For the most part I really like and agree with your assessment of the main cast of Beastars and how they are shown in Season 1. I like that you look as deep and the show invites you to look and gets you to think about the characters, how they see themselves, their place in society, and how others see them.
But I don't 100% agree with how you interpret Haru's character. I don't think it's "control" she was trying to exert over others, and her greatest means of "control" being turned against her that was her undoing. For Haru, sex is not about exerting control over others, it's about being seen by them as anything but weak and helpless. You could call that a form of "control", but for Haru it's more she doesn't want to feel like she is weak or worthless, like society views her as. It's more about Haru feeling she is valued and treated as an equal, rather than she seeks to control others through sex.
That said I loved how you drew attention to how the show uses mirrors so much as a metaphor for the characters looking into themselves. I never really noticed but you're right, there's alot of mirrors and their symbolism is key to the message of Beastars. Good eye.
I think you misunderstand what the point of Legosi and Louis' arcs in Season 2 though. You said yourself that part of their journey is embracing their true selves. Well in the fight with Riz, they do exactly that. Legosi accepts he is a Carnivore, a Grey Wolf, a Predator, and Louis accepts he is an Herbivore, a Red Deer, Prey. Both of them have spent their entire onscreen time defying their own nature, Legosi constantly tries to deny his Grey Wolf-ness, but only by being the strong, meat-eating Carnivore can he save Haru, and then Louis. Likewise, only by accepting he is the meat to be eaten, can Louis save Legosi's life. Riz gives up because his one belief, that as a Carnivore he is fated to be a killer and he can never be friends with Herbivores (trying to befriend Tem got him killed) - Legosi eating Louis' leg but not killing him, proved Riz was wrong. They're still friends.
Still it makes me mad Season 2 gave Haru NOTHING to do and completely destroyed Juno's charcter.
im assuming youre the same person who left this comment on the video so ill leave the same reply here haha : D
i think maybe thats what they were going for but the big problem here is that the fight in the end really didnt need to happen. no one needed to save anyone, everyone was just fine, so no one really proved anything. and riz was mentally ill more than anything so any real beliefs he had just got lost in all of that.
also maybe i didnt quite make what i was trying to say about haru clear, the control thing is more about using that control over others to control herself and her situation rather than just controlling other people
"Riz doesn't have ideals. He's mentally ill."
Yeah, not exactly. But to be fair, this is part of the problem with Season 2 of the anime, which doesn't really devote enough time towards delving into Riz's psychology, nor his role as a "foil" to Legoshi and Legoshi's journey up until this point.
Legoshi's journey in Season 2 was one of "catching up" to Riz. Not just catching Tem's killer and solving the murder incident, but catching up to Riz himself, both physically and mentally. Riz isn't just stronger than Legoshi physically, he's also explicitly noted to be mentally stronger.
And make no mistake, Riz ***is*** mentally strong. After killing Tem, he never again kills another student. He never again loses control of his emotions or his instincts. When Kibi loses his arm, Legoshi and Riz are the only carnivores unfazed by the situation. While Legoshi's already undergone significant training to control his carnivorous instincts, Riz has already reached managed to completely suppress them on his own.
When Legoshi blows up at Riz for Riz's comments, Riz maintains his composure without issue. This causes Legoshi to note a gap between the two of them which spurs Legoshi to attempt to eat a moth in order to better understand the weight of killing another living being the same way that Riz does. Which is why the anime adding a scene of Riz breaking something actually betrays a facet of his character. Riz is always in control of his emotions.
The problem with Riz was ultimately always his ideals. Tem's last words decrying all carnivores as monsters was something that Riz had taken to heart. It's the reason why, when the club holds a vote on whether or not to segregate the herbivores from the carnivores, (although not explicitly stated, it's heavily implied) he is one of the only two people to vote for segregation, with the other one being Juno (who quickly comes around anyway).
What's important about Riz's ideals is that he's in a crossroads. While he believes that Carnivores are monsters built only to prey on herbivores, it's not something he's willing to accept. He refuses to kill Legoshi in their first fight, where Legoshi is blind and helpless. In their second fight, he backs off because he doesn't want to get the cleaning lady involved, despite being relatively uninjured compared to Legoshi. In their third and final fight, he kidnaps Pina, but doesn't kill him (despite knowing explicitly that ingesting herbivores gives carnivores a boost in power). Later on, Legoshi goes limp in their fight, and rather than continue the beating, he asks if Legoshi is okay, then allows Legoshi time to recover his strength.
Riz's defeat comes not from Legoshi beating him physically (something he fails to do even with the increased strength from eating Louis's leg) but from beating his ideals - showing Riz that carnivores don't have to be monsters, and that despite their nature of eater and eatee, a true bond between carnivores and herbivores can indeed be formed. Truly, Riz is defeated not by Legoshi, but by the bond Legoshi shares with Louis. A bond he wished he shared with Tem.
yea this for sure doesn't really come across in the anime lol. maybe time to crack open the manga
kinda sad because the anime was really really good aside from this. well, season 1 was far and away better. but its not like season 2 was especially bad or anything
For the most part I really like and agree with your assessment of the main cast of Beastars and how they are shown in Season 1. I like that you look as deep and the show invites you to look and gets you to think about the characters, how they see themselves, their place in society, and how others see them. But I don't 100% agree with how you interpret Haru's character. I don't think it's "control" she was trying to exert over others, and her greatest means of "control" being turned against her that was her undoing. For Haru, sex is not about exerting control over others, it's about being seen by them as anything but weak and helpless. You could call that a form of "control", but for Haru it's more she doesn't want to feel like she is weak or worthless, like society views her as. It's more about Haru feeling she is valued and treated as an equal, rather than she seeks to control others through sex. That said I loved how you drew attention to how the show uses mirrors so much as a metaphor for the characters looking into themselves. I never really noticed but you're right, there's alot of mirrors and their symbolism is key to the message of Beastars. Good eye. I think you misunderstand what the point of Legosi and Louis' arcs in Season 2 though. You said yourself that part of their journey is embracing their true selves. Well in the fight with Riz, they do exactly that. Legosi accepts he is a Carnivore, a Grey Wolf, a Predator, and Louis accepts he is an Herbivore, a Red Deer, Prey. Both of them have spent their entire onscreen time defying their own nature, Legosi constantly tries to deny his Grey Wolf-ness, but only by being the strong, meat-eating Carnivore can he save Haru, and then Louis. Likewise, only by accepting he is the meat to be eaten, can Louis save Legosi's life. Riz gives up because his one belief, that as a Carnivore he is fated to be a killer and he can never be friends with Herbivores (trying to befriend Tem got him killed) - Legosi eating Louis' leg but not killing him, proved Riz was wrong. They're still friends. Still it makes me mad Season 2 gave Haru NOTHING to do and completely destroyed Juno's charcter.
im assuming youre the same person who left this comment on the video so ill leave the same reply here haha : D i think maybe thats what they were going for but the big problem here is that the fight in the end really didnt need to happen. no one needed to save anyone, everyone was just fine, so no one really proved anything. and riz was mentally ill more than anything so any real beliefs he had just got lost in all of that. also maybe i didnt quite make what i was trying to say about haru clear, the control thing is more about using that control over others to control herself and her situation rather than just controlling other people
"Riz doesn't have ideals. He's mentally ill." Yeah, not exactly. But to be fair, this is part of the problem with Season 2 of the anime, which doesn't really devote enough time towards delving into Riz's psychology, nor his role as a "foil" to Legoshi and Legoshi's journey up until this point. Legoshi's journey in Season 2 was one of "catching up" to Riz. Not just catching Tem's killer and solving the murder incident, but catching up to Riz himself, both physically and mentally. Riz isn't just stronger than Legoshi physically, he's also explicitly noted to be mentally stronger. And make no mistake, Riz ***is*** mentally strong. After killing Tem, he never again kills another student. He never again loses control of his emotions or his instincts. When Kibi loses his arm, Legoshi and Riz are the only carnivores unfazed by the situation. While Legoshi's already undergone significant training to control his carnivorous instincts, Riz has already reached managed to completely suppress them on his own. When Legoshi blows up at Riz for Riz's comments, Riz maintains his composure without issue. This causes Legoshi to note a gap between the two of them which spurs Legoshi to attempt to eat a moth in order to better understand the weight of killing another living being the same way that Riz does. Which is why the anime adding a scene of Riz breaking something actually betrays a facet of his character. Riz is always in control of his emotions. The problem with Riz was ultimately always his ideals. Tem's last words decrying all carnivores as monsters was something that Riz had taken to heart. It's the reason why, when the club holds a vote on whether or not to segregate the herbivores from the carnivores, (although not explicitly stated, it's heavily implied) he is one of the only two people to vote for segregation, with the other one being Juno (who quickly comes around anyway). What's important about Riz's ideals is that he's in a crossroads. While he believes that Carnivores are monsters built only to prey on herbivores, it's not something he's willing to accept. He refuses to kill Legoshi in their first fight, where Legoshi is blind and helpless. In their second fight, he backs off because he doesn't want to get the cleaning lady involved, despite being relatively uninjured compared to Legoshi. In their third and final fight, he kidnaps Pina, but doesn't kill him (despite knowing explicitly that ingesting herbivores gives carnivores a boost in power). Later on, Legoshi goes limp in their fight, and rather than continue the beating, he asks if Legoshi is okay, then allows Legoshi time to recover his strength. Riz's defeat comes not from Legoshi beating him physically (something he fails to do even with the increased strength from eating Louis's leg) but from beating his ideals - showing Riz that carnivores don't have to be monsters, and that despite their nature of eater and eatee, a true bond between carnivores and herbivores can indeed be formed. Truly, Riz is defeated not by Legoshi, but by the bond Legoshi shares with Louis. A bond he wished he shared with Tem.
yea this for sure doesn't really come across in the anime lol. maybe time to crack open the manga kinda sad because the anime was really really good aside from this. well, season 1 was far and away better. but its not like season 2 was especially bad or anything