Beastars, and an Authentic Life for Legosi

My first impressions as an outsider looking in about Beastars were mixed to say the least. I'm not the biggest fan of anthropomorphic animal shows. For the most part, the animals don't really have much reason to be animals. That would mean it's an aesthetic choice, and that's a choice I'm not very fond of. Apart from that I'd hear whispers of its manga all over the internet, being lauded as a masterpiece. This did peak my interest a bit as I'd browse discussions of it online. I didn't know anything about it but I figured the less I knew, the better the experience would be when I first saw it. So with the anime adaptation upcoming, I decided to wait for it to be fully released and go on a good old binge. After having lost actual sleep over it, my expectations were exceeded. Incredibly so! Not only did it deliver some of the most gut wrenching drama and romance I have ever seen, it's also an incredible character study, social commentary, and has some of the most creative and socially poignant uses of animal tropes I have ever seen. In this post, I will be taking a look at the first four episodes since they contain a rather interesting conflict, but also an interesting theme: how does one live authentically, according to their "nature"?

The first character I want to focus on is Legosi.  To give some context, carnivores in the society of Beastars are presented as a marginalized group. This is because of the natural instincts of a carnivore to hunt and eat meat. Obviously, this would lead to conflict between herbivores and carnivores. So to prevent this from happening, measures have been put into place: soy based meat for carnivores, social rules such as not bearing fangs at herbivores and a restraint on the amount of strength used in some instances. Legosi seems to be the embodiment of these contradictions in their society, a large and powerful wolf that is meek and shy so as to be an acceptable member of their society. Though he is able to blend in quite well into society (at his drama club, his friend circle consists mostly of herbivores) he's often noted to look quite bothered or down. This is because he is well aware of his instincts and he tries his very best to suppress them. Things change when one night acting as a look out to his senior's (Louis) late night rehearsal, he becomes entranced by the smell of a rabbit (Haru), causing him to give into his instincts. 

Episode 1

        As he regains his senses, he notices how small the clutched Haru is in his arms. He touches her in a pretty sexual manner, wondering how much flesh there is on her as he battles his instinct. The urges of the carnivores are characterized as hunger in the literal sense and also in a sexual sense. This will be explored later on in the show, but for now what is established is that Legosi has been fighting these urges all of his life. As he's about to give in, he's interrupted, leaving a scratch on Haru's arm. From this point on the events of the plot are set into motion. There are two major players in his life from this point on as well, the aforementioned Louis and Haru. 

Taking a look at his relationship with Louis first, there seems to be quite a bit of a role reversal in terms of what we would think are the natural power dynamics of this world, predators on top, prey at the bottom. But more often than not, the physically smaller and weaker Louis is a dominating force upon Legosi. Being the perceptive character that he is, he notices that Legosi's suppression of his instincts is actually a dangerous trait of his. This comes to a head when he confronts this restraint, asking the question "Why won't you take responsibility for your own strength?". This is a very piercing question, because it cuts to the core of the issue for Legosi. He won't confront the instincts he has and he sacrifices his happiness in order to conform, or at least present his idea of conformity. This is an inauthentic life that Legosi is living. This is made all the more clear when he deflects Louis' demand to bite him by stating that a carnivore bearing their fangs would be against the law, frustrating him even further. This encounter causes Legosi to think about his first meeting with Haru on the rooftop garden shed; the place where he started to become infatuated with her and the place where he had his first sexual experience. That encounter was quite guilt inducing for him considering the wound that he left on her on top of the societal taboo of a carnivore being in love with a herbivore. Reflecting upon it, he realizes that it was the first time being treated as a male and that Louis called him a wolf. Put together he is a male wolf, not just a carnivore. This realization is a starting point for him. This is the authentic self definition he has come to. And it's with this identity, he can start coming to terms with his desire to see Haru again.

From here, we can move onto the next major event, the play. Earlier in the story, Louis injured his leg during the night rehearsal. Having to keep up his strong facade, he continues rehearsals injured and is able to go through a very captivating first performance of their play "Adler". He collapses after the final curtain call and is hospitalized, rendering him unable to do the second performance. He assigns his role to Bill another carnivore, causing Legosi to fill the role Bill previously occupied. It's time for rehearsal and that means time to practice fight choreography. As an interesting contrast to who Legosi is at this point, Bill is comfortable being a carnivore. That doesn't mean he's comfortable being one in the current state of affairs. This is shown when he expresses his exhilaration at being able to use all of his strength against another carnivore. As circumstances stand, him having the lead role and being able to display his strength gives a platform for carnivores since for him, carnivores shine brightest when they are strong. Moreover, he notes that their fight in the play wouldn't be full of "theatrics", rather it would simply be a tiger vs a wolf, an authentic display of strength. Strength, for Bill (like how Legosi will soon learn) is an exercise of authenticity. What follows then, is a clash of different forms of authenticity. 

Episode 4

The start of the conflict between Bill and Legosi would be the vial of rabbit blood that Bill keeps. The blood is likened to a drug like substance, probably because of the taboo surrounding carnivores killing herbivores. Being the one who is attracted to Haru, Legosi takes issue with it, willing to attack Bill. There is a problem though. For Bill, having that blood is him exercising his authenticity as a carnivore. Opposed to Legosi, he is willing to be his authentic conception of a carnivore "in the light" justifying him having it, where as his counterpart would rather hide "in the shadows" taking the easy route out. By doing so Bill states Legosi is avoiding the responsibility of his strength. The framing of this conversation leads to an interesting question however. Bill's face is in the shadows, while Legosi's is illuminated. Who is being authentic? Who is using their strength responsibly? 

This all culminates into my favorite sequence in the anime. We're in the thick of the Adler performance and Bill starts to get hot under the collar. He fumbles the delivery of some of his lines. The audience takes notice and some call him a fraud. We then transition onto the next scene. Adler (Bill) is all alone on stage, illuminated by the spotlights. All attention is on him. Let's briefly go back to what Bill said in the rehearsal the night before. He wants his battle between carnivores to be free of theatrics. That way the strength of carnivores can shine. Well, he got his wish. Under the bright stage, Legosi rushes at him, abandoning his dagger and cape (theatrical stage props) and goes straight for a punch, knocking the mask off of his face. There are no props here, only their naked and authentic selves. To really drive the point home, their fight between carnivores turns into an unscripted and raw beat down. The audience is transfixed by this moment, and pay attention to Bill's dismay. There's a bit more being articulated in this scene however. It is in this scene, we see how Legosi decides to use his strength responsibly. As he pummels Bill, images of Haru, the red flowers associated with the vial, an unconscious Louis and him wounding Haru appear. In contrast to Bill's self serving use of strength (using blood to satisfy his urges, and his authentic conception of strength being an open display of it for himself), Legosi's conception of it is for others. For his love, for herbivores, for his senior and to atone respectively. Moreover, in this context, Adler (Bill) in this spectacle minus the theatrics would have been the winner of this battle. But what the audience sees is Legosi's expression of strength. 

Episode 4

The tides are turned when Bill regains his footing. He picked up on the fact that Legosi  must have know what rabbit blood smells like because of his reaction to it. He embraces him so that he can talk to him discreetly and claws his back, declaring that they similar and that the scars are just like tiger stripes; a mark of brotherhood. The light and shadow motif returns here as well. We see that Bill's use of his strength is concealed in the shadows, an inauthentic display of it. Moreover he doesn't take responsibility for it, at least not solely. He brands Legosi with the same pattern as him, sharing that burden. Legosi starts to believe it as well as he notes that their blood is both carnivore blood, hence making them the same. Legosi is told to prepare for the last blow, essentially having the last word on this matter. Bill is the lead and he wants a cool looking finishing blow after all, the audience looking nervous all the while. Before he can do it, he is disarmed by Louis, who is intervening in this situation since he is aware of what exactly is going on now thanks to the vial being dropped by his feet earlier. In a theatrical manner, he presents himself as the real hero, much to the delight of the crowd. Bill's misdeeds are presented through hammy stage lines and he has no choice but to slink away in shame. When he's off stage two spotlights shine on Louis and Legosi, Louis giving his junior the words he needed at such a time. Words of affirmation, to tell him that his use of strength is just. Inviting him to stand up, Legosi is greeted by applause thereby affirming his use of strength, while reaffirming the light/dark framing seen above. His expression of self and strength is authentic. It is moreover valid. There is an underlying tragedy to this however. The scars sustained from Bill's clawing may heal, but they'll always remain, meaning that he'll always have to hide a part of his true nature.

Episode 4

And that was the roller coaster of the first four episodes of Beastars. There's much more going on in the show that I've alluded to in this blog post. There's also the other characters such as Louis that have a lot going on, such as his need to be strong and his frustration that his strength is limited by his herbivore body. Then there are issues like what the societal role of being a Beastar means for carnivores and herbivore, whether or not it is justified to maintain a system that turns a blind eye to crime, and a whole lot more. I hope that I've given some insight into one of the many themes that this anime tackles, and I'm looking forward to exploring it some more in the future.