BEASTARS is such a fascinating series on paper, with themes and setups that are beginning to seem more commonplace. Using anthropomorphic, furry characters as an allegory for real-world issues can have mixed results, especially when the separation between species or classes of animals can muddy the metaphor. BEASTARS takes those real parallels seriously but doesn't boil it down to “these issues are the same if everyone were human”, leaning hard into the animalistic nature of the characters and creating a world that is distinctly its own. This actually benefits the series in the long run because it makes the allegories much more general, rather than specific to any particular issue. There are a lot of parallels to racism, classism, sexism, and a variety of different phobias that can be projected on multiple characters, but all of them feel valid. Most people probably can't relate to dating someone who has the urge to eat them, but people can relate to being in relationships with toxic or dangerous traits that can harm them. What helps the story is that many of this world's horrors are shown through the lens of a comparatively innocent character.

Legoshi is the embodiment of a “good boy." He will definitely stand up for himself and get violent if the situation calls for it, but he is very much a meek observer with a lot of introspection. His relationship with Haru is distinct in how he tries to contextualize very aggressive, complicated feelings in a relatively pure way across multiple arcs. However, even when he gets past those dangerous instincts, there's still society at large. Throughout the series, that is one consistently recurring thematic throughline: Legoshi's pure and straightforward worldview stands out against the twisted and, at times, nihilistic mentalities of the rest of the extended cast. Everybody seems to have adapted to the way this twisted animal society is run, and Legoshi is constantly asking questions because he doesn't want to conform immediately. That's when the series is at its strongest, when I see how Legoshi physically and emotionally bounces off the different characters that he comes across.

The first few volumes kept the scale relatively small at school, with the three main characters being Legoshi, Haru, and Louis. As soon as the incident with the lions is resolved in volume five, the scope expands, introducing new classmates and eventually new adults who each have their own ways of surviving and expressing themselves. Louis tries to survive in the world by taking on various forms of power, whether through a rather gifted upbringing or by assuming a leadership role in the society's underground. Of the extended case, Louis's journey is the most dynamic, seeing him fall into different positions of power, yet never quite being happy with anything, was extremely sad. Even when he was forced to take more extreme actions than Legoshi, I understood why.

Some characters, like Haru, are incredibly self-aware of their position as prey and have just accepted that their lives are meant to play out a certain way, so they make the most of it. Some characters want to have unique relationships with different types of animals, either romantic or otherwise. Some show those dynamics professionally, while others show them in incredibly dark and twisted ways. Even when Legoshi is confronted with other characters who think that they are purely looking at things, there's always a dark or sad undertone to it.

That isn't to say that Legoshi is completely clean in his actions because sometimes he is forced to engage with this society on its own terms. But seeing Legoshi's introspection about how things make him feel, and the justifications he goes through to feel better about them, is very interesting. I found myself wanting to root for this guy, even though, realistically, there was only so much he could do. A lot of these themes are slowly being built up as the investigation into the school murder starts getting genuine headway, but I would argue that these societal themes really reach their peak once Legoshi leaves school life.

At first, Legoshi interacts with students who are more or less on the same level as him, but then he starts to encounter other adults who have spent years going through what he is going through right now. There's this underlying sense that there are a lot of characters who maybe had the same amount of innocence and hopefulness that Legoshi currently does, but they were eventually broken down. There is plenty of levity and bits of comedy in both the dialogue and the occasional moment of slapstick. Still, the general tone throughout most of the series is pretty sad. Even when the series starts to build up a definitive final villain for the end, they almost act like a dark reflection of Legoshi and what he could eventually turn into if he didn't have something hopeful to pursue.

I like that Paru Itagaki doesn't shy away from the dead end that some characters' lives can't avoid, or try to make the series optimistic about the future, either. This is not necessarily a series that will immediately make it clear everything will be all right, as it doesn't offer many definitive solutions to its problems, even by the very end. I personally go back-and-forth on whether this was intentional or whether Itagaki brought up so many issues, both big and small, that she couldn't realistically wrap everything up in a bow. There are a couple of loose ends by the end of the series, and the overall direction is hopeful, even if many of the darker elements that make up society can't go away. There's still this idea that everyone has to accept that shitty things need to happen for as many people as possible to be happy. Itagaki is genuinely a good writer who could effectively contrast the exaggerated work with grounded human emotions. If anything, I respect that she was able to make a series like this that made me feel good, even if things weren't perfect.

While I was happy with how things eventually ended, there were still a few loose ends. Maybe that was also supposed to tie into the theme of how not everything will eventually fix itself. Still, it's very clear that some things Itagaki was setting up were more important than others, and when those things don't get resolved, I find myself wanting more. This also comes down to how plot points are introduced. Itagaki will sometimes introduce a random plot point out of nowhere that suddenly becomes integral for the story's main narrative momentum. Maybe it'll be a new character that is suddenly getting a lot of spotlight because of how they tie into everything else. Sometimes it will be a revelation that needs a resolution, or sometimes it'll be an almost crucial element of Legoshi's backstory that was never really hinted at before. I've read enough of Itagaki's work to understand that this is just how she writes, and I don't necessarily think it's a bad thing because she often justifies the inclusion of sudden character or plot points. It is still thematically consistent, and there was never a point where the series shifted so hard that I got whiplash. But the problem is that as the series went on and more plot points or characters got introduced, it's clear that some defining elements of the series were lost in the shuffle.

I think Haru is probably the biggest victim of this, as her appearances get noticeably less frequent as the series goes on, to the point where there were large portions of time where I just forgot that she existed. That is a problem when literally her relationship with Legoshi is one of his main driving forces. I understand her position as someone much more cynical, but that's all the more reason I wanted to see more of their character interactions. It would've been nice to get a clearer idea of exactly what he was fighting for. Like I said, I know Itagaki likes to play with very general yet poignant ideas, but this felt like an interpersonal relationship that needed more development. You could argue that Legoshi spends more time with Louis than with Haru, and while I'm sure some people would've preferred that, that wasn't the direction the story was going.

If there is a positive to the introduction of more characters and plot points, it's that Itagaki definitely gets to show off their artistic prowess more. I always found their designs very interesting because it clearly leans into the exaggerated and cartoony. There are even moments where some characters look like Looney Tunes characters. I'm not sure if those are meant to be direct inspirations, but I do like how expressive everybody is. Even Legoshi, who has a pretty default blank expression, manages to pull off some amazing looks, and everybody's body proportions can turn in exaggerated ways. The almost pencil-like sketchy look of everybody does allow the series to stand out as well. If you're somebody who only knows of BEASTARS through its anime adaptation, then bear in mind that things are going to look very different, but I actually kinda like this style a little bit more because it still plays with Itagaki's ideas of contrast. The fact that cartoon characters are dealing with real-world and adult issues, I think, works in their favor. I like seeing how Itagaki draws different animals and what traits of those animals end up showing the most prominence. There are even some stylistic layouts that occasionally pop up, particularly when Legoshi is going through a big emotional crisis or philosophical introspection.

The series does have a lot of action, but this is where the weaknesses in Itagaki's art style show a bit. A lot of the action isn't particularly well-choreographed or well-framed. It can look downright messy at times due to the sketchy drawing style. There are literally and figuratively a lot of moving parts happening, but this isn't a series you really read for its action anyway. You read it to be drawn into this world, wondering whether the characters will get the happy ending they desire.

This is a series that more people should read. It might not feel definitively complete with a lot of branching parts that don't always get clear resolutions. Still, the way it uses its premise and setting to communicate its ideas is genuinely top-notch. This series strikes the perfect balance between innocence and cynicism, hopefulness and realism. It has an incredibly likable character with a very interesting expanded cast who are all just doing their best to live in this incredibly messed-up world, which is something most people should understand, even if we're not bears or wolves contemplating whether we want to literally eat our partners. BEASTARS can get a bit messy both narratively and artistically, but even that messiness still leans into its overall charm.