This Universe's predators vs Zootopia''s predators
Why haven't the carnivores been driven to the fringes of society like in Zootopia when citizens thought carnivores were becoming compelled by their primal instincts to kill?
In a history flashback in the manga, its stated that in a herbivore and carnivore war, the herbivore population started out three times larger but by the end of the ear the two populations were at rough numerical parity. Carnivores are much, much stronger than herbivores in this setting There's literally no way to do this without risking total extinction.
Predators in Zootopia only composed ten percent of the population, putting them firmly in a minority and reducing their influence on the city. Also, the prey in Zootopia where much closer to the predators in terms of physical strength and endurance. In Beastars, not only is there an even population for carnivores and herbivores, the herbivores would have a tough time physically forcing the carnivores to the fringes or bully them into submission by denying them services to someplace.
It also seems to do with the fact that in Zootopia, the idea of Predators going "savage" is an extremely rare (borderline taboo) occurrence and thus shocks everyone when it happens. Beastars implies that predators going savage and maulings happen, well, maybe not frequently, but often enough to be part of everyday life. Sad when it happens, sure. But so are murders and muggings in a high-crime area.
Shouldn't they have guns or somethin'?
Why aren't the herbivores packing heat? I get it that this show takes place in Japan and not the US, but the carnivore/herbivore dynamic is a pretty special one. In the real world, if there’s a blackout, it's not really expected that people will get preyed on. By contrast, that was exactly the big fear when it happened on the show. It seems like it would make sense to allow herbivores the means to level the playing field.
Because having guns or weapons on your person doesn't actually make you "safer", just "jumpier". Imagine the number of "accidental stabbings/shootings" that might happen if the herbivores panicked and accidentally hit the wrong target in the heat of the moment? That said, if they really wanted self-defense gear, a mere perfume-bottle with spray function would be sufficient to distract predators long enough if they get a spray of that stuff in their noses so the prey can run away to safety before they manage to wipe it out from their sensitive nostrils...
And does it actually take place in Japan, though? "Cherryton" doesn't sound like a particularly Japanese city name to me.
The most vulnerable prey would be small, physically weak, easily manhandled, and lacking natural weapons like horns, strong legs, or huge jaws. Figure squirrels, mice, rabbits, shrews, sheep and pigs, but not much bigger, since anything bigger would pose a threat to the attacker. To reliably kill one of the larger carnivores, such as bears or tigers, you would need to be packing a pretty hefty magnum to do anything against it. Human beings can survive 9mm to the chest as pretty short range, so something as thick as a tiger is going to think it’s a flea bite unless you score a lucky hit. The most vulnerable prey simply does not have the strength to actually carry or use something as big as a .44, what they would need to even wound a tiger, let alone accurately score a shot on a vital organ that will instantly nullify the threat. Sure, they could carry a .22, or a rabbit could MAYBE use something as big as a 9mm, but that’s just going to bounce off one of the bigger predators, and definitely won’t stop a determined wolf from just twisting the victim’s neck. Think about how quickly Legoshi has been able to overtake prey, even without the element of surprise. With the element of surprise, they just wait at an alleyway, grab their victim, and snap the neck. On the other hand, a hippo or elephant could carry a .500 revolver or a sawed-off shotgun, and shoot it pretty accurately if they practice, but they are large and strong enough not to even need a weapon in the first place. If a predator is deranged enough to kill and eat a fellow sapient citizen of the city, he or she is probably deranged enough to want to feel the hot blood wash their tongue when they first open the jugular.
It's hard to say - I get this could be a world similar to our own, but the fact that we have domestic breeds of dogs alongside species specified as Netherlands Dwarf rabbit suggests that this is the Netherlands somehow.
It could simply be that guns are hard to come by. Louis is shown carrying a pistol, but considering his high status as the son of a major CEO, he either has the connections or the cash. The Shishigumi have pistols, but they are a successful criminal group, so have the connections needed and the capital. Gouhin has a machine gun, but not only does he have strong ties in the Black Alley, legitimate doctors, so by extension the government, support his operation, so he would have the means to procure a weapon and possibly even have a license to own it. And of course the police have guns. It might be incredibly hard for a regular civilian to get one.
Legoshi's reputations
Legoshi gets a rap of being the most imposing predator the drama club has, but why? Bill is a tiger, one of the largest and most powerful land carnivores there is; he's bigger, likely stronger, and much more confident in his natural abilities than Legoshi is, and he doesn't even really make an effort to hide it even after the carnivores in the club are suspected of having murdered Tem.
Most likely due to Legoshi is considered abnormal due to how he acts more than his appearance alone, as he is anti-social and distant to a capital "A", making him unsettling by contrasts as wolfs are renowned to be social creatures by instinct. This is a side-effect of his komodo-dragon, aka "reptilian heritage", who're renowned for just their solitary and anti-social behavior, affecting him. That, and a certain Uncanny Valley feel to his eyes that other animals can catch subconsciously but without being able to tell "why". Another trait inherited from his komodo ancestry, in this case, a semi-physical one, as he has inherited "his grandfather's eyes".
Humans, a presumably more "Civilised" species still believes Loners Are Freaks. It's not too weird to think the same trope is in play here. (Sorry to piggyback on this.)
Bill strikes me more as that idiot at the bar who thumps his chest, but he’s so cartoonish you eventually just start rolling your eyes.
Where do omnivores stand in the social dynamic? If you can eat meat but don't typically do it, are you considered a carnivore anyway? What if you're an opportunistic carnivore?
The same as carnivores I imagine, but it depends on whether you're a carnivore or a herbivore. If you're a herbivore; you might feel somewhat calm. However, you'd probably have a very uneasy on whether or not you could trust the omnivore not to eat you, which would be the same with a herbivore. Although if you're a carnivore; you might feel some sort of distant kinship with the omnivore, owing to the fact you share similar societal restraints.
We sort of have an answer and sort of don't in Riz. Technically speaking, bears are omnivorous. We just mainly have a perception of them as carnivores because, as is pointed out with Riz, they're big and strong and fast, and can easily hurt someone by accident. Even Gouhin the panda points out that technically he fits the cut as a carnivore, but was lucky enough to be born able to live off bamboo. Rather than appearance alone, omnivores may depend on their general species specific reputations. If they have very large bodies and are strong, they may be viewed as more dangerous than a smaller obligate carnivore. But if they're smaller and less likely to hurt someone by accident, the general perception of them may be more lenient. Or if some species are just altogether more predisposed to vegetation than meat, such as a panda like Gouhin, it may be overlooked regardless.
What about specialist predators such as anteaters? There is at least one anteater character. They're not really carnivores (they don't eat other vertebrates), but they are not herbivores either.
I imagine no one would see him as a danger, but still give him the side eye. Though it's not a criminal action for them to eat insects, when Legoshi eats one he notes that the idea is still frowned upon, given insects are still considered alive.
^But bugs aren't shown to be sapient, tho.
Sharing a dorm, isn't someone out of place?
It's said the people who share a dorm all have to be in the same taxonomic family, but Miguno is a hyena. Shouldn't he be with, yunno, other hyenas? And even if they didn't have enough hyenas going to the school to necessitate a hyena-specific dorm, shouldn't he be rooming with felines instead?
To closely resembling a canine to justify the room in the feline dorm?
Perhaps it's more a behavioral reason. Hyenas are very hierarchical and social creatures, so perhaps their behavior falls closer to canine rather than feline?
To the above point, felines, by contrast, are generally very solitary and territorial, with the exception of lions. Male spotted hyenas are also small, submissive, and generally badly hazed by the matriarchs, to the point the highest ranking male hyena is still lower than the youngest female cub. If he lived in the feline dorm, he’d be at risk of hazing and bullying.
Forensics are sorely lacking
If Tem was really eaten then shouldn't the killer's DNA have been on his body in some way or other? Unless he was eaten completely and there was No Body Left Behind?
They don’t appear to have computer tech in this universe, which means there’s a good chance many other technologies fell behind as well, including DNA testing.
In that case, why is there no computer tech? The ENIAC was completed in 1946!
It's a very big world and carnivores are known to regularly commit acts of predation on a daily basis, as can be seen with the Back Ally Market. So narrowing down the right predator might me more difficult when you can't find a body.
They do have computers though - Legoshi uses a laptop at one point, with internet and a modern Google equivalent and everything. Just as well, DNA testing has been around since the 80's.
The school seems fairly large, so has a pretty big student body. The murder seems to have taken place in one of the classrooms. You’ve got hundreds of people going in and out of the classroom on the day of the murder alone; people who are covered in fur so shedding, possibly drooling, touching things, sweating (I think?). No possible way you would get only two DNA samples, that of the victim and the killer, especially since the killer probably ripped the body apart in a messy affair. You’re going to have hundreds, if not thousands of samples to somehow document and sort through, and even then, you need something to test the DNA against, such as previous documentation, a close relative, or a warrant to test every single student in the school.
That's all fine and good but, that doesn't really apply to when they have enough evidence to say that Tem was eaten specifically. It's not a matter of finding DNA in the room itself, it's a matter of finding DNA on his body - why can't they do that? Again, unless there was no trace of him left behind but if that's the case, how did they even determine what his cause of death was?
I guess it is a No Body Left Behind situation. Heck, the killer might have licked up all the blood, or at least cleaned up as best he could. From there, there is still evidence of a struggle (the shattered in door), so the police figure, “Yep, he got eaten.” Really makes you wonder how many people, including students, just up and disappear with disturbing frequency, and the police just shrug their shoulders at the report. How many cold cases are stacked on top of police desks. How many coffins are buried completely empty since there just isn’t anything left.
Knowing at this point that the predator in question was a bear, the idea of there being no body left behind, or very little of one, makes sense. A bear is a Big Eater by nature, so he would be able to full or mostly consume him no sweat.
1) Because of CSI and similar shows I think we all have a skewed idea of how easy it is to find good/clean DNA evidence and specifically tie it to the killer. For one, you need a decent amount. Hair? Could've gotten on him from a classmate brushing by him during the course of the day. Saliva is probably what people are thinking of in this case, but in the middle of a bloody mess how would you actually get a good sample of saliva? Realistically any spit would be hopelessly mixed in with all the victim's blood. And depending on how much time was between the murder and the body being found everything could've long congealed/dried. Getting tissue samples would require that Tem put up a fight and got some good blows in, which it doesn't seem like he did. 2) As was already stated, even if a miracle happens and you get a good DNA sample, you still have to have a matching sample. There is an argument that the authorities could have sampled ALL the carnivores in the school, but the way the society's been presented that doesn't seem likely to pass. As a whole, everyone seems really scared of rocking the boat. Like how the mayor preferred hushing up Haru's abduction and letting her die rather than having a panic against lions. Everyone is acutely, excruciatingly aware of the dangers and issues between carnivores and herbivores, but they're also almost manically pretending that everything's good and all it takes is happy thoughts for them all to get along. Which also likely contributed to EVERYONE wanting to hurry up and move on, pretending like nothing bad ever happened and that there are no issues. Ergo, no lengthy investigation.
The name "Bambi"
Haru calls Louis "Bambi", so does that mean that story exists in the Beastars universe? What's the story like if all the animals are people and there are no humans to hunt them?
Occam’s Razor: mommy got bagged by a predator. Before anyone claims “That’s too racist to work,” real-world Disney wasn’t super PC around the time Bambi came out, and there were plenty of racist stereotypes in their works. Considering, Beastar’s Walt Disney was likely an actual mouse, it would make sense their earlier stuff would have a pro-herbivore spin on things.
Another possibility: In this world, Bambi is not a cute little kiddie flick everyone has seen as a child. Louis had never heard of it. It's likely a niche or independent film. (Perhaps one of her former boyfriends had unusual taste in film.) It could be a horror film in the vein of The Mist or perhaps it was more in line with the novel the Disney flick was based on. In which case, it would've been in the vein of 10,000 BC.
No interspecies marriage!
How long is the ban on marrying herbivores for Legoshi?
I'm looking for a Watsonian answer, thank you very much...
All sapient creatures descend from a single proto-species. Over the course of billions, if not trillions, of years, the proto-species branched off and evolved differently, and have changed into what we see now. Physically, they are drastically different, but all descendants of the proto-species genetically still have some measure of compatibility. It's the same way a Chihuahua and an English mastiff are 'technically' compatible, as they have a common ancestor, but its highly unlikely anything would be produced.
No. Animals of different species cannot hybridize in real life. Dogs can't even hybridize with foxes, even though they come from the same Family (canidae), due to their vastly differing chromosome count. Chihuahua and English mastiff are both dogs; so even though physiologically they may look more distinct than, say, a fox and a Samoyed, they are genetically speaking more similar to each other than a fox and a dog; therefore, the above comparison doesn't work. Regardless of the existence of a proto-species, the diversity of modern animals would prevent them from breeding with a dissimilar kind, and saying that it is possible to hybridize two creatures that aren't even in the same Class (such as mammal and a reptile) is just as absurd as saying that a shellfish or a worm can hybridize with humans. And, really, the main work page has an Artistic License – Biology entry that already covers this question.
I don’t think (and correct me if I’m wrong), but Legoshi has never been referred to as “Canis Lupus.” He’s only ever referred to as “Grey Wolf." Species names might be their version of ethnicity or country of origin. I lean towards the idea of a proto-species and evolution, similar to lions and tigers, because hybrids are possible, but rare, and seem almost mythical to some.
I think a simpler explanation is that Beastars universe operates similarly to the Kevin & Kell universe, as far as these things go. Another explanation is that "species" in this universe is more like "ethnicities" in our universe.
Furry Confusion?
Why are bugs non-sentient? For that matter, are ANY non-tetrapods (fish, mollusks, crustaceans, echinoderms, jellyfish,etc.) sentient in this universe?
We know that fish, or at least fish from the sea, are sentient, they just aren't largely adapted for upright walking like the sea mammals like seals appear to be. And there's a definite, distinct language difference to the point that land and sea animals largely can't communicate unless one learns the other's language. As for insects and other such creatures, it could be one of two things: 1) There's a threshold of sentience for animals, and insects and crustaceans and such simply can't reach that threshold (at least not to a point they would be recognized as such by the majority of sentient animals; 2) they ARE sentient, but they simply have such a different method of communication and lifestyle that most animals larger than them don't view them as sentient (similar to the issue of sea creatures, who are sentient and have their own society, but are viewed as backwards due to the large cultural divide and their ready acceptance of predation upon each other). Even though they aren't viewed as proper animals, there's still a minor taboo on eating them as other living beings.
And they don't touch on that despite the whole "racism is bad" message? I'm gonna go with two, by the way. Have you seen how intelligent cephalopods are?
These police ain't great
Legoshi can so much as argue with a herbivore in public and it'll almost get him arrested, but walking around covered in blood with a barely-clothed herbivore elicits no suspicion whatsoever?
It's not herbivore-blood and it's not from the herbivore walking next to him in question. As far people are concerned, it looks more like self-defense from a third predator-party than anything else.
Wouldn't that still be cause for alarm, though? For all anyone knows, he kidnapped Haru and assaulted a carnivore who was trying to protect her to do so.
Legoshi was acting aggressive to someone who barely cleared his groin, and who is shouting at him and is clearly in duress. When they are walking on the street, both remain perfectly calm, with Haru even holding his finger, rather than him holding her hand or dragging her along. People probably figure if Haru is perfectly calm and walking with him, nothing is up. They figure Legoshi got in a bar fight or something and now his friend is walking him home.
Again, these police ain't great.
How come nobody's tried to do anything about the Black Market? You'd think a place where people were regularly KILLED AND SOLD AS FOOD would at least attract SOME police attention...
Convenience and insurance. If the Black Market shut down, it would only drive the meat-addicted predators to desperation and more predation-assaults would happen as a result. Not to mention how it is much easier for the police to look for criminals of such assaults when there's a well-known place drawing the latter in like fruit attracting fruit-flies.
And there's no way to treat this addiction?
One of the most important things when battling addiction is the desire to change. Legoshi wants to control his urges and not hurt anyone, especially Haru, and even with the panda's counseling, he physically, mentally, and emotionally struggles. Most predators, however, seem to want just the opposite. Bill and the Lion Mafia revel in not just eating meat, but the latter in torturing their victims first. The fact is, there isn’t a strong cultural push to not eat meat, and since that meat is smuggled from hospitals and morgues, a lot of the cliental might not see it as that bad and feel the prey are just whiners.
Sad thing is, they might just not have the resources to take out a market that big / powerful. That, or some well placed bribes to certain government officials. Everyone knows about it, but everyone just looks the other way.
Unfortunately, this is a society in which casual murder's at best responded to with It Can't Be Helped.
Kinda similar to what happened with IRL black markets, any attempts to stop it would have only pushed it underground and or further fueled another one, as, where there's demand, there's gonna be supply.
Inconsistent sizing
How do sizes work? Sometimes, the beasts are relatively close to their real-world size. The rat PR Club editor-in-chief has to stand on a “normal” sized desk to address the larger students. Legom the hen is only slightly shorter than Legoshi. Sometimes the weasels are small enough they could get stepped on, while Kai the mongoose just looks short, but not miniscule.
While it's very unlikely that the author came up with any kind of formula (Because some ungulates would be freaking HUGE), the size seems to be based upon three rules: Funny. Drama and Cute. Haru is a Netherlands Dwarf rabbit, yet she is only about... 102-105cm (Depending on the Author). Louis meanwhile is a red deer (which, for the record, is one of the largest deer species!) and is only... 160-172 cm in height (Depending on the Author). He's smaller than Legoshi - who's supposed to be pretty big (Which makes him scary) yet in real life? Red deer are... actually bigger than wolves!
Pick a different school, y'all.
Why would any parent in their right mind send their kids to this school? There are apparently only a few adults that work on the entire campus... which is a boarding school. A boarding school in which multiple incidents of assault, attempted murder, successful murder, and sexual assault occur on a semi-regular basis. I get that adults must be useless as this is a High School work, but why why oh why would any parent send their kids here? Is the education of Cherryton Academy just that prestigious that it's worth the risk of your kid potentially being killed on campus and no attempts are made to protect them?
There are likely a lot of adults that we're just not seeing. The story mostly focuses on Lagosi and the other main characters' friends or those who have an emotional effect on them. They all just happened to find their mentor figures largely outside of the school, so school staff never really got highlighted. And I don't think there's as much crime as you're implying, for it to the a regular occurrence. Mainly though, society has a predation issue. It's outright said that ALL herbivores live with the knowledge that they could be in the wrong place at the wrong time and come across a predator who gives into their feral instincts. I think it's notable that predation and murder are two different crimes. Everyone is acutely aware of the issue, while thickly pasting on a veneer that everything's cool and it's easy for everyone to get along. So it's less that the school is dangerous and more that herbivores and carnivores interacting is dangerous. Note how when the principal was pushed to deal with the issue, the fix wasn't cracking down on all the crime and hooligans. It was separating the herbivores and carnivores, like it's just assumed that these things will naturally happen when the two mingle.
Even then, if this happens regularly, why would you send your kid off to a school knowing this could happen? Is your home just that dangerous?
While the predation incidents are horrifying, they don't actually seem "that" common. Tem's murder is the only on-campus death we see. There are additional acts of violence, but you can find those on any real-life school. The sad fact of real life is, plenty of colleges have a bad reputation for rapes, cover-ups, drug use, hazing, etc., yet parents still send their kids because it is just a fact of life.
There's still one elephant in the room when comparing and contrasting the events of Cherryton high school to those real-life instances in college - assuming you are using the American and Canadian definition. In college, students are legal adults. Regardless of what Helicoptare Parents say, once you're 18 and are in college? You're an adult. Socially, legally, physically, and maybe even fiscally. Cherryton is a high school. Yes, even if there are legal adults attending such as Haru, the school is still technically responsible for her unless she is, say, emancipated. Society's response towards rapes, cover-ups, drug use, hazing, etc. on colleges is a resounding It Can't Be Helped more or less despite the recent dramas about them... because this is happening to adults, and part of the Victim-Blaming that happens with rapes, cover-ups, drug use, hazing, etc. is because you're not legally required to live on campus. Sometimes it's actually cheaper not to live on campus. Even if you point out that minors can attend university programmes, yes this is true... but they may not live on campus as this requires you to sign a contract, which you can't do until you're a legal adult. This is why many colleges in the states and canada don't allow minors to live on campus, specifically because things happening to them there can put the institution in deep deep shit.
Carnivore confusion?
At the very beginning, when the drama club members are standing on opposite sides of the room, why is the Mandarill, which is an omnivore that will eat small animals, on the herbivore side, and the hippo, which does not eat meat, on the carnivore side? I thought at first it might not be so clearly defined as diet as much as how dangerous the species could potentially be, but there's also a rhino standing on the herbivore side.
The hippo claims to be a carnivore in later chapters, so it’s likely to be a mistake on the author’s part. However, it could also be due to the fact that hippos have been found cannibalizing their dead on rare occasions and may scavenge for meat when vegetation is scarce. Given the hard dichotomy this world uses for herbivores and carnivores, it could be that even species with some omnivorous adaptations can be considered carnivores.
Yeah, given that they claim that hyenas are canids, I think the obvious explanation here is "Paru Itagaki cannot biology to save her life."
To answer a few points.
If memory serves, while they are omnivorous, Mandrills are predominately herbivorous, as a lot of the protein they eat are usually bugs and the occasional small animal. In this universe, omnivores (or, for that matter, insectivores) don't really fit in, so they gotta pick a side.
IRL, a lot of animals are pretty opportunistic/exceptional when it comes to their food and so aren't strictly carnivorous or herbivorous, the classifications going off the percentage of their diet (i.e a carnivore being defined by its diet consisting of less than 2% plant matter) and their insides (i.e a segmented stomach in a lot of herbivores), so the Paru might've been aware of this, to be fair.
Related to this, hippos are pretty opportunistic as far as their eating goes and may not pass up meat if that opportunity presented itself (as vids would show) but they're also REALLY aggressive, IRL, so the Hippo's taste for meat could be an allusion to these two things.
To address a point, hyenas are feliform but the confusion might've been unintentional because, well, they do look like dogs and act a little like them, too, but, evolutionarily speaking, they're (technically) cats, having more in common with the rest of the feliformia suborder——Think of hyenas as being dog software running on cat hardware. As far as the show's lore goes, it's possible that hyenas got classified canids (however that would work by this show's logic).
Now, in the real world, a carnivore is defined as "an organism that eats mainly or exclusively animals." My question is, is it also defined this way in the Beastars universe? I ask because in Zootopia, carnivorous or omnivorous species that didn't eat mammals were (typically) defined as "prey" species, and we haven't seen any sentient amphibians, fish, or invertebrates, so I'm wondering if "carnivore" here is defined the same way it is in our world, or if they'd call a blue whale an herbivore because it doesn't eat mammals, birds, or reptiles.
It's noted that the culture between marine animals and land animals is notably different. Fish and sea mammals consume one another all the time without much regard, it's all about survival based on who eats whom, with no real animosity between the participating fish. Even if there could be such distinctions, it's likely that the marine animals, for whom they would matter, don't use them or just don't care.
Sellin' some fingers
In that first scene in the Black Market, that guy is willing to sell his fingers. What's he going to do with the money...? Send it to his family?
I'm not sure what you mean, you can live without fingers, and i assume he priced them in a way that he could live a comfortable life without having to work again.
It could be that he was someone down on his luck, or who was otherwise a junkie. He may have been so insistent to sell his fingers because it would be enough to get himself some food or else his next fix. He was Very insistent on the boys buying one of his fingers so he can get the money. Whatever he needs the money for is likely more important to him than his fingers. Meaning it's either for something he really needs or something he really wants.
Who told the Dorm Mother?
How'd the Dorm Mother know that Haru and Legoshi were out together? Did someone perhaps tell her that they were sighted together?
In private academies that have student dorms, they have registers for student curfew.
But how did they get from "Neither Haru nor Legoshi are here for curfew" to "Haru and Legoshi are out. They must be together in a love hotel"? Did nobody mention "Oh yeah Haru vanished a day or so ago"?
Haru and Legoshi came back to the festival together, and Haru was wearing Legoshi's shirt. Even before that, after checking Legoshi's backpack, the Dorm Mother found books detailing how to interact with small herbivores. Its not that much of a stretch that two students of similar age ran away together.
Where do the small animal students go?
Do the small students have their own classes and the like at Cherryton academy, with the rat in the newspaper being an exception?
It's implied that animal size are segregated for teaching.
The cafeteria shows that the smallest animals usually sit on a balcony/among the flowers, well out of the way of those that could step on them accidentally. Legoshi also mentions how there are special stairways and tunnels for the rodents to traverse the school. Lastly, in the general hallways (in the colored anime anyway), the halls seem to be color-coded, with the larger animals walking in the center and the tinies keeping close to the walls. I would guess they all share the same classes, but the smaller students sit in designated areas and have more private means of reaching them (stairwells that only fit them in the walls). Also, if the teacher of a class is a rodent, he is probably on camera projecting the lesson onto televisions for the bigger students to watch. That's done in some bigger college classes in real life for those in the back.
Legoshi's crime
What crime is Legoshi charged with as his Predation Offense, exactly? The “official” story is that Louis found out Riz murdered Tem after some sleuthing. Riz attacked Louis, ate his foot, and then Riz was captured by the police for the crimes. Yet Legoshi is charged with a predation offense. But of whom? Riz was taking all the heat for all the crimes. At that, none of Legoshi’s classmates even seem aware of what his crime is (predation), they just know he dropped out of school for some reason. Is Legoshi just complacent in a felony that has derailed his whole life?
Even if they make that the "official" story, there's still the fact Legoshi ate Louis's foot. Which Louis does suffer the effects of. Even if they don't publicly disclose what Legoshi did, it's likely their attempts to keep an eye on Legoshi and what he does since he ate Louis's leg. Even if it was consensual.
"Endangered" being a special status
Why does Mizuchi think being endangered is advantageous!? Methinks a grim reminder is in order!
It's likely not that she thinks them being endangered is advantageous. It's more that she's worried about their species being endangered, which is why she's so angry that her boyfriend, the only male Harlequin rabbit in the school, was having an affair with Haru.
If she is proud of that, however, it's likely something akin to how old nobility were so proud of their exclusive bloodline.
Considering how Mizuchi acts, she might think she's untouchable, and, indeed, she does act like she is. By virtue of being "endangered", the others might be more apt to sympathize with her or give her leeway (inasmuch, after all, IRL, endangered species are granted special protections and exceptions). Thus, Mizuchi is likely used to getting her way and, when her boyfriend hops on the town bike, it proves that she doesn't have total control over ever'one and e'erything with her "endangered" status. note Interestingly enough, IRL, harlequin rabbits aren't endangered, just uncommon.
How does biodiversity work?
If we're to assume that the biodiversity is the result of natural evolution of some kind (like it is in real life), then how on earth do these domestic breeds appear in such a recognisable form? Haru is a Netherlands Dwarf rabbit - which is only about a hundred years old. Were they selectively bred by predators? (And how did this not cause any kind of alert?) Did they selectively breed themselves? Either way, I do not want to see what Haru's family tree looks like, it's probably a tumbleweed or a bigger mess than the average Westeros nobility's family tree.
Jack explains to Legoshi how, after 'the War,' dogs were bred from wolves to be more intelligent and less violent. So, the government probably had a hand in certain breeds to fit certain societal needs. For private citizens, Mizuchi is a harlequin rabbit and treats her status akin to royal blood. She might have a very long, very carefully created family tree.
That just raises further questions - is Legoshi technically an illegally-bred citizen as a wolf? Are other predators exempt from this eugenics mandate? Why not breed them too? Lions, Tigers, Bears, Komodo Dragons, and mustelids can be some pretty aggressive predators in real life - so why shouldn't they be targeted too? Is there a mandate of species that are at risk of being endangered? Heck, even primates and hippos are pretty dangerous creatures - so why shouldn't they be part of the eugenics program after 'the War' to be less aggressive?
Its unlikely that their government actually forced the breeding of dogs from wolves. Legosi is banned from marrying an herbivore because hes known to have eaten herbivore meat (even consensually), but its unlikely in their kind of society they could force reproduction. What they Do have, however, is... Financial Incentive. As has been seen, same species couples in Beastars get a Bunch of government assistance and grants for the mere act of marrying someone of their own species and having "purebred" children, for lack of a better term. Likely a group of wolves selected for both intelligence and nonviolence were given financial incentive to have children, then their children. Until eventually they ended up with modern day domestic dogs.
In other words, eugenics - but less sterilisation and more "Wink wink nudge nudge get together with this person wink wink nudge nudge."
Where's dad been?
Melon assumed his mom ate his dad, but his dad has been alive this whole time. Here's my question: why did Melon take the false rumor at face value and never look into its validity? Him killing his mom because she gives heavy implications of seeing him as a meal and a fucktoy is understandable; him not confirming whether she actually ate his dad, not so understandable.
There was never a catalyst for Melon to think, "Hmmm, maybe my insane and abusive mother who constantly spoke of how delicious my father was was using 'delicious' in a metaphorical or sexual manner sense, rather than a literal one, and my father is out there somewhere. In hustle and bustle of running a criminal empire, I should attempt to find my probably dead father, even though all I have to go on is 'male gazelle.' "
He had no real reason to not assume his mom had eaten his dad. Rumors or not, he grew up with the reality that he had never met his father, and surrounded by the idea she had eaten him. If, between childhood and adulthood, there was never any contrary indication of this idea had ever been a lie, since his father clearly went out of his way to avoid his former lover and son, Melon would've had no reason to consider any contrary possibilities.
The Amphibians
Where the HELL are all the amphibians?
Probably somewhere with more water. As biodiverse as Cherryton and the city in general seem to be, there doesnt appear to be too much accomodation made for any species that requires being in the water for at least half its lifetime. Likely amphibian species tend towards living in cities that have more accomodation for their needs vis a vis water availability.
The Fennec dorm
Why is there a Fennec in the dorm room with a bunch of people who're around the size of humans?
Size isn't really indicated to be an issue when it comes to animals cohabitating or living in the same area. Otherwise the school would have had some sort of size stratification going on. So long as he's a male and a canid, no reason he can't share a room with them. It also may make sense for the school to have dorm rooms with extra space that don't have enough room for another large animal to tetris in a comparatively smaller one to effectively use the space.
Forcing himself to cry
Where did Jack's whole "I have to force myself to cry" thing come from? He was able to cry just fine before, like when he saw how banged up Legoshi was after getting jumped by the killer.
Jack crying at Legoshi heavily wounded or bandaged is because it's very personal for Jack. Jack clearly sees Legoshi as an older brother figure. Jack is confused he doesn't cry when he learns the dark history of the world he lives in, and thinks there is something wrong with him, and dogs in general, so he uses onions to cry and be "normal."
Shouldn't they use a flashlight
Has no one in Beastars heard of a flashlight?
How come herbivores aren't carrying flashlights for when the power goes out? Seems like an easy solution.
A lot of animals have night vision of some kind, so that wouldn't matter anyways.
