Legoshi (named after Bela Lugosi?) is a typical 17-year-old. Tall and lanky, but awkward physically and socially, Legoshi is trying to figure out who he is and what his place in the world will be. And he has to fight his primeval urge to kill and devour. After all Legoshi is a wolf.

I mean it. Legoshi is a real wolf. But all the characters in Beastars are animals. We have rabbits, deer, sheep, lions, and dogs. But this is not some cutesy animal anime. This series is dark and bloody, with a fair amount of sex. So don’t be fooled and let your pre-schoolers watch.

At this school, students are divided into the carnivores and the herbivores. The goal is for all to get along, but there is tension between the two since the latter feels like they could be prey for the former. And inter-species relationships are frowned upon.

So Legoshi meet Haru, a white dwarf rabbit. His first drive is to eat her, but after fighting off his instinct he actually falls in love. Haru meanwhile has a hard time being ostracized, thanks to a harlequin rabbit who accuses Haru of sleeping with her boyfriend. Haru doesn’t have a very good reputation in the school.

Then there is Louie, a buck, who is the big man on campus, and feels the pressure to live up to his reputation. We also meet Juno, a female wolf whose demure exterior hides her ambition.

The characters are well defined. The artwork and animation are great. All the technical elements serve the overall plot in a well-made anime which builds up to a lead in to season two.

Beastars is a unique anime series. You usually don’t see animal characters as complex, dark, and contradictory as these. I recommend it. Beastars is a good watch.