Yeah. I think we have a few things like that. All this stuff that should shock people and in the fandom is respond to with a yawn. Not that its is boring it is just, people have seen it long before.
@@RudeMyDude it’s something that just happens in the fandom or just the adjacent communities. Weird only lasts as an impact for so long. Things just get to be fun for us. If you just go to being absurd as normal nothing can shock you and you’re just allowed to enjoy things. I remember when I thought a trans guy was really hot and I could just accept it as my dead Christian self was being drowned out as a thing I should not approve of. I wonder if that would happen if it was all still closeted. Probably not you know, I am on a better road.
3:48 "The title of each story always mentions two animals, seeming to intentionally evoke Aesop's fables, aka ... The Fox and the Grapes" Ah, yes, my favorite animal, Grapes
The sheep story hits so freaking hard speaking as a transfem person that grew up in a very conservative area in florida. You've got this big obvious thing that you know is gonna end you if you don't do something about it but not a single person around you seems to notice or care. And you've never seen anyone like you before, you've never even heard the words for what you are. So you do nothing and let it get worse and worse until...
@@Roxstar777 I think I should clarify so as to not worry anyone more than I probably already have. What I described above is very much a past experience, I've been out of school for years now and actually finally got on hormones just last year, though I'm still stuck in florida for the time being sadly. For real though if my words or the sheep story resonate with anyone reading this please know you are not alone and it absolutely can get better.
It's like in the movie "I saw the tv glow", where he screams "Help me I'm dying" but no one is listening and no one cares. But we care. And his best friend cared
Both the sheep and white tiger stories hit super hard for me as a transfem. One talking about the inherent lethality of untreated dysphoria and one talking about the complicated feelings that come with internalized transphobia.
Another interesting note about the tiger and the alpaca!! To the best that I can find, "kitten" is also japanese sapphic slang for, unsurprisingly, the more submissive party in a relationship. I don't believe it has explicitly kinky connotations, but I am not a member of the japanese queer community, so anyone can fact-check me on this if I'm wrong LOL
it's not just lesbian slang. "kitten" or "cat" is japanese gay slang for bottom as well. i believe it actually originates among men and was adopted by women in more recent memory.
@@k0w0res Interestingly, it has a somewhat more specific connotation than “bottom” or “sub” do in English, with _neko_ implying someone who wants to be provided for, whether materially or emotionally or sexually, as one cares for a cat, whereas the _tachi_ (literally “sword”) is the provider and protector, taking on certain more traditionally masculine social roles (and often a more assertive one sexually) but not *necessarily* presenting in a strictly butch or masc way. That said, as noted, the former especially is also used by gay men to refer to a similar dynamic, but particularly in the more charged context.
When I originally read Beast Complex, I never fully processed Mugi as a potential trans character, but as a trans man who already found him pretty relatable i honestly teared up a bit going through that section. god i love this manga
"Your only here cause of my other Beastars video" Don't be so hard on yourself Keith. I loved your Adastra video. Im always down for more gay and/or furry content from you.
THIS THIS THIS The Adastra video was absolutely phenomenal! I'm always down for queer furry content from Keith, no matter what piece of media it's about. The conclusions he draws and how he explains the connections he draws, and the context & subtext surrounding them, plus the history surrounding it all too??? Exquisite
Haha yeah that video made me play Adastra (I stopped watching so I didn't spoil myself, then watched it after finishing the game) It was a really amazing experience.
Mugi was so important to me as a closeted trans guy, I think in a sense he helped me come out to my family. I think out of every story his is the one that feels the most gendered; the expectations to perform hyperfeminity and utilize that to keep his social status reminds me of how sometimes I have to introduce myself as a woman simply because I am not on hormones yet, and as such I fear opportunities may slip by for not comforming.
Some interesting notes about the official french translation: 1. The "broke girl starting p0rn" line and the following line you pointed out are actually present in the official translation! Not much to say about that but I find it interesting. 2. The ceremony where a carnivore purifies a wound they inflicted is very cleverly called "excrocism"(there's an e at the end but I think it is better understandable for english speakers without it). It's a play on words between "exorcism" and "croc", which is the french word for "fang". EDIT: There's more! 3. In "The tiger and the alpaca", the exact words used by Aisha to describe her last visit at the massage salon are: "I do not know what we did then... I can try to remember what happened next, but to no avail... The only detail I remember is that her wool tasted sweet and ethereal... As surreal as that moment". The translators really took the tiny bit of ambiguity and threw it out the window, didn't they? The chapters after volume 3 haven't yet been officially translated so I can't say anything about them.
C'est tellement étrange pour moi d'entendre parler de tout ça dans ma langue, j'ai l'impression que d'avoir lu l'histoire en français donne lieu a une compréhension bien différente de tout le contenu anglophone que l'on voit sur internet. Merci pour le petit reminder!
@@yat1215paris I mean ouais ofc qu'il ne l'est pas sinon le point central de l'histoire serait du flan en quelque sorte, ce qui est ici intéressant c'est de voir à quel point l'autrice a tendance à faire référence à la culture queer à travers de nombreux procédés même pas nécessairement sous entendu
I really think I need to read Beast Complex now. The image of Gerbera entering Eugene's studio to find himself surrounded by hundreds of daisies and the preserved bodies of beautiful people in glass cases was haunting enough, but everything about Kiyosumi and Abu's story just… I'm going to start crying, jeez. Also the story with Aisha and Marilyn, *holy cow.* The "kitten" bit absolutely floored me.
Not me BURSTING into tears during the story about the goat and her horns. That line about her body slowly killing itself for all those years, and no one noticing? That cut deep. Makes me wish I had a physical copy of this manga, but I'm hesitant cuz it would probably dissolve amidst all the tears
Feeling ashamed for sleeping on Beast Complex. Also, when I watched the Legoshi Is Gay video (the first time, less so the fourth time), I was already a gay(-leaning pansexual) man and a furry and didn't really have any qualms about admitting that, I thought, but the video helped me unpack a lot of internalized bullshit that was making me just, occasionally shittier than I needed to be, and less open than I liked to think I was, and the *importance* of being more open about that. Fast-forward to now, I'm a gay-leaning pansexual trans woman and a furry openly in a polyamorous relation w/ two others, who's only just passing the half-year mark of having my egg cracked and just approaching the half-year mark of starting on HRT, who's already been out at work full time for months and refused to boymode even to go get my license renewed under my deadname (cuz it was about to expire and I haven't had time to get the name or anything else changed legally yet but yeah). And who's going to two of her best friends' wedding this weekend. Friends she made when they were men, who she saw become a straight couple, now going to their lesbian wedding. Listen. Being queer fucking *rules*. Stay safe and stay hydrated, but to the best of your ability, be your fullest, truest, most authentic self. It's worth it. ❤🔥 💜 ❤🔥
@@avrie6668 But did you know that reptiles like lizards can have up to three or four? Also this might just be because our biology professor picked the most interesting pictures to show us, but they are incredibly colorful
35:29 considering the history of body mods as a means of gender affirmation and it still being a practice to this day it really makes sense And I can see her getting the life saving surgery after tattoos cuz tattoos are something you do cuz you love yourself. If she hadn’t found it in her to love herself she would have left the horns alone.
I am a heterosexual guy but I just wanna say that queer people are so amazing and corageous! Your struggles and willingness to being yourselves inspire me so much even if I'm not a part of your community. Thrive!
I rushed in as quickly as I could and was the 67th like. That's how you know people get excited for your stuff. I'm one second in and already going "please keep doing what you do it's like water in the desert for me"
As a trans person, the reading of the last story ( zebra × white tiger ) resonated with me, to the point of making me tear up. Thank you for another brilliant video
i also want to point out with the turtle and the sheep, that his tattooing her horns, parallels the tattooing of sh scars just a little thing that i thought might be a little purposeful :]
I just think it's hilarious about Louis not being able to eat meat as bs, because deer eat birds, rabbits, and other small animals all the damn time, whenever they have the opportunity, they go for it. Hell, most herbivores are opportunistic carnivores. The only Obligate Herbivores that I know of are Koala and Sloths. Meanwhile on the other extreme there's obligate carnivores like all the cats, snakes, hawks, and seals, many more animals. Meat is just easier to digest.
You're 100% right, its interesting that it wasn't considered into the beastars/beast complex universe, would of made things VERY interesting! But unfortunately, not everyone knows that there are obligate animals and most are not obligate
@@cinnamonsugarcourtney6073 I wouldn't be surprised if Paru Itagaki actually knows this and is doing this on purpose to underline where Louis' head is at, where he's trying so hard to be something that he's not that his body has internalised it in contradiction to what he seems to want.
i'm so invested in the world of beastars . i'm currently workshopping a fan comic about several characters , including a pair of siblings who are half sheep half poodle , a lion and a deer who grew up as best friends because of their disabilities , and a cat who works as an escort , serving exclusively herbivore clientele . i wanna explore the different ways queerness can manifest in this world , and how it affects the people just trying to express themselves and get by . i'm especially excited to work on the story about the disabled lion and deer , because as a disabled person myself , i think it'd be absolutely fascinating to see how disability would be treated in this world
OH MY GOD! I've watched your original beastars video several times already, its one of the long videos I recurrently come back to the most, an extra video sounds just amazing!
I think one of the reasons that beastars becomes so flexible when trying to interpret it as a real world problem is because it considers its "metaphor" literally. It's not like Zootopia, which in its attempt at an allegory/metaphor about racism sort of ignores the literal scenario they're in. Beastars seems to form its social prejudices and situations around an understanding of the literal scenario they've created, and so it almost boils things down to the core overlapping components of the things we might interpret it as.
Can never tell if my crying is via self-realization (both good & bad), via strong empathy, or both. You keep doing this to me. It hurts, yet is relieving?! Thanks? Hate how my exposure to this series is mostly through your vids, but I sure as hell agree with and embody a lot of your interpretation. Just wish I had the willpower, finance, company, or even permission to break the mold I've self-inflicted. "Thrive", huh?... sigh
@@Kawarri Stay with us and you will figure it out, it’s way better than going through your seventies in a rage haze because you never accepted the person you are.
I almost miss this in my feed, thinking it was the OG video, only to choose to rewatch it and see it was a brand new one! I'll let this comment here until I get to see it full and write an actual comment, but I know it's going to be amazing. Love seeing beast complex get more attention.
Maybe my view is just being coloured by hearing about it through an explicitly queer interpretation, but The Tortoise and The Goat seems so utterly trans to me, especially since my egg started to crack. Even if I don't really have horns, I can't help but empathise with Kiyosumi being too afraid the change herself without permission.
the way we interpreted beast stars really reflect heavily on the kind of person who is reading it, because as you were interpreting each story with a queer lense i was reading this stories with a more racialize lense to them, considering that most of this stories can be read as couples from different races/nationalities,
i love beast complex even more than beastars. maybe paru itagaki is like junji ito for me where i like the short stories a lot more than the longer ones, i feel like they're better and hit harder.
Jump-scared by hearing my own name SO many times at the beginning of a video but like, in a fun way. Exact same reaction I had to Leo Alvarez having one of my last names. Thank you furry media for slowly building up my full name so that I can create the ultimate fursona chimera
Dude, you're my favorite video essayist. When I saw this video in my recommendations, I was literally in the process of watching your original video on the subject. I thought "..Eh, it won't be as good as the one Keith made" and then I saw the youtube channel and genuinely verbally screamed from excitement Edit: 4:27 I've only rewatched it to completion about thirty or forty times. Holy shit, that video of yours and the videos you've done after it have endlessly entertained and comforted me
Hey i just wanted to say that i watched your first beastars video essay a couple of years back when i was at a pretty low point mentally and trying to figure out myself. That video essay and watching beastars really helped me back then and i want to thank you for making that video. Ive returned to that video every couple of months for the past 2 years because of the impact it had on me. Thank you also for being so open in that video and coming out as a gay furry. It made me feel like i wasnt alone.
32:15 this also implies its entirely possible a brown hyena in the beastars universe could have made a practically identical video essay to this one discussing the themes. Love that for you.
3 years into a relationship, and Legosi is still supressing his sexuality. He is attracted to herbivores, both male and female, in my opinion, but he doesn't allow himself to fulfill his desires. After everything he's been through, he still believes that his sexuality is sinful due to what he's been taught by society. It goes to show that an individual can deal with systemic self-hatred for years on end. Or maybe the reason Legosi has never been intimate with Haru like he has been with Louis is because he wants to be dominated by a herbivore. 😂 Since both Legosi and Haru are subs, they can't seem to make their sex life work.
@@luluzin5022 There's also the aspect of fearing one's own sexuality as something inherently intertwined with violence, or something which could be perceived as violent or dangerous to one's lover, which I think is particularly difficult for Legosi to process because of how introverted and potentially some shade of neurodivergent he is, where he, as you say, attaches a lot of moral value to his *potential* to do harm but is very bad at talking through those anxieties with others rather than letting them fester. Which could include a strong interplay of pleasure and pain in both directions, which could be very scary for him to imagine applying in any scenario involving Haru even as he has grown to respect her as her own person. Being in a position where he is being _told_ what to do alleviates that, but unless he asks explicitly, Haru isn't necessarily going to do that purely intuitively. Which is to say: If something's going to happen, there's going to be a lot of talking involved. Which is realistic, and also good for them? But it's going to be *something* for sure.
Legoshi has never been intimate with Louis. Beast complex 25 implies Haru and Legoshi finally have sex at end. It takes place 2 years after Beastars not 3 Read the chapter yourself. This guy just straight up lies and says they haven't kissed when they have multiple times.
Mika (Zebra) and Atari (Tiger) maked me tear up instantly, she was so acepting of him and seeging his identity struggles felt to close, but so brilliant. Also another great Eassey from a Keith.
The ending really resonated with me. The realization that the only thing you can do is to *thrive*, hit me deep down Great work, man, your essays are always a joy to watch, I know I will be coming back for this many times
your content made me remember wha I loved about being a furry and openly queer some years ago, the happines in that interest and being out in proud, what it meant. Thank you, for making me feel that again
The white tiger story reads strong for me as a bi guy. Straight women tend to expect men they date to fit this heteronormative image. And in the end tend to reject bi men for not fiting the image or they push them into fitting it. Dating a queer women is different. Your stripes match
Every time i watch a video about beastars or beast complex, i just get striked by the beauty of Paru Itagaki's art. Beside, what a great video! While reading beast complex, i always had the feeling that i was missing something, and your reading is absolutly amazing ahah. Thank you a lot for your work
I was listening to this at work while I was doing some number-crunching. I was not paying attention to the visuals until there was a moment when I wanted to see what Keith was explaining. I fully opened RUclips at work to see Keith reclining in front of that painting. I nearly choked. Luckily, no one was around when it happened. Great video!
I'll take this opportunity to express how deeply touched I was by your first video on the series, it truly meant a lot and Im very happy to have found your content through it, youve made me feel seen, thank you
I'm so happy to see this video! I love these stories, and I love that so many queer folks can see themselves in such "human" stories. I think this distance by having the characters as animals is a way to get people to empathize with people and stories they might have initial resistance to hearing out. Plus there's so much going on with these possibilities. It's genuinely just surprising and creative. I don't think it has to be author intent, but I imagine Paru would appreciate the compassion and care you have for her characters and creation.
Discovered you through the Beastars video, greatly enjoyed your Adastra videos (including the letsplays under that) and am overjoyed to see you tackle Beast Complex !! And damn, i only knew the one of the herbivore getting his ring finger eaten (and it already made me want to chew through walls) and was curious to hear of the others, but man did i feel like getting gutpunch after gutpunch with all the trans coded ones and other "learn to embrace your desires and live for yourself regardless what society says" combos !! (really enjoying your summary and analysises of them, to be clear!) As a nonbinary person who has been socially transitioning at a *snail's pace* (it's been 8 years since my egg cracked yet correcting friends on even my pronouns is still rough) and putting off anything else (like T or surgeries) out of a constant fear of disapproval/need of permission to exist, The Tortoise and the Goat, the Pig and the Peacock and The Zebra and the White Tiger stories have been quite impactful. There's something about being so scared of what's ahead that death feels like the safer option, scared of being wrong and feeling inadequate despite others not minding your presence at all, and of it being easier to let oneself slowly risk dying via passivity than taking a leap of faith that i can't articulate in english well enough but see reflected very strongly in Kui's works, and im astonished at the depth of thought put in her worldbuilding that she can create stories like these who can touch others deeply in our animal, human hearts. As a Goat who doesnt have the strenght to get their horns removed but tries their best to file/polish them enough to stave off the danger short-term, until i gather enough courage to remove them entirely one day, i'll surely come back to these stories and your readings. Thank you for making videos like these, mister Keith !
I just made a long post about how I came out as trans/nb about 2 months ago, inspired by this post. I spent a long time writing about my feelings and all about how I haven't had any visually affirming care, and since I'm very short and femme without the top surgery I'm waiting on, I feel like I'm not necessarily involved in being trans or nb. I came back to this video where Gerbera opened his own shop, and you spoke about queer elders. I teach high school art, and was clocked the second I changed into my school from elementary art, far before I came out. The kids are elated. I had a boy I know who is intersex from last year eating lunch in my room and point out how my pride flag made him feel seen because it had the intersex circle. My upper level students contain 3 who go by they/them, who have also been elated I joined their pronoun cadre this year. I was lamenting needing a queer elder, and it hit me that I'm currently providing that. I didn't know I needed that tonight, but you clicked those lego bricks together that I'd just had sitting scattered on my desk. Your videos are wonderful, and I appreciate you making them deeply.
Did find you over a year ago with the first Beastars video and has been a joy since then. Discovering the crazier world of Beaatars since then and through this has been great too. Remember reading the script for this essay and doing a double take at the Peacock and Pig section, which was wonderfully voiced here. Also wondering if Gon from the Anteater and Tiger story is Principal Gon from Beaatars? It'd be a minor connection, but the man who struggles with his identity as a carnivore becoming a principal for a integrated that is responsible for molding the Beastar sounds like a hell of an arc.
Another banger video. Once I saw you were just about done with it I rushed to finish the rest of the stories I hadn't read yet. The best part about the Alligator and the Cow is the cow invites the gator to bath at his house again even after he catches him. Indeed it is just gay. Also 37:32 surprise Beck voice. Everyone go watch Gnollplaying games.
Another absolutely incredible analysis vid, so good to see more from you on this topic, it's extremely compelling - so much so that I'm recing it to my friends who only know Beastars through Baki. The trans reads in particular really hit, thanks for including those too.
the sheep/turtle chapter being compared to the trans experience opened my eyes so much that i had to get up and start pacing. i never noticed that before!
That last part was epic as heck. I don't know you on any personal level, but I genuinely mean it when I say I'm glad you joined the furry fandom, came out, and that you're thriving and living an authentic life.
with atari's stripe being a physical part of him that inform his identity, i wouldn't see that identity as being in transition so much as needing to be embraced. it's not like the little ram girl. i like an intersex reading for him.
ok so i haven't seen this one yet but I just wanted to say your previous video essay on this topic made me gain a whole new sense of appreciation for Beastars. I'm floored that your interpretation had such a profound effect, can't wait to watch this one
I can't say I've read Beastars, or know much about it outside of these videos, but hearing the description of The Zebra and the White Tiger absolutely feels like parts of myself not even I was aware of have been shouted aloud. I'm a trans guy who feels like I don't fit into trans spaces because I am overtly feminine, both because of the social stigma around particularly trans men transition, and just because I like it... sometimes. It's a weird feeling to see it articulated in such a perfect way
Thank you so much for the deep dive! I wasn't aware of beast complex myself, despite being very fond of beastars itself, mostly its worldbuilding aspect and the interpersonal relationships characters form within, so its very cool to see much more of that expressed in those short stories and the amount of queer coded characters is delightful honestly. Couldn't have put it better myself, having found comfort in expressing myself more freely now that I have a name for it, being nonbinary... as you said: Thrive. Live, learn, blossom, prosper. ^^
Amazing stuff as always Keith. I am glad to look back and see how much queer many of the media actusllyl was, and funny enought it is grtting more and more queer with time. It is quite beautiful how we are slowly breaking the binary, one year at a time.
"a dog that's so fixated on people's smells that he stalks them. but the wolf he's talking turns out to be Hannibal Lecter" sure is a sentence
I had ro come back to see if I heard it right
I have a fetish for Santa.
Normies: That is weird
Furries: Beautiful.
I slept with your husband.
Normies: [Scandal]
Furries: /shrug
She was so real for that
Yeah. I think we have a few things like that. All this stuff that should shock people and in the fandom is respond to with a yawn. Not that its is boring it is just, people have seen it long before.
@@RudeMyDude it’s something that just happens in the fandom or just the adjacent communities. Weird only lasts as an impact for so long.
Things just get to be fun for us. If you just go to being absurd as normal nothing can shock you and you’re just allowed to enjoy things.
I remember when I thought a trans guy was really hot and I could just accept it as my dead Christian self was being drowned out as a thing I should not approve of.
I wonder if that would happen if it was all still closeted. Probably not you know, I am on a better road.
And then she went on to make her next big series about Santa’s Descendant, amazing
The peacock and the pig story actually made me tear up, its so, so gay
So gay it hurt, I guess.
@@Lycanthromancer1yeouch
How is your comment older than the video???
Patreon.
It made me tear up fr
The story about the Turtle and the Sheep is so gender. Incredibly gender. The most gender thing to ever gender
the gender gendered genderly that day…
@@Katakarii How very gender of you
The genderiest
3:48 "The title of each story always mentions two animals, seeming to intentionally evoke Aesop's fables, aka ... The Fox and the Grapes" Ah, yes, my favorite animal, Grapes
Sentient grapes go hard man 🍇
Can't get much better than The Fox and the Stable.
@@venny1689no
I hate grape pie
California Raisins have entered the chat
The sheep story hits so freaking hard speaking as a transfem person that grew up in a very conservative area in florida. You've got this big obvious thing that you know is gonna end you if you don't do something about it but not a single person around you seems to notice or care. And you've never seen anyone like you before, you've never even heard the words for what you are. So you do nothing and let it get worse and worse until...
@@Roxstar777 I think I should clarify so as to not worry anyone more than I probably already have. What I described above is very much a past experience, I've been out of school for years now and actually finally got on hormones just last year, though I'm still stuck in florida for the time being sadly. For real though if my words or the sheep story resonate with anyone reading this please know you are not alone and it absolutely can get better.
sending you so many hugs honey, we see you and love you 😤💕💕
It's like in the movie "I saw the tv glow", where he screams "Help me I'm dying" but no one is listening and no one cares. But we care. And his best friend cared
@@attabooii I watched it right before watching this. That got personal. 10/10
Both the sheep and white tiger stories hit super hard for me as a transfem. One talking about the inherent lethality of untreated dysphoria and one talking about the complicated feelings that come with internalized transphobia.
Keith: "Draw me like one of your French girls."
right 😂
don't tempt faith, cuz furry artists specifically have this strange power of MPREG!!!
Draw me like one of your French *gays*.
😅
oh. i'm three days late to joke about it
Another interesting note about the tiger and the alpaca!! To the best that I can find, "kitten" is also japanese sapphic slang for, unsurprisingly, the more submissive party in a relationship. I don't believe it has explicitly kinky connotations, but I am not a member of the japanese queer community, so anyone can fact-check me on this if I'm wrong LOL
it's not just lesbian slang. "kitten" or "cat" is japanese gay slang for bottom as well. i believe it actually originates among men and was adopted by women in more recent memory.
@@toastedringtail oo interesting!! I hadn't heard that before, thank u for the history!!
@@k0w0res Interestingly, it has a somewhat more specific connotation than “bottom” or “sub” do in English, with _neko_ implying someone who wants to be provided for, whether materially or emotionally or sexually, as one cares for a cat, whereas the _tachi_ (literally “sword”) is the provider and protector, taking on certain more traditionally masculine social roles (and often a more assertive one sexually) but not *necessarily* presenting in a strictly butch or masc way. That said, as noted, the former especially is also used by gay men to refer to a similar dynamic, but particularly in the more charged context.
"I know writers who use subtext, and they're all cowards." - Paru Itagaki
Beast complex my beloved. That panther and otter wanted to kiss under the moonlight hand in hand exchanging vows to never part.
@@candlelight7600 That was so cute. ;w;
I wish there was extra chapters of them
@@kazlzeal6921 frrr i could follow a whole story about those two
Legoshi and Haru still not having sex after all this time is one of the most Japanese things I've ever heard.
Gave me ace vibes too.
@@mjangelvortexNot really. Haru has expressed the desire to be eaten, and a huge part of the story is Legoshi grappling with his desire to eat
some people like Haru so little i once read a BL that just killed her off
@@roxas5071 I hate it when fanfics do that.
@@Trixie-the-rat Fair, you're probably right. I haven't read either manga just yet. That was just the vibe I got out of context.
When I originally read Beast Complex, I never fully processed Mugi as a potential trans character, but as a trans man who already found him pretty relatable i honestly teared up a bit going through that section. god i love this manga
"Your only here cause of my other Beastars video"
Don't be so hard on yourself Keith. I loved your Adastra video. Im always down for more gay and/or furry content from you.
I like the adastra one a little better than the beastars one I think
thisssss
THIS THIS THIS The Adastra video was absolutely phenomenal! I'm always down for queer furry content from Keith, no matter what piece of media it's about. The conclusions he draws and how he explains the connections he draws, and the context & subtext surrounding them, plus the history surrounding it all too??? Exquisite
Haha yeah that video made me play Adastra (I stopped watching so I didn't spoil myself, then watched it after finishing the game) It was a really amazing experience.
Yeah the Peacock and Pig story holy moly. "I want you to keep blooming." Like when I gonna meet a man who says that to me 😭😭
Mugi was so important to me as a closeted trans guy, I think in a sense he helped me come out to my family. I think out of every story his is the one that feels the most gendered; the expectations to perform hyperfeminity and utilize that to keep his social status reminds me of how sometimes I have to introduce myself as a woman simply because I am not on hormones yet, and as such I fear opportunities may slip by for not comforming.
same fam 😢❤
Some interesting notes about the official french translation:
1. The "broke girl starting p0rn" line and the following line you pointed out are actually present in the official translation! Not much to say about that but I find it interesting.
2. The ceremony where a carnivore purifies a wound they inflicted is very cleverly called "excrocism"(there's an e at the end but I think it is better understandable for english speakers without it). It's a play on words between "exorcism" and "croc", which is the french word for "fang".
EDIT: There's more!
3. In "The tiger and the alpaca", the exact words used by Aisha to describe her last visit at the massage salon are: "I do not know what we did then... I can try to remember what happened next, but to no avail... The only detail I remember is that her wool tasted sweet and ethereal... As surreal as that moment". The translators really took the tiny bit of ambiguity and threw it out the window, didn't they?
The chapters after volume 3 haven't yet been officially translated so I can't say anything about them.
C'est tellement étrange pour moi d'entendre parler de tout ça dans ma langue, j'ai l'impression que d'avoir lu l'histoire en français donne lieu a une compréhension bien différente de tout le contenu anglophone que l'on voit sur internet. Merci pour le petit reminder!
@@Magmaggie_sctde ouf perso je comprends qu'il y a quelques ambiguïtés mais Legoshi n'est définitivement pas gay
@@yat1215paris I mean ouais ofc qu'il ne l'est pas sinon le point central de l'histoire serait du flan en quelque sorte, ce qui est ici intéressant c'est de voir à quel point l'autrice a tendance à faire référence à la culture queer à travers de nombreux procédés même pas nécessairement sous entendu
I really think I need to read Beast Complex now. The image of Gerbera entering Eugene's studio to find himself surrounded by hundreds of daisies and the preserved bodies of beautiful people in glass cases was haunting enough, but everything about Kiyosumi and Abu's story just… I'm going to start crying, jeez.
Also the story with Aisha and Marilyn, *holy cow.* The "kitten" bit absolutely floored me.
Not me BURSTING into tears during the story about the goat and her horns. That line about her body slowly killing itself for all those years, and no one noticing? That cut deep. Makes me wish I had a physical copy of this manga, but I'm hesitant cuz it would probably dissolve amidst all the tears
the tiger and alpaca story is so, so good. love a nice role reversal, especially when it's incredibly sapphic
Feeling ashamed for sleeping on Beast Complex.
Also, when I watched the Legoshi Is Gay video (the first time, less so the fourth time), I was already a gay(-leaning pansexual) man and a furry and didn't really have any qualms about admitting that, I thought, but the video helped me unpack a lot of internalized bullshit that was making me just, occasionally shittier than I needed to be, and less open than I liked to think I was, and the *importance* of being more open about that.
Fast-forward to now, I'm a gay-leaning pansexual trans woman and a furry openly in a polyamorous relation w/ two others, who's only just passing the half-year mark of having my egg cracked and just approaching the half-year mark of starting on HRT, who's already been out at work full time for months and refused to boymode even to go get my license renewed under my deadname (cuz it was about to expire and I haven't had time to get the name or anything else changed legally yet but yeah). And who's going to two of her best friends' wedding this weekend. Friends she made when they were men, who she saw become a straight couple, now going to their lesbian wedding.
Listen. Being queer fucking *rules*. Stay safe and stay hydrated, but to the best of your ability, be your fullest, truest, most authentic self. It's worth it. ❤🔥 💜 ❤🔥
I wasn’t expecting to see just straight up snake vore in an official beastars related story…
I expected the snake vore but not *the peans*
Like I knew they have two but I had to take a moment after
@@avrie6668 Paru Itagaki really is One of Us.
@@avrie6668 But did you know that reptiles like lizards can have up to three or four? Also this might just be because our biology professor picked the most interesting pictures to show us, but they are incredibly colorful
@@fruitpunchsamurai4837 I grow more thankful of my teachers everyday I hear more about other schools
35:29 considering the history of body mods as a means of gender affirmation and it still being a practice to this day it really makes sense
And I can see her getting the life saving surgery after tattoos cuz tattoos are something you do cuz you love yourself. If she hadn’t found it in her to love herself she would have left the horns alone.
I am a heterosexual guy but I just wanna say that queer people are so amazing and corageous! Your struggles and willingness to being yourselves inspire me so much even if I'm not a part of your community.
Thrive!
I rushed in as quickly as I could and was the 67th like. That's how you know people get excited for your stuff. I'm one second in and already going "please keep doing what you do it's like water in the desert for me"
As a trans person, the reading of the last story ( zebra × white tiger ) resonated with me, to the point of making me tear up. Thank you for another brilliant video
i also want to point out with the turtle and the sheep, that his tattooing her horns, parallels the tattooing of sh scars
just a little thing that i thought might be a little purposeful :]
That fox portrait behind you is everything.
That was produced by an amazing furry artist nicknamed "Bubblewolf".
@@ChaosCat79 Thanks!
I just think it's hilarious about Louis not being able to eat meat as bs, because deer eat birds, rabbits, and other small animals all the damn time, whenever they have the opportunity, they go for it. Hell, most herbivores are opportunistic carnivores. The only Obligate Herbivores that I know of are Koala and Sloths. Meanwhile on the other extreme there's obligate carnivores like all the cats, snakes, hawks, and seals, many more animals. Meat is just easier to digest.
You're 100% right, its interesting that it wasn't considered into the beastars/beast complex universe, would of made things VERY interesting! But unfortunately, not everyone knows that there are obligate animals and most are not obligate
@@cinnamonsugarcourtney6073 I wouldn't be surprised if Paru Itagaki actually knows this and is doing this on purpose to underline where Louis' head is at, where he's trying so hard to be something that he's not that his body has internalised it in contradiction to what he seems to want.
i'm so invested in the world of beastars . i'm currently workshopping a fan comic about several characters , including a pair of siblings who are half sheep half poodle , a lion and a deer who grew up as best friends because of their disabilities , and a cat who works as an escort , serving exclusively herbivore clientele . i wanna explore the different ways queerness can manifest in this world , and how it affects the people just trying to express themselves and get by . i'm especially excited to work on the story about the disabled lion and deer , because as a disabled person myself , i think it'd be absolutely fascinating to see how disability would be treated in this world
That sounds incredible. Do you mind sharing a link to your work? I would love to see that.
@@nkbujvytcygvujno6006 it's unposted as of now since i'm still working out the details , but if i do post it i'll hopefully remember to link it here !
@@eptck Well, then I’ll wait and see. Thank you!
Commenting so I can also get the link to this rad sounding fanfic
@eptck, I hope your story goes well, i'm actually looking forward to it :)
The trans coded reading of the ram story makes me cry holy shit.
OH MY GOD! I've watched your original beastars video several times already, its one of the long videos I recurrently come back to the most, an extra video sounds just amazing!
I think one of the reasons that beastars becomes so flexible when trying to interpret it as a real world problem is because it considers its "metaphor" literally. It's not like Zootopia, which in its attempt at an allegory/metaphor about racism sort of ignores the literal scenario they're in. Beastars seems to form its social prejudices and situations around an understanding of the literal scenario they've created, and so it almost boils things down to the core overlapping components of the things we might interpret it as.
Can never tell if my crying is via self-realization (both good & bad), via strong empathy, or both. You keep doing this to me. It hurts, yet is relieving?! Thanks?
Hate how my exposure to this series is mostly through your vids, but I sure as hell agree with and embody a lot of your interpretation.
Just wish I had the willpower, finance, company, or even permission to break the mold I've self-inflicted. "Thrive", huh?... sigh
@@Kawarri Stay with us and you will figure it out, it’s way better than going through your seventies in a rage haze because you never accepted the person you are.
Yes, I watched the 3-hour video-multiple times, I might add.
50:30 Something interesting about this is that sea otters in real life hold hands while sleeping so they don't drift away and it is so adorable
I almost miss this in my feed, thinking it was the OG video, only to choose to rewatch it and see it was a brand new one! I'll let this comment here until I get to see it full and write an actual comment, but I know it's going to be amazing. Love seeing beast complex get more attention.
"Tying the Knot: The Wolf and the Rabbit"
I see what you did there. You can't just hide that there and expect nobody to bring it up.
Maybe my view is just being coloured by hearing about it through an explicitly queer interpretation, but The Tortoise and The Goat seems so utterly trans to me, especially since my egg started to crack. Even if I don't really have horns, I can't help but empathise with Kiyosumi being too afraid the change herself without permission.
the way we interpreted beast stars really reflect heavily on the kind of person who is reading it, because as you were interpreting each story with a queer lense i was reading this stories with a more racialize lense to them, considering that most of this stories can be read as couples from different races/nationalities,
20:30 MUGI MENTIONED!!!! God I love this chapter sm-
Bro is iconic
36:42 Jessie gender is voicing lines?! How did yall even meet 😭 I love her lol
i love beast complex even more than beastars. maybe paru itagaki is like junji ito for me where i like the short stories a lot more than the longer ones, i feel like they're better and hit harder.
Jump-scared by hearing my own name SO many times at the beginning of a video but like, in a fun way. Exact same reaction I had to Leo Alvarez having one of my last names. Thank you furry media for slowly building up my full name so that I can create the ultimate fursona chimera
Dude, you're my favorite video essayist. When I saw this video in my recommendations, I was literally in the process of watching your original video on the subject. I thought "..Eh, it won't be as good as the one Keith made" and then I saw the youtube channel and genuinely verbally screamed from excitement
Edit: 4:27 I've only rewatched it to completion about thirty or forty times. Holy shit, that video of yours and the videos you've done after it have endlessly entertained and comforted me
Hey i just wanted to say that i watched your first beastars video essay a couple of years back when i was at a pretty low point mentally and trying to figure out myself. That video essay and watching beastars really helped me back then and i want to thank you for making that video. Ive returned to that video every couple of months for the past 2 years because of the impact it had on me.
Thank you also for being so open in that video and coming out as a gay furry. It made me feel like i wasnt alone.
turns out Beast is very Complex, so many ways to interpret the stories.
Thank you for making me cry again over this weird trans gay furry series I loved this so much
That Dark Crystal clip was *chef's kiss*.
Come on bro! “Kitten play” was right there! 😭😭😭
32:15 this also implies its entirely possible a brown hyena in the beastars universe could have made a practically identical video essay to this one discussing the themes. Love that for you.
Found your channel through your Beastars vid and it was one of the best video essays I've ever watched. I can't wait to dig into this one!
My dyslexic brain chose to ignore the t and thought the thumbnail said i got gayer and legoshi was just there completely unrelated 😂😭💀
I think everyone got gayer when they first saw legoshi.
@leadershipoffender4459 more power to you at this case. also very much fair enough
3 years into a relationship, and Legosi is still supressing his sexuality. He is attracted to herbivores, both male and female, in my opinion, but he doesn't allow himself to fulfill his desires. After everything he's been through, he still believes that his sexuality is sinful due to what he's been taught by society. It goes to show that an individual can deal with systemic self-hatred for years on end.
Or maybe the reason Legosi has never been intimate with Haru like he has been with Louis is because he wants to be dominated by a herbivore. 😂 Since both Legosi and Haru are subs, they can't seem to make their sex life work.
@@luluzin5022 There's also the aspect of fearing one's own sexuality as something inherently intertwined with violence, or something which could be perceived as violent or dangerous to one's lover, which I think is particularly difficult for Legosi to process because of how introverted and potentially some shade of neurodivergent he is, where he, as you say, attaches a lot of moral value to his *potential* to do harm but is very bad at talking through those anxieties with others rather than letting them fester. Which could include a strong interplay of pleasure and pain in both directions, which could be very scary for him to imagine applying in any scenario involving Haru even as he has grown to respect her as her own person. Being in a position where he is being _told_ what to do alleviates that, but unless he asks explicitly, Haru isn't necessarily going to do that purely intuitively.
Which is to say: If something's going to happen, there's going to be a lot of talking involved. Which is realistic, and also good for them? But it's going to be *something* for sure.
Legoshi has never been intimate with Louis.
Beast complex 25 implies Haru and Legoshi finally have sex at end. It takes place 2 years after Beastars not 3
Read the chapter yourself.
This guy just straight up lies and says they haven't kissed when they have multiple times.
The otter and black panther story 🥲
Mika (Zebra) and Atari (Tiger) maked me tear up instantly, she was so acepting of him and seeging his identity struggles felt to close, but so brilliant.
Also another great Eassey from a Keith.
The ending really resonated with me. The realization that the only thing you can do is to *thrive*, hit me deep down
Great work, man, your essays are always a joy to watch, I know I will be coming back for this many times
your content made me remember wha I loved about being a furry and openly queer some years ago, the happines in that interest and being out in proud, what it meant. Thank you, for making me feel that again
The white tiger story reads strong for me as a bi guy. Straight women tend to expect men they date to fit this heteronormative image. And in the end tend to reject bi men for not fiting the image or they push them into fitting it. Dating a queer women is different. Your stripes match
Every time i watch a video about beastars or beast complex, i just get striked by the beauty of Paru Itagaki's art. Beside, what a great video! While reading beast complex, i always had the feeling that i was missing something, and your reading is absolutly amazing ahah. Thank you a lot for your work
I was listening to this at work while I was doing some number-crunching. I was not paying attention to the visuals until there was a moment when I wanted to see what Keith was explaining. I fully opened RUclips at work to see Keith reclining in front of that painting. I nearly choked. Luckily, no one was around when it happened.
Great video!
i JUST finished watching your Queer Reading of Beastars and BEAST COMPLEX?! arting good toNIGHT
Paru Itagaki having a thing for santa explains a decent amount of things and she is so real for that
I didn’t ever think you’d make a part 2, but I just wanted to say your first one altered my brain chemistry.
general pei pfp!!???
@ yes we gay in the comment section
Thank you so much for having me be a part of this, this is an excellent essay as always ❤
I'll take this opportunity to express how deeply touched I was by your first video on the series, it truly meant a lot and Im very happy to have found your content through it, youve made me feel seen, thank you
The first video essays was hands down one of my favorite video essays ever and now you are making a follow up!!? Amazing
laying there like the greek god you are, great work als always!
I'm so happy to see this video! I love these stories, and I love that so many queer folks can see themselves in such "human" stories. I think this distance by having the characters as animals is a way to get people to empathize with people and stories they might have initial resistance to hearing out. Plus there's so much going on with these possibilities. It's genuinely just surprising and creative. I don't think it has to be author intent, but I imagine Paru would appreciate the compassion and care you have for her characters and creation.
27:13 been thinking a lot about this bit, the way its worded makes me reflect a lot on how relationships work
Discovered you through the Beastars video, greatly enjoyed your Adastra videos (including the letsplays under that) and am overjoyed to see you tackle Beast Complex !! And damn, i only knew the one of the herbivore getting his ring finger eaten (and it already made me want to chew through walls) and was curious to hear of the others, but man did i feel like getting gutpunch after gutpunch with all the trans coded ones and other "learn to embrace your desires and live for yourself regardless what society says" combos !! (really enjoying your summary and analysises of them, to be clear!)
As a nonbinary person who has been socially transitioning at a *snail's pace* (it's been 8 years since my egg cracked yet correcting friends on even my pronouns is still rough) and putting off anything else (like T or surgeries) out of a constant fear of disapproval/need of permission to exist, The Tortoise and the Goat, the Pig and the Peacock and The Zebra and the White Tiger stories have been quite impactful. There's something about being so scared of what's ahead that death feels like the safer option, scared of being wrong and feeling inadequate despite others not minding your presence at all, and of it being easier to let oneself slowly risk dying via passivity than taking a leap of faith that i can't articulate in english well enough but see reflected very strongly in Kui's works, and im astonished at the depth of thought put in her worldbuilding that she can create stories like these who can touch others deeply in our animal, human hearts. As a Goat who doesnt have the strenght to get their horns removed but tries their best to file/polish them enough to stave off the danger short-term, until i gather enough courage to remove them entirely one day, i'll surely come back to these stories and your readings. Thank you for making videos like these, mister Keith !
I just made a long post about how I came out as trans/nb about 2 months ago, inspired by this post.
I spent a long time writing about my feelings and all about how I haven't had any visually affirming care, and since I'm very short and femme without the top surgery I'm waiting on, I feel like I'm not necessarily involved in being trans or nb.
I came back to this video where Gerbera opened his own shop, and you spoke about queer elders. I teach high school art, and was clocked the second I changed into my school from elementary art, far before I came out. The kids are elated. I had a boy I know who is intersex from last year eating lunch in my room and point out how my pride flag made him feel seen because it had the intersex circle. My upper level students contain 3 who go by they/them, who have also been elated I joined their pronoun cadre this year.
I was lamenting needing a queer elder, and it hit me that I'm currently providing that. I didn't know I needed that tonight, but you clicked those lego bricks together that I'd just had sitting scattered on my desk. Your videos are wonderful, and I appreciate you making them deeply.
Did find you over a year ago with the first Beastars video and has been a joy since then. Discovering the crazier world of Beaatars since then and through this has been great too. Remember reading the script for this essay and doing a double take at the Peacock and Pig section, which was wonderfully voiced here. Also wondering if Gon from the Anteater and Tiger story is Principal Gon from Beaatars? It'd be a minor connection, but the man who struggles with his identity as a carnivore becoming a principal for a integrated that is responsible for molding the Beastar sounds like a hell of an arc.
You're back! Lovely to see you again!!
It was really nice to see another take on these stories!
Another banger video. Once I saw you were just about done with it I rushed to finish the rest of the stories I hadn't read yet. The best part about the Alligator and the Cow is the cow invites the gator to bath at his house again even after he catches him. Indeed it is just gay.
Also 37:32 surprise Beck voice. Everyone go watch Gnollplaying games.
IM SO EXCITED. I was so hoping you’d cover BC! I can’t wait to watch this in the morning.
Another absolutely incredible analysis vid, so good to see more from you on this topic, it's extremely compelling - so much so that I'm recing it to my friends who only know Beastars through Baki.
The trans reads in particular really hit, thanks for including those too.
Keith dropped another beastars video my life is complete
the sheep/turtle chapter being compared to the trans experience opened my eyes so much that i had to get up and start pacing. i never noticed that before!
NEW BORING KEITH VIDEO AND NO ONE TOLD ME???? 0:24
That last part was epic as heck.
I don't know you on any personal level, but I genuinely mean it when I say I'm glad you joined the furry fandom, came out, and that you're thriving and living an authentic life.
I really don't know why I, a South African Christian, am watching a video about gay Japanese animals, but peak video.
Keith i need you to know that your Beastars video is my favorite video EVER like im so serious i think about it way too much
YESSS ive been antecipating this one for so long! awesome!!
I love seeing HS pfps in the wild
@@GrimmDelightsDice i use one bc i get how fun it is when u spot one of your strange interests anywhere, glad it fulfiled its purpose!
nobody's talking about the otter and the panther but they're my favorite. just an out gay and closeted gay holding hands
POOKIE I LOVE YOU, I HAVE WATCHED THE OG BEASTARS VIDEO LIKE 20 TIMES TO THE POINT I CAN QUOTE IT 🤯
another great video!
with atari's stripe being a physical part of him that inform his identity, i wouldn't see that identity as being in transition so much as needing to be embraced. it's not like the little ram girl. i like an intersex reading for him.
This video got me to go on T again and stop battling self doubt. Beastars is the SHI and so are you
You can do this !!!
I wonder how much your arm hurts after being in that position for hours
a lot
Ahhhhhh a second video?!?! After you nailed the first one?!? I’m so excited!!!!!!
I just finished the other video the other day and wanted more. Slay king and thank you for feeding us.
ok so i haven't seen this one yet but I just wanted to say your previous video essay on this topic made me gain a whole new sense of appreciation for Beastars. I'm floored that your interpretation had such a profound effect, can't wait to watch this one
ENGAGEMENT FOR THE ENGAGEMENT GOD
Not me rewatching the Beastars video just yesterday
yesssss the sequel we've all waited for
I can't say I've read Beastars, or know much about it outside of these videos, but hearing the description of The Zebra and the White Tiger absolutely feels like parts of myself not even I was aware of have been shouted aloud. I'm a trans guy who feels like I don't fit into trans spaces because I am overtly feminine, both because of the social stigma around particularly trans men transition, and just because I like it... sometimes. It's a weird feeling to see it articulated in such a perfect way
Thank you so much for the deep dive! I wasn't aware of beast complex myself, despite being very fond of beastars itself, mostly its worldbuilding aspect and the interpersonal relationships characters form within, so its very cool to see much more of that expressed in those short stories and the amount of queer coded characters is delightful honestly.
Couldn't have put it better myself, having found comfort in expressing myself more freely now that I have a name for it, being nonbinary... as you said: Thrive. Live, learn, blossom, prosper. ^^
Dude I literally just finished watching the original Beastars vid all the way through and then I see that this came out WOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!
Amazing stuff as always Keith.
I am glad to look back and see how much queer many of the media actusllyl was, and funny enought it is grtting more and more queer with time. It is quite beautiful how we are slowly breaking the binary, one year at a time.