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A review by spaceman5000
BEASTARS, Vol. 1 by Paru Itagaki
5.0
Wow, this book has a lot to unpack. On the surface it seems to be a furry high school drama with anthropomorphic animals, but there's an extremely dark layer underneath all of it. The main plot line is that an Alpaca got murdered by a carnivore and no one knows who killed him. The characters are all worried and concerned, but it's not clear if there's actually an investigation going on or what. The allegory of a high school full of animals is obvious and there are definite social classes to the animals, jocks, nerds, etc... but the real story here is the dark underbelly of desire and acting out your desires.
For example, the main character is a wolf; a carnivore who desires to kill and devour. Does that mean he should? He doesn't seem to want to, but his desire almost overwhelms him at times. Is giving into your primal desires wrong? Is that what separates humans from animals? Should you feel guilty for desiring?
I was pretty unsure of this when I started reading it, but by the middle of the book, I was hooked. I'm not a huge fan of the artwork, but I got over it quickly. Great story and I'll be certain to read the rest.
For example, the main character is a wolf; a carnivore who desires to kill and devour. Does that mean he should? He doesn't seem to want to, but his desire almost overwhelms him at times. Is giving into your primal desires wrong? Is that what separates humans from animals? Should you feel guilty for desiring?
I was pretty unsure of this when I started reading it, but by the middle of the book, I was hooked. I'm not a huge fan of the artwork, but I got over it quickly. Great story and I'll be certain to read the rest.