The world where human like animals live normally like civilized a human, the conflicts arises among different species and create chaos in the society. The tension between carnivores and herbivores is specifically highlighted. Things get worse when a drama club student, Tem of Cherryton Academy is killed by a carnivore who is hidden.
Another drama club student, Legoshi of the same school happens to be a carnivore, being a wolf and is not happy about his identity as a predator. He is considered dangerous because of being a wolf. On top of that the murder occurs that makes it more problematic for him so he is mostly quiet and remain clam so that no one get scared of him. He becomes even more self-conscious. But this makes him more doubtful especially when he is after a female sheep. Although he was just trying to pass her on a letter that Tem wanted to give her. He just wanted to help Tem to get what he wanted when he was alive. For the time being Legoshi cleared the doubts by giving that letter to her.
When a big show was around the corner, Tem had to be replaced. He was the main character in the show and was really good at his work as an actor so Louise who is the club president and a good looking deer with a decent personality is determined to replace Tem with someone as good as he was. Louis doesn’t let a carnivore play the part since he wasn’t performing well which led Louise to be attacked by some riled up mangoose. He was rescued by Legoshi since he is strong enough to stop the fight. But Louise was not impressed because he thinks that that’s not how strong wolf like him should act and instead should use his power to fight. He tells that to Legoshi very clearly. Loiuse’s life is troublesome.
The replacement was still pending a few hours before the performance so Louise had no choice but to go against the rules and went for the rehearsal after school timing at the gym with Legoshi. While he was guarding and having few things on his mind, he smells a scent of a herbivore. Scared of being caught, he finds a place to hide and sees shadow of a small individual. He plans to make it run away by chasing it so he runs towards that small herbivore who runs away and then Legoshi ends up being over the small female rabbit. Scared of his own instincts of preying on that herbivore, he becomes anxious and let go before he is seen by her.
Enters another main character, Haru, a small female rabbit. She is dealing with her own problems. She has complex about her size and is not like by animals larger in size. She like to have sexual relationship with her class fellows to overcome her complexes. Haru is disliked and hated by her classmates for her actions and the way she lives but she doesn’t seem to care and likes to spend time in the garden of the roof. When Legoshi came to now her, he is confusingly attracted to her to the extent that goes beyond his limits to be with her and protect her.
We come to know that Louise is dating her but doesn’t really seem to have any feelings for her as he has some issues of his own. Haru doesn’t seem to be happy with her intimate adventures and when she meets Legoshi, she thinks that he wants the same thing from her. But Legoshi has no intentions of that sort and that intrigues her. Legoshi starts to get more interested in her but not clear about his feelings. Is that love or just his animalistic instincts? This leads to more troubles as he tries to figure that out.
As the plot moves forward we explore more about the world of BEASTAR and the societal issues. It shows how these two species tries to live together and how they cope with the problems and face these challenges to maintain peace. We explore those issue from the perspectives of three main characters as they try to deal with their problems in that society.
The world where BEASTAR is set up is very clear and detailed. Like hens feeding carnivores by getting their eggs sold and feeding on other animals and there was even a black market where the carnivores could be themselves and prey and feed in a natural way and that makes it a little darker arising many questions about the society. Everything is very clear and detailed.
BEASTARS is rather a dark themed anime. It probably looks like lighthearted anime with cute and adorable fluffy animals but instead it reminds of Black Mirror. It depicts some grave issues of the real life society like discrimination, racism, bullying and the psychological impact of these issues. It’s probably vague as it becomes hard to focus on these issues while watching animals as the characters but if you have watched BEASTAR you may have noticed that the characters are very much relate able even if they are not humans.
It’s quite obvious but worth mentioning that the animation and the character design is gorgeous. It complements the theme and the storyline of the anime. The characters are visually impressive when it comes to convey their emotions and the darks theme can be felt in the art and visuals which complement it well. The themes are also artistic and creative when it comes to the animation telling the whole story of BEASTAR visually in the short themes artistically. It’s brilliant.
BEASTAR is not a lighthearted anime and so it is not for those who like some things to enjoy in a cute way. It is a dark themed anime and recommended to those who like to watch something related to the social issues.
BEASTAR has made it to list of the best anime of 2019. The impressive and interesting story, plot, characters and the animation is unforgettable.
