The Furry Apocalypse Continues!
Introduction
For me, this year will be remembered as one dominated by cancellations, viruses, and an unhealthy intake of furry-centric media. BNA: Brand New Animal, or BNA for short, falls squarely within that final category. Before this series, I had previously experienced Cats and Beastars, the former scarring my innocent mind, and the latter felt like a gritty and erotic retelling of Disney’s Zootopia. So, as you might imagine, I had some mixed feelings before diving into this anime.
Firstly, I should mention that Studio Trigger has an outstanding catalogue of heart-pumping anime already under its wing. These include the emotionally charged Kiznaiver and their spontaneous and satirical Kill La Kill. Following such titles, this anime has big shoes to fill. Thankfully, while a short affair, this wacky adrenaline shot to the arm turns out to be a brilliant piece of work.
Setting and Plot
BNA: Brand New Animal follows the story of Michiru, a high schooler who is mysteriously transformed into a Tanuki-like beastman and forced to run away from home to the cosmopolitan metropolis of Anima City.
In this world, Beastmen are anthropomorphic humanoids who live alongside humans and have even shared major historical events, including World War 2. However, in a similar manner to Marvel’s mutants from the X-Men franchise, Beastmen are tormented and hunted down for their appearance, with their only Sanctuary being Anima City.
The Beastmen themselves, while mostly friendly, tend to display a strict survival of the fittest mentality. This mindset often leads to something as simple as a baseball match turning into a death battle. This characteristic alone is enough to set off some alarm bells around the humans who loathe them.
In terms of structure, while initial episodes feel a lot more episodic, focusing on Michiru’s hijinks around the city, establishing characters’ relationships, and some worldbuilding in the process, they as well hint at an underlying plot. It also sets up Michiru’s second objective of trying to locate her friend, Nazuna Hiwatashi(Xanthe Huynh), who had disappeared shortly before her transformation into a beastman. Past the halfway point is where everything starts becoming wild and insane, as is expected in any Studio Trigger Anime.
The final episodes, while beautifully absurd in their own right, lack the same craziness as some of Trigger’s other works. Another issue is that, while the end is fine, it does leave one with a lot more questions than answers, leaving room for a second season to clean up residual plot threads.
Characters
Michiru travels to Anima city to find a cure for her Beastmanitus so she can return to life as a human without having to look over her shoulder for danger. As the story progresses Michiru gains an understanding of her new form’s potential and the unusual handy shapeshifting powers that come with it. The climax of her arc sees her eventually finding comfort in her new status quo, preferring to stay in Beastman form.
Michiru, portrayed by Cherami Leigh in the English Dub, known for her portrayal as Lucy Heartfilia from the Fairy Tail franchise, brings her upbeat and energetic personality to the Tanuki girl.
Shirou (Benjamin Diskin), on the other hand, is a Wolf-like beast-man with a mysterious past who is often viewed by locals as the protector of Anima City. Shirou is the more complicated character of the two, as the series hints at his traumatic experiences with humans. His attitude towards them ranges from resentful to downright hostile. This anger towards humans is often placed on to their proxies, as he brutally beats criminals hired by humans before arresting them.
Shirou’s tense and often moody character makes him an incredible contrast to Michiru’s more carefree nature. Diskin’s and Cherami’s have excellent chemistry and play off one another quite nicely. However, Distin’s portrayal can sometimes come off as a bit too harsh for my liking, especially when compared to his Japanese counterpart who has a much softer tone in voice. His unusually deep voice does come off as a bit distracting, I guess wolf-puberty hit him hard.
Animation
In terms of animation, BNA: Brand New Animal contains a number of the over the top action sequences that are a trademark of Studio Trigger. The studio uses their signature deformation techniques along with a slew of animation cost-cutting strategies not just to save time but to also enhance the emotion and momentum of battles. The animation lacks the detail of studio Madhouse’s One Punch Man but makes up for it with raw emotion, nonetheless.
One of the best techniques incorporated by Trigger’s BNA is its use of colour with its animation. Almost every main character has a unique colour. For example, Michiru’s is red and Shirou’s blue. In the first full sequence fight, the characters and scenery are entirely contrasted in icy cold blue and flaming red, marking the first team battle with the protagonists.
While watching this show, I did get some nostalgic flashbacks to some of their earlier works like Kill la Kill, particularly in the more comedic segments of the show. The use of super deformation is strong with this one, which should be no surprise, as Yoh Yoshinari had a hand in both of these. There is always that one episode that is an animatic atrocity while also being utter comedic gold, where the animators push the super deformation too far and then some more. I am looking at you ‘Greedy Bears’!
Conclusion
This series is a wacky adrenaline shot to the arm that we all needed. The bright colours, charming characters, and crazy art style make this into one of the best Anime of 2020. Whatever drugs you are on Studio Trigger, keep taking them!
If you are interested in watching BNA: Brand New Animal, you can find it on Netflix. Alongside other Studio Trigger works like Kill La Kill and Little Witch Academia.
