There’s a lot to discuss in this volume of Paru Itagaki’s Beastars. A dramatic meeting with Yahya! An emotional reunion between Haru and Legoshi! And the reveal of a new antagonist! Let’s get into it!
As with my reviews of the other volumes of the Beastars manga, this review will contain some spoilers of events in both this volume and previous instalments in the series.
Synopsis:
Legoshi accepts an invitation to visit Yahya, the current Beastar and his grandfather’s former friend. Legoshi has no idea of the bad blood that exists between Yahya and his grandfather and is not prepared for what awaits him at this meeting. Meanwhile, Haru is shocked when she discovers her new college friend is dating a carnivore. Then she becomes incensed when she realizes neither her herbivore friend or said friend’s lion boyfriend are taking the situation seriously. Do they not realize that they’re playing with fire? And, even though she knows the risks of getting romantically involved with a carnivore, why can’t she stop thinking about Legoshi?!
Review:
In my review of volume 13 of Beastars, I described how Yahya had turned out to be a pretty huge jerk, having nursed a grudge against Gosha for years and years for something that happened when they were teenagers. In this volume, it’s revealed that Yahya is also crazy!
So, Yahya, valiant hero of the people, defender of justice and champion of helpless and downtrodden herbivores everywhere, has apparently been using the corpses of villainous carnivores he captured to fertilize his carrot patch. The reasoning for this is that this practice makes the carrots more nutritious and thus helps keep him strong and fighting fit. Regardless of what explanation he offers, it’s hard not to view this scheme as an indirect way to get back at the carnivore who let him down. Meaning, Yahya is even more unhinged than I had realized!
Having eaten his own friend’s flesh in order to defeat a more powerful foe, Legoshi isn’t exactly in a position to criticize Yahya, something that the horse takes great delight in throwing in his face. Yahya’s whole objective in inviting Legoshi to meet with him seems to be to torment him and revenge himself on Gosha. Nice, Yahya. Just go ahead and torment teenagers for things that they had nothing to do with. That makes perfect sense.
Thankfully, Legoshi doesn’t take this treatment lying down. He comes up with a response that’s so extreme, even Yahya is taken aback. I was quite delighted with the shock he gave Yahya, and it made me laugh to see Legoshi prove that he is capable of being just as intense as any deranged horse out there!
Meanwhile, Haru is trying her best to have a fun time at college. She just wants to make some friends, relax and hopefully forget about a certain wolf who’s been neglecting her (and who she suspects might have found someone new). But nothing can ever be simple for poor Haru! One of her new rabbit friends reveals that she’s been dating a lion and proceeds to act like it’s no big deal, making careless comments about how it’s fine because they understand each other so well. Still struggling with her own feelings for Legoshi, Haru can’t help but have a minor freak out.
The whole incident gets her thinking about her relationship with Legoshi and what she wants to happen between them. Even though she knows it’s dangerous and that pursuing a relationship with him will be a fraught path, she resolves to see him again.
I was glad to see Haru getting more attention in this volume. We haven’t seen much of her in the story recently and I’d been wondering what she was up to. It’s good to see her and Legoshi discussing their relationship and to see Haru call Legoshi out on some of his bullshit. Legoshi may be a a nice guy with good intentions, but he’s really been leaving Haru in the dark about way too much stuff.
It seems like they are finally making some positive progress in their relationship, so hopefully Haru will be more present in the narrative going forward. I really enjoy her spunk and how pragmatic she can be, and I’ve been missing her blunt commentary.
The biggest development in this volume, however, was the reveal of a brand new villain! This volume ends with Yahya trying to capture a murderous psychologist, and spectacularly failing to catch him. I won’t reveal anything further about this new character, as there’s a pretty interesting twist about his origins that’s revealed during his encounter with Yahya, but I’m intrigued and can’t wait to see where things will go from here.
Volume 14 of Beastars had all the things I love about this series. Exciting action, heavily melodramatic romance and bat-shit crazy twists! I have high hopes for this new villain and where the story could go from here.
Final Score: 9 out of 10
For more information on this manga, visit Viz Media’s website.
What did you think of this volume? Be sure to let me know your thoughts on Yahya and this new serial murderer he’s trying to track down in the comments!
Be sure to check out my reviews of the other volumes of the Beastars manga:
- Beastars Vol 1 Review
- Beastars Vol 2 Review
- Beastars Vol 3 Review
- Beastars Vol 4 Review
- Beastars Vol 5 Review
- Beastars Vol 6 Review
- Beastars Vol 7 Review
- Beastars Vol 8 Review
- Beastars Vol 9 Review
- Beastars Vol 10 Review
- Beastars Vol 11 Review
- Beastars Vol 12 Review
- Beastars Vol 13 Review
- Beastars Vol 14 Review
- Beastars Vol 15 Review
- Beastars Vol 16 Review
- Beastars Vol 17 Review
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Al's Manga Blog 
With a murderous psychologist, bound to be some big schemes and lots of mental warfare!
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Things look to be heating up for sure!
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