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One of the things you want to see in an anime adaptation is what it can do differently or even better than the manga, this without of a doubt meets both of those. I am obviously going to have a little bias with this IP being my all-time favorite, however, even with that there were a few things I can acknowledge that are left to be desired in the source material.

This review contains spoilers, however, the TL;DR will remain spoiler-free.

TL;DR: Season 3 brings a mix of slice-of-life world-building and mystery angles that the previous seasons displayed. The issues the manga had with pacing and the ... commonly phrased issue of, "distractiveness" in my opinion, are nowhere to be found. It is clear Studio Orange cares about this property and knows exactly how to form a clear vision for this series. Not to mention the intro (like all other seasons) is an absolute banger, and the artistry is uniquely Beastars. If you like navigating moral issues and witnessing/relating to awkward situations (even adding a bit of action in there), then I can not recommend this season of Beastars more.

Story/Plot: 10/10 - This show took what was a clear vision but in parts into a single coherent vision that shows what Beastars is meant to be. The scenes in every single episode blend beautifully and naturally with the next, adding to the character's depth in not only their own growth/mindset but in how they are holistically placed in the world around them. The major elements that were switched around from the manga like Melons incorporation with the Shishi-gumi (and subsequent rewriting of the Reapers Drop scene) and the reimagining of the concept of drugs (giving a bigger purpose to the "Bloodbone Drug"), adding a new realistic in-world dimension of how things operate. It can be argued thats what the black market's function was to convey, however, I argue it still does in which it represents harsher drugs while the tamer stuff introduced is exactly that, tamer. Granted, even with the praise and 10/10 score for the plot, it does go without saying that this season does end on a nasty cliffhanger (literally) but, I am completely fine with this as it is confirmed this isn't the end of the show.

Characters: 10/10 - Every single new character introduced in this season is perfect, they aid the themes, and drive the plot forward meaningfully. Seven (Sebun), Yahya, Gosha, Sagwan, Leonna, Melon (and yes even the little poop guy); they all play important roles in adding dimensions to Legoshis character development and showing the different perspectives that make up their world. Going more into legacy characters, the developments of Louis, Juno, Haru, and even the whole drama class was very refreshing and reminded me of why I love this series.

Music: 10/10 - The intro is (as expected) peak as per usual with Beastars, even the outro has an amazing piece accompanied by pleasing visuals. Most of the classic scores from the first season make a reappearance accompanied by new appearances making a great catalog to choose from. Granted, there is nothing super special about these scores or leitmotifs, but, it does its job as being an aid to the scenes and setting up the audience to expect what the motif comes with. All-in-all the music is undoubtedly one of the best components of Beastars, as those who detest watching the show still admit the intros are bangers.

Art/Animation: 10/10 - This is the component I most love about Beastars, from the very beginning of the adaptation studio Orange experimented with stop motion, watercolor, and the mixture of 2D/3D animation. Season 3 brings what I missed in season 2, being a new vibrant experimental intro that is pleasing to watch. Also, as mentioned earlier with the outro, the paper-mache cutouts is very cool to see. In terms of the animation in the show itself, every aspect from previous seasons has also been improved. The choreography, camera work, facial expressions, just everything I can list. The only part that tells me it could've been better if they maybe experimented more in the actual show with different art styles like season 1 had, but, I got more than enough of that with the intros and outros.

All-in-all I thoroughly enjoyed this season and it marks a great addition to the series. Can't wait to see what meets us in season 2!

This is one of those shows that just feel like being bizarre and trippy just for the fun of it, and it works.

Characters:

To begin, the cast of the show is strong (especially if you like tomboys). You have a man who was just minding his business (or so we think) and a fucking wizard just turned his head to that of a reptilians. This gives the main lead "caiman" which appropriately translates to alligator, a burning hatred for wizards, interrogating and killing any he comes across (face incident of 2020). Homeboy manages to land a power partner Nikaidou, and the energy is perfect. All ... other main, and supporting characters are pretty well written, with the wizards having a charming clown like behavior.

Plot:

The world building is incorporated elegantly alongside the plot, giving a deeper appreciation for the world they are exploring in. Additionally, the plot follows logical progression and inspires deep character growth threw the season. Every twist and turn feels justified, and beneficial to the story. There is only some moments in the season where it felt like it was dragging on a little bit but the trade off is establishing more humanity in the characters with the goofy moments.

Art:

CGI is pretty hated when it comes to anime which is fair, but this is nothing like berserk 2016. There is only a few moments where the CGI was a little bit questionable but overall it is visually impressive. They also experimented with different color schemes, and environments to add more flavor and texture to the CGI animation. The music is also a certified hood classic, I'm not even sure what genre I would label it as, electric punk? Anyways it works and is stylish along side the show.

Lizard man / 10

Edge runners, what an interesting direction the industry is taking. Making the entire shows themselves the marketing for a product rather than a product producing a show. This similar approach also worked for Arcane, and to its merit both Edge runners and Arcane are good shows and deserve the publicity. But lets look at what is the deserving part of Edge runners to revive a tossed out the window open world game.

First, its world, its a basic premise of "What if future, and and capitalism bad". But even with basic, or reused premises, it can still turn out to be pretty gawking to look ... at. The scenery, how people operate in the world, and the unique sacrifices they have to make. It is still equally as compelling even with it being basic as that is where Edge runners gets its bread and butter. There are two directions a show can take, one where the character drives the plot, and the plot drives the character. I felt it wildly beneficial that they choose to make the plot control the character, because it let us see the moral message of control that is relayed through the organization with its denizens. As well as, it aids in the world building process when you see events that occur, that are outside of the characters control. It makes it feel realistic, which is really important to convey a convincing factorial world.

Secondly, its art style, I find to be stunning threw the whole show. I loved the use of color gradients, and interesting designs for characters. Whoever made these character sheets deserves a raise, clearly a lot of love and thought went into making a convincing look into what possible cyborg citizens would look like in a world like that. Also on the same note of art, the music was also pretty good. But was lacking in the variety, it was mostly reusing the same songs, albeit good ones.

Next, the plot/action, this section will be spoiler free and is just an overall look at the structure. The plot opened with an idea/theme and stayed true to it to the end. It didn't have any bullshit detours, it stuck to what it said from the beginning and had good execution while it was at it. Some plot points are stereotypical like, "Something bad happened now IM REALLY ANGRY!" but they did the correct balance to that by introducing a negative to having that reaction, consequences. Minor plot armor, but not enough to dock it anything meaningful. Shonen wise, it had great action, and had reasonable fighting. No bullshit mid-fight powerups, its either you win or lose, are you stronger or are you weaker? Once again, with becoming stronger, the consequences also follow suit to balance the scales. The animation in all the fights was fantastic too, to tie back to my thoughts on the art.

Lastly, characters, this is where I felt like the show lacked heavily. granted they didn't have a lot of run time, only having 10 episodes and all. If it were given more budget and or time, I feel like this issue would be easily circumvented as the foundations were all there and I can see where the artist intent was. This prevents me from fully docking, but we still have to acknowledge what we are still left with. Which is, mostly flat, non-dynamic characters. They either randomly change too quickly given the lack of run time, or don't change at all for the same reason. There are two characters who are exceptions of this, Martinez, and Maine. Though, the same criticism of still exists where I felt like it was still a little too quick. But the change they had was literarily meaningful, and therefor I give it grace from judgement.

Closing notes, fuck Rebecca :middlefinger: 8/10

What the dog doin, oh...

I wished the show focused more on the world building rather than then main cast in one environment. The anime wastes time on generic interacts rather than developing deeper relationships and harder hitting consequences. They also some fit a FUCKInG "beach" episode IN A SHOW LIKE THIS??? And how the fuck do seniors look like that? They look like middle schoolers except for the green eyed girl. The music's alright, interesting choices but I personally felt like it didn't fit sometimes. Art was consistently good but never dared to try different styles to convey moments better or to make the show ... more interesting to look at. If they were to change the story focus and change the character interactions this show would be an easy 8/10.

9/10
Characters:

We got the OG cast from S1 and now more. the newest additions being somewhat stereotypes but like all good stereotype characters they have more to them and they are only putting on an act due to how they believe they should live and behave in order to give an appearance they want. That's what makes the characters so enjoyable in this show because of the deep human aspect of each of them, bad sides of people portrayed through stereotypes and the good side displayed as the struggle between how they really wanna act. Many scenes in this season hitting as hard as they did ... are thanks to the build up from season 1 which also did an excellent job of building characters. And if you didn't think there could be more character development you couldn't be more wrong. Beastars is a series about improving yourself as a person, while yes there is a literal "beaststar" its merely a presentation of how the best behave. Thats why its a fitting name and doesn't even need to mention the beastar at all because about the journey of Legoshi/Louis/Haru, Hell ANY character becoming the best versions of themselves through conflict and interactions, which S2 perfectly honed in on.

9/10
Plot:

This show has amazing twists and turns with how their lives play out in their current situations. With all events being logical and circumstantial, bringing out amazing character development while also doing world building. An amazing 2-in-1 combo that all stories should strive to work towards, they are supposed to bring out the most in your characters which is what Beastars season 2 DID. The training arc being the most symbolic unique thing i've ever seen a shonen do. It was the training of what his morals really stood for, why he's doing what he's doing, its was a fucking MENTAL training arc. Revolving around legoshi's mind and will, while yes he also worked out its his words that will ultimately suit him for his upcoming event (no spoilers). I will say the ending felt a little rushed, the pacing the whole season was amazing up until the last episode. If they took even 1 more episode to tell the story the way it was illustrated in the manga , the ending sequences would've hit way harder, not like a little buggy car like a fucking truck. That being said the ending was still well executed in my eyes but that could be the manga bias clouding my judgment as I have the character development in my knowledge already.

10/10
Illustration:

All the amazing illustrations and animation from S1 to S2 and more? Fuck yes this shit is so good the mix of different art styles to convey different feelings and characters and the dynamics of conflict. The overall CGI quality being stepped up clearly showing a bigger budget since first season, and attention to facial expressions and scenery makes it a visually beautiful anime to watch. Some may have CGI bias from berserk 2016 but Orange studio is just built different and I don't see what the fuss is about when it comes to any CGI even when its done pleasingly. Also the bangers from S1 comes in full force in S2 with remixes to relay the demeanor of the current circumstances and intentions of the characters. Don't tell me you haven't bopped to kaibutsu made by fucking YOASOBI, yes they brought on fuckin YOASOBI to make the intro and ed both standing tall along side wild side in season 1. For me the illustration and music ticks all boxes and is a perfect example of unique and good delivery of story indirectly.

10/10
Theme:

Once again for me the theme is the KING of this show. This is what makes the characters so appealing and different. The theme of, "Don't force your morals on others" being a sentiment that needs to be echoed more in media. Because there is a difference between factual truth and justice that needs to take place, and subjective personal bias and your own perceived justice that no-one cares to hear. The show also has amazing commentary on every adult topic you want to think about, Racism? YEP Black Markets? YEP, goes on and on. This show also excellently hits on how different types of people view the world, with legoshi viewing it harshly and wanting to change it and Louis acknowledging the harsh reality but noting you cant change it and participated in it to his full advantage. These complex themes clashing with each other drives the character dynamics even further and drives a compelling story.

hoping for S3!

Overall Score: 10/10

This is how you make the best out of a mediocre genre. Shounen is known for its predictable overblown action, generic this generic that. But this show takes those generic action scenes and fucking CAAAHPLOYIES it to the moon. Every action scene is engaging, enjoying every second until its conclusion. Pair that with the stunning illustrations and sound design and you got yourself peak action scenes.

I've seen how people say the story and characters are nothing special to note about but I would disagree and say that while yes they aren't the best, but they certainly are not generic. The only characters I could ... agree with being generic is ramen boy and boar bog even then I would say they play the best generic roll ive seen as there are sprinkles of uniqueness in their backstory or mental situation. Which makes them compelling and goes past the stereotypes you see in other animes. The story is honestly a fresh take to me, and the encounters they face along the way and believable and charming. Is that training arc was everything you could ever want a training arc to be. The development of character and body mixed with the motivation to compel and IMPROVE!

To my mind there really isn't any negatives other than at times the cgi looking wonky and that there was minor moments that fell flat. but otherwise flawless anime in my eyes. Based Face Expressions/10

Damn this show is fucking good. Let me start with its absolute strongest point, the topic of morals. This show picks a prime situation for handling this topic, in which a normal person gets a death note which has the ability to kill whoever he writes their name in. This invokes a topic of morals in whether its morally just or not for the execution of someone to be based on ones thoughts but those thoughts are generally accepted through civilization. This makes the whole story very interesting as you get to see how the people react to the main characters actions while also ... being in secret. To add onto this amazing theme you have L another mysterious who plays as the opposing side to this moral dilemma. Shows are the best when you can't call anyone a definitive villains because they both have their understandable truths behind them. The characters and the dynamics are on another level with how they change throughout the show. The art is also not something to look over, with it being very dynamic and expressive of the emotions currently taking place (the fucking iconic potato chip scene). The music also works great at conveying the theme and feel of the show, while to me personally its not something I would put on my playlist it still serves a purpose and does it right. Overall outstanding one off anime, 10/10

The better SAO and I can even say that with SAO being the first anime I've watched. With that said even comparing this to SAO means its not very good in my eyes. Before getting the the negatives Ill talk about what I liked first.

The animation was generally pretty well done, nothing outstandingly good nor does it have a unique style. But the incorporation of CGI that at times is wonky but mostly good with 2D is always a welcomed mix in my mind. The music is pretty immersive and makes you feel like you are in the environments the characters are in, once again ... nothing that stands out or is a banger but its a positive. World building is definitely a plus to these MMO animes as its easily presented throughout the show. And there are pretty decent themes and messages sprinkled in the show that I haven't entirely seen anywhere else yet (i've only watched very few animes so). The one scene that specifically did surprisingly hit me hard was the jail cell scene.

That's all I had to say that was positive so now onto the negatives, wtf is up with this harem bs? I'm not saying you cant have girls in your story but what are the fucking odds that all members of your party are girls??? Here let me do the math, 1/2 x 1/2 x 1/2 x 1/2 = 1/16 = 6.25% FUCKING CHANCE. Granted I would be 100% fine with this but of course they gotta add some SUS SHIT. SLAVE PACTS??? Then the (of course) loli and (nekko?) girl fighting over "Masters" love??? Such a generic overdone character dynamic that doesn't evolve into anything different than what's been beaten to DEATH. And I mentioned themes earlier being present here. Well one of the themes is "Justice can often make one blind to their consequence" which is absolutely uncommonly applicable in real life. 90% of things heroic people do in order to help or for justice don't cause harm. The main character naofumideeznuts doesn't even build up satisfyingly in season 1 he goes from being hated to being hated/respected? i would've like it better if it took longer for the redemption of character but I will say the moment he got redemption felt good but felt flat and unimpactful in the rest of the show, just that one episode. Most people don't like training arcs, but in my opinion its a greater opportunity to build character and establishment. In this show they went "XP BONUS EVENT LOOOL" and THIS FUCKER ROSE 30 LEVELS in 1 EPISODE. IT TOOK HIM 20 to GET 40!! on that same topic this show had soooo many convenient points to it just to drive it forward, out of money? heres money! need to level up quick? XP EVENT!!!! it would've been so interesting to see how the characters would've portrayed the possible harsh reality of that game world struggling through and prospering past it but no we just zip through that shit EASY. Next topic exposition drops EVERY OTHER EPISODE, it rips my immersion of the world or should I say drives me deeper into it as it really makes me feel like i'm playing a FUCKING VIDEO GAME. And are the constant annoying flashbacks and callbacks to thing that happened literally last episode or 5 minutes ago needed? Half the shit I came to my own conclusion already but the show had to explain in for several seconds of which COULD'VE BEEN USED TO DRIVE CHARACTER CONNECTIONS FURTHER. Overall this show is everything I am biased against in anime with some exceptions and good highlights, which is a shame as nearly every anime ive watched through was very enjoyable and nice so far. Makes sense though as I only watched this because I lost a bet. L

the plot seemed slow and repeating at times. Showing the same themes and presenting the same struggle. But towards the middle and end is where it really picks up in narrative story telling. Motives were well shown and told, the aesthetic that this show bares is also very appealing. Hip-hop mixed with traditionalist Japanese music. The animation and art style is also stunning the whole way through. Out of the 26 episodes only 2 struck me as odd (Fucking baseball episode?), the consistency was there and wasn't. And none of the main cast were flat in development, all were well founded and complex which allowed ... the story to wound up wonderfully. 8/10

9/10
Characters:

Legoshi:

The main character of the show, who definitely gets his fair share of screen time which is only a positive in my opinion for the show
as he is well written with his conversations and mannerisms. And the side characters only support him in personality building to see how he would act
in different situations. An example of this is Jack as hes used for exposition on Legoshis character being the one friend he feels like he can open
up too. He also is a very complex character as he doesn't have just one side rather a labyrinth of emotions ranging from what's morally absolute to
dealing with ... an instinctual side. Interesting that an Animal best represented human characteristics than any other anime figure has before. Basically
has relatable in his struggles and ultimately strives to be the best version of himself in his perspective.

Haru:

Haru is an interesting character, she starts off as the generic horny character wanting to fuck anything and everything in sight. But as
the story develops we quickly learn there is more to this character than her thottery. Adding more edge to a character while initially putting them up to
be nothing more is an interesting writing narrative and adds more depth to the series and realism. As people in real life aren't just gonna spell
their emotions or show their motives behind actions. Overall the character starts off basic on purpose and works towards a more depressing yet realistic
undertone.


Louis:

Similar to Haru he starts off as your stereotypical "perfectionist" / Narcissist's, constantly insulting and belittling others. But as with the
theme of this series there are more sides to a person than the surface. His intentions and backstory are very well presented through out this season
and gives ous a way better understanding on why he acts the way he does. This illustration of his past and his behavior is what makes him a fantastic
antagonist and his character development is very well defined throughout.

Jack & Others:

Some might complain that these people do not get enough screen time or development and while that's fair and true for the first season, in the
second one there will be some elaboration on jacks character specifically and his role in Legoshis life. But we're reviewing the first season, so these
characters didn't feel forced onto the story. They were always in natural situations, that were relevant for driving the plot (I.e Legoshis Feelings)
and for bits of comedic relief which is always good when its not cringy nor constant (I am talking about you marvel). Overall yes this characters
could've been more utilized however as mentioned when they are used its for the better and that jack specifically is more elaborated on later as part
of season 2 character development.


8/10
Plot:

The plot in the first season of Beastars flows very well in the beginning in the season, with natural dialogue and situations. Being immersive and realistic enough to be a believable
high school story. But the twist on it (them being animals) is very well included with the setting as they time and time again push the idea of segregation and perspectives. How the author achieved this
outlook of the society is from the situations the characters took part in. Now the plot would be a 10/10 as it does put characters in dynamic situations where they develop and have interesting themes behind,
but towards the end of the first season she does a stark change from slice of life anime to Shonen. Now some may not like this as it removes the consistency and the setup of the series that has been happening
so far. And which I agree to a certain point and understand where they're coming from/ But ultimately I only view this as a totally realistic possibility of a world of animals as fighting is bound to happen
even if you're just a teenager, and also the fighting is actually used to convey a really deep aspect of the characters involved. I would view this more harshly if it didn't help illustrate the characters
motives and morals but it did and it did it well. And with the ending of the first season leaving on a high note, I would consider the plot above average and mostly all logical.

9/10
Illustration:

Beastars hands down is the second best CGI anime behind Houseki no Kuni (which obviously had higher production budget), Whether or not you objectively think CGI in anime is bad, factually in beastars
its good as they use perspectives, different angles, lighting, physics, realistic movement, and switches the framerate of characters scene by scene to better convey the emotions of the characters. And you
can tell when the frame rate was lower on purpose or when it was genuinely just underdeveloped. Also the use of several different art mediums like stop motion, pastel water color scenes, and blending 2D with CGI
creates this amazing set of animation to see. Now onto the music department, the music in beastars is generally well used to help emphasis the emotions going on and the mood. Sometimes it does miss the mark but
at least it sounds amazing. The amount of times I've listened to the OST cannot be counted as its very well orchestrated and each track having its own unique flair. All-in-all they did an amazing job with
illustration in this series, with the potential downside being them not fully staying true to the manga's art style. But in my opinion it was better to change the art style from anime to manga as each are
different art forms, and both versions work well with the material.

10/10
Theme:

The theme is hands down the best part of this series, the amount of depth and elaboration on the several ideas the series has to offer is insane. One of the main themes is that you cannot change who you
are and that you have to make the best of it. Which is best illustrated by legosi, constantly struggling with himself being a wolf. And with the other aforementioned theme of there always being another side
to a person below the surface, as seen with Louis and Haru. This Series also touches on the idea of Racism and un-equality in an unforced and realistic way, it makes sense to why it exists and draws parallels
to problems in our society albeit different. Another major theme in this series is the idea of Righteous indignation not always being the best thing (i.e do not force your morals onto others). I love this
stark contrast in comparison to other main characters from other Shonen shows as friends and the society around legoshi doesent like him for being the hero, that's why they mainly hate him. He's not seen
as the good guy, infact even legoshi views himself as the bad guy because of his innate primal instincts. Overall the theme is very well represented in all parts of beastars media and is easily one of Paru's
strengths when it comes to her writing.

8/10
Other:

The pacing in beastars could've been a little bit faster however the filler in beastars is nowhere as bad as in other animes, in fact the only filler episode in the first season could be
argued as world building and being more immersed into the environment they live in. Another note about pacing is that it felt very natural up until the end in which you could tell they needed to force in
the last remaining chapters into the season (they skipped some manga material). Other things about this anime is the way the recorded the voice lines, instead of animating then voicing. They voiced then
animated to give it a more realistic look and to extremely well emphasize the emotions in each seen (they would act out the scenes in person and use different mic filters for different moods) and the little
details the voice actor for legoshi added in (like minor mannerisms and what not). You can tell they put detail into making the characters to be seamless and emotive as that's very important to a slice
of life anime.

Overall Score: 10/10