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Beastars: Volume 4 manga review
By Leroy Douresseaux

February 5, 2020 - 13:25

Publisher(s): Viz Media
Writer(s): Paru Itagaki, Tomoko Kimura, Annette Roman
Artist(s): Paru Itagaki
Letterer(s): Susan Daigle Leach
ISBN: 978-1-9747-0801-7
$12.99 U.S., $17.99 CAN, £8.99 U.K., 216pp, B&W, paperback
Rating: T+ (Teen Plus)


beastars04.jpg
Beastars Graphic Novel Volume 4 cover image

Rated “T+” for “Older Teen”

In this world of anthropomorphic animals, the dividing line is between the carnivores and herbivores.  In this world, eating meat is a felony.  The “Beastar” is a hero who begins as a school leader.  He or she transcends all the mistrust and discrimination that defines life in this world, and then, graduates to become some kind of great public figure who is a world leader.  At the high school, Cherryton Academy, the dividing line is between predator and prey, as Legoshi, a gray wolf learns.

As Beastars, Vol. 4 (Chapters 26 to 34) opens, the Netherland dwarf rabbit, Haru, and the red deer, Louis, are making love.  They are interrupted by Legoshi, who seems oblivious to the relationship, although he seems to sense something.  Gradually, Legoshi becomes determined to tell Haru of his true feelings for her, but a female gray wolf, Juno, wants to tell Legoshi of her true feelings for him.

Plus, learn the secret (and shocking) past of Louis, who wants to be the Beastar.  Will his humble origins hold him back?  Plus, Louis discovers that there is another Cherryton Academy student who wants to be the Beastar.

[This volume includes bonus four-panel comics and also illustrated text pieces about the design and the world of Beastars.]

THE LOWDOWN:  The Beastars manga continues to be a surprise.  The first volume introduced an amazing world of animals that live like humans, and the second volume immediately threw the readers into the complex social dynamics of such a world.  Since then, each volume reveals something in this engaging world that is new to readers.

Beastars Graphic Novel Volume 4 finds creator Paru Itagaki deciding to reveal Louis' back story, but she actually has many surprises, including her reveal of a surprising... tool.  Itagaki also has Juno, who seemed like a minor character, surge forward in a way that suggest that she will be a major player.  Itagaki keeps giving readers a reason to keep reading.  At this point, I have to believe that Beastars will remain an exceptional read.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:   Readers looking for exceptional anthropomorphic comics and manga will definitely want to try the VIZ Signature title, Beastars.

A+
10 out of 10




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