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thisisthepartwhereyou · 6 years ago

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BEASTARS SPECULATION #5: Does Haru need to be Stronger? *May Contain Spoilers*

As this series gain widespread popularity and recognition with the help of the internet, many interesting things arise. Like they say, there can be no effect without a cause. One of these effects would be the reactions of western audiences. Let’s face it, we who are familiar with the series, know the basic monicers it has gained as the “anime-version of Zootopia”, “Japan’s take on furry-fandom” and my personal favorit, “the one with the BUNNY SCENE.”

One thing in particular that I have found interesting is the response to series main-ship: Legosi and Haru.

While the general opinion is that they are adorable and should be together, a large portion of fans also find the ship to be a sinking one. As is common with many manga and anime, som doesn’t like it because they prefer other potential ships in the series (LegosiXJuno, HaruXLouis, LegosiXLouis, you name it). Others find their size-difference too distracting or feasibly impractical (which I honestly don’t get). But then there’s those who just seems to hate Haru as a character.

Quite simply, they don’t like her, or the idea of her and Legosi being together. The reasons for this are pretty clearcut: They think she is a slut who only has eyes for Louis and therefor doesn’t deserve someone like Legosi.

While I can understand some of these sentiments to a degree, I wonder at the same time if all of these negative feelings directed at her is kind of superficial. Some would argue that the criticism is biased on account of her gender; that a promiscious female love interest isn’t really as acceptable as a promiscious male love interest. As noted by Stephen A. Diamond:

- “It's fine for men to be sexually promiscuous. Even indiscriminate. Such sexual activity is often culturally encouraged and admired. But when women openly and aggressively express their sexuality like men, we tend to view them as mentally ill, promiscuous, sinful or evil vixens.” (Pyschology Today, 2011)

While I can’t deny that there is some fragment truth in that in there somewhere, I would be lying if I said I thought that was all there was to it. Seems like a bit of a over-simplification of the issue.

But honestly, I think the dislike for her is on account of her early appearences in the series, as portrayed right now by the anime. People who hasn’t read the manga probably base her on their first impressions, which are not really good most of the time. People find out from early on that she isn’t an atypical love-interest. She is not a saint, doesn’t view herself as much of a victim despite being bullied and is really quite blunt about people’s flaws, to the point where you understand why she is not well-liked by her peers.

It is true, she’s had sex with many male herbivores, which has wrecked a few relationships along the way. Besides being a reference to the notable, real-life sexual activities of rabbits, it goes a little deeper than that within the narrative, as the reason for her promiscuity is because having sex is the only way in which she feels in control. She is a dwarf-rabbit, which has led to her being pitied and looked down on all her life. Ergo, the underlying reason is not one of malice or insensitivity, but rather out of insecurity. This falls in line with the general, psychological view on sexual promiscuity. As stated by Diamond: “I would say it is likely that poor self-esteem and feelings of emptiness and inherent unlovability may very well have been a driving force in such behavior” (Psychology Today, 2011).

When it comes to Legosi, it’s a bit different though. At the beginning of the series she doesn’t really know where to place him, as he is quite different from any guy she has known so far. He doesn’t look down on her because she’s small, he turned down having sex with her despite the fact that she was aiming for it at their second encounter, and despite the fact that he is big and menacing-looking and was close to eating her in their first encounter, he is a very kind and gentle wolf. She is confused and intrigued, but doesn’t really view him in a romantic light at that point.

What complicates things at this time is her relationship with Louis. Out of her many sexual escapades, Louis may be the only one that she has formed a deeper attachement too, because he seemed to be as sad and lost as she felt at times. Despite this, she also kept Louis at an arm’s distance, probably out of fear for genuine affection. This is further illustrated when Legosi for the first time tries to confess his feelings to her; she holds her ears shut and runs off before he can make a full declaration, which also falls in line with the psychological aspects of promiscuity and Haru’s character: “it may well have served as an unconscious defense mechanism against authentic intimacy” (Psychology Today, 2011).

However, as I’ve stated before, this was at the beginning of the series. At this point she doesn’t really have any romantic feelings for Louis, and ever since she and Legosi promised themselves to each other, she hasn’t slept with anyone. So yes, she is taking her relationship with Legosi seriously, despite the relationship being bumpy and laced with danger.

With all these things in regard, we may understand why Haru is the way she is. But also feel obligated to ask a question that could concern the future of the series: Does she need to be stronger?

Looking at it from one perspective, one could say no, as her intelligence and strenght of character is quite strong as it is, and a nice complimentary to the less confident and introverted Legosi. She has brought alot out of him already, and she has continued to bring out his inner strenghts in a way that nobody else can.

On the other side, one could argue that in the story so far, Legosi is doing all the heavy lifting in order for them to be together. He dropped out of school, is covered in scars, ripped out his own fangs and is basically forced to work for Yafya in order to be allowed to marry her... All the while Haru is just coninuing her studies at the university.

I am not saying she isn’t prepared for hardships, as she has survived years of bullying, stood defiant in the moment when she thought she was about to die and has even demanded that Legosi brings her to the black alley market (where carnivores engage in the illegal consumation of meat from herbivores) to see with her own eyes what that part of the world looks like.

Though I wonder, what kind of sacrifices will she make for Legosi, in the same vein that Legosi is making for her? Legosi is usually the one who protects her, but what will happen the day when SHE needs to protect him?

While the manga is far from over and the anime is just beginning, I think this is something that will have to be adressed at some point down the line. She is the source of Legosi’s strenght, true, but does that go both ways?

Anyway, that’s what I think. How about you?

#beastars #legosi #haru #does she need to be stronger #speculation #theory #rabbit #wolf #ship

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