I wasn’t sure what to expect from this book, but I really like the title and the idea behind it. I kept waiting for something exciting to happen or for the plot to make a little more sense to me, but as the story progressed I discovered that it was really just more about the day-to-day lives of the animals at this Academy. It isn’t a bad story and it is a great choice for someone who is looking for a manga about animals, but it just wasn’t for me.

I wasn't really sure what to make of this one going in, but I am glad that I gave it a try. While this manga shares some superficial similarities with Zootopia, it is a much more complex and adult tale. The plot focuses on the complex relationships between different students at a college where the students are all either predatory animals or prey. Its primary themes are of racism, as both races have a tendency to make assumptions of each other based on their species.

While this volume is slow building and doesn't do a lot to investigate the murder, it does set up the story well and does a great job of introducing the core protagonists. The sketch art-style also suits it well, neatly capturing the body language and expressions of Legoshi in particular. I enjoy how so much time is spent focusing on the characters, learning about how they both relate to and differ from their species stereotype.

Due to the cliffhanger ending of this volume, I am very eager to get my hands on the next installment to see where the story will head from here.

I don't know what I was expecting when I picked up Beastars but I wasn't expecting such vivid and "human" characters. We all fight with our inner desires but it is much harder as an animal when they define their identity by their desires.

Beastars is kind of like a twisted fairy tale mashed with Manga. There’s a bit of a mystery and it talks a lot about the different cliques. Hand this book to students who enjoyed To Ra Do Ra.

Beastars was incredible. The artwork. The uniqueness of the storyline. Legoshi is so misunderstood and standing accused. Those in the background, in the shadows, continue to pull the strings, manipulating. I will be continuing this odyssey. I want to know who who murdered Tem..

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and Paru Itagaki for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was really intrigued by the advert for Beastars that popped up on Netflix recently, but I haven’t yet got around to watching it. I’m always apprehensive about watching an anime because I always want to read the manga first but then often don’t get round to it. This year though, I’ve really been making an effort to get more into manga though, and I’ve been very much enjoying it, so I was thrilled to see Beastars v1 available on NetGalley!

The premise of Beastars is deceptively simple – at a boarding school for animals, there’s a clear divide between predators and prey, but the balance between both is carefully maintained, and students go about their day, attending lessons, eating meals and sleeping in dorms all on a campus full of their natural opponents. The apparent murder of a student throws the balance into disarray – suddenly, no one knows who to trust, and the previously cosy familiarity between organisms of the same type starts to feel more like taking sides of a battle.

We follow Legoshi, an awkard wolf, as the murder is discovered, and then as he tries to go about his normal school life in the aftermath. We have a big cast of supporting characters, from Louis the drama club president stag to Tem the alpaca who is close friends with Legosi. The cast are really interesting, and the story takes an interesting approach to stereotypes, with creatures living up to some and subverting others.

The art is unlike anything I’ve seen before (in my admittedly not very wide experience with manga). It has an endearing cartoon sketched style, something I can totally imagine following as part of a webcomic, and there’s so much detail, both on characters and backgrounds – in many ways the art reminded me more of a graphic novel than a traditional manga.

The comparisons to Zootopia are unavoidable, but it’s sort of Zootopia crossed with One of Us is Lying or a Gillian Flynn story. Think Zootopia made by the creators of Pretty Little Liars or Riverdale rather than Disney – it isn’t truly gruesome or horror, but it’s definitely got a dark and sinister edge to it (in the best way).

I’m gripped by the plot, which is at times a little farfetched but nonetheless addictive and intriguing. The story is undeniably clever, with it’s clever allegories, the social divides and relationships. It makes you think about nature vs nurture, and whether gaps that seem like they could never be bridged truly have to be that way. The cast are great and I LOVE Legosi. The art is something to really enjoy taking your time over. All in all, a brilliant opening volume that I desperately need a physical copy of and I can’t wait to read the next one!

Even if this book is not adequate for a classroom setting due to mature topics, it is an enjoyable read for mature teenagers and up. Legoshi is a relatable character and the topics within it are something many people have faced and will face through their lives. It is interesting to see animals be facing so many challenges and trials that reflect so many parallels in today's world and the characters themselves are well developed and grow gradually in the volume as time passes by. Overall, if you know your teenager is mature, I recommend picking up this manga series for them.

Murder, high school drama, and awkward teens but the catch is they're all animals!

This series was okay. It began with a murder which I though would be the arc for the series, but it is mainly used as a way to introduce the lead character, Legoshi. Legoshi is an awkward, extremely large grey wolf struggling to "find his tribe" like any other high schooler. However, the murder of his best friend casts him under suspicion and forces him interact with others more.

The story moves at a slow pace taking time to build up the plot. However, for this to be the first volume in the series, it moved too slow to really engage me. The other characters did not get enough attention to really help readers understand the world the series takes place. But this approach is different than the manga I'm used to reading so that does influence my opinion.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC.

I was pretty skeptical going into this manga of half animal half people characters. And the title was confusing. I like fantasy, but this really seemed weird. However, I was sucked into the whodunnit plot from the get-go. The pacing is fast and the artwork is clean which makes for an easy read. The translation could have been improved, some of the dialogue did not seem natural.

I can't wait to read the rest and see how the Netflix anime compares.

The only thing that bothered me, <spoiler> was that they ate eggs and drank milk for breakfast. Isn't that like eating someone's unborn children? Weird. I think I can accept a wolf-bunny relationship, but I can't get over that. </spoiler>

Thanks to Netgalley for the eARC.

I went into this with very low expectations, not knowing a single thing about the plot, simply because a friend asked me to watch the show. When I saw volume 1 on Netgalley, this was my compromise to her.

Uhm hi yes. I need volume two.

I didn't know what to expect from this especially when seeing the anime was rated M (I think). Sometimes that means nothing, and sometimes that means it's more sex, drugs, and violence than is necessary. This is volume one, so that could really change as the story goes on, but I see a lot of potential in this.

It's a boarding school story that focuses heavily on the politics of the world. There's loads of bigotry and racism (speciesism?) between the carnivores and herbivores. As is stated by one carnivore early on, if it's believe a carnivore does anything to harm an herbivore, they get kicked out from the school. There's obviously a power struggle going on, and severe trust issues between the two groups due to the opening chapter that further fractures the alliance between them.

I found the main character compelling. He's not what you expect, and I want to see how his story progresses.

There are also potentially magical elements to this? Something happens near the very end that hints at something else that may be going on that people don't know about/is hidden, and it intrigues me as well.

All of this to say, give this a shot. What will it hurt?

I started reading this as I'd seen the series advertised on netflix and was pleasantly surprised! I love the concept of animals fighting against their primal instincts and the aart manages to convey that struggle perfectly.

Let's get the acceptance of the fact that this is in a very similar vein the Disney's Zootopia out of the way first. Yes, it's about anthropomorphized animals all living together and carnivores and herbivores learning to live with each other. But I really do think that's as far as the comparison can go.
BEASTARS takes place in a boarding school where a tragedy has taken place, an herbivore has been murdered by a carnivore and no one has any idea who it was. It's into this scenario that readers join gentle giant Legoshi and the world of animal students. Legoshi is a wolf, the biggest and baddest in school, but he just happens to be a super calm and introverted guy who just wants to live a peaceful life as part of the technical/production team in the school's drama club.
At its heart this is a slice of life/high school story that just happens to have the added quirk of the students being animals. And Itagaki makes full use of the entire animal kingdom by including a massive array of them and getting as many species as possible into each frame. It's a feast for the eyes to discover all the animals and little details of the world that inhabit the pages and it rally helps propel the story forward. It also lays the groundwork for some pretty funny puns and elements.
There's an underlying theme to being true to one's nature and fitting in that really caught my attention and has me looking forward to seeing where this story is eventually heading. This is definitely a pretty original story worth following.

Massive thanks to Netgalley and VIZ for the early peek at a series I've been hearing many great things about.

Imagine Zootopia, but with a much more realistic approach.

Actually, it’s unfair to make the Zootopia comparison, but many people approaching this for the first time are inevitably going to connect the two, when really they are very different in their handling of the topic. Beastars, however, has an advantage of having an edge. It doesn’t have the problem of being constrained into the limits of a kids movie.

In a world where animals take the place of humans, the world is divided in two; carnivores and herbivores. The tensions between these groups is exacerbated by the murder of a student herbivore by a carnivore at the same school. Legosi, a grey wolf, is used to the distrust of his fellow students because of his carnivore status, and has to face his feral nature during a time when suspicions of carnivores are at its highest.

I saw the anime first, but I was glad that the manga had a different feel. While the anime is fairly faithful, there was more the manga had to offer. The main thing is the art style. It’s gorgeous. It’s something I’ve never seen before, and has some beautiful visuals. It’s eye catching, and portrays tension magnificently in just a one panel. Can’t recommend highly enough.

While this is a mystery, the murder isn’t the main focus, nor does the investigation of it appear all that much. If you were going into this expecting it to be a crime procedural or detective mystery, then you’re going to be disappointed. However, the cast of characters totally makes up for it, especially with our lead. Legosi is a complex and layered character that has so much potential to be explored, along with Haru who has a different approach to the supposedly innocent nature of her species but really has many complexities that makes me want to know more about her. It’s also interesting to see how their animal nature complicates their everyday lives, and not just the herbivores living in constant danger of being killed by their carnivores friends, or the carnivores always being seen as a threat and battling their feral instincts. It’s a fragile balancing act that brings more tension to the story that puts it on a whole new level.

For a first volume it holds a lot of promise and potential that I am excited to learn more about. From the world, the characters, and the intricate society, this is definitely a manga I would recommend to anyone. Ignore the Zootopia comparisons. This is on a whole new level.

I will be leaving a review on the Waterstones website.

With a herbivore student murdered the school year at Cherrystone Academy has been turned upside down. Now tension is running high with the herbivores and carnivores. Legoshi see this first hand seeing as he's a big grey wolf.

I really enjoyed this one! I liked Legoshi and can't wait to see where his character goes from here. The ending left me guessing and I'm excited to see what Haru does next.

I also enjoyed the art style there was a lot of detail.

This was fun to read and I wanna read more!!! but it is a little weird at times. I love Legoshi though, he's so awkward and sweet and he loves bugs ahh.

I’m new to the manga world, but I absolutely loved this. I like how it tackles racism, prejudice, taboo relationships, and bullying. I’m definitely hooked and will be continuing the series.

Beastars is one of my favorite manga series. The story is set at a boarding school where the students are divided between carnivores and herbivores, and much of the plot revolves around the animals' instincts and their ability to fight those instincts or not, in many cases. While the characters are simply animals, the issues that they deal with can be understood by many high schoolers and young adults. It covers racism, prejudices, taboo relationships, promiscuity, class/clique interactions, and bullying. It is also a series on Netflix now, I am still waiting for resolution for the crime that kicks the whole series off, but I am not sure if the resolution to that really matters, since it covers so much more. It does cover mature issues, though, so I would recommend it as a mature young adult manga.

This was a very good story. The art was so cool and the world was strange and different. The main character was quiet but intense at the same time. I am very interesting in reading further and watching the anime.

This is probably the first manga I’ve read that shows disorders (mental and hereditary) and racism is such an easy to understand way that wasn’t a picture book. For example, in just this first book, you see teenagers dealing with all levels of anxiety on top of learning that one of their friends has been brutally murdered. Readers can commiserate with these characters on the anxieties of fights between friends, being bullied for something you can’t help, and being in a room with all eyes trained on you. Such strong connections make this manga relatable to teens, tweens, and emerging adults. This is a book that shows teenagers fighting with themselves and others to prove they aren’t monsters, carnivore or not.
If Beasters isn’t on your to-read shelf or read-shelf, make sure it is on your library’s shelf.

I really enjoyed this! The story is so unique, the Mangaka is very creative. The art is also very gorgeous, the way all the different types of animals are drawn is so great.. The story drew me right in from the start, I couldn't put it down. All of the characters I have seen so far are great, I really love Legoshi! I love the idea of a big awkward and shy wolf.

I will be definitely reading the other volumes of this manga I need to know what happens! I would recommend it to everyone who is looking to read a very unique and beautifully drawn manga.