EPISODE 5
Due to circumstances, Tsuyoku had to retire from the team and thus give up her coverage of not only Beastars, but also the rest of her shows. We’ll deeply miss her, and in her stead, I’ll be taking on the coverage for Beastars from here on out.
I know I wasn’t exactly the most enthusiastic in our preview for this show. I will admit that I thought it was very strange and I didn’t think I was going to check out this show at all. However, I saw a lot of hype and excitement surrounding this show so I decided to give it a chance. And I’m so glad I did, because I was hooked from the very first episode. It’s incredibly fascinating!
Episode 5 starts off with the aftermath of the disastrous play. It’s created quite the buzz around the school, and now Legosi has really made a name of himself whether he likes it or not. Even though Louis thought of it disastrous, he quickly changed his tune from his opinion of it and his punishment for Legosi and Bill when the newspaper club and fangirls caught him scolding them. Not to cause any more unnecessary drama, Louis calls the play a complete success and that they had planned to change the plot of the play in order to illustrate the complications in life and people’s convictions and whatnot. It was a nice save, but that speech also seemed to be directed at Legosi. It’s interesting that Louis also didn’t care that Bill doped on rabbit blood considering what we find out later.
I really enjoyed the short talk he had with Jack at the pool. Legosi admits that this one time he felt so much anger, he didn’t want to control it. He’s the type of person that takes his emotions and just suppresses them, so he doesn’t really emote as much. On top of that, he’s just socially awkward in so many ways. This was really the first time he really went all out on his feelings. Jack can see the change in his friend, and it makes him glad. I also like this side of Legosi too.
In a kind of cruel turn of events with how the episode presented it, once Jack finds out that Legosi actually has a crush on someone, the scene switches to Haru reading the school newspaper…with Louis on her bed. It’s very shocking because I didn’t expect this in the slightest. And it just hurts to see because of how innocent Legosi’s love for Haru is. But by the way they were speaking and acting towards each other, it doesn’t seem like this is the first time Haru and Louis have slept together. There’s definitely something deeper going on between them, which just makes me feel more bad for Legosi.
While that was a huge shocker, things slow down a little bit and suddenly turn funny. Legosi runs off to find Haru and Haru has her hands full dealing with her regular bullies. It was funny how proud she felt when the girls ran in fright, even though it was just Legosi. This entire section from the hallway to their dinner was extremely awkward but so entertaining. I felt bad laughing at Legosi, but the way he panics over the smallest things is so endearing. I also couldn’t help but laugh that, while Haru does want to be better friends with him, she couldn’t stop the habit of her leg kicking in fear whenever she’s near a carnivore. Together, they do look like quite the strange pair. For one thing, it’s not exactly normal to see a carnivore and herbivore hanging out. Second, the size difference is very amusing. They both know it, they both know it’s awkward, and the whole time I couldn’t help but laugh. Funny enough, the distance between them got a little shorter in a small moment when Legosi helped with her shoe and they were able to look into each other’s eyes for once. And finally, they got each other’s names.
Legosi’s happiness is just so sweet. He wants to move forward and change himself bit by bit, and that’s because he wants to see more sides of Haru. Very nice. This was a much more mellow episode after the hectic one, even though there were huge moments this episode too with character development and some spicy drama.
Also, the drama club is going to take part in the Meteorite Festival, and I never thought about it but it’s so fascinating that in this world they view the dinosaurs as godly beings. I mean, it makes total sense but it’s all so clever.
EPISODE 6
While last episode was slower, this one was really intense. This took a very dark turn, both in the worldbuilding and possibly with Legosi.
The episode opens up with some of the boys watching the news, where they find out that an herbivore was killed by a group of carnivores in the city. Because of this piece of news, it’s only the carnivores of the drama club that get to go into the city to prepare for the festival. And one interesting thing that Louis mentions before leaving club was for the carnivores to not go to the “dark market”.
But that’s exactly what happens, though it was by chance. The boys head into the city and all that, and while they got lost trying to find the station, they happen upon an old goat sitting on the street. But things soon turn unsettling as the man holds up his hand, with some fingers missing with the rest holding up price tags for each, asking if they’d like a bite. Next thing they knew, they turn around and find a long street of food stalls full of carnivores eating meat. Herbivore meat. Apparently, the dark market is basically an underground illegal food scene for the carnivores, and it’s so chilling. Legosi mentioned in the beginning that he never found the city to be a fun place, but he was surprised to see how well carnivores and herbivores were getting along during the time they were there in the day. But that innocent thought is then turned into something horrific, as the friendly carnivores from the daytime satiate their hunger during the night, eating the herbivores they interact with everyday. Of course Legosi is completely against this, and of course Bill is all for it. In a fit of anger against his friends, he runs off from them. Though running through the dark market, the smell of the meat was only tempting him more and making him salivate, eventually making him pass out.
The show plays more into the psychological when Gouhin sort of kidnaps Legosi and has a serious talk with him. First off, we find out what the dark market really is, such as where the meat comes from. The meat are from hospitals and funeral homes, so no one was actually killed. Gouhin is an interesting panda, as he’s a psychologist of the dark market and helps carnivores that have thought about eating live meat. He questions Legosi because of his previous behavior. He showed the same symptoms of someone who has eaten or killed an herbivore before. He then goes to show him a wall of pictures of past carnivores he’s had to help, who all had a taste of live meat and then resorted to self-mutilation for many reasons. He tries to warn Legosi about this. The story has done a great job with its worldbuilding. It’s been a treat to finally see the world outside of the school, and it’s really interesting to see what happens to animals that attack herbivores.
Probably the most interesting part was Gouhin getting at Legosi’s romantic feelings for Haru. It kind of puts things into perspective and makes us wonder if Legosi’s feelings are true. Gouhin gets to the point that all carnivores have the same instincts, which is to hunt. Maybe Legosi’s “love” toward Haru is more of his warped hunting instincts. He’s not drawn to her because of love, but because he sees her as prey but he masks that desire with feelings of friendship and love. I know that Legosi is pretty genuine, but with the way he attacked her before sort of makes you think. Even Legosi is a little confused, but he’s not exactly experienced in all this.
There was a lot to take in this episode, but everything presented to us from worldbuilding to questioning Legosi’s emotions was incredibly done. We also were introduced to a new character, another wolf named Juno who Legosi saved from bullying. It was a serious start, but she seems like a kind girl. It looks like we’re going to be seeing her more since she’s a new member of the drama club, so it’ll be interesting to see what kind of dynamic she’ll create with the main cast. I sense something might happen with Legosi. Because they’re wolves? Probably. Gotta make this love drama even more complicated!
