"Beastars" (NetFlix)

[El Dingo]

I have a co-workeer that moved into the office across from mine. He's heavily into anime and lent me his Miyazake DVDs to rewatch the "classics".

That reawakened my interest in anime and am now checking out the free offerings on Netflix et. al.

"Beastars" (stupid name I know) is "Zootopia" in a violent high school. It revolves around the concept of carnivores peacefully interacting with herbivores and omnivores as if evolution took a different path.

The drama club members try to deal with the devouring of a fellow student whilst preparing for a big show. The focus is on a wolf student who is in love with a rabbit student. This is not a kids cartoon.

The dialog (I watched the dubbed version) is subtle as a sledgehammer but the weird-ass comic-book cinematography and stop-motion opening sets it apart.

This makes me think about how many high-school themed stories are prevalent in Japanese anime. "Akira" "Princess Mononoke" etc. are all viewed through adolescent eyes. American animation tends to focus on 1 - 10 year olds (with the odd exception of some Nickelodeon and Disney titles "Kim Possible/Teen Titans/Monster High etc.)

Mark

[Drunk Monk]

This makes me think about how many high-school themed stories are prevalent in Japanese anime.