Legoshi meets Yahya, who first courteously offers him a meal, then reveals how he “recycles” the criminals he kills into said meals, then threatens him outright. And I really don’t understand what happened next. ** SPOILERS! ** Legoshi is groveling, and so terrified, or ashamed at being a carnivore? that he pulls his own teeth out, and gives the bloody fangs to Yahya. Ummm- how could someone physically do that? Even a strong young bipedal wolf character in a fictional world, I find it unbelievable. Another shocker! Legoshi runs to Gohin the Panda for healing (and gets some artificial replacements). Meanwhile, Legoshi’s companions from school are starting university. Haru is disgruntled to meet another rabbit who’s dating a carnivore, and feels like those two must not be serious because she knows how difficult the predator/prey instincts are to overcome. The other animals try to convince her that times are changing and this is acceptable now, but later on Haru is proved right- in a very disturbing, bloody scene. Haru muses on the nature of her attraction to Legoshi and then goes to find him. They haven’t seen each other in a long time, and clear some things up. Haru insists that Legoshi show her some of the darkest parts of the black market- even facing the horrors of a shop that sells rabbit meat (sourced from morgues). She has to disguise herself while walking the streets so as to not trigger any hungry meat-addicted carnivores- and it looks pretty funny IMHO.
Then Legoshi’s old school buddies visit, and they go to a place where animals can let off steam by indulging in all the behavior they have to suppress while in “polite” society. For big cats, scratching their claws on wood surfaces. For the carnivores, it’s wildly chasing a ball! This felt so lighthearted (especially compared to the previous chapters). Then in the final scene we meet a new criminal, another mixed-species animal. Unlike Legoshi who has a mild temperament and had to train himself to be aggressive, this gazelle/leopard hybrid (don’t ask, it’s fiction!) has violent urges. Puts on a calm exterior to get clients in the door, and then viciously strikes. Yahya is trying to catch this creature Melon, but has been constantly thwarted.
A word about Yahya: he is so badly drawn. I’ve admired how expressive all the animal faces are throughout this manga, showing emotions so adroitly, but this one is supposed to be a horse and it’s all wrong. His tail is like a donkey with hair only at the end. His face has odd angles, looks distorted, the jaw muscles (cheek) in the wrong place, almost no chin, nostrils pinched, upper lip looks more like a camel or sheep than a horse. Ears too thick- well, they’d work if he was a shetland pony, but he’s a tall strong horse! The mane is nice though. And he (the character) goes on and on about his field of vision, it seems to be an obsession, and his ways of working to improve it just struck me as odd.
Borrowed from the public library. Completed on 4/13/24.
2 Responses
> this gazelle/leopard hybrid (don’t ask, it’s fiction!) has violent urges
I wonder if that deer character from school (the acting club) was a mix as well? Didn’t he have really carnivore-ish behavior?
And EEK the teeth part! Both not believable and gross. Though not as bad as the “recycling” part though…
Nope. He was just trying to be stronger of his own willpower, following ambition. Actual stags in real life can be pretty fierce and aggressive, too!
I totally agree about the teeth. I kind of get the “recycling” concept, though. Being a gardener, making compost- turning the old into something that nourishes new plants- is a strong concept. That bodies would make carrots give you extra nutrients is hogwash though.