A lovely set of short stories that manages to cover so much, from the magnificent tale of beauty being in the eye of the beholder to questions of our existence and the roles we were born to play. Beast Complex 2 does a wonderful job exploring stories of beloved characters that could have easily been one and done plot devices, but instead, Paru uses them to great effects and allows the readers to learn more about the world outside of Legoshi and Haru.

The only negative spot with the stories is how they just end with no feeling of a conclusion, each story simply ran into the next, it was as annoying as having a streaming service auto play the next episode instead of allowing the viewer to enjoy the end credits.

But overall, I definitely recommend this book for Beastars fans, a collection of fun stories and interesting side characters.

A Special Thanks Goes to NetGalley and Viz Media for the opportunity to review this title.

It has been a year since I reviewed the first volume of Beast Complex, and now we’re heading back into the world of BEASTARS with Beast Complex II.
Manga Creator Paru Itagaki is back once again with six new tales that feature our favorite Grey Wolf named Legoshi, and his neighbors from the Beast Apartments! The first tale features a Yorkshire Pig named Euguene, who meets a Peacock Police Officer with a strange death wish. Meanwhile, a Shiba Inu Calendar Model named Mugi struggles with the inevitability of aging out of his cuteness. Stellar’s Sea Eagle named Lecia is afraid of losing his sugar mama and having to strike out on his own. Our favorite couple Legoshi and his dwarf rabbit girlfriend Haru, attend a restorative justice ceremony.

If you’re a fan of Itagaki’s work, then you’re familiar with her use of metaphors and social commentary in her work. And like her other work, it is a collection of characters that makes the story stand out above the rest, that includes character designs and their backgrounds.
I would also like to point out that while it does take in the BEASTARS world, most of these stories take place after the final volume of the main series has ended, while there is one that serves as a prequel. This isn’t a bad thing if you have read BEASTARS, but if you haven’t yet, it is recommended that you check it out and the first volume of Beast Complex first. Please keep in mind that there will be brief spoilers in each chapter’s description.

The Pig and The Peacock– It’s a story that has an unexpectant twist. It was something you would expect to have a very dark premise due to a pig named Euguene being a Taxidermist who preserves deceased loved ones and a handsome Peacock Officer named Gerbera uncovering the Taxidermist’s shady business practice. It ends up having a wholesome ending, it was very clever and ended up being a favorite of mine.

The Shiba-Inu and The Shiba-Inu– The story focuses on a middle-aged male Shiba-Inu, who poses as a woman for a yearly calendar. Even though he makes good money from his popular female persona, Mugi is pressured by the company and his manager to take action, to keep looking younger. It was a good story but not one of the strongest stories in the collection.

The Crow and The Kangaroo– According to the Author’s note, this was the prequel leading up to the Main Story. It mentions a place called District Zero, where the creatures who are pure white can live. But there’s a catch, their pure white fur makes them very valuable. While the focus is Ebisu (A Pure White Crow), a female kangaroo (A White Kangaroo who has developed spots in an area that can be easily hidden but had to sleep with anyone to stay in the district) was another potentially darker story that had another unexpected twist.

The Stellar’s Eagle and The Mongolian Gerbil– Next, we meet a Stellar’s Eagle who wants to avoid working in any way, shape, or form and a Female Mongolian Gerbil who is not only his Sugar Mama, but he is immediately thrown off by the announcement that she is getting married. Most readers would quickly write off Stellar’s Eagle as either lazy or entitled, but it was clear to see him suffering from not only a fear of thunderstorms but suffering from Ergophobia, fear of working, and the features of work. Even though he spends most of the time trying to stop her from getting married, at least it was a nice touch to see him get help in overcoming fear.

The Chipmunk and The (Mountain Hare)– A Popular Writer named Ichijiku faces the risk of missing the deadline for the next chapter of their next story in a literary magazine. The story is written from the viewpoint of a female herbivore, so a new editor is sent out to talk to the writer, who is in for a very big surprise. It continues the trend of being possibly dark but with another twist.
The Wolf and The Rabbit– Our final chapter in this collection brings back our favorite couple, Legoshi and Haru. While I can’t say much about this story due to the fact of risking spoiling it for those who haven’t finished reading BEASTARS, I will say it was a touching ceremony with a balance of good humor, well-designed outfits, and wholesome moments.

Beast Complex II is available now where books are sold, it may have its shortcomings in certain parts, but Paru Itagaki continues to keep readers guessing and wanting more.

I love reading these stories that take place in the same universe but don't necessarily impact the main storyline. The short stories are really fun and interesting insights into the rest of the Beastars universe.

Beast Complex Volume Two is a compilation of six short stories set in the world of BEASTARS, and these shorts were drawn after BEASTARS was completed. Only one of these stories is a prequel to that manga, while the others take place after the final volume of the manga series.

Beast Complex Volume Two
Written by: Paru Itagaki
Publisher: Akita Shoten
English Publisher: VIZ Media
Release Date: March 21, 2023

The first story in the collection is titled, “The Pig and the Peacock,” and it features a pig named Eugene who works as a taxidermist to preserve deceased animals for their loved ones. One day, a peacock police officer named Gerbera encounters Eugene and his shady business. The two become friends, and one day, Gerbera asks Eugene to kill him and stuff him. The way this story was set up, it appeared to be heading for a dark turn. However, I appreciated the direction that Itagaki took the story, because it wasn’t what I was expecting.

The next story, “The Shiba Inu and the Shiba Inu,” focuses on a middle-aged male shiba inu who has spent several years posing as a young female shiba inu for a yearly calendar. His female persona’s calendars are so popular, that he doesn’t have to do any additional work for the rest of the year due to the money makes from this gig. But, he’s aging and the company he works for is trying to pressure him into taking actions in order to keep looking younger, since it’s getting harder to touch up his images. By the end of this story, the reader sees what happens to this character after his secret is revealed. This was kind of an interesting story, although I have to say that with how this shiba inu is designed, there are times where he kind of looks like Legoshi from BEASTARS, and I had to keep reminding myself that this wasn’t Legoshi.

The third story is titled, “The Crow and the Kangaroo,” and it’s the story that Itagaki says in her author’s note is set before BEASTARS. The characters live in what’s known as “District Zero,” where only creatures who are pure white can live. The citizens make it habit not to leave the district, because they are seen as valuable due to their pure white appearance. A female kangaroo that was born in the district developed spots in an area that can be hidden, but she had to make an arrangement to sleep with anyone who asks in order to remain in the district. A newer resident, a crow named named Ebisu, becomes friends with the kangaroo, and we see how their friendship helps them to find the courage to defy the expectations of the district. This is another story that could have potentially taken a darker turn, but it didn’t. I was glad to see the direction that Itagaki took the ending in.

Next is, “The Steller’s Sea Eagle and the Mongolian Gerbil,” which features a steller’s sea eagle who is so determined not to work, so he lives with a female Mongolian gerbil and provides her transportation to and from work. One day, the gerbil announces that she’s getting married, which catches the bird off-guard. He assumed there was more a relationship between him and the gerbil than there was. He’s also determined not to actually work, that he keeps beginning her not to get married and to continue their current arrangement. The bird is also afraid of thunderstorms, and we see the gerbil trying to work with the bird to help him move past this fear. I have to admit, I find the bird’s motivations to be a little odd, but I appreciated seeing the concept of trying to help someone overcome a fear in this story. And when it comes to the design choice for the female gerbil, I have to say that there are some panels where she almost looks like Haru from BEASTARS, except for the fact that the gerbil’s ears are shorter.

This is followed by “The Chipmunk and the (Mountain Hare).” In this story, a popular writer named Ichijiku is running the risk of missing the deadline for the next chapter of their story in a literary magazine. The story is written from the point of view of a female herbivore, so the expectation is that this fits the description of the author. A new female editor to the magazine is sent to talk to Ichijiku, and what she discovers surprises her. Admittedly, I had guessed this twist before it was revealed, but I hadn’t guessed what would happen afterward. For what happens after the twist, it was a situation that could have gone in a darker direction, but Itagaki turned the situation on its head again. Leading the reader to believe something darker would happen, but then not taking the story in that direction, seemed to be a theme that ran through several of the stories in this volume.

The final story in this compilation is titled, “The Wolf and the Rabbit.” If you couldn’t guess from the title, the main characters are Legoshi and Haru from BEASTARS. I hesitate to talk too much about this story, though, since it’s obviously set after the ending of BEASTARS, and I don’t want to potentially provide spoilers to readers who haven’t finished the manga series. As someone who hasn’t finished BEASTARS yet, I can guarantee that you will get at least one spoiler if you read this short story. Although I’m not going to provide details about this story, what I will say is that I enjoyed it, even if I did end up getting spoiled about something that would have to happen at the end of BEASTARS in order for this story to work.

I don’t know if it’s because I had already read the first volume of Beast Complex, but the stories in this volume didn’t feel nearly as gritty as they did in the first one. Then again, the stories in Beast Complex Volume One were written before Itagaki started BEASTARS, and these were written after, so it could also be chalked up to her writing style changing over time. The tone of the storytelling in Volume Two feels much closer to the BEASTARS manga than the stories that appeared in Volume One did.

When it comes to the art in Beast Complex Volume Two, it looks very much like what readers have come to expect of Itagaki’s style from BEASTARS. But as I mentioned for a couple of the stories, there were characters who looked a little too close to a couple of the main characters in BEASTARS even though they aren’t the same animals as the BEASTARS characters.

If you’ve read the entire series of BEASTARS and want to see more stories set in this world, then I would recommend reading Beast Complex Volume Two. If you haven’t read all of BEASTARS yet, but want to read this manga, then I would suggest waiting to read this one until after finishing BEASTARS.

Way back when I wrote for another outlet, I said that Beastars Volume 13 felt more like filler. I still believe this to be true, but the Beast Complex subseries justifies the setting’s plot relevance. While the first volume of the manga was filled with one-shot tales, this one contains characters from the original Beastars.

The second volume of Beast Complex revolves around the apartment’s zany cast of characters. For example, you have a Sea Eagle that’s a freeloader and a taxidermist pig! Each of these tails… erm, tales highlight a small slice of the characters. I especially enjoyed “The Chipmunk and the (Mountain Hare)”, which organically mentions the Beast Complex while delving into herbivore/carnivore dynamics. It’s also the closest to the Legoshi/Haru dynamic that we’ve grown accustomed, which is a great parallel. “The Shiba Inu and the Shiba Inu” also highlights how expressive Paru Itagaki’s art style can be. Mugi is adorable, regardless of if he’s his chubby 40-year-old self or cosplaying as an idol. These characters get a day in the limelight, and provide a lot of necessary worldbuilding to the world of Beastars.

If there’s one complaint (other than a lack of Sagwan, the nudist seal) it’s the general brevity of each story. While all of the stories have an ending, a lot of them feel unfinished. The mangaka might return to these characters, but a lot of stories could be resolved in a few more pages. It doesn’t help that the final story (which revisits our main cast), feels out of place with the rest. Sure, Legoshi is part of the Beast Complex too, but his tale should be told somewhere else.

All in all, Beast Complex Volume 2 does what a good spin-off manga should; focus on worldbuilding and lesser-known characters. While I’m sad the main manga is finished, I know I can still dive into the world of Beastars.

Beast Complex stands fairly well on it's own legs. A companion to Beastars, certainly, but one does not need full knowledge of the previous series to enjoy these varied, episodic tales. From a Shiba-Inu who is losing his cuteness, a taxidermy practicing pig and a peacock police officer, to the cute last tale involving a certain wolf and rabbit pair, there's a lot to like. Paru Itagaki has always had a way with world building that shines here. This a great series to try if you've been curious about this world, but are unsure about starting a 20+ volume series!

A great addition to any library manga collection. It was really fun to see how the world of Beastars is expanded! I was most interested in the way the manga depicts animal sizes vs the way the anime does.