Thanks for stopping by Anime Rants today. The next two episodes of Beastars Final Season were excellent. Rather than write detailed episode recaps for these installments, I will only be commenting on a few aspects that I found most interesting or enjoyable. Without further ado, let’s discuss these episodes, which focus primarily on introducing new characters Gosha and Sagwan.
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Episode 3: An Old Dragon’s Wrath
Episode Rating: 9/10
It was interesting to me when Legoshi attacked the young animals who were selling Kines. He supposedly resisted the effects of inhaling fumes from the can, but I wonder if even that tiny exposure predisposed him to be more violent. Because damn. Legoshi really let loose on that panther, nearly killing him. That doesn’t seem like something Legoshi would normally do. He also had that creepy smile at one point.
Back at Cherryton High, the drama club meets and discusses their future. They must now be segregated into carnivores and herbivores. Pina dramatically quits the club, but I doubt anyone will miss him. I wish the drama club would take a stance against the school and fight for permission to do one more play as a mixed group. That’s what Kai the mongoose wants, too. However, I also agree somewhat with Juno, that the important thing is to not forget the spirit of coexistence even after the club is fully segregated.
This was a great episode with a lot of good moments, but arguably, my favorite part was when Legoshi met Haru at the bus stop. He finally decided to tell her about the devouring incident. I love the way these two cute animals interact. However, before Legoshi can even begin his story, an old male rabbit calls out to Haru. The rabbit girl quickly leaves Legoshi and goes to walk home with the other rabbit, who is apparently her father. He probably would never approve of Haru’s relationship with a wolf, a fact which discourages poor Legoshi.
There’s also a short but extremely interesting scene where Yahya saves a bunch of cows from a slavery factory. Presumably, it’s common for animals to drink milk, and it’s not an illegal product. However, not all milk production plants are treating their workers well. That was the problem with this particular factory. The timid herbivore milk producers were being overworked and bullied by a carnivore boss. Yahya quickly showed that cat his place. As always, the world building in this anime is both fascinating and uncomfortable to consider.
The last few scenes in the episode focus on introducing Gosha, the komodo dragon grandfather of Legoshi. There’s a weird scene where he approaches Legoshi and puts some of his spit venom into Legoshi’s mouth. Apparently, this is some kind of komodo dragon greeting, since their venom is ineffective against family members. Right away, this raises the question of whether Legoshi was adopted by Gosha or whether they are biologically family. If it’s the latter, then it means mixed breeds of animal are possible.
(Side note: As someone who majored in wildlife biology, I felt the need to fact-check this information about komodo venom. According to the Smithsonian National Zoo, komodo venom is useless against any fellow dragon. It has nothing to do with family bonds, but with species. Komodo dragons probably evolved antibodies to deal with having such dangerous mouths. Regardless, I’m not expecting science from Beastars. I just wanted to share a wildlife fact. Also, here’s a cute screenshot.)
Legoshi’s grandfather, Gosha, takes him out for a meal at a family restaurant. There, they have an argument with a gang of carnivore birds. The restaurant owner kicks out the problematic avians, but they’re not done. They wait for Gosha and his grandson to pass through a dark, quiet area. Then they attack, just as the kindly old lizard was reminding Legoshi about being a pacifist. But when one of the raptors hits Legoshi, some kind of switch flips in Gosha’s mind.
The komodo dragon begins savagely attacking the birds. Legoshi is stunned to see his pacifist granddad kicking so much ass. The episode ends there, but just to make this reveal even more awesome, there’s a special ending song and animations. The music video tells of the legend of Gosha, an incredibly powerful fighter for justice in the underworld. For years, he ruled the streets. His full story is yet unknown, but before he retired, he was one bad-ass lizard. To be continued.
Episode 4: The Gravity of being a Land Dweller
Episode Rating: 9/10
As someone who’s keenly interested in Louis, I enjoyed this episode. There’s an important scene with him in the first half. It starts with Louis eating dinner at a fancy restaurant with his arranged fiancé, Azuki the red deer. She seems to be a bit older than him. During the dinner, she asks whether Louis’ injury – which he claimed he sustained in an accident – had any effect on his reproductive health.
The proud and severe Louis is a little slow on the uptake with these things; so, at first, he acts insulted. Azuki then explains that she booked a hotel for them that night, and that they need to test their compatibility before marrying. (Something which is entirely reasonable and not a question of morality.) The scene cuts to the bedroom in true Hollywood fashion, and you would think Louis was in for a very good time. However, he’s having a lot of trouble performing with Azuki.
The more he pressures himself, the more terrible Louis feels. While he tries to make it work with Azuki, he’s actually thinking about Juno and her sharp fangs. Desperately, he tries to get back to reality, telling himself, “Make love to Azuki, another creature of your species!” That’s when he throws up. I don’t think that timing was coincidence. To Louis, the idea of making love to another of his species is so disgusting that it sickens him.
So, I have always wondered whether or not Louis was gay. We know he’s at least performatively heterosexual. There’s no denying his sexual tension with Legoshi, but he never shows any signs of wanting to act on those feelings. He seems to like women. After all, in all likelihood, he had consensual sex with Haru. Despite that, he did give her up to Legoshi easily, suggesting he wasn’t deeply in love.
Anyway, the problem wasn’t that Azuki and Haru were women. The problem is that they were herbivores. In other words, this scene is trying to tell us not that Louis is gay per se, but that he has a carnivore fetish. Beastars took the cowardly route of not depicting any queer relationships so far, and I didn’t expect that to change in the final season. It sucks, but this series will always just “dance around” with hints of queerbaiting. It will never follow through or be open.
Even though I was prepared for this from a Japanese anime, I’m still disappointed. However, something interesting did occur to me that softened the blow. According to the vibes I’m getting from this story, in the world of Beastars, interspecies dating is far more taboo than queer sexuality. Ideally, the narrative would have showed this to viewers by normalizing same-sex relationships, but that’s too much to expect from Japan apparently. Still, the fact remains that Louis is in a marginalized group that’s demonized for its sexuality. So, yeah, in this world, Louis might as well be “queer.”
Next, let’s talk about Yahya and Gosha. They were a crime-fighting team that aspired to be Beastars. I loved the scene with Yahya and Gosha riding their motorcycles. It was so cinematic and classic. The komodo dragon and the horse had some kind of deep bond, and for Yahya, it may have even been romantic.
When Gosha retired from street-fighting to live with his pregnant girlfriend, Yahya felt acutely abandoned. I can relate to that, especially if there was a romantic or sexual component to the friendship. Even decades later, Yahya still feels bitter and resentful about the “betrayal.” This is the first sign that the renowned Beastar might not be completely mentally stable. (Later events will reveal his entitled, vindictive nature.)
Now, the scenes with Gosha and Yahya were important for another reason, too. They confirm that mixed-species animals do exist in this world. Gosha married a gray wolf. Presumably, the child they had was a mostly normal gray wolf. And she eventually gave birth to Legoshi, making him only fractionally related to komodo dragons. That explains why he seems like a fairly normal wolf in the present. Anyway, at this point, it remains to be seen if this information will be relevant to the central plot.
The second half of the episode takes a very different direction. It goes back to Legoshi, who is working at a ramen shop as a delivery boy. The barn owl who runs the ramen shop is super adorable and wise. I don’t know his name though. He believes in serving every kind of animal, including those that live in the ocean. This is the first time we’ve heard about ocean fish civilizations. Ocean creatures have their own language, but Legoshi doesn’t know a word of it. Luckily, Sagwan comes by to help.
Sagwan is a seal, which in this world means he’s half ocean creature and half land creature. I won’t spend long writing my current thoughts on Sagwan and his conversations with Legoshi in this episode. That’s because, quite frankly, these scenes deserve their own blog post full of discussion. The gist of it is that Legoshi learns about life in the ocean, where it’s a “eat and be eaten” world that somehow maintains harmony. Legoshi also befriends Sagwan, who lives in the same apartment complex.
I loved the wholesome ending of this episode. There’s a scene where Legoshi and Sagwan sit together and bond in the apartment, looking at the ocean-themed decorations and feeling almost like they were underwater for real. Legoshi’s sense of wonder and joy is obvious. This scene encapsulates one of the core themes of Beastars – and it’s a positive one: the sheer wonder of learning about other types of people. It’s the delight of interacting with someone who is different from you.
That’s all for today, but you can expect more Beastars Final Season episode reviews in the next few weeks. I expect this post series will extend into the new year, 2025. I hope my readers will continue with me. Thank you so much for reading my work – or for just skimming – and have a happy holiday season!
~Thanks for reading~
Written by 7Mononoke
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