As time progresses so does our entertainment. There have been great advancements in technology that have completely evolved the way that we distract ourselves. Technology and art have joined together wonderfully and changed the world. Beastars almost makes me wish that none of that had ever happened.

Beastars is an anime that has recently been gaining quite a bit of attention online, and before I begin to explain the plot, I want you to know that it’s going to sound extremely strange. The story takes place in a world full of anthropomorphic animals who live in a civilized world similar to ours. The main conflict stems from the cultural separation between carnivores and herbivores. If you watched Disney’s Zootopia then this probably sounds pretty familiar. However, Beastars delves into some of the darker aspects of this world. 

The story follows a large, gray wolf named Legoshi who attends Cherryton Academy, a school where all types of “animals” reside. Tensions are raised after the seemingly random murder and devouring of a herbivore on the campus. This leads to a lot of distrust and rumors among the herbivores of Cherryton about who might’ve been the murderer. Legoshi attempts to make himself seem less threatening despite coming off as very intimidating regardless. Of course, things get much more complicated very quickly, but just in case you decide you do want to watch this show, I won’t spoil anymore. 

Despite how deeply uncomfortable I felt while watching this, I have to give credit where credit is due. The animation of Beastars was absolutely incredible. It takes place mostly in 3D with certain scenes reverting back to regular 2D to add certain effects. It was a perfect blend and allowed so much more emotion and humanity to be held in these characters which is something that is lost within most art styles. 

Where Beastars really excelled though was in its vague yet strong social commentary. A recurring theme throughout the book is the knowledge that when it comes down to it most of the herbivores are powerless to defend themselves if a predator happens to attack them which seems to be a fairly common incident. The predators in this world do not live with a fear of danger right around the corner, and throughout most of the series, it seems that a good portion of them are unaware that they are the ones causing that fear. I feel like this could easily be applied to a lot of aspects of our current civilization. There are groups of people in the world that are simply more privileged, and if you don’t acknowledge this then you’re probably not going to grasp the meaning behind this narrative. Whether it be in a physical or a more societal sense there are simply some people who are better protected and don’t have to think about the problems that others cannot forget about.

 In conclusion, Beastars has left me full of mixed feelings, but the most prevalent being a welcomed surprise. While there are certain scenes that made me want to destroy my television, others appealed to me in a way I did not expect from an anime about animal people.