Like every single volume before it, Beastars Vol. 5 was juicy as hell. I especially loved this issue because it had a lot of significant character reveals and explored character relationships particularly well. Though I will say this issue revealed to me some plotting issues I wasn’t a fan of.

This was a very Louis-centric volume. We learn about his relationship with Haru, his backstory, and see him interact with various characters in interesting ways. Louis has been one of my favourite characters in the manga and this volume really let him shine. Haru and Louis’ dynamic was surprisingly soft and tender which was completely unexpected. They understood each other in a way no one else in the series does and Louis allowed himself to be vulnerable in front of Haru. However, Itagaki never forgot that Louis isn’t a great person. While Louis appreciates Haru he doesn’t see her as an equal and as we learn about his backstory it’s revealed to us why he sees the world the way he does.

This installment introduces and expands upon two new ‘rivals’ for Louis’ position as Beastar and both of them are so interesting. We get more of Bill in this volume as he attempts to blackmail Louis about his past. Not only was that scene badass as fuck (don’t get me started on how Itagaki utilized perspective in that scene) but that conflict itself opened the door to Louis’ backstory which was very much appreciated. Louis’ conflict with Juno was even more fascinating because of the reveal that the girl we perceived as sweet and innocent had been manipulating everyone. It was a fantastically executed heel turn. Juno also brought into the forefront the interesting views Louis had in terms of biological essentialism. Louis’ disdain for carnivores has been an undercurrent to his personality since the very beginning and Juno challenges that in a very interesting way by being a carnivore who wants the exact same things Louis does from the complete opposite perspective.

Louis’ backstory was another highlight of this installment and it was as dark and fascinating as I thought it would be. As the only herbivore in the narrative who has experienced sustained violence from carnivores the way his prejudice manifests is so unique and specific. His desire to become Beastar is so compelling because his prejudice against carnivores seems so justified in context and his interactions with carnivores so far make so much more sense. Knowing all of this about him makes me even more excited to have more interactions between Legoshi and Louis in the future.

This volume ends in a cliffhanger and revealed a wider narrative going on in the manga. I appreciated this because the previous volumes have just been mostly slice of life and the pacing has felt off. I’m only four volumes into a planned twenty book series so it’s way too early to judge, but these past few installments did feel uneven. Overarching plots were introduced only to forget them for chapters. I’m glad to see that there may be a more significant plot movement from this point on. I do think the way I’m reading the manga does affect my opinion of this because I am getting the story piecemeal. I do plan once I’ve caught up with the series to wait for most if not all of the volumes to come out so I can binge them for a better reading experience. 

As much as I love Beastars as the series continues the fact that this manga is set in high school makes me more and more uncomfortable. This series is very sexually explicit and even scenes where characters aren’t actively doing the deed are often sexually charged. The fact that the characters being depicted are minors makes me really uncomfortable at times. There’s no reason (other than cute uniforms) why this manga couldn’t take place in a university and I wish that Itagaki went that route instead because no one really needs stories filled with incredibly sexualized high schoolers.

I didn’t talk about Legoshi in this review at all but given how fascinating all of the Louis stuff was in this volume I hope you can understand why I wanted to dedicate a whole review to him. I love this manga and the ride Itagaki has taken me on so far has bun so much fun. I hope to get to volumes five and six asap.