An
anime television series adaptation produced by
Orange aired from October to December 2019 on
Fuji TV's
+Ultra programming block. A second season aired from January to March 2021. A third and final season is set to premiere in 2024. The anime series is licensed by
Netflix. The first season premiered outside of Japan in March 2020, and the second in July 2021.
By October 2021, the manga had over 7.5 million copies in circulation. Beastars has won multiple awards in 2018, including the 11th
Manga Taishō, being the first Akita Shoten title to receive it, the New Creator Prize at the 22nd
Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize, the 42nd
Kodansha Manga Award in the shōnen category, and the New Face Award at the 21st
Japan Media Arts Festival.
In a modern and civilized world populated by
anthropomorphic animals, there is a cultural divide between the herbivorous animals and the carnivorous animals.
Legoshi, a large
gray wolf, is a timid and quiet student of Cherryton Academy where he lives in a dorm with several other carnivorous students including his outgoing
Labrador friend, Jack. As a member of the school's drama club, Legoshi works as a stagehand and supports the actors of the club headed by the star pupil Louis, a
red deer.
Out of nowhere, Tem the
alpaca is brutally murdered and devoured in the night, setting off a wave of unease and distrust between the herbivore and carnivore students. At the same time, Legoshi has a fateful encounter with Haru, a
dwarf rabbit who has been in love with Louis, and begins developing complex feelings for her.
Beastars, written and illustrated by
Paru Itagaki, was serialized for 196 chapters in
Akita Shoten's magazine Weekly Shōnen Champion from September 8, 2016, to October 8, 2020.[3][4] its chapters were collected in twenty-two individual tankōbon volumes, released from January 6, 2017, to January 8, 2021.[5][6]
During their panel at
Anime NYC 2018,
Viz Media announced that they have licensed the manga.[7] The first volume was released on July 16, 2019, and the last on January 17, 2023.[8][9]
In February 2019, it was announced that Beastars would get an
anime television series adaptation animated by CG studio
Orange.[10][11] Shin'ichi Matsumi directed the series, with Nanami Higuchi handling series composition, Nao Ootsu designing the characters, and
Satoru Kōsaki composing the series' music.[12] The series aired from October 10 to December 26, 2019, and aired on
Fuji TV's
+Ultra anime programming block and other channels. At the conclusion of the TV broadcast, a second season was announced.[13][14] Animation studio Orange returned to produce the second season, which aired from January 7 to March 25, 2021.[15][16][17] On July 20, 2021, studio Orange and Netflix Japan announced that the anime series would be receiving a third season.[18] On December 7, 2021, Studio Orange announced that the continuation would be the final season.[19] The final season will split into two
cours,[20] with the first part premiering in 2024.[20]
ALI performed the series' opening theme song "Wild side", while
Yurika performed the series' ending theme songs "Le zoo" (ep. 2, 5, 8 and 9), "Sleeping instinct" (ep. 3, 7 and 10), "Marble" (ep. 4, 6 and 11) and "Floating Story on the Moon" (ep. 12).[21] The opening theme song for the second season is "
Kaibutsu" (怪物, "Monster") and the ending theme song is "
Yasashii Suisei" (優しい彗星, "Comet"). Both songs are performed by
Yoasobi.[22]
Season 1 of Beastars was released on March 13, 2020, on
Netflix outside of Japan.[23][24] Its second season was released on the streaming service on July 15, 2021.[25]
Stage play
On December 4, 2019, the first 2020 magazine issue of Weekly Shōnen Champion announced that a stage
play based on the manga was in development. It was originally scheduled for an April 2020 debut running through May in
Tokyo and
Osaka.[26] In late March 2020, it was announced that the play has been cancelled due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. However, there are plans to have it postponed instead.[27]
Reception
Manga
By October 2021, Beastars had over 7.5 million copies in circulation.[28]
On
Rotten Tomatoes, the show holds an approval rating of 94%, based on 18 reviews, with an average rating of 8.1/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "Well-made and beautifully animated, Beastars is a solid new anime for anyone looking to get a little wild."[43]
In 2020, the series was part of the Jury Selections at the 23rd
Japan Media Arts Festival in the Animation category.[44]Beastars won a CGWORLD Award in the Computer Animation category.[45] It won the 26th Spanish
Manga Barcelona award for the Best Anime category in 2020.[46] The anime series was awarded the "Best Opening Sequence" and was nominated in 8 other categories including "
Anime of the Year" in the
5th Crunchyroll Anime Awards;[47] while the second season was nominated in three categories in the
6th Crunchyroll Anime Awards in 2022.[48]
Notes
^The series takes its name from the in-universe title of Beastar; an individual of great talent, service, and notoriety.