
Scott’s performance as Legoshi gets the character’s feelings across effectively- he’s usually kind of low-key, suiting his melancholy nature, but he brings considerable emotion and passion in all the scenes where it’s needed. It’s almost a sort of “anti-charisma”, but it somehow works and makes him more endearing. Miller as Haru captures her innocence well, while also conveying a hidden inner strength, and Puatu as Louis is appropriately serious and snappy but still has a degree of empathy.
I’ve heard some critics claim Beastars gets a bit over-dramatic in how their struggles are depicted, but even without the action-adventure elements I found these characters very easy to relate to. This first season sets up a fascinating universe while also being an exciting arc in itself- thanks to some clever wring, a slick premise and some nice CGI infused animation from Orange Studio. If you’re interested in a smart, complicated love story with cool fantasy elements, I’ll strongly recommend it.
And as always, if you’ve seen it then stop by @Official_FAN on Twitter and share your opinion!