The BEASTARS Season 2 Netflix release date is scheduled for July 15, 2021, the summer 2021 anime season.
The BEASTARS Season 2 release date for the Japanese TV broadcast occurred on January 6, 2021, the winter 2021 anime season. Netflix Japan was streaming the first episode on January 5, 2021.
A new BEASTARS Season 2 trailer/preview was released on November 5, 2020.
“BEASTARS anime Season 2 will stream in 2021,” said creator Paru Itagaki on NX in July 2020. “It is currently in production. Please look forward to it!”
Considering that the international launch on Netflix traditionally waits until the episodes have finished broadcasting on TV in Japan, the BEASTARS Season 2 Netflix U.S. release date was set for July 2021.
Hey Legoshi,
BEASTARS Season 2 is coming out July 15th on Netflix worldwide. pic.twitter.com/pARNL0OJlp— Orange: Anime Studio (@CG_Orange_eng) June 15, 2021
Netflix’s BEASTARS Season 2 has the potential to take the story into dangerous grounds as Legoshi investigates the mysterious killer behind the death of Tem. The question is how far the story will go.
The BEASTARS manga’s ending finally happened and the final chapter was released in Weekly Shonen Champion magazine in October 2020. The creator had been teasing when the series would end, although we don’t want to spoil for anime-only fans how the ending will affect Legoshi x Haru.
The BEASTARS anime is being produced by animation company Studio Orange, which has confirmed that they are producing the second season. In July 2020, Studio Orange also tweeted out, “Yes, we’re still in production!”
The studio is best known for creating the CG-animated Land Of The Lustrous anime. With the BEASTARS anime, the studio has arguably outdone itself in creating a CG anime that’s a wonder to the eyes by mimicking 2D animation with 3D effects.
The project’s staff is composed of people who have worked on popular anime in the past. Director Shinichi Matsumi of Rage Of Bahamut Genesis fame is helming the project. Little Witch Academia writer Nanami Higuchi is creating the scripts.
Saga Of Tanya The Evil and Banana Fish character designer Nao Ootsu is handling character design. Ghost In The Shell Arise animator Eiji Inomoto is the chief director of CG animation. Oreimo and Monogatari musical composer Satoru Kousaki is composing the music.
A BEASTARS English dub was announced in connection to the Netflix U.S. release. Here is the BEASTARS anime’s Japanese cast:
- Chikahiro Kobayashi as Legoshi
- Sayaka Senbongi as Haru
- Yuuki Ono as Louis
- Atsumi Tanezaki as Juno
- Junya Enoki as Jack
- Akio Ohtsuka as Gouhin
- Takeo Otsuka as Collot
- Yoshiyuki Shimozuma as Voss
- Fukushi Ochiai as Sanou
- Yūma Uchida as Miguno
- Naoto Kobayashi as Durham
- Nobuhiko Okamoto as Kai
- Takaaki Torashima as Bill
- Sayumi Watabe as Els
- Genki Muro as Dom
- Yūichi Iguchi as Kibi
- Yuko Hara as Shiira
- Ikuto Kanemasa as Aoba
- Akane Ochi as Ellen
- Hibiku Yamamura as Mizuchi
- Sakura Andou as Legom
- Mitsuaki Hoshino as Mayor
- Kenyuu Horiuchi as Oguma
The newest addition to the BEASTARS Season 2 cast is Yuki Kaji, who has voiced Eren in the Attack On Titan anime. The Japanese voice actor will play the role of BEASTARS’ Pina the goat.
According to Studio Orange, Kaji has been a fan of the BEASTARS manga since before the first season’s anime adaptation was announced.
Pina will be voiced (Japanese) by Yuki Kaji! Kaji’s been a long time fan of BEASTARS, even before animation adaptation announcement! Please look forward to his fabulous acting in season2! https://t.co/KJST1QiRVq
— Orange: Anime Studio (@CG_Orange_eng) September 23, 2020
Here is the BEASTARS English dubbing cast:
- Jonah Scott as Legoshi
- Griffin Puatu as Louis
- Lara Jill Miller as Haru
- Kaiji Tang as Bill
- Ben Diskin as Jack
- Daman Mills as Kai
- Erika Harlacher as Els
- Keith Silverstein as Gouhin
For the first season, the BEASTARS opening (OP) theme song music will be “Wild Side” as performed by ALI, and the ending (ED) theme song “Le Zoo” will be performed by YURiKA.
The BEASTARS Season 2 OP will be “Monster (Kaibutsu)” by YOASOBI.
The ED song “Gentle Comet (Yasashii Suisei)” was also performed by YOASOBI.
BEASTARS pic.twitter.com/WxxPY2QLcb
— Orange: Anime Studio (@CG_Orange_eng) December 25, 2019
- Updated June 15, 2021: BEASTARS Season 2 Netflix release date confirmed.
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Updated December 10, 2020: BEASTARS Season 2 Netflix U.S. release time frame announced.
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Updated November 5, 2020: Exact BEASTARS Season 2 release date confirmed! Added the new trailer.
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Updated October 12, 2020: Added details for BEASTARS manga sequel.
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Updated October 7, 2020: BEASTARS Season 2 key visual and BEASTARS Volume 22 release date added.
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Updated September 23, 2020: BEASTARS manga ending chapter announced. Pina the goat voice cast.
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Updated August 6, 2020: BEASTARS Season 2 release set for January 2021. Manga climax coming soon.
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Updated July 17, 2020: Added BEASTARS Season 2 anime production message from creator and Studio Orange. Release date prediction updated. Manga’s ending set beyond Volume 20.
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Updated March 20, 2020: BEASTARS Season 2 release time frame confirmed for 2021.
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Updated February 21, 2020: Added BEASTARS English dub cast.
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Updated January 24, 2020: Added creator’s comments on BEASTARS manga’s ending.
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Updated January 14, 2020: Added exact BEASTARS Season 1 release date on Netflix US.
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Updated December 25, 2019: BEASTARS Season 2 anime confirmed!
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Updated December 18, 2019: Added number of episodes for BEASTARS anime’s first season. Revised article on this basis.
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Updated November 5, 2019: Added time frame for BEASTARS’ Netflix release date outside of Japan.
This article provides everything that is known about BEASTARS Season 2 and all related news. As such, this article will be updated over time with news, rumors, and analysis. Meanwhile, let’s delve down into what is known for certain.
Why the BEASTARS Season 2 Netflix U.S. release date is in summer 2021
The BEASTARS Season 1 release date on Netflix Japan occurred on October 8, 2019. By contrast, the BEASTARS Netflix U.S. release date occurred on March 13, 2020.
The total number of episodes was 12, which meant the BEASTARS anime is a single-cour anime.
A “cour” is a three-month unit of TV broadcasting based on the physical weather seasons. Most anime seasons are composed of 12 or 13 episodes per cour.
Netflix Japan streamed the BEASTARS episodes as they air on Japanese TV. Netflix U.S. typically delays the release of anime to North American and other regions until the final episode is released.
Based on the large delay, it seems the streaming giant made everyone wait for weeks or months for the Spanish, French, German, and English sub/dub release.
Considering the large delay for the first season, it’s no surprise that the BEASTARS Season 2 Netflix U.S. release date will similarly be scheduled for July 2021.
BEASTARS Season 3 anime very likely
From a financial perspective, just being a Netflix exclusive is a win. Netflix has been dumping money into developing original anime on its platform. So, why not renew BEASTARS Season 2? After all, it’d be terrible to leave anime-only audiences hanging without ever knowing who killed poor Tem.
Netflix has been known to develop a new anime TV series for at least several seasons (good things come in threes). In 2019 alone, there were multiple anime sequels including The Seven Deadly Sins Season 4, Hero Mask Season 2, and Kakegurui XX (see our article on Kakegurui Season 3).
Ultraman Season 2, Grappler Baki Season 2, and Aggretsuko Season 3 have been confirmed to be in production. The ending of the 2019 Revisions anime also seems to set up Revisions Season 2 and Kengan Ashura Season 2 was even previewed by the first part’s final episode.
Considering that BEASTARS Season 2 was being planned out already, it is not surprising that the sequel is premiering in the first half of 2021 considering that Studio Orange has not yet announced any other projects for 2021 besides the Godzilla: Singular Point collaboration with Studio Bones (animator of My Hero Academia Season 5).
It’s possible the BEASTARS Season 3 anime could be a quick followup because Studio Orange also has a financial incentive to keep the Netflix money flowing since Netflix pays better in comparison to anime industry standards.
However, there were industry-wide delays due to the SARS-COV-2 coronavirus. Presumably, early production began sometime in 2020 but it’s uncertain how much Studio Orange’s production schedule was impacted by COVID-19.
Pre-COVID-19, anime seasons usually took about six months to produce in general, but by July 2020 BEASTARS Season 2 was still in production. Let’s just be glad the new anime is coming soon!
BEASTARS manga’s ending: Creator Paru Itagaki finished in October 2020
The story for the anime is based on the BEASTARS manga series by creator Paru Itagaki. Published in Weekly Shonen Champion since September 2016, the BEASTARS manga series has won awards and prizes for being one of the best new shonen series next to The Promised Neverland (see our article on The Promised Neverland Season 2 anime).
As of August 6, 2020, the BEASTARS manga series was up to Volume 20. When the manga volume released, the wraparound jacket cover confirmed that the BEASTARS Season 2 release time frame was January 2021. The release date for BEASTARS Volume 21 is scheduled for October 8, 2020. The final book, BEASTARS Volume 22, is scheduled to release on January 8, 2021.
VIZ Media has licensed the publishing rights for the official English translation of the BEASTARS manga. The BEASTARS English release is currently far behind the Japanese releases with only four volumes translated thus far.
Fortunately, VIZ Media has been releasing a new volume every two months. Volume 8 released on September 15, 2020, and Volume 9 is scheduled for November 17, 2020. If that publishing pace is maintained, Volume 10 should come out January 2021, Volume 11 in March 2021, Volume 12 in May 2021, and so on.
Ahead of the ending being released, Paru had not yet given any hints about the eventual ending of the entire story. But since main character Legoshi himself stated near the beginning that he liked tragedies so anime-only fans have to wonder if the story will take an even darker direction.
The BEASTARS manga has often been compared to Disney’s Zootopia movie due to its dark take on anthropomorphized animals. This comparison is valid since Paru herself discussed in an interview with Comic Natalie how she was influenced by Disney films.
When growing up, Paru recalls having a Dumbo stuffed toy and watching VHS tapes with her three sisters. She believes that Disney’s works led to the acceptance of anthropomorphized animals, which made it easier for BEASTARS to be accepted in turn.
“The reason why you can see the animals talking like humans in [the BEASTARS] manga without any discomfort is because Disney is imprinted on your genes,” Paru said with a laugh.
Paru is a big fan of Tim Burton’s works, which explains some of her obsession with dark themes. When she was asked about why her works focused on heavier themes, she explained that she’s always thinking about such issues.
“I didn’t have a bullying experience or something like that, but I think I have a habit of seeing everything from a very oblique perspective,” she explained. “I always fall asleep while thinking, ‘Why is the world so dirty?’ Is there any negative power in that sense? But I think everyone has that anger.”
In a September 2019 interview with Ramen para Dos, the manga creator was asked how many volumes she thinks she’ll write for the BEASTARS manga. Paru responded by saying that she “would like the work to have at most twenty volumes.”
In January 2020, Paru wrote in Weekly Shonen Champion that the BEASTARS manga’s ending was “in sight”. The writer/artist says she is putting everything she has into the work until the end and hopes fans will follow the journey.
Since each manga volume typically has nine chapters, and Volume 20 ended with Chapter 178, at the time it seemed possible BEASTARS Volume 20 would contain the final chapter
But manga creators are infamous for making bad estimates for a manga series’ ending. BEASTARS Volume 22 will contain the final chapter, which means the BEASTARS manga’s ending was extended beyond her original intentions.
On September 23, 2020, Weekly Shonen Champion magazine released BEASTARS Chapters 194 and then announced that the final chapter was only three chapters away. Assuming there are no delays, the final chapter, BEASTARS Chapter 197, will release in Japan on October 14, 2020.
Since each manga volume typically has nine chapters, and Volume 20 ended with Chapter 178, it’s likely that Volume 21 will include up through Chapter 187. Since that’s the case, Volume 22 will include the final chapter.
BEASTARS manga sequel is based in the Beast Complex manga world
Let’s be glad Paru figured out ways to extend the story without making it seem elongated. Already, a BEASTARS manga sequel has been announced that’s set in the same world.
The series is based on the author’s previous manga, Beast Complex, which has been described as the “origin of BEASTARS”. Beast Complex was a series of short stories focused on the problems anthropomorphic animals were having coexisting with other species.
In October 2020, Weekly Shonen Champion announced that Paru will start a new Beast Complex mini-series in January 2021. More details will be released over time.
VIZ Media is also planning on releasing the original seven chapters of the Beast Complex manga in English. The volume release date is scheduled for March 2021.
BEASTARS manga compared to the anime
In the past, Studio Orange has created anime adaptations that have captured the heart of a manga’s story. The question is, will they be able to reproduce that magical touch for the BEASTARS anime?
The opening moments follow the manga fairly closely, although in the anime’s version the CG animated silhouette of Tem’s killer gives more hints to the murderer’s identity.
Otherwise, the remainder of Episode 1’s first half reorders plot events in order to introduce Haru the dwarf rabbit before Legoshi’s famous scene where he lets his carnivorous instincts momentarily take control. The anime also skips a lot of dialogue in order to condense the story, but at least the anime manages (so far) to always hit the key beats necessary for keeping characterization intact.
Based on the pacing established early on in the first season, each episode adapted slightly over 4 manga chapters per episode on average. For example, Episode 9 adapted up through Chapter 33.
Studio Orange’s writers ended up targeting ending BEASTARS Episode 12 by adapting up through Chapter 48, the middle of Volume 6.
Note: Minor spoilers for BEASTARS Season 2 contained in the next paragraph.
The casting announcement for the first season gave us an early hint about where in the manga’s story BEASTARS Season 2 will begin. When the manga creator introduces new characters, she chooses the species that best suits the intended story, but she also tries to keep the number of carnivorous or herbivorous species balanced.
The reason this is a hint is that Volume 8’s plot took on a darker tone due to a certain character, so she introduced a cheerful, comedic character named Pina the goat… and the cast for the first season of the anime didn’t list Pina.
That means BEASTARS Season 2 is likely to slow down the pacing a bit and adapt Chapters 49 through 98 of Volumes 7 through 11. The good news is that such a stopping point would leave plenty of room for creating BEASTARS Season 3, with BEASTARS Season 4 presumably finishing off the entire story.
The only bad news is that English-only manga readers had to wait until July 2020 when the English Volume 7 released before they could start reading ahead of the anime.
BEASTARS Season 2 spoilers (plot summary/synopsis)
The last time we watched Legoshi, he had tracked down and rescued Hari from a group of lion gangsters called the Shishigumi who were intent on feeding the rabbit to their boss. After Shishigumi boss Chief Lion was killed by Legoshi and Louis, the black market criminal organization is taken over by Louis.
Having narrowly survived fighting the Shishigumi, Legoshi and Haru spend a night in a love hotel after escaping the gangsters. The hopes of any Legoshi x Haru shippers came to fruition when there’s a confession of love by Legoshi.
However, Haru acknowledges his feelings but is still frightened by how her own instinctual reaction caused her to thrust her arm into Legoshi’s open jaws. Legoshi vows to become stronger and control his instinctual urges to devour in order to make Haru happy and she promises to wait for him while he’s working hard.
The anime’s first season apparently ended by teasing the identity of BEASTARS Season 2’s villain. The camera was from the viewpoint of Tem’s killer.
Back at the Cherryton School, the Council for Consolidation of All Organisms is held in order to decide who will become the new Beastar since no one has held the title for five years. Traditionally, the Beastar is picked from graduates from fresh graduates of elite schools such as Cherryton.
Louis and Juno are vying for earning the title, but lurking in the shadows are individuals who think Legoshi is best suited to be the Beastar. Legoshi isn’t interested — to the point that he’s not even aware he’s being groomed for the role. Considering that Legoshi already has a reputation for saving a herbivore, these people hope they can provoke Legoshi into solving the mystery behind Tem’s death.
With Legoshi properly motivate, the hunt for Tem’s murderer continues and it’s possible the killer is closer than expected. As Legoshi searches for who killed Tem he is attacked and overwhelmed by a mysterious person!
Legoshi realizes that in order to confront Tem’s killer he must train both his mind and body. He drops out of school and undergoes an experience of self-discovery in order to gain confidence. Legoshi also turns to panda Gouhin the back alley “doctor” to build up his strength and learn a fighting style.
Legoshi eventually confronts the killer and the final battle is set for New Years. Despite all his training, Legoshi realizes that he must make a brutal choice in order to gain enough strength. Surprisingly, Louis is willing to help by making a heavy sacrifice, but Legoshi’s strength gain comes at a great personal cost, including harming his future relationship prospects with Haru, since he must commit a crime in order to take down the real villain.
Unfortunately, anime fans will have to wait until the BEASTARS Season 2 release date to watch what happens next. Stay tuned!