Beastars, vol. 17

 

- Beastars, vol. 17. Paru Itagaki. 

C. 143

- The feline (a cheetah?) who takes a seat next to Louis, perhaps hung over or perhaps coy, is the same one who in chapter 130 (vol. 15) asked him about his past. 

- There is a propaganda channel for herbivores, complete with (likely fake) scientists advocating for species separatism. 

144 

- The superstitious nature of the Shishigumi, up to using their whiskers for “divination”, is not too different from that exhibited by some real-life criminal organizations. Look up terms like “La santa muerte” or “El santo de Malverde”…

145 

- Decico, civet leader of the fascist organization “Kopi Luwak”, an excellent example of a kind of banal evil that seems harmless at first sight. 

- The other example is Melon, here presented as a simple college teacher who expounds off-beat theories such as the impulse to kill and the impulse to fuck being the same. The kind of thing that many college students find deep so long as they don’t actually look that deeply into it. 

146 

- The meeting between Haru and Melon and their exchange of borderline nihilistic philosophies, would fit right in a movie thriller…

147 

- To such a degree that it ends with Melon stabbing himself in the thigh, as if out of a slasher movie proper. 

148 

- Then we go back to authentic sexual themes: That Legosi prefers to be dominated, even openly admitting that he’d almost rather be an herbivore, prey. 

- Then a moment of horror, in which Legosi thinks he’s eaten Haru in his sleep…

149 

-…it turns out to be a misunderstanding. But it hurts him both physically (his fur turns white) and mentally (he obsesses even more with the idea of marriage). 

150 

- Did Melon really kill his schoolyard bullies when he was nine? Because of the way this flashback is presented it could either be true or be a sick fantasy he can no longer distinguish from reality, not unlike quite a few real life serial killers. 

151

- Legosi still has plenty to learn, as he still thinks that social class divisions are valid, and is shocked that the police are more interested in saving face than in truly stopping crime. 

- And thus, it makes sense that he briefly returns to the school where he began. 

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