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Beast Complex #3

Beast Complex - Band 3

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Eine finstere, einzelgängerische Schildkröte hegt einen heimlichen Wunsch: Sie möchte die prächtigen Schafshörner einer Mitschülerin tätowieren. Die wiederum ist froh, dass überhaupt jemand ihre gefährlichen Hörner bemerkt und vor allem die Misere, die diese ihr bescheren … Nicht nur an Land, auch im Meer kämpfen sich Paru Itagakis tierische Figuren im letzten Kurzgeschichten-Band BEAST COMPLEX durch die Widrigkeiten des Lebens.

184 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 7, 2021

6 people are currently reading
231 people want to read

About the author

Paru Itagaki

97 books635 followers
Paru Itagaki ( 板垣巴留, Itagaki Paru) is a multi-award-winning Japanese manga artist, known mainly for her work Beastars. She is the daughter of Keisuke Itagaki.

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5 stars
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167 (38%)
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66 (15%)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
Profile Image for Mothlight.
225 reviews27 followers
November 22, 2024
This was somehow both weirder and gayer than Beastars, and I can respect that.
Profile Image for Rod Brown.
7,353 reviews282 followers
April 2, 2024
With this volume of short stories spun out of the BEASTARS universe I'm finally caught up on this series! There are fewer characters from the main series this time, but the stories are all pretty good, usually with bizarre or odd little twists or viewpoints.

The Python and the Hyena

A snake panics when he finds that his bully has hanged himself, worried he'll be accused of a vengeful murder.


The Japanese Deer and the Snow Leopard

To the dismay of his costar, an actor wants to confess to a crime on the night of the Academy Awards.


The Turtle and the Sheep

A girl finds that there is more to the classmate who keeps to himself in his shell than she could have ever expected.


The Tiger and the Alpaca

The best story in the book examines a submission and domination dynamic between a businesswoman and her massage therapist.


The Wolf and the Seal

Legoshi learns more about the philosophy and traditions of marine life in the BEASTARS universe when he helps Sagwan locate a missing octopus.


The Lion and the Rabbit

In one chapter of Volume 14 of BEASTARS, a new interspecies couple is introduced just long enough for Eado, a lion, to have a bestial reversion and attack his rabbit girlfriend, Ako, while they are making out. The scene is mostly there to cause some angst for the rest of the cast, but here we see what happens when Eado and Ako meet up again a year or so later.


The Alligator and the Cow

Nagumo, an alligator, is embarrassed when he is caught doing something highly inappropriate in the bathroom of his new friend's home . . . and it's not what you think. It's much, much weirder.


FOR REFERENCE:

Contents: Story 13. The Python and the Hyena -- Story 14. The Japanese Deer and the Snow Leopard -- Story 15. The Turtle and the Sheep -- Story 16. The Tiger and the Alpaca -- Story 17. The Wolf and the Seal -- Story 18. The Lion and the Rabbit -- Story 19. The Alligator and the Cow
Profile Image for Sir Brier.
52 reviews
February 21, 2025
The best beast complex book yet. The art is has come so far from the first. I love the stories too. They expand the world so well, but they are also very well contained. I would give this book more than 5 stars if possible.
Profile Image for Μαρία Ν..
248 reviews
October 27, 2025
Man, I needed more of that Tiger x Alpaca yuri! The chemistry between them was insane!
Profile Image for Sunread26.
1,356 reviews
December 8, 2023
Chronique complète :
https://sunread26.wordpress.com/2023/...

Extrait :
Dernier tome pour cette petite trilogie et spin off de Beastars. Encore une fois, il y aura aussi, non pas une, mais deux histoires avec un lien direct vis-à-vis de l’intrigue de Beastars. Toutes les histoires ne m’ont pas touchées, et au contraire, d’autres m’ont bien marquées, je pense que ce spin off est donc un bon complément, surtout si on a aimé l’intrigue principale. Je suppose (car je ne l’ai pas encore finie), que le spin off aborde des sujets différents de l’intrigue principal, ou alors, sous un autre angle.

L’intrigue de ce volume qui m’a le plus marquée est la tortue et la brebis. Ici, la tortue est un personnage qui adore les tatouages, il souhaite d’ailleurs devenir lui-même tatoueur et s’entraîne donc sur lui-même. Avec ses tatouages, les autres le prennent pour une racaille, et il n’hésite pas à s’en servir pour faire fuir ceux qui le gênent. Pour autant, il n’est pas méchant, et nouera une certaine amitié avec une de ses camarades de classe. Kiyosumi est une jeune brebis, qui visiblement possède des cornes ne poussant pas correctement. Comme elles ne cessent de pousser, les médecins lui ont indiqués qu’elles étaient dangereuses, car elles finiraient par lui rentrer dans le crâne. Peu sûre d’elle et incapable de prendre une décision, elle attend que les jours passes. Ça rencontre avec AB, la tortue, changera beaucoup de choses pour elles, elle se laissera tatouée les cornes, puis acceptera de se les faire enlever. Une amitié qui lui permettra enfin de prendre ses décisions et d’avoir un vrai ami.

Dans la biche sika et la panthère des neiges, c’est les acteurs qui sont mis un peu en avant, notamment avec les messes basses sur certaines performances. La biche sika est une actrice qui vient enfin d’obtenir un rôle important dans un film, c’est le film qui devrait pouvoir enfin lancer sa carrière. Manque de chance, son compagnon d’affiche, une panthère des neiges lui avoue après la remise des récompenses (équivalent des oscars), qu’il a dévoré un membre de l’équipe durant le tournage. Il souhaite tout avouer et assumer ses actes, mais pour la biche c’est un drame, elle qui vient enfin d’avoir une récompense risque de tout perdre. Elle dont on dit que sa belle performance est due à son partenaire de scène n’aura donc pas le droit à la gloire ? Le fait qu’elle soit rabaissée par les autres, membres de l’équipe de tournage, est vraiment abject, mais assez proche de la réalité. Ce n’est pas pour rien que l’on dit que certaines actrices sont passées sous la table pour avoir un rôle… Les Hommes ont un certains poids dans le cinéma, même si j’espère que ça s’améliore avec le temps, au final, les réalisateurs les plus connus sont souvent masculins (et avec des bagages pour certains).

[...]
Profile Image for 寿理 宮本.
2,389 reviews16 followers
October 11, 2023
I'm still not excited about a universe where literally half* of the population is branded as "inclined to eat the other half of the population" by definition.

*Okay, truthfully the Carnivores are most likely a significant minority, since in real life, herbivorous animals reproduce more plentifully, so to feed said carnivores (and omnivores), but half of UNIQUE RACES, possibly.

So, in terms of stories that fit this universe, this is a decent collection, telling tales that can't (or can't as easily) be told in a different universe. Maybe Kevin & Kell, but that universe is on the more lighthearted side than the Beastars one.

So, un-spoilered warning: The VERY FIRST STORY contains a depiction of a suicide attempt. I liked it the least of these stories—not for that reason, but because it feels like the reason for the attempt wasn't resolved or addressed.

The others are fine...? As stated, I don't think these stories could be told as easily in any other universe; they're distinctly Beastars-adjacent. Itagaki does a fantastic job in this respect to push the envelope of what compelling stories can exist in it. The art is still rather airy and rough compared to titles I like more, but it's also distinctly hers.

Recommended if you like the first two volumes and/or the Beastars series. ABSOLUTELY NOT for newcomers who can't adapt (this more than the other volumes, what with the suicide at the VERY BEGINNING).
Profile Image for Mariána  K.
844 reviews1 follower
June 28, 2024
A good read

There were definitely some very interesting stories that really open up the world of Beastars. You're also some small details that made me really wonder about the ramifications of their culture. Do the herbivores really think about solutions to carnivore cravings? I feel like one of the tractors in this volume implies that they don't.

Spoiler Alert:
In the last story of this volume there are two kids in high school that get caught in the rain. One is a cow and the other is a reptile of some sort. They do the classic thing where the host offers a hot bath to warm up and avoid a cold. The theme for this short is the idea of bullion soup base. For some reason the reptile discovers that used bath water from the cow tastes like soup base, like beef broth. This raises the question for me, if the carnivores can be slightly satisfied by bath water and then why is it not something that can be provided as a commodity? It's already been established in the main series that eggs are okay. If eggs are okay, why would bath water not be okay? Using it as a way of improving the flavor of carnivore meals seems strictly a win. I know there are some grossness factors but I feel like that's a peoples' mental problem more than an animal problem. I feel like in a society driven by risk of devouring any solution to alleviate the stress and strain on the carnivorous citizens that does not cause death or pain should be a resource. By simply wasting that water they are having a huge missed opportunity. You would think that restaurants could have employees who just chill in a hot tub all day... Maybe that's just me thinking outside the box? I feel like this kind of solution would be so easy to take some of the pressure off that I'm stupefied that it became a chapter of something that worked and hasn't been used yet in the main universe. Heck, they could even sell bottled water from bath water and it wouldn't harm anybody.

(눈_눈)
Profile Image for Mitzy.
9 reviews
January 2, 2024
Seeing the opening chapter to be about a Boa Constrictor immediately drew me in as snakes are one of my favorite animals. Of course, by the second page, I was greeted by quite a surprise. With the ending leaving me wanting more. Yet, as it is the nature of the Beast Complex series, the follow up chapter held less interest to me.

Composed of several short stories, Paru only has a few pages to tell each, yet, despite the limitations, she continues to deliver some of the most heart warming stories. Each chapter, even the ones I do not initially click with, leave me wanting more at the end.

Paru makes chapters ending is more than just a cliffhanger, which would imply that we would one day see the continuation, but instead it is simply the end of that story. With the conclusion of each chapter we are saying goodbye to the characters we had come to love in just a few short pages.

Paru continues to prove herself as a masterclass writer with the 3rd volume of Beast Complex, and I look forward to devouring more of her work.
Profile Image for Timothy Pitkin.
1,995 reviews8 followers
July 2, 2021
I think this might be the best one of the series with the highlight being the Wolf and the Rabbit which serves as another nice little epilogue of Haru and Legoshi with a pretty funny appearance of Louis and Bill at the end. The story is very nice and sweet and does hint at Legoshi and Haru's relationship might be blooming into something more. Another really nice one is The Spotted Seal and the Wolf which again shows Legoshi and his neighbor Sagwan hanging out and showing how different the worlds of the land and sea are to each other. My other favorite is The Python and Hyena as it shows in a very funny fashion how the life of a bully can actually be much worse then that of a victim as sometimes the Bully is just trying to make their own miserable feel a little bit better or they may just be jealous of everyone else.
Profile Image for ꒦꒷♡fruitbat♡꒷꒦.
25 reviews1 follower
August 19, 2023
⭐️4.25⭐️

Itagaki back at it again with some more creative short stories within the Beastars universe!

This one explored some great ideas, from a sheep who needs to learn to think for herself and an unlikely friend who helps her, to Legoshi himself learning more about the culture of marine animal life. I always come out of reading these stories wishing I just had more, as a lot of the characters/relationships I just want to read about in their own series at times!
I really enjoyed this one and, as always, Itagaki's art is forever stunning and brilliant.

Individual ratings for the stories themselves:
•The Python and the Hyena 3.5⭐️
•The Japanese Deer and the Snow Leopard 3⭐️
•The Turtle and the Sheep 5⭐️
•The Tiger and the Alpaca 4⭐️
•The Wolf and the Seal 5⭐️
•The Lion and the Rabbit 4⭐️
•The Alligator and the Cow 3.5⭐️
Profile Image for Jack Bleeder.
4 reviews
December 10, 2024
This volume got cross species yuri in it and if it was that alone I would've given it a 5/5 but alas some chapters were kinda boring. I thought the hyena and snake chapter felt unfinished but ig it's best to assume that the two main animals become friends afterwards. My favorite chapter however has to be the turtle and the goat. The illustrations were amazing as always and the story was very sweet. A close second would be the one that features Legoshi and Sagwan. The chapter gave the audience more insight upon how distinct customs are for sea creatures in the Beastars universe. I think the world building is best demonstrated in this chapter since the original series this is a spin-off of primarily focuses on the land creatures until very later in the story. Also I just love Sagwan so much.
Profile Image for Laura Coll.
681 reviews95 followers
August 9, 2023
Una antología que amplía el mundo de Beastars y donde vemos la problemática a la que se enfrentan todo tipo de animales, al mismo tiempo que trata temas sociales de nuestro mundo. El dibujo demuestra la evolución de la autora, así como su habilidad por elaborar diseños tan característicos. Al ser historias tan cortas y no conocer a la mayoría de personajes de antemano, he sentido que muchos se quedaban un poco a medias y que daban más de sí. Pese a ello, es entretenido y muy disfrutable, por lo que si te quedaste con ganas de más de lo mismo, no te defraudará. Además, los relatos de Legoshi lo merecen.

Reseña completa:
https://paseandoentrepaginas.blogspot...
Profile Image for Valerio Pastore.
401 reviews1 follower
October 27, 2023
I'm beginning to fear that someone at Fuji TV said to themselves, "Nice this Beast Complex manga. Let's make an anime out of it right away!"
A less meaty little volume than the previous two, raconti even tighter, and smelling more than ever of stories left in the middle to make room for other work commitments...
What little there is always offers high characterization, impeccable worldbuilding, and the graphic compartment rocks! Too bad it all looks like a jumble of drafts.
Profile Image for ⭐️James☀️.
38 reviews
July 12, 2025
I felt a lot of emotions in this volume, more then I did in the previous two. My favourite story was the turtle and the sheep but I also liked the lesbians. At least they definitely seemed like lesbians. I wonder if it hurts to get horns or a shell tattooed as much as it would the skin. Anyways I liked Legoshi and sagwans chapter a lot as well.
I love whenever Legoshi learns about things he doesn’t know cause he’s always so deep with it
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Karoll.
10 reviews
April 28, 2024
Rating the series as a whole. Short series with chapters containing short stories about different characters some relating to the Beastars series. Think of it as side stories about different characters lives after everything being back to normal.
23 reviews
January 19, 2025
I greatly enjoy the world Paru Itagaki has built! From this volume, I enjoyed the Leopard and Deer most. I think it demonstrates some complex emotions from both characters and gives the audience food for thought.
Profile Image for Estibaliz.
2,559 reviews71 followers
September 11, 2025
Another poignant and beautiful collection of stories that perfectly examine and portray human nature, in beast form.

Even though not all the stories are a 10 (there's always a couple that are slightly less interesting than the rest), still... it doesn't get much better than this.
Profile Image for Cole.
132 reviews4 followers
June 12, 2023
I wish I could rate this 4.5 stars
Profile Image for alicat.
327 reviews4 followers
October 12, 2023
I eat everything up that Paru writes like alligator devouring that bathwater.
Profile Image for Dana.
149 reviews1 follower
March 15, 2024
The furry allegations have hands, an excellent addition to the beastars universe
Profile Image for Tatiana.
22 reviews1 follower
April 26, 2024
Hay relatos que siento que no llegaban a ninguna parte, para mí el tomo 3 es el más flojo de la saga.
Profile Image for Tracy.
146 reviews
September 24, 2024
Felt like the series was just put on pause, not finished. Loved the Legoshi story.
13 reviews
January 16, 2025
about time we got some horny lesbian representation
Profile Image for Anna.
263 reviews1 follower
April 28, 2025
I think the python story was the best one, the rest was overall ok and weird.
Profile Image for MacKenzie.
167 reviews12 followers
May 14, 2025
that alpaca and tiger chapter was wild 😭😭
Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews

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