BEASTARS – Episode 4

Another interesting episode of BEASTARS! I thought that things would be different and Louis would insist on performing the second night too. Bill is the one chosen to fill in for Louis playing Adler, but Bill plays one of the villains so Legoshi ends up being selected to fill in for Bill. This puts a lot of pressure on Legoshi and brings forward the idea of carnivore identity for Bill and Legoshi. Louis confesses to Bill that he doesn’t like how Legoshi minimizes his own power as a carnivore. As they prepare for their scene, mock-fighting, Bill becomes more and more aggressive until he gets Legoshi fired up and fighting seriously. Legoshi doesn’t give enough credit to himself and this is where we see it.

Once again the characters and all their different, at times even contradictory sides are the most impressive thing to watch. Bill has a very obvious duality, he seems down-to-earth and easy-going, but he’s very ambitious, aggressive and doesn’t seem to have much respect for limits that have been imposed onto him. He what you’d consider a jock, I suppose. Louis comes to see him before the performance and they touch on Legoshi briefly. Bill has his own moments being ceremonial and pompous in his speech, but he always drops the act quickly. Louis seems to have this as his personality. Once again I’m confused by his character. He’s so arrogant, but also rightgeous and just. I guess in a sense that’s more predictable because of his position, but he seems alien to me in his behavior.

Later, when Bill drops by to say hello to the director and Legoshi, Legoshi notices something is strange. Honestly, for I second I thought Bill was going to be involved in Bem’s murder. I personally haven’t forgotten about it, even if the characters hardly make mention of it. In the end is something less dramatic, but still very concerning. Bill has gotten some rabbit blood in order to prepare himself and enhance his performance. Legoshi is the one to notice because he already know what rabbits smell like. It’s hard to say if the blood is Haru’s, but I guess in this sense it doesn’t really matter much? Either way, Legoshi is upset and furious. Bill is able to get away at that moment, but when it becomes time for them to be together on the stage, Legoshi enters and shockingly punches Bill in the face.

The fight is one-sided right away. It isn’t that Bill can’t handle Legoshi, but he is recovering from the unexpected situation and at the same time he’s affected by the fact that Legoshi’s performance is gathering more attention than his. Eventually he gets up and hurts Legoshi to get him to calm down. As Bill murmurs that Legoshi must know about Rabbit’s blood if he could tell it apart, Legoshi reflects on how much he hates being a carnivore. This is the meat of the show right here! How tragic it is to resent your very nature because your core goes against who you are or want to be.

Legoshi remembers Haru over and over during this whole time he was punching Bill. He wanted to punch Bill, but he was also trying to hurt the carnivore, the idea of it, he’s just guilty and angry at himself for hurting her and for wanting to hurt her before when now he just has a sort of tenderness for her. In the end Louis gets involved because when Bill got first punched, the rabbit blood flew off and landed right by Louis’ feet. When Louis gets involved, the auditorium erupts into cheers and applause. Louis chases Bill off the stage and they save the performance. I wonder if they’re going to show the aftermath involving Bill in the next episode? I hope so. I also hope Haru saw Legoshi’s performance and this will create some opportunity for conversation.

All in all, I’m super into this show. It’s so subtle and interesting. Also, despite people’s misgivings with the animation, I think it suits the show tremendously. The scenes with the fighting were really exciting to watch. The voice acting is superb, too. I’m really impressed by Legoshi and Louis’ voice acting. I’m really looking forward to what’s to come in this show!