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I had a lot of expectations going into this from friends who had recommended it to me. Beastars delivers on the expected hype on almost every mark. It is one of my all time favorites now and I hope it keeps the momentum up.

Story: 8
Overall it is well paced and pushes you to binge all that's currently out. Itagaki is skilled in creating a world that enthralls the reading and constantly reveals more of itself while leaving intrigue. She does struggle with juggling the characters at times, as some abruptly lose attention and development. There are some filler chapter, but they had good placement to ... lighten the tone and ease the story back from its sometimes breakneck pace. From the shaky start, the story quickly settles and knows what it wants to do and embraces it.

Art: 9
I'll admit, initially I did not like the art especially how hands and feet were drawn on animals. This eventually grew on me and now can appreciate the rest of the art, which is truly stunning at some parts given that character designs are very distinct from each other. The style almost perfectly shifts to match the tone of what's going on, both for comedy and to show tension.

Character: 7
Legosi is truly the goodest of boys. His naive psychology may turn some away but his sensitive nature and drive are both admirable. It is engaging to watch him develop and it's hard to find a reason to root against him. Louis is a complex individual who interacts with Legosi well and provides a key foil in the story. Other than these two, most of the characters are written well but are handled poorly. This might be because of how little story is actually out, but once a character serves their purpose they are almost forgotten. I will give her credit, because when characters reemerge she writes it gracefully and it makes me feel warm seeing how the characters reconnect. Another issue created by this is side character development seems sudden and loses its value. This being said, the stunning outweighs the annoying and there is enough to love about most of the cast.

Enjoyment: 10
In case it wasn't obvious, I love this series. It has elements from enough stuff to enjoy without bogging itself down. Slice of Life and Shounen elements never (in my opinion) carried on for too long. The manga is admittedly dark at parts, but never reaches an edginess to it, and it is sad to think that many people will think that it is solely furry bait. The series is not carried by its heart alone, but also the incredible talent behind it that continues to surprise.

I will continue to read this as it comes out and I hope that you may have been convinced to give it a shot. Thank you for reading!