Beastars

All very well, but this manga, even though it was all very good in the final arc, the story (when Legoshi left school and continued with his life) falls a bit into the clichés of each anime, such as the plot, villain, search, fights, etc. In that, the story loses a bit of the essence of the story, going to other branches and promoting things that are not occupied in the continuation of the story, the training of legoshi and what he learned does not serve and does not occupy it in the course of the fight and they don't even mention it. not so interesting and solving problems with the "great power of friendship", but everything else is excellent.

A very beautiful manga that talks about serious events with realistic characters. When I first read this, I was in sophmore year in highschool where I was very depressed. I read this manga online during online class, and I was stuck to it from the very first chapter. The main character (and all the other characters) have flaws, yet somehow, the author makes you love them even more with their flaws. I cried hard with this manga and it made me think deeply and the end of a few arcs.

This manga will not only change you as a person and make you think about life and those who surrounds you, but it makes you want to be better to society. It makes you want to treat others with will, and to genuinely appreciate those who surrounds you.

If you want something with light hearted comedy, deep developed characters, an amazing plotline and AMAZING developed story with genuine good action and a heartfelt dialogue, I would suggest this.

The ending did feel like a twist and was bittersweet, so I'd prepare for that as well. Thank you, beasters.

Beastars is incredibly good until Chapter 158. The addition of a certain large breasted character marked the end of everything good when it came out. From that point on decision after decision of awful quality was made. The last 30/40 chapters everything was incredibly rushed, decisions didn't matter, and things didn't go anywhere. If I were to rate the first 100 Chapters of Beastars it would be easily an 8.5/10. Chapters 100-158 while not nearly as good are still about a 6.5 average to a 7.5 depending on the particular section. But I cannot stress enough. THE ENDING IS SO BAD IT BRINGS THE ENTIRE THING DOWN TO A LEVEL I THOUGHT NOT POSSIBLE. It was so incredibly rushed and characters got endings so bad that it genuinely put such a sour taste in my mouth to where I found this manga unpalatable overall. With the ending involved it in my opinion goes down to a 2/10.

Beastars é um mangá interessante para ler. Estou muito animado para assistir o anime também!O enredo é ótimo, o estilo de arte é único e os personagens têm suas próprias personalidades interessantes.A luta romântica entre os dois protagonistas principais é bem pensada e bem escrita.No final, eu amei a história e espero que você possa lê-la e assistir o anime também!
English translation: Beastars is a interesting manga to read. I am very excited to watch the anime too! The storyline is great, the art style is unique and the characters have their own interesting personalities. The romantic struggle between the two main protagonists is well thought out and well written. In the end, I loved the story and I hope you can read it and watch the anime too!

I swear I start taking notice of this manga due to the anime's debut, as well as Louis-Legosi interactions XD. And I have to say I'm not regretting diving into the story.

Normally, it usually took me a while to get into a story with the common school and slice of life main theme, but this series took me in quite fast. I guess, the charm would be in the animal theme. I mean, if you had to compare to Zootopia, Beastars were stories centred on animals who displayed human-like lifestyle while still retaining the qualities of what makes them animals while Zootopia was the opposite. Yet, that's what Beastars felt so endearing. And I love how the characters' personalities seemed so genuine. That besides the fact that I just love the focus on Legosi as well as the relationship he has with Louis, Haru and the other animals around him.

That said, I really love the sense of humour in Beastars, as well as the unexpected twists and turns that happened throughout the manga so far. I also like how the many relationships (major or minor) in the were written very naturally. Like it wasn't put on for the sake of laughs or fanservice, but well thought to give the characters some personality and make them genuine. I just love how the relationship issues were dealt in the manga.

Initially, I started reading for the irony of it. "Zootopia the Manga? Psh, sounds dumb I think I'll read it." But after a year of reading and keeping up with it, my ironic enjoyment quickly became genuine. There's something very enthralling about the worldbuilding in Beastars, and how this fictional society could have so many details. It transcends Zootopia a hundred times and it's certainly more than just manga for furries. The problems the protagonists face are so specific to the Beastars world and yet it feels real, because many of those problems come from who they were born as. Because of something completely out of their control.

After a year of reading and keeping up, right up to its finale, I don't regret a thing. It exceeded my expectations and to anyone with the preconceived notion that this is a furry manga or a zootopia copy, read it ironically. Let it surprise you.

I actually really like this manga. It brings me no enjoyment to give it this low of a score. There are panels that look great, characters that I love, and a world with a lot of potential. Unfortunately around chapter 100-150, the quality of this manga's writing has nose dived to an absolutely abysmal degree. After reading the latest chapters I will never read this again and it kinda sucks because there was a time that I was really invested in this story, but I just can't be after this last arch. When characters are committing suicide just because they love someone so much and not for any actual reason, your story is out of touch and illogical. So many plot lines just lead to absolutely nothing, so many confrontations aren't actually important. Nothing seems to have any weight or result in any consequences. The story never really did have any big consequences, but it felt like the protagonist was constantly developing and growing enough to keep you engaged. Now it feels like nothing is really happening. Like events can't really have any consequences as if they did the author might not be able to pump out another hundred chapters. Beastars was a story with a very strong foundation and clear development for its characters, but I don't think it ever had a planned ending and its suffering for it now. This is no longer a good story with compelling characters. This is a trash story with a handful of good characters and I'm sad about it. Read the first hundred or so chapters and then accept that nothing ever resolves and stop reading.

beastars i feel had such great potential, but is spoiled by the lackluster ending.

spoilers from this point forward. skip to summary

i started reading this after watching season 1 of the anime, because i could not wait for more of this world.

-characters

beastars has strong compelling characters that i want to see more of.
louis has one of the most interesting backstories and motivations in this manga by far. he reminds me of jean from aot, asshole-to-team-player arc, that was incredibly well done. you really notice when he starts to care for legoshi haru and juno, and the father figures of his life. why would he end up with the other deer? that does not make any sense to his character, he is literally helping his best friend end tension between herbivores and carnivores, and goes all this way to help save haru back at the beginning but then does not end up with juno?

-world building

the concept of a beastar, and the introduction of yahya (yafya?) was well done. connecting him to legoshi and his family was great, and i loved the trauma and issues that the mixed children go through. it was raw, realistic, and i felt sadness for his mother and grandmother and their struggles.

but all this fighting and bloodshed and loss for LEGOSHI AND LOUIS TO NOT END UP AS BEASTARS TOGETHER? WHEN WE HAVE GOSHA AND YAFYA AS PARALELLS? stupid.

-summary

beastars was a great experience with highly compelling characters and setting, yet is ruined by a rushed ending that tries too hard to be shounen when it's clearly not. read beastars for complex characters and relationships, not for fight scenes. damn shame it ends this way, but enjoyable ride nonetheless. just imagine the ending arc as non-canon i think it's better this way.

To sum up the review of Beastars: Beastars is a very enjoyable, mature version of Zootopia that has a teenage high schooler wolf as the main character, instead of an adult police officer rabbit. 4/5: very enjoyable, but not without some faults, especially in the story.

Knowing Beastars is a more mature Zootopia was all I knew going into this series, and I think it is all you really need to know to enjoy the series.



But to dive a little deeper, I think there is a lot more in this series that makes it stand out on its own. The first is the world of Beastars. Animals are divided into carnivores and herbivores (there are also sea creatures, but those don't show up that often), and this relationship is very complex, which is a theme that is thoroughly explored throughout the manga. There really isn't a concrete good or evil in this world, and everyone has a little bit of both in them, which I like.

Unlike Zootopia, which is a thinly veiled metaphor for racism, I don't think Beastars has any ambitious social commentary, and overanalyzing it can be futile. Instead, the series takes you into this world and gets you to experience the lives and conflicts of the animals inside it. In Beastars, the conflicts between herbivores and carnivores are much more complicated that in Zootopia. Carnivores are inherently much, much stronger than herbivores, and it is very easy for carnivores to accidentally maim herbivores. It's pretty dark, and the series isn't afraid to show you surprisingly graphic images. But this all adds onto what I think is the strongest part of Beastars, which is the worldbuilding.

There are a substantial amount of chapters that are written just to explain what the life of a specific species is like (the one with the Legom hen is a favorite of mine), and those are some of the most enjoyable chapters of the entire manga. They really add to the world, and you see how each animal uses their own characteristics to help the overall society. Chickens sell eggs to the food market, canines sell their fur during shedding season, and some impoverished animals sell their body as food, just to name a few examples.

However, like most series that I rate a 4/5 (or a 9/10 on MAL), this series is great but not completely perfect. My biggest criticism for this series is in the story, which unfortunately isn't the best. It bites off more substantially more than it can chew, and there are numerous examples of when the author tries out an idea only to drop it a few chapters later (JoJo stands basically appear towards the end of the series for no reason, Legosi randomly undergoes Shounen training arcs, and the author also tries to set up some dumb love triangles that are quickly dropped, thank God). There are also many potential plot points that just aren't resolved, like who will be the next Beastar, or what is the Beastar exactly. The story also mentions a brief history of the world including a long World War, which was very interesting but also only mentioned twice.

But, in my eyes, this isn't too big of a deal, because the narrative is much more character driven than event driven. There honestly aren't really any characters that I dislike in any way (except maybe the final villain character Melon), but there are a ton I love. Some standouts include Legosi, Haru, Louis, Gohin, Gosha (Legosi's grandfather), and Jack, who are all great. It's very interesting to observe how all the different creatures of the world live their lives, and the relationships between animals because of their species.

Something else that I haven't seen the other people mention very much is the humor of the series. The manga is actually surprisingly very funny, the Paru Itagaki does a great job of drawing those anime reaction faces (especially on Haru).

Story: 7

Reasons stated in the main review above. It can get a bit messy sometimes, and many concepts are introduced but never explored.

Art: 9

Pretty good art. It definitely looks and feels unique, and although it can feel a bit rough sometimes, overall I think the art is very well done.

Character: 10

The main driving force behind the series. The characters and their relationships are why you should read this.

Enjoyment: 9

Really, really enjoyable.

Overall: 9 (4/5)

I overall would recommend Beastars. The characters are really cool and enjoyable. Despite some flaws, I found the world-building pretty fleshed out and interesting. As for bad things: the ending is kind of unsatisfying, and some things are introduced but later never brought up again.

There are two "parts" to the manga: first, a lighter section taking place largely in the school; then, Legosi saves the city. Despite the huge shift in the gravity of the situation, Legosi is still the same character: he's shy and weird (think: white knight), which doesn't change even as he becomes (mentally and physically) stronger (well, maybe a little, but it's reasonable). The same goes for other characters, such as Louis (he's sort of arrogant at first, but then becomes more humble); every character becomes "better", but they are still very much the same character. The way the characters grow feels very natural and very satisfying: the whole time I was cheering on Legosi (and his friends).

The many different species and in particular the carnivore/herbivore divide really aid in the character development. Legosi's "thing" is that he is a large carnivorous wolf but is very much a pacifist and feels very guilty when he feels his carnivorous/feral instincts bubbling up. There also a lot of small details about the species that make each character unique, although they often feel like a "deus ex machina" to advance the plot in a certain way; there will be a sudden plot twist, and it'll be post-hoc explained through a flashback/world-building sequence.

That is basically my main dislike. It applies not only to the characters but to the world-building in general. For example: Legosi and his friend Jack are talking about history, and Jack brings up that the "carni-herbi war" was just ended by a big whale; and then it cuts to the Beastar talking to a whale. Nowhere are we hinted before that there would be a whale, or that it would have so much significance to the plot (well, it still didn't have that much significance, but it was very significant to the world-building; its inclusion made the world feel less believable and consistent).

Other examples (spoiler: rot13; just read the paragraph below if you want to avoid spoilers): Yrtbfv vf tbvat gb or chfurq vagb gur jngre gb qebja, lrg ur vf irel pnyz nobhg vg. Vg gura synfuonpxf gb uvz gnyxvat gb uvf frny sevraq, jub grnpurf uvz n pbhcyr "Frnfcrnx" cuenfrf, juvpu Yrtbfv fnlf gb trg uvzfrys fnirq ol n frn navzny. Nabgure rknzcyr: Bar bs gur ureoviber znva punenpgref orpbzrf gur yrnqre bs n pneaviber tnat, naq juvyr gur tnat erfcrpgf gur ureoviber, gurl fgvyy unir pneavibebhf vafgvapgf. Bar bs gur tnat zrzoref jub'f rfcrpvnyyl pybfr gb gur ureoviber tbrf ba n qevir jvgu uvz, ohg trgf fubg ol nabgure zrzore jura ur tvirf va gb uvf vafgvapgf. Gura vg fhqqrayl tbrf gb n synfuonpx bs gung svefg zrzore gryyvat gur bgure zrzore gb fubbg uvz vs ur qbrf fbzrguvat yvxr gung.

In each of these examples, the flashback goes to a time-frame that is within the plot, so it feels very unjustified; that scene could've simply been added earlier, which would've also been nice foreshadowing. Sometimes it flashbacks to a scene only a few chapters prior. It very much feels like they are "telling" instead of "showing". It's pretty annoying, since for the most part the world-building is very nice, with how the society functions with all the different sizes of animals and of course the carnivore/herbivore tension.

If I had to summarize very concisely what the main appeal was to me, I'd say: taboo love and self-destructive violence/self-hatred. The entire plot is motivated by Legosi's (a big carnivore wolf) attraction to Haru (a small herbivore rabbit). In their society, interspecies love is taboo, especially carnivore/herbivore relationships. (It's the same reason why incest porn is so popular.) For the second: Legosi hates himself for being a big wolf and having these carnivorous desires, and in his big fights he's gets pummeled a lot; he always wins by some slim margin, but not through any spectacular gimmick but rather just like his own willpower and principles. I don't know if the following is really relatable (I have seen one Instagram post (of a Tumblr post) that suggests it is), but: as a child I would have make up a lot of really tragic romantic fantasies where the protagonist would constantly suffer for his love. I mean that was also the reason that I watched Sword Art Online (Kirito and Asuna's relationship), even though in retrospect and as-I-was-watching-it-spect it was pretty cringy.

I guess I should mention the art. I don't really focus on the art as much as I should've; especially since I binge-read it over the span of 8 hours, I sort of passively absorbed the art as I was reading the text. But I guess the art is pretty nice. It is sort of "haphazard" in the first view volumes, but it quickly improves. I guess I like the furries; I like the character designs. Maybe I'm just socially inept, but sometimes I have trouble differentiating the characters in manga with regular people and have to just rely on the hair, so having literally different species helps. Although, it's sometimes hard to tell which gender a character is because they're all animals.

I won't put an analysis on how it speaks our society or anything like some other posts, but just on a surface level without thinking too hard (which was a lot of my enjoyment), the story and characters are so good until around halfway through the final arc for me. Just at that point a lot of stories were started and just dropped for one reason or another. I really wanted to love this manga all the way through, but towards the end it just lost steam and the ending felt really anti climactic.The scores I'm giving it may not be very accurate to the quality, but this is just my enjoyment from chapters 1 through around 150 I'd say. Overall though I really would recommend.

Beastars was a show i fell in love with. I heard the anime was gonna soon and it sounded really good so i decided to read the manga. Here's my review:

Story overall: 5/10
Murder mystery ark: 9/10 in first half 2/10 in other half

shishigumi ark: 9/10:
it manages to not become too much of a shonen + alot of character development. We live in a society.

melon ark: 6/10 honestly quite good in the start but becomes too much shonen. Melon is a great, interesting character.

The story starts of really good. A murder mystery and how the murder affects the carnivores and herbivores at the school and later on the realtionship between Legoshi and Haru. The main problem with the story is how it forgets about the murder mystery and instead starts a new ark. it just jumps to new things without ending the things it has started. When the murder mystery finally continoud it fellt kind of disappointing. it became a seinen/shonenand starts to introduce mild superpowers (this gets even worse in the Melon ark later on). Like many i loved the show because of the characters and their development but its becoming more and more like a shonen.

Then the melon ark comes. Legoshi gains superpowers because of his mixed blood and manages to beat everyone with his words. The latest chapters have honestly been insulting to the whole story in my opinion which is hard to explain why if you havent read it.

Art: 3/10

The art feels very rushed but i honestly dont have too much of a problem with it but i know some people might have. For example my brother didnt wanna read its because of the rushed art style.

Characters: 9/10

Honestly the best part of the show. like many have said the characters feel real and you can easily relate and understand them. not much to say. Great characters but too much focus on legoshi imo.

Overall: Its definentaly worth a read just for the character and the shishigumi + murder mystery was a very good part which i enjoyed alot besides the end. Even though the show goes downhill in later chapters the first 2 arks are really good and worth a read.

Homo homini lupus est.

tl;dr
Read it!

In a nutshell
Beastars takes place in the cutting-edge, progressive Cherryton Academy, in which predatory and herbivorous animals live and study. A wolf, a tiger, a chicken, a hamster, a hare - it does not matter. The main thing is that you are to follow the rules: harming others is a big no-no. Any violation is severely punished. For a long time in the academy, everything goes on as usual, until one day a particular incident changes everything - an unknown person attacks a member of the drama club and eats them. Everyone is shocked by that, and, as it often happens in such cases, various rumors spread throughout the academy. "Who, if not the predators would do something like that!” No one knows exactly who committed the murder. But the first came under suspicion a wolf named Legoshi. He is so big and has an evil look! A pity, since only a few people know that in fact Legoshi is a kind and modest guy who was not lucky to be born in the skin of a wolf.

Characters
Beastars is an extremely rare find. After all, it is a high school manga in which characters are the main asset. It has been a while since I last read such a manga, where characters are not simply a bunch of clichés walking around. Thanks to Beastars, there is one more high school manga that can be called a must read. Starting the review, this manga revolves around the three pillars: the wolf Legoshi, the rabbit Haru and the deer Louis. Three absolutely different characters, who are the main focus of the manga.

So, let us analyze the three protagonists, starting with Legoshi. Big and scary gray wolf. He has never tasted meat, he has a kind and compliant character and is generally harmless. “I am just an innocent child, who has not yet cognized the world” - this is the characteristic he gives to himself. But he is so unlucky to be born in the skin of one of the most severe predators. Basically, Beastars is the story of Legoshi's search for himself. Everyone expects and sees him as a predator, yet, he chooses a rabbit as a partner. The example of Legoshi is an excellent example of the struggle against society and instincts, waged simultaneously on the two fronts - external and internal. Legoshi, is not a weak protagonist. Yes, he is soft, but not weak. On the contrary, the desire to fight with oneself and with the desires of the society demonstrates Legoshi’s considerable strength. I am sure that many of you can perfectly understand Legoshi and find him, as well as his development, very enjoyable.

The second protagonist in Beastars is Haru. Her character does not match her appearance. A tiny, white rabbit who, in her free time, takes care of flowers in a gardening club, and then indulges in sexual pleasures with everyone. Of course, because of this behavior, she quickly turns into an outcast: men use her services, but avoid further communication, and women openly hate and despise her, calling Haru a whore. Here is the paradox - the rabbit, who tried to cope with the feeling of her own insignificance and fill the hole in her soul by physical closeness with everyone, turns out to be even lonelier than she looks. Personally, from my point of view, it is Haru who is the most interesting and controversial character in the manga. Of course, it is only her fault and everything that has happened to her could have been avoided. Still, you feel somewhat sorry for her.

Finally, the third protagonist of Beastars is the deer Louis. Perfect in everything, he can be called Mr. Success himself. It would seem that he is an ordinary type of everyone's favorite, who without much effort becomes the best. However, it is not as simple as it seems at first glance. In fact, Louis has a rather tragic backstory that unfolds throughout the manga's story. No spoilers, of course.

A bit of thinking
Let me tell you one thing: Beastars is not a story about furries. It is not designed to satisfy anyone's perverted needs, and you will not become "crazy" from reading it. Beastars is a story about the conflicts of interest of the two societies, divided by a social chasm, which need to get along with each other to maintain peace and balance. The story about self-identification and finding a place in the society filled with prejudices, the story filled with struggles. This is an adult and very serious piece, which is rather controversial. This manga perfectly demonstrates the modern human society. And believe me, it does not matter at all - animals or people- whatever. On the contrary, endowing the characters with animal traits only allowed many ideas to be revealed more vividly.

All in all
Overall, Beastars is a modern take on Romeo and Juliet, in which the chasm between lovers is not bad family relationships, but the species differences. There are many things to think about and analyze; far too many. Reading this manga little by little is awesome. Unfortunately, it loses its pace near the end of the manga and is no longer that enjoyable as in the beginning. However, this should not be the case for you to ignore this manga. It is still an expreciene that you should relive.

This is my first review here, but i will do something strange and split it into two halves, the second is mostly focused on the last arc since it deserve it's own analysis for how bad i feel it got. Also apologies for my english if it get bad, it's not my native languag, also art worn't be covered since i read good manga with bad art and so i don't think it's needed, however i will comment now that Beastars art is amazing and i love it. Also only Characters and Themes will be reviwed here.

Characters (9/10):

-Legoshi: Our protagonist, a shy wolf who is finally starting to understand himself and the world he lives in, took him 17 years but better late than never. The conflict of his character comes from 1-His fetish towards rabbits and 2-His want to force his morality on others. for his fetish, i suppose he is like our world version of lolicon (Haru, the girl Legoshi likes, was stated by the mangaka to be like a lolita), and for his morality he follows a very strict code of aid Herbivores, this does create an issue with how far he pushes himself for protecting them, another issue is that he kinda comes off as not caring towards Carnivores, though he does have Carnivores friends and is pretty devoted to them, it's just that his fetish gets the better of him every here and now.

An interesting point for him is that at one time he meets an Carnivore who ate a Herbivore and to understand them better he eat an incect, since they are fine to eat in their world but it still count as taking a life, which he wasn't so happy doing but this shows his will to understand others, whcih is a running theme in his character.

Another idea is him not being so happy about being a Carnivoure, it's the old tale of "accept/be yourself" but i like here for the stakes it gives, since he is in love with a rabbit who he also fear he might eat and because of how society can treat Carnivores, though it's mostly cause of Haru.

There is more but those are the points i have for the moment, i like him but his fetish can be a little of a hassale for his writing. At one point i seriously was questioning if he loved Haru for her own person or because of his fetish, which never got really answered, as well as if his morality comes from this fetish or a sense of justice, if it did then it's my bad for not noticing and please correct me.

-Louis: A deer with a very tragic beckstory that sheds more light to the darkeness of the Beastars world. He is also the fans favorite and one of the most developed characters in the story, he can comes a bit off as too hostile at the start of the story but he does have his reasons, he is a perfectionist who wants to be the best, and since the story is named Beastars he should have been a protagonist simply because to be the Beastar is his goal in the story, the best of the best and the top of society from how i got it.

Another thing that make him likeable is his desire to prove his strength not by force but by character, while it isn't always shown in a good light through the story, bringing a gun to school and threatening someone with it, still it's a likeable trait that many can enjoy.

Generally i don't want to spoil much of his story and character since despite not being my favorite he is a great character, a prideful perfectionist who have to deal with his weaknesses and is genuine in his will to help others.

Haru (a lot of spoilers here): My least favorite among the Beastar main three, most people who hate her seems to feel that way either cause they ship Legoshi with Louis (because we have almost no moment where this two aren't standing together in an erotic manner) and she stands in the way of the ship or because she used to have sex with a lot of boys in school and i guess that made her unlikeable, neither of those are my reasons to dislike her.

Starting with the positives of her character, it makes sense in this world why she is this much into sex, while it doesn't matter much in the world Haru looks and height are a problem, she is a cute rabbit and everybody seems to treat her as such until she lost her virginity with another male rabbit and that was the first time she felt like she was an equal and not someone to look down upon, this is why she loves Legoshi, he values her and doesn't look down on her (literally and metaphorically).

Negatives now, well my reason to dislike her is her relationship with Legoshi which is sadly all what she got for most of the story, he is already bad in this for seeming to love her out of fetish than real interest in her person but he have more conflicts going on to deal with which shows more of his character however for her part she comes off as someone who just doesn't want to be there in the relationship, their first kiss was pretty meh really and she didn't even feel like she enjoyed it, i mean i know first kisses aren't all romantic and flashy where the world slow down but you can at least smile telling him it's bad but can still improve with time, and we get the old plot her seeing him walk with another girl and mistak it for cheating, they deal with that quickly (thank god) but by the end of the series i really can't get her at all, she can't accept his love because she wants him to continue chasing her? this just feels abusive. also the villain seems to like her but that goes nowhere and to me it feels like it's there just to make her look more important and getting the bad boy type into her reverse harem.

I wish she had more going on with her, like making her get the equality she wants by hard work and get a good place in the Beastars society where other animals treat her with respect, or she learn she only needs people dear to her to look at her with respect, even if her relationship with Legoshi was bad it would be fine in this case cause there will be more traits to her character.

If you happen to like her or think i got a part here wrong then please tell me why, i would like to know.

Okay now to the other characters, but because there is many i will focus on my favorites, just know that almost all characters are great and if not they are at least enjoyable:

-Gouhin: My first favorite character in the series, his role is as a mentor to Legoshi and help him with both his fetish and his physical strength. He is a harsh, strong, loud Panda doctor with a heart of gold, and if you are bored of this type of character then fear not, he isn't doing that to defend hismelf and look confident but because in the setting he is put in he really needs to show how dominate he is, since that's the way to deal with many dangerous animals who lost it.

He want to help the Carnivores who got addicted to eating meat and even left his wife and chlid for that (not sure if this is to parraler Buddha but the possiblity is there) and trained for many years to get the physical ability to achieve his selfless goal, and his reason for doing so is because he didn't want to just stand there, he was born lucky for being a panda, a creature capable of eating meat but eat plants interestingly, but he could have been born as Carnivore, and thus he holds the responsiblity to help those who were unlucky.

-Bill: the first villain of the story, a Carnivore who hold the title with a pride, maybe even with some belief in superiority because of it, and doesn't want to be looked down upon, he acts friendly toward other Herbivores however and doesn't treat them badly for no good reason, he is supposed to be a bully type of guy i guess but he comes off as pretty likeable to fit entierly into those types, as the story goes he gets to develop more and while not let go of his beliefs he holds them back.

I really love this character even if i don't relate to him at all, he might be my favorite in the series, seriously, read the manga to enjoy him to the fullest.

The Themes (9/10)

At first the reader can be hit with the idea that the story main theme is racism, but i personally don't think so, the idea is there for how some characters are treated lesser not because of their selfishness but because of what they were born as, and yeah that's there but i don't take it here seriously cause we can't apply it to the real world, simply put, no race want to literally eat another by instinct in our human world.

But a theme i got related to it is the idea that we were born with advanteges and disadvantages we had no control over, i will call it here inheritance, to give you an example: think you were born in a rich family yet a family that's hated by the twon folks, the pros is that you got ton of money and probably were raised in a positive manner, the cons are that you will be mistreated for something you had no control over which can either make you bitter or kind toward others. The story idea is of course to put the hate aside and direct the inheritances we have (strength in Legoshi case) toward a selfless goal, and for Legoshi tha is to help the Herbivores, the ones weaker than him. Or be like Louis and focus on your wit and charisma if you don't have physical strength..

Different other characters acts differently towards their inheritance, going with the others i listed: Haru hated being born small and looked down upon so she pushes others to situations (sex) she stand either as an equal or even above in (maybe another reason for why i didn't like her is because she didn't control her inheritance). Gohin was born with advantage of not being a Carnivore and he uses it to help others, Bill was born a Carnivoure and while at firsr he hold pride and outgoing with it, with time he holds back and throw the bad habbits he have.

I think this an important thing to keep in mind, i don't know everybody so i can't say everybody got this, but to people who got something that kept them treated as heighter or lower compared to others, always use what you have for the betterment of society and the world in general, in the end what makes you better or worst than others is how selfless and ethically selfish you can be.

Another and a less interesting theme to me is fetish, a youtuber i don't remember the name of said that the series theme is "What makes someone a deviant", like usual, accept yourself and don't be forceful, that's pretty much it.

(THE LAST ARC AND TON OF SPOILERS)

3/10

I don't know why but it's such a bad ending with such a boring villain, compared to the story amazing writing when it comes to characters (beside Haru) and focus on characters psychology rather than pure action, the final arc stand no chance as it throws all of that.

The New Characters (1/10):

-Melon: This guy, in a world where everybody tries to deal with the bad hand fate gave them, calls himself pure evil...Okay, there were cases of real life humans who took that title or felt like they wanted to, i'm interested in criminals history and psychology and Carl Panzram can hold that title from what i got, however what seperate this criminal and Melon is that he had a logic he was going with: humans were evil and harmed the world more than the good they caused, he regreted harming animals as a kid from what i got and also regreted not killing the human race. Okay i'm comparing a real human to a fictional character, maybe that doesn't work as an exceuse...but hey that's the thing with fiction, it goes in depth with what reality hides, what i want to say is read the manga Monster to see someone like Carl taken to the extreme by Johan, where his brute strength is turned into charisma.

Melon got nothing, he is a boring villain who serves as someone for Legoshi to fight and shows kindness towards, his backstory isn't as tragic as Louis, and while his condition is scary for me, it's not a reason to turn to the criminal life. He is there to be a source of sexual fanservice (he is shown naked and in an erotic poses a lot), fight and lose, that's it.

Leghoshi: Yeah, he is here, the thing is that in the final arc Legoshi take a turn to the worst, while not as smart as Louis Legoshi wasn't an idiot and at most he comes of as uncaring about his safety, a common trait in shounen protags which is fine for what it is (though weak in the fact that it's not the protag facing danger even while afraid, because that's what bravery is, but it comes off as the protag got it as a natural instinct). In the final arc we welcome idiot Legoshi, a guy who let a dangerous criminal go to continue a chat with him and who can't tell that you can't forgive someone who didn't learn their lesson yet, even if he wanted to forgive him Melon is still a serious danger and calling himself a pure evil kinda gives me the vibe that he isn't planning to stop being a serious danger, so why are you chatting with him instead of knocking him out?

The Final Arc Themes (2/10)

The theme of forgivness is always good when done well, but doen badly it's just a mess. Simply put you can't forgive someone who didn't learn their lesson yet because they will repeat it again and others will suffer because of it, so is the case with Melon and Legoshi. Instead of realizing that some men just want to see the world burn, he continue talking no jutsu Melon and even in the end of it it doesn't seem like he learned anything out of this, more so it feels like we are supposed to agree with him.


Personal Rants:

The ending is just rushed, many plotline remain insolved or take a turn to the worst, seriosuly, who had the brillaint idea of making a romance going on to throw it into the nothingness in the end?

There is a tragic tone to the finally as much as it tries to look happy, beside Legoshi (who is a third gen and the son of a half wolf and a normal wolf), all hybrids in the story got it bad, Melon can't feel anything pysically so he goes for self harm, Legoshi mom starts normal but as time goes on she couldn't leave her room or even let her son see her, and a lot of hybrid children are left abandoned by their parents and there even is a group that's willing to kill those children, under all of this our hero Leghoshi, a part komodo dragon, a part wolf who holds his first and main goal to be Haru's, a rabbit, husband, it's not going to end good.

I like that Legoshi got an out of body experience and that a lot of things are left for the reader to decide, it make the world feel bigger and more real.

I also like that the adults feel like adults and got life experiences and most of them are the best characters.

The last thing to rant about is for the yaoi tease, i'm so weirded why the story didn't turn into a yaoi manga, it sure felt like the mangaka wanted that route.

(Overall) 8/10

A good manga with great character and amazing themes followed by a fitting art that's held up by a bad final arc.

This is probably one of the best mangas I have read in a while. And although all its characters are animals, it is one of the more humane stories I have read in this format. Fair enough, the duality between carnivores and herbivores doesn't translate well into our reality. But Most details and story elements end up unfolding in a very satisfying way. From finding oneself to carving your way in your truth, to the dangers of relationships and the sheltered life of school against the real world to even deeper elements like pride and shame about your cultural and genetic background.

One of Beastars's best points is its storytelling. This manga is placed in the world of herbivores and carnivores. These two types of animals try to coexist, but is difficult because of the urges carnivores get because they want to eat herbivores. Even though we follow the lives of animals, they are still relatable and go through their daily lives just like us. They still have problems, hobbies, and good friends they enjoy to hang out with. Legoshi is a gray wolf, a carnivore, and he definitely does not want to eat any type of meat. There are many parts of this world that are similar to ours. For example, there is a black market, which carnivores use to buy illegal herbivore meat. Some of them might even get addicted to it and go insane. The characters in the story are one of my favorite parts about it. Legoshi's love interest, a dwarf rabbit, is introduced very early in the story. She sleeps with various animals and does naughty things with them because of her inferiority complex. All of these characters evolve throughout the manga and try their best to change themselves for the better. Another aspect of the story I love are the conflicts. I can't spoil anything, but the conflicts in the story bring about reasonable consequences afterward. You never feel as if the main character is getting special treatment, which does not happen a lot in other manga. I highly recommend this manga to anyone. I would also recommend reading the manga instead of watching the anime because the animation is in 3D, which I was not too fond of. If you do enjoy 3D, then still read the manga because of just how good it is.

The story is very well written, the world is developed to feel alive, complex, and realistic. The author did a great job telling the story but I feel like the ending came out of no where. The last chapter did not feel like a last chapter but instead a bridge to another arc. The art is very well done, each character has unique art designs that make them stand out and memorable. The characters in my opinion is what made the manga. Character development can be seen throughout the whole story and none of it felt rushed or forced. Overall I really enjoyed reading it but felt like there could have been more to the story.

I first got into Beastars by watching the anime. I had known about the series for a long time, but I was put of by the idea that this was just some show that panders to furries. After watching the anime I was positively surprised to learn that that was not necessarily the case and it had a genuinely strong setting and cool ideas.
After watching the anime I was intrigued to find out more about where it would go and that's when I started reading the manga. At this point my feelings about the show started to get more complicated. It has a lot of things to like, but also a lot of things it doesn't do as well. The first of which being:

Story 5/10

The story flow of Beastars is not that great. It feels like it just goes all over the place. Plot points are put on the backburner for a long time or just abandoned completely to focus on something entirely different. The series tries to juggle a lot of different genres which could work in theory, but it just isn't executed very well. It feels like a lot of it is written on the go (which the mangaka has admitted to in multiple interviews).
There is a point in the manga where the setting and story take a drastic change (Those familiar will probably know what I'm talking about) and while I like some of the new characters that were introduced, the story just never hit as hard for me since the change.

Art 7/10

The art is pretty good. It is by no means a masterpiece, but the mangaka has done a great job of portraying each and every animal and it has some amazing panels that just made me go: "Damn this is cool." I also love the chibi reactions of some of the characters to highlight a comedic moment. Especially Haru's reactions are great.

Character 8/10

So the story isn't focussed enough and it actually gets worse as you go. It is not all bad though. There is a reason I read so much of it and that reason is the characters. I love how unique their personalities are, especially of the main trio: Legosi, Louis and Haru. They all have multiple layers and a touching past that makes them really likeable.
The side characters are done really well too. No one is evil for the sake of being evil. Everyone struggles with their own inner demons and this made me sympathise with some characters that did pretty messed up stuff.
To get a little negative again, I do feel like some changes these characters went through didn't really feel earned to me. Characters would change their mind in like two chapters and there is an instance where a main character throws away all the development he got over the past arc. Things like these are pretty frustrating and take you out of the experience.

Enjoyement 7/10

As you can probably tell, I have a lot of conflicting feelings about Beastars. The characters and the setting (something I didn't go into a lot of detail of, but it's really interesting) are really cool, but the way the story was told could have been a lot better. I can honestly say that I enjoyed this series a lot when I was reading it, and there definitely are some great hard hitting and emotional moments.
I don't know if I will finish it though to be honest. It was kinda losing me at the 150 chapter mark because I didn't care for the current story and some characters just did some things that didn't feel right.

I have never been so shellshocked by an ending since Magi. Why? Because both the endings have been total ASS. I've been putting off my review as I digested my emotions.

Beastars was my underdog pick when it came to that next "sleeper" hit. I knew due to its subject matter (anthropomorphic animals), it probably wouldn't have become something as big as a regular shounen series. It comfortably sat in this niche that was neither superbly mainstream nor was it unpopular. Initially, I had highly recommended the series to many of my buddies due to its excellent art, interesting characters, and what I found to be absolutely stellar world building.

The world of Beastars is so charming and dynamic. The history and lore teased briefly in the few chapters always had me curious for the entire history. How did the Beastars come about? What exactly is the sea world like? How's life outside the main city? I've never been as enamoured with a world and I could only compare such passionate curiosity with the world of One Piece.

Yet, it ended on such a weird, whimper of a note. Beastars ended with so many questions left unanswered and a world left completely unexplored. It was such a wasted opportunity that I can only imagine that the author has found themselves burnt out of the creative process and had axed the series themselves. Beastars...such an unfortunate finale for what could have been one of the classics. This will be a series I've find myself thinking about for a while and I keep shaking my head at "what could've been".

All in all, I'd read if you're curious but just mentally prepare yourself for the inevitable: "Really? That's it?"

Because yeah, really. That's it.

I would suggest his story for people over 16 because damn does it mature later but as soon as I read this manga I couldn't put it down it has politics, mystery, romance, a bit of gore and action mixed in all rolled up into one. Even though the characters are beast creature humanoids if they were humans I can guarantee this story would work with racial tensions and the politics is beyond amazing. the way how this story mixes a slice of life now with these beast creatures is pure genius. The art could use some work but since I've read this story from the beginning to now I can say that there have been major improvements with the art work.