Warning! Spoilers ahead for Beastars chapter 169!
The romance between Legoshi the gray wolf and Haru the Netherland dwarf rabbit in Beastars will always sur all other love stories in manga. Far from the cookie-cutter romance Legoshi and Haru are memorable because the series uses metaphors and plays with expectations in such a way that fans of the series just won't be able to look away.
One of the series' strongest elements is how it uses its bestial characters as larger metaphors. The ostensible incapability of Legoshi and Haru as a couple is a stunning metaphor for multiple points in history when certain types of love were considered taboo. Not only do both characters wrestle with how others will perceive them, but their instincts complicate matters on a physical level that makes intimacy impossible. This can be perceived as a reinterpretation of how societal pressures can cause two people who are attempting a taboo relationship to struggle. Whether it's people of the same sex or different races, orientations, or backgrounds, couples that try to defy the status quo can unfortunately grapple with overcoming these barriers, and this is captured beautifully in Beastars. Furthermore, the fact that readers are put on edge at numerous moments during their relationship like when Legoshi believes he's mauled Haru to death in chapter 149 or when Haru has Legoshi show her the black market causes readers to feel as though they are part of the problem, creating an unexpected dynamic that compels the reader to do their own soul-searching. No other manga has successfully captured these elements like Beastars.
Legoshi and Haru's struggle as carnivore and herbivore lovers isn't the only effective metaphor in Beastars though. The manga is filled with similar relationships with their own unique problems. As a result, Legoshi and Haru's romance is perpetually placed on the backburner so that mangaka Paru Itagaki (Sanda) can explore these other dynamics in detail. Similar tangents would be highly unwelcome in any other romance manga for obvious reasons, but they work in Beastars because of how effectively they reinterpret other facets of society. For example, straight-up racism is another major theme in Beastars mostly depicted through the way in which poisonous lizards are mistreated and shunned by society. The reader is forced to feel especially empathetic during these instances because the majority of bigotry is directed towards Legoshi's grandfather.
Every good romance is also plagued by a dreaded timer even if both parties are destined to stay together forever. What always captures the attention of readers is the rising anticipation for the long-awaited kiss that usually heralds the start of the relationship. All effective romances feature a time when two love interests are unable to tell the other how they truly feel. This is when readers are most invested in the story. Unfortunately, once the two finally get together through that first ionate kiss, interest in the story ironically drops even though this is what readers have wanted since the beginning. Beastars doesn't suffer from this odd phenomenon for the vast majority of its nearly 200 chapters because Haru and Legoshi can't kiss.
There are instances when other herbivores and carnivores give in to their lust, but that usually ends in bloodshed. An infamous example transpires in chapter 119 when Haru accuses an overly smug lion-bunny couple of being fake, an accusation that later leads to the lion devouring the bunny. Legoshi and Haru can't rush things, and so that long-awaited kiss remains ever elusive, causing readers to cling to every chapter for that highly anticipated moment to finally transpire. Every other love story could try and replicate this formula, but the end result would feel forced. It's the unique situation of Legoshi and Haru that allows this oddity to continue - and why Beastars will always be the best romance in manga.
