I miss going to the movies. With the way the world is going, even if they were open, I probably wouldn’t be rushing out to see anything right now, but I still miss them. Without the new releases, I should have been taking the time to write about some of the other things I have been meaning to, unfortunately due to Covid and site issues, I have instead just been lazy. For now though, I am here and talking about a new anime I recently watched, BNA.
Now, I have a very long list of new anime that I have been meaning to watch, and an equally long list of older ones I’ve been saying I will start. As usual for me though, I forgot all about those and started one I never even knew about.
BNA: Brand New Animal, is a new anime from the famed Studio Trigger that began airing in April of this year. If you know much about Studio Trigger's other anime, you will have a rough idea of what you are getting into with this series. For any who don’t know, this is the same studio that did Kill La Kill and Darling in the Franx. You can usually watch a single clip or trailer of one of their shows and instantly know it is them behind it.
Their latest release, BNA, deals with a world in which living alongside humans are a group of humanoid, animal creatures called Beastmen. They have lived in this world for many years under the guise of gods, living alongside the humans. Now as time has gone on though, many see them as something that must be exterminated. One such Beastman is our main character Michiru Kagemori, a human girl who one day turned into a Tanuki Beastman. Running away from the land of the humans, she seeks refuge in Anima City, a place set up for Beastmen to be able to live as themselves. While there she meets up with a wolf named Shirou Ogami. It is quickly revealed though that Anima city isn’t the paradise it was made out to be. Shirou and Michiru team up to unravel the mystery of what is happening in the city of Beastmen, as well as figure out the mystery behind her sudden change from human to Beastman.
Simply put, this series is good. I’m not going to pretend it is perfect, but it is really good. Let’s start with the story. While it is nothing groundbreaking, it is certainly enjoyable enough. A couple times they throw a twist in there, but only one or two really stick as you managed to figure out the others 5 episodes ago. It isn't necessarily a terrible thing, but the predictability does bring it down a few points. It also leaves plenty of questions, so a season 2 would be nice. While the season was paced pretty well, it could've benefited from maybe 2 more episodes to answer a bit more and help the ending not feel so rushed. Overall, a decent story, but one of the things needing the most work.
One thing I really loved in BNA was the characters. Michiru is a likable protagonist that manages to keep going despite everything thrown at her throughout the series. Despite getting thrown into the craziness of this new world, she gets right in there and is willing to fight if need be. Being a Tanuki, her powers typically come in the form of shapeshifting, and they are all really cool and implemented well throughout the series.
Shirou is wonderful. The first time you see him, he is crying and being emotional over the festival Anima city is holding. It makes you unsure what to think of him, given he is a large, intimidating humanoid wolf. Quickly you realize how much he cares for the other Beastmen, and see he is willing to do anything to protect them. He is a complicated character, and seeing his evolution throughout the season is one of the most interesting parts. You also learn, don't make him angry. I love him.
A lot of the characters you meet throughout the show are really wonderful. You have the shady mink, Marie who is always out to make a buck, but who you realize isn't so bad. Mayor Barbaray Rose, a naked mole rat who is in charge of Anima city, is another that you feel unsure about, but quickly her motives become pretty clear. I enjoyed her. One of my favorite side characters is a Beluga Whale named Flip. He is the head of a gang, “The Family”. He was highly entertaining, being an intimidating mobster most of the time, then flipping the switch and becoming an overprotective, loving father. He was so great.
I think it goes without saying that the animation for BNA was stellar. Trigger really nailed things with this series. The studio uses colors and camera work to really make scenes pop, especially the action sequences. The fight scenes are some of my favorite moments from the show. They showcase some brutal, well done action, while staying clear enough that you can tell what's happening.
Another good thing the fight scenes do is showcase the wonderful character designs of the series. Each character has their base humanoid form, and also their animal form. You can easily tell what animal someone is the second they transform, and sometimes even before just based off small distinguishing features. Even with a large variety of characters, every Beastman is unique and recognizable. The designs really only get better as the series goes on and more plot points are introduced.
At this point, I can't help but wonder if we are seeing the rise of a new genre of anime where we have these humanoid animal characters. Beastars really took the anime world by storm when it was released on Netflix last year as is. Now as we were waiting to have season 2 released, Netflix hits us with another great animal show in the form of BNA. Obviously not all animal anime (animel?) can and will be hits, but I think the industry is certainly onto something. Just please, don't make an isekai with this concept.
While Beastars certainly used the animal nature to tackle certain concepts in the same way as Zootopia did, BNA also seems to tap into that a bit. I think that is my favorite part about this genre of animation right now. It has really allowed for topics such as racism to get discussed without you even fully realizing it.
As of right now, I have heard no word of a season 2 for BNA sadly. Though I did see a manga for it has recently started being published, so I can only hope we will get more BNA from Studio Trigger in the near future. As I said, while the story is not anything groundbreaking or excellent, the visuals and characters more than make up for it. At the end of the day, it did leave me wanting more and helped fill that hole I had while waiting for Beastars season 2. So I definitely say you should let out your inner Beastman and give this show a watch. You won't be disappointed.
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