Beastars Vol. 1by Sheena McNeilReviews may contain information that could be considered 'spoilers'. Readers should proceed at their own risk. Publisher
Credits Grade: 5 Students are divided into predators and prey, and friendships maintain a fragile peace. Who can become a Beastar, a hero and societal leader? An herbivore in the drama club is murdered. Legoshi, a gray wolf, struggles with his instincts after a chance encounter with Haru, a dwarf rabbit.Zootopia is one of my favorite movies, and while there are similarities between this manga and that movie, I can't say I'd recommend this read to fans of the movie. For starters, this story follows a socially awkward gray wolf, who is all-too-aware of being hated and feared. And this world is one where eating meat is forbidden, but animals still discuss eating / being eaten. It's high school angst, amplified, with an overtone of being newly post-segregation. I'm not sure what exactly the Beastar is or what it has to do with anything. It's equated to a "hero", but it's also just whoever can "gain the trust and respect of every student in the school". They are said to become an important person in society, but it can be in any job. So, someone who can unite predator and prey, I assume? The one shown to be trying for that here is a red deer, and he's a cocky jerk. He's admired (and feared), but that's not the same as respected or trusted, obviously. Though, I can't discredit him completely, as we get to see that he feels the pressure and stress, putting his body in harm's way to keep things moving in the best direction. He still handles these situations poorly, but I have some hope for him becoming a better character. Of course Legoshi is the one we should be looking at for becoming a Beastar. He's a predator and he prefers to work in the shadows (literally, as stage hand as opposed to actor). We see him fight his instincts and the depression and other negativity that comes from his minor failure at controlling himself. This volume's back cover teases us that Legoshi may be feeling a different type of desire (than predator instinct) for this small female herbivore, though the actual scene reads more as an introduction to vorarephilia. What I want to know is why her scent is the only one to arouse him to this point (including hallucinating his predator instinct incarnate), when he's around so many other herbivores on a daily basis. I appreciate the drama club angle for a few reasons, including how naturally it serves to bring predator and prey together without confining them to expected roles. The art is not my favorite, but it does a pretty good job of keeping the animals' heads realistic while adding human expression. The rest of the art mostly fades away. The body language is used when needed and downplayed when not. The backgrounds are minimal. A few times, shadow is used to highlight certain things. I'm not really interested in reading more, though I admit to being curious about a few things. If I receive another volume as a review copy (like this one) I will probably give it another chance, but it's really not fun to read, and I'm not sure where the plot is planning on going. Written: August 4, 2019
|
|
|
Home |
Features |
Columns |
Culture Vultures |
Report Card
Indicia | Contact | Archives © Sequential Tart, 1998 – 2021 |
