Today I was thinking about anime and manga that use animals instead of humans to tell their stories and I found that Beastars is one of the shows that truly captures this idea in a truly brilliant way When you first hear about the story you might think its just a lighthearted cute story about animals living together but the truth is far from it.
The world in Beastars is divided into carnivores and herbivores creating a huge conflict between them even if they live in a civilized society For example the hero Legoshi a wolf struggles because he wants to be kind and calm but his instincts always make him feel he should be a predator This conflict is what makes the story so exciting as it addresses the idea of the internal struggle between who we are and who society wants us to be.
I think the most beautiful thing about Beastars is the deep detailed characters Each character has their own motivations and problems and each of them behaves in a very logical way considering their nature as an animal Haru the little rabbit is not just a random character she represents the idea that weakness can sometimes be a strength giving the story a wonderfully human dimension even though its about animals.
Another thing I really liked was the mangas art style the details are beautiful and convey emotions very strongly The anime also did a great job of expressing this especially in the tense scenes that make you feel like you are actually embracing the characters.
Beastars is not just a story about talking animals its an intelligent work that explores society the conflicts within us and the boundaries between instinct and reason If you havent seen it yet I highly recommend you give it a try because its truly an experience unlike anything else.