WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Season 1 of Beastars, now streaming on Netflix.
Netflix's Beastars does a decent job of making alterations to the manga so that the anime still has some surprises. The 12 episodes condense around 45 issues of the original story cleverly, but one character feels like she could have been adjusted much better: the dwarf rabbit Haru.
Haru's the object of affection for the wolf, Legoshi, and the red deer, Louis, at Cherryton High. And while her history does play a key role in the series, the way the show handles her sexual history and upbringing doesn't do the character any justice. In fact, it's a major travesty and fails to fix what the manga handled poorly: the objectification of women.
Haru might be an 18-year-old, but seeing as she's half the size of all the men she's with on the show, the sex scenes with her feel a little creepy. But in the source material, Haru's size plays an integral role in why the character is so promiscuous. Regardless, some tweaks could have helped. We know Haru's a nymphomaniac, which is tied to her past trauma. The show, however, goes out of its way to show far too much of her sex life and even has other characters slut-shaming her -- all without fully exploring her upbringing and how it ties into who she is.
While the show's tailored for mature audiences, it could have catered to teens who would have appreciated its Animal Farm-esque take on division, class and xenophobia between herbivores and carnivores. After all, the show edited out Louis' love for guns and Gouhin gunning down the Yakuza, having him use a bow instead. So clearly, liberties were taken to make the show more digestible. Why is gunplay bad but sexualizing and demonizing a woman is accepted?
The Chief positioning Haru for two episodes and then having a separate shower for her before he "feeds" on her meat is very disturbing and feels like a double standard. Worse yet, we see Haru in flashbacks with older men having sex with her when she was clearly a minor. And the depiction of women has been an issue in manga and anime for years, making the decision to not alter things from the source material more peculiar.
Seeing Haru used as a sexual object prevents the series from utilizing her potential. Her arc of wanting comfort and companionship through physical interaction is powerful as she has body issues. As a dwarf rabbit, she feels incomplete, so the show could have focused on her wanting to be whole without sexualizing things. The story spends so much time on her selling her body, the abomination arc is sold short, which is unfortunate, as it parallels events in the real world. Trafficking is such a big issue, but it isn't addressed in a deep manner. Instead, Haru's arc boils down to a damsel in distress who must be rescued by men.
Haru has no agency in the show and doesn't feel like a proper character. It's all the more disappointing as her story of being an outsider who's bullied would have been more relevant and powerful. Hopefully, Season 2 of Beastars treats Haru with the respect the character deserves.