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Feb 09: Some Thoughts on Beastars
5 years ago
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Status: Uuuhhh...
█ This journal post is probably gonna contain a bunch o' Beastars spoilers (at least for the anime) but I highly recommend watching it, for me personally it's my favorite show I've watched and contains my favorite characters to date. I don't say that lightly either, and really it's a testament to how well written the characters are and the struggles they go through. The simplest way to explain it is to frame it as "Zootopia: Dark." Which is to say if you enjoyed Zootopia, then you'll likely enjoy Beastars as it roughly the same premise; but is willing to go down paths Zootopia is unable to. If you're aware of the earlier drafts of Zootopia, it certainly runs closer down that premise. An interesting side note is that the author of Beastars had her story rattling inside her head, but didn't think anyone would care to read it, but after seeing the success and how well received Zootopia was she buckled down and started to draw her manga.
If you have zero intention of watching Beastars and/or don't care too much about mild spoilers you can get a quick (semi out of context) taste of what the anime is like by doing a search for "Legosi X Haru" and watch the video that shows up.
I suppose since I mentioned Zootopia I'd give a few brief thoughts on it. It's certainly a well crafted, fun, and beautiful world; but it wasn't something that really grabbed me past the surface, and didn't really give me too many reasons to rewatch it. There was however one moment that resonated with me deeply, and that was when Nick was talking about his past; of how when he was a kid he was chased away from something he wanted to do. Though nothing to do with being "different" but more along the lines of where "Winning is everything" met "Try your best" and you can guess which ideal won out. Past that the emotional drama and tensions were rather generic.
Beastars for me was way different when it came to how relatable the characters are to me. Two of the three main characters resonate with me in deep yet different ways. Even the third one I relate to on a deeper level than I did with Judy or Nick in Zootopia. I suppose one of the main reasons why is because the characters are essentially lost and mostly drifting through their lives trying to figure things out. Most media have characters that are driven from the start, and the character only tends to stumble a little bit; or slight bits of character growth.
More spoliery stuff starts here I suppose as I talk about the characters more in depth. Beastars has two male leads: Legosi a wolf who hides his strength to fit in, and Louis a deer who strives to be perfect despite his weakness; they are polar opposites in terms of personality and drive, yet if you were to combine the two you'd end up with someone who's similar to who I am as a person. My dragon characters of Endium and Erinsis are what you get if you split my personality across different traits (mostly along the lines of apathy/empathy, impulsive/cautious, and pragmatic/idealistic). I at times do want to try and present their character stories and backgrounds, but I need far more knowledge and practice at such things before I'd feel comfortable enough to attempt it.
Something that drew me towards Legosi the wolf from the start was how he's visually presented: He stands hunched over by default. It's not something you see often, and I've never really seen it used as the default pose for a main character. It's something that struck at me deeply from the start because I spent a lot of time when I was younger in that pose, even told to stand up straight on more than one occasion; but never really having the strength or motivation to do so due to how depressed I was at the time. Legosi is ultimately someone who's always at a distance, numb to a lot of things in life, resigned to being used to how things are. His complete and total social awkwardness cuts to the bone as well, since I have a complete inability to start any kind of conversation. Getting numb to things is certainly how I went through a lot of my life, and in a lot of ways I still do; though not really by choice. Legosi does find his way out of that place, but I'm still somewhat trapped there; though I'm for the most part okay with it.
This does bring me to Louis the deer, who I relate to far more than Legosi; far more than I realized upon my first and second viewing. It was the third time around that I realized how much I was like Louis in the past, it was just I didn't recognize it because I had moved so far from that point in my life. He's a perfectionist, and not really by choice; there's a constant weight on his shoulders to be the best, the absolute best. It is crushing and suffocating, he can't escape it because that's all he knows how to do; and he has to do it, he will do it. While this isn't exactly an uncommon trope or personality type, what made me realize how similar I was to Louis was when he was driven to his breaking point. Everything he had been, everything he worked for, all of his beliefs; it was all for nothing, it was worthless and he gave up. He had a gun and he pulled the trigger, and on my third watch through I remembered that point in my life and even to this day that I would have done the same and without hesitation. I only felt that for a second, but in such things a second of weakness is all it takes.
In a sad kind of way, who I am is a combination of both Legosi's and Louis's weaknesses, and virtually none of their strengths.
Which brings me to Haru the female lead of Beastars, who I don't relate to at all; outside how she goes through life: The not caring at what others think, how ultimately I'd be happier if I was left alone. It's not a happy way to go through life, but sometimes it's enough... a world full of fake smiles. I think I shared the same levels of resignation and defiance as Haru did as death closed in on her, but there was no one save me; it was just darkness at the end. I've been spending years since clawing my way back out of that void.
Hah, I suppose these thoughts have been rather dour, but that's kinda due to the characters being written more 'real' than most I've seen. It's not written as "Here's a problem, and then later it's solved" rather "Here's a problem, and it's going to be following you for a long time; maybe even the rest of your life" and the story is about how to live with that problem. There's certainly a lot of problems I've been living with, some that I could certainly be doing a better job of with as well. I still find myself more distant with people than I like, but such is what happens when one gets burned too many times; each time it gets harder and harder to close the distance again, simply because the threat of the pain of getting close is just so great.
Something that's not so gloomy... Something of a coincidence is that early in the story Louis is praised for his performance in a play, and in my youth I have a vivid memory of getting complements for my role in a play adaption of "The Wizard of Oz". I played the Wizard, and I remembered the shift in tone I did for the booming voice and the meek man behind the curtain I had really gotten into the moment and afterwards quite a few adults complimented me on it. I think I was around 10 years old at the time, and in retrospect I guess I had to have done rather well considering how terrible child plays are; how much of a drag they are to get through. I certainly didn't anticipate any kind of particular attention from random adults in the audience. At least that's how I remember that day, it was a good and happy day.
|██████████|ENERGY
Status: Uuuhhh...
█ This journal post is probably gonna contain a bunch o' Beastars spoilers (at least for the anime) but I highly recommend watching it, for me personally it's my favorite show I've watched and contains my favorite characters to date. I don't say that lightly either, and really it's a testament to how well written the characters are and the struggles they go through. The simplest way to explain it is to frame it as "Zootopia: Dark." Which is to say if you enjoyed Zootopia, then you'll likely enjoy Beastars as it roughly the same premise; but is willing to go down paths Zootopia is unable to. If you're aware of the earlier drafts of Zootopia, it certainly runs closer down that premise. An interesting side note is that the author of Beastars had her story rattling inside her head, but didn't think anyone would care to read it, but after seeing the success and how well received Zootopia was she buckled down and started to draw her manga.
If you have zero intention of watching Beastars and/or don't care too much about mild spoilers you can get a quick (semi out of context) taste of what the anime is like by doing a search for "Legosi X Haru" and watch the video that shows up.
I suppose since I mentioned Zootopia I'd give a few brief thoughts on it. It's certainly a well crafted, fun, and beautiful world; but it wasn't something that really grabbed me past the surface, and didn't really give me too many reasons to rewatch it. There was however one moment that resonated with me deeply, and that was when Nick was talking about his past; of how when he was a kid he was chased away from something he wanted to do. Though nothing to do with being "different" but more along the lines of where "Winning is everything" met "Try your best" and you can guess which ideal won out. Past that the emotional drama and tensions were rather generic.
Beastars for me was way different when it came to how relatable the characters are to me. Two of the three main characters resonate with me in deep yet different ways. Even the third one I relate to on a deeper level than I did with Judy or Nick in Zootopia. I suppose one of the main reasons why is because the characters are essentially lost and mostly drifting through their lives trying to figure things out. Most media have characters that are driven from the start, and the character only tends to stumble a little bit; or slight bits of character growth.
More spoliery stuff starts here I suppose as I talk about the characters more in depth. Beastars has two male leads: Legosi a wolf who hides his strength to fit in, and Louis a deer who strives to be perfect despite his weakness; they are polar opposites in terms of personality and drive, yet if you were to combine the two you'd end up with someone who's similar to who I am as a person. My dragon characters of Endium and Erinsis are what you get if you split my personality across different traits (mostly along the lines of apathy/empathy, impulsive/cautious, and pragmatic/idealistic). I at times do want to try and present their character stories and backgrounds, but I need far more knowledge and practice at such things before I'd feel comfortable enough to attempt it.
Something that drew me towards Legosi the wolf from the start was how he's visually presented: He stands hunched over by default. It's not something you see often, and I've never really seen it used as the default pose for a main character. It's something that struck at me deeply from the start because I spent a lot of time when I was younger in that pose, even told to stand up straight on more than one occasion; but never really having the strength or motivation to do so due to how depressed I was at the time. Legosi is ultimately someone who's always at a distance, numb to a lot of things in life, resigned to being used to how things are. His complete and total social awkwardness cuts to the bone as well, since I have a complete inability to start any kind of conversation. Getting numb to things is certainly how I went through a lot of my life, and in a lot of ways I still do; though not really by choice. Legosi does find his way out of that place, but I'm still somewhat trapped there; though I'm for the most part okay with it.
This does bring me to Louis the deer, who I relate to far more than Legosi; far more than I realized upon my first and second viewing. It was the third time around that I realized how much I was like Louis in the past, it was just I didn't recognize it because I had moved so far from that point in my life. He's a perfectionist, and not really by choice; there's a constant weight on his shoulders to be the best, the absolute best. It is crushing and suffocating, he can't escape it because that's all he knows how to do; and he has to do it, he will do it. While this isn't exactly an uncommon trope or personality type, what made me realize how similar I was to Louis was when he was driven to his breaking point. Everything he had been, everything he worked for, all of his beliefs; it was all for nothing, it was worthless and he gave up. He had a gun and he pulled the trigger, and on my third watch through I remembered that point in my life and even to this day that I would have done the same and without hesitation. I only felt that for a second, but in such things a second of weakness is all it takes.
In a sad kind of way, who I am is a combination of both Legosi's and Louis's weaknesses, and virtually none of their strengths.
Which brings me to Haru the female lead of Beastars, who I don't relate to at all; outside how she goes through life: The not caring at what others think, how ultimately I'd be happier if I was left alone. It's not a happy way to go through life, but sometimes it's enough... a world full of fake smiles. I think I shared the same levels of resignation and defiance as Haru did as death closed in on her, but there was no one save me; it was just darkness at the end. I've been spending years since clawing my way back out of that void.
Hah, I suppose these thoughts have been rather dour, but that's kinda due to the characters being written more 'real' than most I've seen. It's not written as "Here's a problem, and then later it's solved" rather "Here's a problem, and it's going to be following you for a long time; maybe even the rest of your life" and the story is about how to live with that problem. There's certainly a lot of problems I've been living with, some that I could certainly be doing a better job of with as well. I still find myself more distant with people than I like, but such is what happens when one gets burned too many times; each time it gets harder and harder to close the distance again, simply because the threat of the pain of getting close is just so great.
Something that's not so gloomy... Something of a coincidence is that early in the story Louis is praised for his performance in a play, and in my youth I have a vivid memory of getting complements for my role in a play adaption of "The Wizard of Oz". I played the Wizard, and I remembered the shift in tone I did for the booming voice and the meek man behind the curtain I had really gotten into the moment and afterwards quite a few adults complimented me on it. I think I was around 10 years old at the time, and in retrospect I guess I had to have done rather well considering how terrible child plays are; how much of a drag they are to get through. I certainly didn't anticipate any kind of particular attention from random adults in the audience. At least that's how I remember that day, it was a good and happy day.
In the anime, it felt very intense with a couple moments where there was the realization that Legosi was in love, or when Louis pulled the trigger at the end—my goodness I just couldn’t help but scream internally and swing my arms like an idiot. XD
I’m waiting for it to come out of Netflix to watch the show, although I may find a dub if the voices seem poorly cast.
I have read the manga though, and I can say I think you’ll like season 2, although I think it hits those themes a little weaker. The hypothetical third season would focus on world building a bit more, but I suppose the themes of living with your choices may hit home for some. That said, the manga doesn’t even get to the end of that third season yet, so who knows?
Perhaps the next arc or the results of the current one will allow for more character growth; otherwise, the comic might be stuck with smaller, incremental changes. The only one who knows for now is the author, and even that might not be true. XD
I of course understand that that may not be superrealistic, but I like to see such things the way that they made me felt joy to begin with and that I like the comparisson of such fictional places towards FA as a friendly community of peoples' characters. Some being a little mischievious but still good at heart always.
In regards of the relationships, they sure are all interesting in connection to all the dilemmas that the characters are in and how they find emotional support and disdain with each other's behaviors and actions. I'd definitely wish them all hopefully to be able to find their place and not getting doomed by their societies for the way they see their personal happiness; that all of them can be rescued.
And there is of course the murder mystery part also. You wonder who might be the person who goes after people like that and why they got there. Surely also hoping that none of the cast may fall victim to them. And the revelation on if they see themselves as the polar opposite of what the main character believes in.
I wonder why murder maysteries and crime investigations are something that thrills people to read about? Is it because of the shock value alongside the hope that people will overcome the evil with justice and wits? Is it that people enjoy the mayhem of bad things to happen to characters...I try to wrap my mind around what makes it feel good in the psyche of people.
I personally always feel a bunch of empathy even with fictional characters and it saddens me when something bad happens to them. I rather want them to be safe and all. But I cannot deny that it sticks with me recalling such stories and thinking back of how they got into despair and then may pulled through with hope (I sure also know "Danganronpa")...I wonder what that says about myself that I get to enjoy a fiction as an overall thing even that it has elements that I'd negatively relate to....Ah, I ramble a lot. again...^_^'
Anyways, gotta wait and check the next season of "Beastars" when it comes out.
On a less personal note, Legosi's attraction to Haru is really interesting. He falls for her very quickly, and yet the first time he meets her face to face, it's strongly implied that she's putting on an act of feeling natural around him. That means he's falling for the facade she's wearing, not her. He's a person who is constantly hiding his strength behind a mask, so I can see how he would be attracted to her seeming to live the life she wants without hesitation... but her "doesn't care about what others think of her and simply lives the way she wants to live" is true... except when it isn't, at all, like when she's acting like she's okay eating lunch with him and seeing his teeth. Or pretending to be okay with Louis not actually dating her. So, yeah, his feelings for her are originally built on either a pretty shallow physical attraction, or a not-so-shallow attraction to a version of Haru he sees in his head. And all that is complicated by the artistic comparisons between actual predation and sexual predation... Woof.
But a lot of his behavior around Haru is due to his own guilt, being extra nice trying to make amends. It also seems to be one of those things in where he hears what people say about her, and it probably reminds him of what people say about him; concluding "That's not who I am, and that's probably not who she is." A combination of guilt, sympathy, and obsession certainly isn't love and he seems fully aware of that, course when he puts all those other feelings aside jealousy starts rising up as a result. Still of course might not be love, but he's pretty willing to explore and find out if it is; it's quite the emotional journey that's far different than the more typical love at first sight kinda stuff.