This was probably the biggest surprise of the season for me. Right up until the very last minute, I was undecided on reviewing this, but the finale was so good that I had to sing a little praise for this show. I will tell you right now, I’m not a furry, furry sympathizer or anything of the sort and I still really enjoyed this show so don’t feel like watching this makes you some weirdo. It’s definitely very sexually charged, both overtly and subtly, so if that’s a problem for you given the interspecies relationship aspect, fair enough. But this certainly isn’t a “furry series”I saw this as more of a commentary on systemic racism, bigotry and an attempt to change societal perceptions of interspecies relationships, within the context of this universe of course, not advocating for anyone to go out and date a goat or anything like that of course. I think stories like this, while a little uncomfortable, are important. It’s crucial that authors, especially female authors, be able to express their sexuality in their writing, even if it’s not kinks that I’m into, I respect someone being true to themselves and just going for it. Additionally, I think there’s some nice real world takeaways from the story about accepting people who look different than you and opening yourself up to new experiences. Not to mention the show just looks absolutely incredible, it’s probably the best looking show this season and top 5 all year which is insane for an obscure beast folk shoujo romance like this!
I was really skeptical about this show both before AND even after the first episode. It is definitely an experience and it moves so fast. One minute we’re getting a cute opening scene with Mari getting used to her school life and the next, Hidaka’s in heat trying to fuck her. I did think the romance moved extremely fast here, but it’s so cute and pure that you just kind of roll with it? The great art direction also makes every single moment so much more heartfelt and emotional. Objectively, Mari and Hidaka falling for each other so hard after like 1-2 meetings is crazy, but in the context of the story you just get swept up in the whirlwind romance as well. I guess in hindsight, some of the most iconic relationships in fiction have been similarly short. Romeo and Juliet, Titantic, etc., so it’s not unprecedented, but this show does move at a lighting pace. Narratively, the two leads’ relationship is a device used to analyze the wider societal discrimination Beastfolk face. He and Mari’s relationship is a literal and metaphorical bridge between the two races and a path towards coexistence. Hidaka’s mere presence at school creates some tension and I enjoyed seeing him gradually win over his classmates. Often times we prejudge people based on what others have told us or selectively curated news articles and then when we actually get to know people we realize we had it all wrong. Same thing here, the school is extremely anti-beastfolk at first before welcoming Hidaka as one of their own, culminating in the last two episodes where the class’ trust in him is put to the test. The romance is cute don’t get me wrong, but that was definitely my favorite part of this series. Again, it’s something that can be taken and applied to the real world too. I know personally, when I got to grad school and got to interact with people from various countries around the world of which I’d previously had negative opinions, I completely changed my opinion. No one’s above learning and expanding their horizon and this show really drives that home! Get to know people, talk to them and realize we have more in common than different.
The supporting cast is really good here too! I was initially sour on Yukihiro because he kept pursuing Mari even though he knew how she felt about Hidaka, but I was pleasantly surprised with his character development at the end. They didn’t drag things out too much and actually had him be very thoughtful, understanding and even proactively helping Hidaka and Mari’s relationship succeed even at the cost of his own feelings. Respect. Kisara was basically the same, but for Hidaka. For a one cour show that has so many horny scenes, there’s a surpassing amount of character development by the end and a very clear trajectory for story progression. I do wonder how the rest of the story will go after the ending of this season as it felt like we were really just working up to Mari and Hidaka establishing something together. I hope the author continues to focus on the wider social issues in the universe.
This show has absolutely no business looking as good as it does! It’s an absolute treat for the eyes, the character designs are amazing, the animation is incredible, the art direction.. it’s all just top notch and some of the best of the year. This is also from the same studio that did isekai cheat skill which had God awful CGI and great 2D. Luckily, no CGI here so it’s just great 2D throughout which honestly, is a big reason this show is as good as it is. Anime is ultimately a visual medium, so if something looks good, that helps a lot.
Overall, one of the biggest surprises of the year and worth a watch. Not the best romance or story in the world, but it has some real world lessons, great production values and the ships do just hit in a way you have to experience for yourself. It’s one of them shows that you’re like “ok I’ll give it one more episode” and before you know it, you’re hooked and in love with the cast! Great watch.
Kimikoe gets 8 muzzles out of 10.
RiRimaozinho
January 7, 2026
Recommended
Honestly it was the big surprise of the year for me. I love inter-species interactions!!! This anime is cute and not sick like some people think usually, but it's from person to person. I'd like to see more about it, it's a great romance with a cute story, I need to read the mangá too! The animation, story telling, soundtrack, characters and their personalities, everything is very good (I'd say great, I enjoyed everything here). I love an inter-species interaction, it can be a romance or not, I like this dynamic of the characters, I had it here and oh God it's gorgeous to see theirworlds conflicting and being partners, even if it's not in a global POV.
Beastars has this same interspecies dynamic despite all being animals, and here it's addressed in a certain way, albeit much lighter, but between the Beastfolk and humanity. Political anime like this one deserve more recognition, they're strong and good.
As a furry I liked it a lot but not only because of Hidaka Tsunagu, furries aren't a free pass for me to receive a Masterpiece in the Rating.
I'd recommend it if someone wants a different anime to watch, a surprise. The first time I watched Banana Fish I was waiting something totally different from what I watched, I enjoyed a lot the surprise I had when finish that sad anime, and I had the same surprise here, not sad but really happy to see such a lovely anime.
Recommended
If, we're talking about the fanservices only, or rather, you're someone who judges an anime based on that only, then it's a enormous no, unless you're a furry fan. by that I mean, to make things clear, I'm not, and I do find the scenes of "a dog in heat" pretty disturbing. Now, with that out of the way, let me put it like this: Let's remove the details of the story, and change the variables into something more realistic like: Imagine being in America in the early 2000s (post, "you know what"). Suddenly there's a transfer student who's Arabic, and somehow a girl there fell inlove with this Arabic boy. But then, due to the "incident", people tend to hate the Arabic boy. And although some do see him objectively and became friends with him, others still triy to get him kicked.
To make things clear, again, the variables can be changed, like, if it's 2025, then it could be an Indian transfer student in Japan. In other words, the point of the story isn't about where and who (as anyone could use the same plot and change the variables easily to make a new story), but about racial prejudices and go against it.
So is it recommended? Well, I might check out the manga for this, but as far as the anime goes, I would say, it's almost a "must watch" recommendation from me. "Almost" because, to me, it feels like it needs a little bit more emotional impact. BUT, I did want to skip it simply because of the poster that looks too much like a "furry propaganda", almost did skip it, but around last week, I took a peek since the title does arise questions. At the end, I do end up regretting skipping it previously, although I did go like "what am I forced to watch here" on the "dog in heat" scenes.
BlBlueSharko
January 3, 2026
Recommended
I had mixed feelings at first and I had to ask myself again and again - what the dog doin'? This anime grows decisively more wholesome with time, though the tempo is rather slow and any arising conflicts are quickly resolved. What slows down the plot the most is the self-narration of the main character, Mari, who often reiterates her thoughts and describes what is happening. However, it must be stated that there is an actual progression to the relationship of the two main characters. I did not take it for granted and was pleasantly surprised to see how far we have actually come whenthe season ended.
Tsunagu and Mari are likeable and it is understandable why they would like each other. What's especially endearing is the chibi designs for the characters that are used in comedic situations. They still very much suit the original art style and enhance the comedic effect - especially simplified Tsunagu. There isn't any memorable music, but the art style is pretty.
The worldbuilding is not that deep. It's more of a feel-good story, though there are some themes of racism appearing from time to time, though not to the extent of what Beastars explores. Also, the narrative does not indulge any morally dubious ideas like Beastars does, such as the segregation of races being of mutual benefit. It's quite black and white in this regard - racism towards beastfolk is bad, and it feels good when the main characters are proven right again and again. It is still a good anime, but do not go into it if you seek a complex dynamic of interracial bias at play. What is interesting, though, is a suggestion that there might be racism within beastfolk, as Kisara (the cat girl) is slandered by a dog man. It appears that beastfolk consist only of dog and cat people, so again, the focus of the story is romance and not the societal implications of beastfolk existing.
The final conflict of the anime actually did surprise me with how high the stakes were. I was wondering whether I should rate this title 7 or 8, but I think the pacing could be improved. Also, Yukihiro's dumb tooth is irritating and he has a bunch of colleagues that I still cannot tell apart.
