''Beastars'' (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by

Paru Itagaki is a Japanese manga artist. She is best known as the creator of the manga series ''Beastars'', for which she has won the 2018 Manga Taishō, a Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize, a Kodansha Manga Award, and a Japan Media Arts Festival Award. She is t ...

. It was serialized in

Akita Shoten is a Japanese publishing company headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo is a special ward located in central Tokyo, Japan. It is known as Chiyoda City in English.Weekly Shōnen Champion is a Japanese ''shōnen'' manga magazine published by Akita Shoten. History ''Shōnen Champion'' was first published on July 15, 1969. It has had numerous popular series by manga artists such as Osamu Tezuka, Go Nagai, Shinji Mizushima, Masam ...

'' from September 2016 to October 2020, with its chapters collected in 22 '' tankōbon'' volumes. The manga is licensed for English release in North America by Viz Media. The story takes place in a modern world of civilized,

anthropomorphic Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics t ...

animals with a

cultural divide A cultural divide is "a boundary in society that separates communities whose social economic structures, opportunities for success, conventions, styles, are so different that they have substantially different psychologies". A cultural divide is th ...

between

carnivore A carnivore , or meat-eater (Latin, ''caro'', genitive ''carnis'', meaning meat or "flesh" and ''vorare'' meaning "to devour"), is an animal or plant whose food and energy requirements derive from animal tissues (mainly muscle, fat and other so ...

s and

herbivore A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example foliage or marine algae, for the main component of its diet. As a result of their plant diet, herbivorous animals typically have mouthp ...

s, and where eating meat (which always comes from other anthropomorphic animals) is strictly illegal. The series takes its name from the in-universe title of Beastar, an individual of great talent, service, and notoriety. An

anime is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening o ...

television series adaptation by

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

aired from October to December 2019 on

Fuji TV JOCX-DTV (channel 8), branded as and colloquially known as CX, is a Japanese television station based in Odaiba, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Owned and operated by the it is the key station of the Fuji News Network (FNN) and the Fuji Network Sy ...

+Ultra is a Japanese programming block on Fuji TV dedicated to anime and broadcast every Wednesday late night/Thursday morning from 00:55 to 1:25. History The block was announced on March 8, 2018, and premiered on October 18, 2018, with its first anime ...

programming block. A second season aired from January to March 2021. A third and final season is set to premiere in 2024. The anime series is licensed by Netflix. The first season premiered outside of Japan in March 2020, and the second in July 2021. As of October 2021, the manga had over 7.5 million copies in circulation. ''Beastars'' has won multiple awards in 2018, including the 11th

Manga Taishō The is a Japanese comics award recognizing achievement in manga. It is awarded annually to a manga series published in the previous calendar year of eight or fewer collected volumes in length. The Manga Taishō was founded with the aim of re ...

, being the first Akita Shoten title to receive it, the New Creator Prize at the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize, the 42nd Kodansha Manga Award in the '' shōnen'' category and the New Face Award at the 21st

Japan Media Arts Festival The Japan Media Arts Festival is an annual festival held since 1997 by Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs. The festival begins with an open competition and culminates with the awarding of several prizes and an exhibition. Based on judging by a ...

Plot

In a modern and civilized world populated by

animals, there is a cultural divide between the herbivorous animals and the carnivorous animals.

Legoshi is the protagonist of Paru Itagaki's manga series ''Beastars''. In a world of modern, civilized, anthropomorphic animals with a cultural divide between carnivores and herbivores, Legoshi is a high school student and gray wolf working with his r ...

, a large

gray wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; plural, : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large Canis, canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of Canis lupus, subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been reco ...

, is a timid and quiet student of Cherryton Academy where he lives in a dorm with several other carnivorous students including his outgoing Labrador friend, Jack. As a member of the school's drama club, Legoshi works as a stagehand and supports the actors of the club headed by the star pupil Louis, a red deer. Out of nowhere, Tem the

alpaca The alpaca (''Lama pacos'') is a species of South American camelid mammal. It is similar to, and often confused with, the llama. However, alpacas are often noticeably smaller than llamas. The two animals are closely related and can successf ...

is brutally murdered and devoured in the night, setting off a wave of unease and distrust between the herbivore and carnivore students. At the same time, Legoshi has a fateful encounter with Haru, a

dwarf rabbit Dwarf rabbit refers either (formally) to a rabbit with the dwarfing gene, or (informally) to any small breed of domestic rabbit or specimen thereof, or (colloquially) to any small rabbit. Dwarfism is a genetic condition that may occur in humans a ...

who has been in love with Louis, and begins developing complex feelings for her.

Media

Manga

''Beastars'', written and illustrated by

, was serialized for 196 chapters in

Akita Shoten is a Japanese publishing company headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo is a special ward located in central Tokyo, Japan. It is known as Chiyoda City in English.shōnen'' magazine ''

Weekly Shōnen Champion is a Japanese ''shōnen'' manga magazine published by Akita Shoten. History ''Shōnen Champion'' was first published on July 15, 1969. It has had numerous popular series by manga artists such as Osamu Tezuka, Go Nagai, Shinji Mizushima, Masam ...

'' from September 8, 2016, to October 8, 2020. Akita Shoten collected its chapters in twenty-two '' tankōbon'' volumes, released from January 6, 2017, to January 8, 2021. During their panel at

Anime NYC Anime NYC is an annual three-day anime convention held during November at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City. Programming The convention typically offers arcade games, an artist alley, concerts, manga library (Carolina Manga ...

2018, Viz Media announced that they have licensed the manga. The first volume was released on July 16, 2019.

Anime

In February 2019, it was announced that ''Beastars'' would get an

television series adaptation animated by CG studio

. Shin'ichi Matsumi directed the series, with Nanami Higuchi handling series composition, Nao Ootsu designing the characters, and

Satoru Kōsaki is a Japanese music composer and arranger. He is best known for his work on anime, including '' Lucky Star'', ''The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya'', ''Monogatari'' and ''Beastars''. He worked at Namco, where he primarily composed soundtracks for ...

composing the series' music. The series aired from October 10 to December 26, 2019, and aired on

anime programming block and other channels. At the conclusion of the TV broadcast, a second season was announced. Animation studio Orange returned to produce the second season, which aired from January 7 to March 25, 2021. On July 20, 2021, studio Orange and Netflix Japan announced that the anime series would be receiving a third season. On December 7, 2021, Studio Orange announced that the continuation would be the final season. It is set to premiere on Netflix in 2024.

ALI ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, عَلِيّ بْن أَبِي طَالِب; 600 – 661 CE) was the last of four Rightly Guided Caliphs to rule Islam (r. 656 – 661) immediately after the death of Muhammad, and he was the first Shia Imam. ...

performed the series' opening theme song "Wild side", while Yurika performed the series' ending theme songs "Le zoo" (ep. 2, 5, 8 and 9), "Sleeping instinct" (ep. 3, 7 and 10), "Marble" (ep. 4, 6 and 11) and "Floating Story on the Moon" (ep. 12). The opening theme song for the second season is and the ending theme song is . Both songs are performed by Yoasobi. Season 1 of ''Beastars'' was released on March 13, 2020, on Netflix outside of Japan. Its second season was released on the streaming service on July 15, 2021.

Stage play

On December 4, 2019, the first 2020 magazine issue of ''Weekly Shōnen Champion'' announced that a stage play based on the manga was in development. It was originally scheduled for an April 2020 debut running through May in Tokyo and Osaka. In late March 2020, it was announced that the play has been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, there are plans to have it postponed instead.

Reception

Manga

As of October 2021, ''Beastars'' had over 7.5 million copies in circulation. In December 2017, the series placed second in the list of top male-targeted manga for 2018 in the ''

Kono Manga ga Sugoi! is an annual reference mook series published by Takarajimasha since 2005 featuring yearly rankings and reviews of manga. The rankings are compiled by surveying people in the manga and publishing industry. The series is part of Takarajimasha's ...

'' guidebook, placing after ''

The Promised Neverland is a Japanese manga series written by Kaiu Shirai and illustrated by Posuka Demizu. It was serialized in Shueisha's ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from August 2016 to June 2020, with its chapters collected in twenty ''tankōbon'' volumes. In ...

''. The series won the 11th annual

in March 2018, the first time a series from

Akita Shoten is a Japanese publishing company headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo is a special ward located in central Tokyo, Japan. It is known as Chiyoda City in English. In April 2018, it won the New Creator Prize at the 22nd Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prizes. In May 2018, it won the award for Best Shōnen Manga at the 42nd annual Kodansha Manga Awards. It also won a New Face Award at the 21st Japan Media Arts Festival Awards in March 2018. The series won the "Shonen Tournament 2019" by the editorial staff of the French website ''manga-news''. It was nominated for the Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Asia at the 2020 Eisner Award. ''Beastars'' won the Best Graphic Story and Best Dramatic Series in the Ursa Major Award. The Ursa Major awards are given in the field of

furry fandom The furry fandom is a subculture interested in anthropomorphic animal characters. Examples of anthropomorphic attributes include exhibiting human intelligence and facial expressions, speaking, walking on two legs, and wearing clothes. The term ...

works and are the main awards in the field of

anthropomorphism Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics t ...

. The manga was chosen as one of the Best Manga at the Comic-Con International Best & Worst Manga of 2019. ''Beastars'' was nominated for the 53rd Seiun Award in the Best Comic category in 2022.

Anime

On Rotten Tomatoes, the show holds an approval rating of 94%, based on 18 reviews, with an average rating of 8.10/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "Well-made and beautifully animated, ''Beastars'' is a solid new anime for anyone looking to get a little wild." It was part of the Jury Selections in the 23rd

in Animation category. ''Beastars'' won a CGWORLD Award in the Computer Animation category. It won the 26th Spanish Manga Barcelona award for the Best Anime category in 2020. The anime series was awarded the Best Opening Sequence and was nominated in 8 other categories including "Anime of The Year" in the

5th Crunchyroll Anime Awards The 5th Crunchyroll Anime Awards were held on February 19, 2021, honoring excellence in anime from 2020. Crunchyroll announced the list of categories as well as the judges on December 16, 2020. They noted that the categories used in the previous e ...

. While the second season was nominated in three categories in the

6th Crunchyroll Anime Awards The 6th Crunchyroll Anime Awards was held on February 9, 2022, honoring excellence in anime from 2021. Crunchyroll opened the public nominations for judges on October 14, 2021, running until October 20. On December 16, Crunchyroll revealed the li ...

in 2022.

References

External links

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