I must say that I find this episode less effective than the previous two, as we move a bit further away from Draft Rabbit and more to the Deer and his play. As some random teammates notice the fact that the core team member of the drama club have their own personal issues that make them the perfect candidate for the role, one (including our Legosi) would think what is the secret that Louis is holding. From his interaction to Legosi this week, it feels as if he feels his herbivore nature as his weakness, thus he is ticked off by Legosi, the carnivore type that tries his best to suppress his own nature. His dream of becoming a Beastars is quite obvious, but I still don’t see the extent on why he pushed himself so much to perform the plays. It’s clear how Louis is the type of model character that Legosi dreams to be, but like the tragic play Louis performs, he’s heading towards a tragic end here so I suppose he will soon reveal his vulnerable sides once his “number one” status crumbles down the floor.
Speaking of predator and prey, the first scene of this episode sure subverts the notion of who is prey and predator there. It’s quite ballsy to depict your main character in that light for sure, but I can say that my interest in her hasn’t been wiped out at all. Legosi seems to agree with me on this, as he finds himself even more attracted to her even after she shows her true (pure white) color. I’d love to see more of her though, as for now my biggest enjoyment lies in Legosi’s struggle with his primal instinct and their complicated relationship, and this episode pushes in another angle with Louis and his injury. Well, words on the street that the anime has improved the pacing greatly from the manga, so hopefully we will soon get to the “meat” of the story.
I also appreciate how Beastars explores its world-building in a low-key approach. The brief shots of these characters go back to their assigned species room sure is whimsical, and the “cinematography” and the visual Orange brings in are always a feast for the eyes. This episode also struck me on how our characters not only struggles with their instinct, but also to their images. The “Beastars” title is nothing but an image. Louis is clearly fighting for that image and even one team member of the drama club is afraid to look at herself in the mirror. Of all the characters, it’s only Haru who seems to understand about herself, but she too has her fair share of issues. It’s rather fitting that this episode ends through the eyes of a character behind the mask, a perfect concealed image.
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