Abhiroop Das
Helmed by Shinichi Matsumi and based on Paru Itagaki’s eponymous manga series, ‘Beastars Final Season’ brings Legoshi face-to-face with Melon, the mysterious, mixed-species antagonist of the story. While Melon’s primary goal is to create unrest in the animal kingdom, that goal is supplanted by his desire to eat Haru, both in body and spirit. Even with Legoshi’s best attempts to keep Haru away from danger, the couple finds themselves separated by a cruel turn of fate. While Legoshi is declared a wanted criminal and is forced into participating in an underground turf war to defeat Melon, Haru resolves to find her partner by any means necessary, even if it means putting her own life in danger. Towards its end, this coming-of-age thriller anime evolves from being simply about Legoshi’s battle with Melon, and instead returns to the time-old question: can a gray wolf truly fall in love with a white rabbit? SPOILERS AHEAD.
Legoshi and Haru’s Love Story Has a Happy Ending
‘Beastars’ ends its final season on a romantic note with Legoshi proposing after three seasons of waiting, and Haru saying yes. While the couple has already reached a mature state of being by the beginning of this season, Legoshi is faced with one big roadblock: it is technically illegal for him to marry her. Declared a devourer after last season’s incident, which involved him eating Louis’ leg, Legoshi is now shunned by everyone who knows him by that tag, except a select few. Among them is Haru, who understands better than anyone else that Legoshi is as far from a beast as a wolf can get, but it isn’t until the finale that this message is conveyed to the entire world, by none other than Yahya.
Earlier this season, Legoshi cut a deal with Yahya to participate in the arrest of Melon, and in return, get his name cleared from the devourer registry. While that plan is seemingly halted after Yahya understands how dangerous Melon can be, Legoshi isn’t one to give up. Convinced that this is the only way to legitimize his relationship with Haru, Legoshi works day and night to get closer to Melon, even getting shot twice in the process. In the end, with Melon down and the turf war under control, it is Yahya who announces to the world that Legoshi is not the culprit in the interspecies murder case. With this comes not just a complete acquittal, but a green light for Legoshi and Haru’s relationship to enter its next stage.
Legoshi and Haru’s Love Story Contrasts the Tragedy of Gosha and Toki
Legoshi’s biggest fear since season 2 is that he will somehow end up attacking, or worse, eating Haru, which is always the reason for some distance between the two. Given that ‘Beastars’ finds its very premise in the gaps between herbivores and carnivores, Legoshi and Haru’s relationship almost feels a foil meant to be. This contradiction becomes even more heightened with the arrival of Melon, a hybrid-type animal who derives pleasure from disrupting interspecies relationships in the most violent of ways. However, by defeating the antagonist, Legoshi establishes himself as someone worthy of becoming Haru’s partner, specifically in how he will never look at her as someone weaker than him. This breaks the very idea behind the devourer-devoured dynamic, bringing the duo back to a position of equality.
While Legoshi’s arc in the finale is one of getting over his innate fears, as well as his predatory instincts, Haru’s story focuses on her recognizing that a fatalistic outlook on life can hamper her time with Legoshi. As a dwarf rabbit, she has to live in a constant state of fear, but ironically enough, Legoshi happens to be the only person with whom she lets her guard down. In a way, this is reminiscent of the story of Gosha and Toki, which ends with Toki kissing Gosha, even if it means certain death. While that isn’t literally the case with Legoshi and Haru, there is still a certain nervousness every time they even attempt to kiss each other. However, in the story’s final moments, both the gray wolf and the white rabbit get over their shortcomings and embrace each other with open arms.
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