I picked up Beastars right around when the anime's second season started airing in Japan. I didn't get very far, only to about chapter 10, before ultimately focusing on the anime. Months later I returned to it, only to be completely obsessed with the world and characters that author Itagaki Paru has created. Though my love for this series is strong, it is not without its issues.
For the sake of potential spoilers, I will not be naming the story arcs. I will instead reference their chronological number.
Starting off here, this is where the series both struggles and excels the most. The manga consists of five main story arcs, the first three of which are phenomenal, near perfect I might even say. Thoroughly exploring both the world and the characters, Itagaki gives the reader time to take everything in and process it without it ever getting boring. Every chapter leads to learning something new, whether it be about a character, the society, predatory instincts, etc. Each story arc presents a clear goal, actively works towards that goal, and concludes in a neat and satisfying manner.
After the third arc, however, things start to take a bit of a dive. Arc 4 is by no means boring, but it seems to lose a sense of direction, not having a lot of the suspense and drama you would expect from the series. The beginning of the final arc seems to do a little better, upping the stakes and introducing more mysteries, but it quickly starts to deteriorate again. While it does present a goal, it's not quite as clear as the first three arcs. This only becomes more apparent as the arc progresses, introducing more characters and lore that ultimately go unused, muddying the reader's mind as to what we're really supposed to be focusing on.
Because of all these introductions, the final arc runs far longer than necessary. It becomes one big mess of storylines that are seemingly intertwined with one another, but ultimately untangle into irrelevance. Characters come and go with little reason as to why, elements are introduced into the story only to quickly be forgotten, and the focus jumps between storylines at a jarringly irregular pace.
All in all, the story starts out strong, but falls flat in the final quarter.
Beastars is a story about the characters, not the plot, so naturally the characters are very well developed... is what you would expect. In reality, only our main man Legoshi gets the development that he really needs. All other characters are just used as plot devices for Legoshi's character, though some have significance beyond that. Some characters even fall into complete irrelevance, leaving you to wonder why they were ever introduced in the first place.
##Legoshi
Being the protagonist, we come to learn a lot about this young gray wolf. The entire series is spent developing his character, and it succeeds in that; we get to see Legoshi grow as a member of society as he works towards his goals.
##Louis
Louis the red deer is a bit of an odd case. I previously stated that only Legoshi got adequate development, but that's not actually true. Louis is likely the character that changes the most throughout the entire series, but I can't say much more without going into spoiler territory.
##Haru
Haru the dwarf rabbit is a disappointing character in my eyes. We spend so much time in the first two arcs with her, but beyond that she feels like an afterthought.
Yahya is the Beastar, but he never came off as this beacon of hope that I had assumed the Beastar would be. Aside from introducing Legoshi to Melon (which, admittedly, is a pretty critical event), he really doesn't do much. It doesn't help that I was still confused as to what a Beastar is during his introduction, as it was never really explained all that well.
Melon is a lackluster antagonist. I find his motives really difficult to believe, especially the whole "looking for a good meal" schtick.
Gosha is fine, generally speaking, but I feel he could've done a lot for the story if he stuck around for more of it. His one night out with Legoshi was sweet, but beyond that, he went severely underutilized.
Rokume makes no sense. She only shows up once (as far as my memory holds) and doesn't provide any information another already existing character could have. A similar situation to Kyuu, but far more insignificant.
I find that some of the best characters are the ones that Legoshi casually interacts with throughout his life; his classmates in the Drama Club and his neighbors in the Hidden Condo. You know, the ones that the story doesn't focus on.
The art is consistently amazing throughout the entire series. That's about all I have to say about it.
Beastars is a series that will forever stay dear to my heart. It has some glaring issues, but they're ones I'm willing to overlook for the sake of enjoyment. This is a definite recommend from me.
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