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swimfast724's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This first volume is really slow and the art is not great but as the series picks up it gets ten times better
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Child death, Bullying, and Cannibalism
Minor: Classism, Stalking, Toxic friendship, Hate crime, and Gaslighting
choco_bunbun's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Death
tobitast's review
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Sexual assault
ender24's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Cannibalism, Sexual harassment, and Racism
berry21's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Beastars starts with a bang, setting the dark and dramatic tone for the series. It is a wonderful first entry, one of the best first volumes I've read in manga as it sets up its plot, characters and conflict exceptionally.
we begin with Tem, an alpaca student at Cherryton Academy (a high school for both herbivores and carnivores), runs for his life from an unknown carnivore hunting him. Even worse, this carnivore was a classmate of his he had spoken with before, inexplicably killing and devouring him that very night.
I can't help but appreciate how Beastars' protagonist is introduced. A carnivore and herbivore are seen having a heated argument, fueled by distrust after the murder the night before. Suddenly, the lights go out, and when they are fixed we see him. Legoshi, a grey wolf, is perched up high staring down at his clubmates. The argument is cut short and there is an air of tension between him and the rest of his club. We first see him from his clubmates' perspective. Quiet. Towering. Suspicious.
Then later that night, Legoshi, who'd been acting odd all day and watching a herbivore girl intently, seems like he's going to kill and eat her. He approaches her quiet but domineering, and right when the reader and girl believe she's done for it's revealed he was actually performing an act of kindness that defies our expectations. We see him for his true self; simply a shy, kind and gentle soul.
One night not long after, the rug is pulled out from underneath the reader once again when Legoshi is suddenly and for the first time overtaken by his carnivore instincts. He lunges at a small rabbit, Haru, a very interesting character with her own chapter on how she feels unsure of her place in the world and the harsh bullying she faces . You can feel how tense both of them are, and Legoshi's internal conflict in that moment and the rest of the volume are wonderfully portrayed.
The only part of this scene that personally falls flat for me is how his temptation manifests as a small cartoony-eyed silhouette. It just looks a bit silly and takes me out of it a bit, but that's just a small criticism of a great scene.
We are also introduced to a red deer named Louis, who more than any herbivore or even carnivore exudes power with his confidence even in the face of carnivores. He questions why Legoshi holds back his strength, and shows himself to be the type to never let anything stop him from achieving his goals.
The art style is rough and sketchy but I find it very unique and it allows the characters to be extremely expressive from intense and unnerving to endearingly cartoony.
The fun little bonus comics at the end of each volume are very charming, and I love the in-depth character profiles that show Paru Itagaki's thought process. My favourite bonus however has to be the bit of world building with facts about how beast society functions, practically, socially, etc. So much thought is put into this and makes the world feel so fleshed out, Beastars no doubt has the best depiction of an anthro-animal world imo and I am always eager to learn more about it.
I can't help but appreciate how Beastars' protagonist is introduced. A carnivore and herbivore are seen having a heated argument, fueled by distrust after the murder the night before. Suddenly, the lights go out, and when they are fixed we see him. Legoshi, a grey wolf, is perched up high staring down at his clubmates. The argument is cut short and there is an air of tension between him and the rest of his club. We first see him from his clubmates' perspective. Quiet. Towering. Suspicious.
Then later that night, Legoshi, who'd been acting odd all day and watching a herbivore girl intently, seems like he's going to kill and eat her. He approaches her quiet but domineering, and right when the reader and girl believe she's done for it's revealed he was actually performing an act of kindness that defies our expectations. We see him for his true self; simply a shy, kind and gentle soul.
One night not long after, the rug is pulled out from underneath the reader once again when Legoshi is suddenly and for the first time overtaken by his carnivore instincts. He lunges at a small rabbit, Haru, a very interesting character with her own chapter on how she feels unsure of her place in the world and the harsh bullying she faces . You can feel how tense both of them are, and Legoshi's internal conflict in that moment and the rest of the volume are wonderfully portrayed.
The only part of this scene that personally falls flat for me is how his temptation manifests as a small cartoony-eyed silhouette. It just looks a bit silly and takes me out of it a bit, but that's just a small criticism of a great scene.
We are also introduced to a red deer named Louis, who more than any herbivore or even carnivore exudes power with his confidence even in the face of carnivores. He questions why Legoshi holds back his strength, and shows himself to be the type to never let anything stop him from achieving his goals.
The art style is rough and sketchy but I find it very unique and it allows the characters to be extremely expressive from intense and unnerving to endearingly cartoony.
The fun little bonus comics at the end of each volume are very charming, and I love the in-depth character profiles that show Paru Itagaki's thought process. My favourite bonus however has to be the bit of world building with facts about how beast society functions, practically, socially, etc. So much thought is put into this and makes the world feel so fleshed out, Beastars no doubt has the best depiction of an anthro-animal world imo and I am always eager to learn more about it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, and Bullying
Moderate: Animal death, Blood, and Violence
Minor: Infidelity
mermaidsherbet's review
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder
Minor: Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, and Sexual content
spurreys's review
dark
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Miren, quitando la parte de que son animales, no está tan mal. Es más, hasta tiene un sentido del por qué son animales y no humanos. Lo compré solamente porque vi la adaptación y bueno, lo leí en menos de cinco horas.
La versión que tengo tiene dos volúmenes, el primero y el segundo, así que con ese tiempo verán que no es mucho tiempo. Legoshi es un personaje muy querible.
La versión que tengo tiene dos volúmenes, el primero y el segundo, así que con ese tiempo verán que no es mucho tiempo. Legoshi es un personaje muy querible.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Racism, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Violence, Blood, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Sexism, Sexual content, and Infidelity
sprucewillow's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death, Animal death, and Murder
Moderate: Classism
alaskan_bull_worm's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Whoa. That was pretty darn good. The way the emotions of a scene are shown with shadows, angles, and the structure of a page, but also told through inner narration and sound effects is extremely effective. I really want to see where this is going. . .
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder, Violence, and Animal death
Minor: Cannibalism, Blood, Infidelity, Cursing, Death, and Bullying
sarahjoy_joy's review
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Minor: Animal death, Infidelity, and Murder