Episode 20

Preview image 1 taken from the Beastars anime website.

**Laughing at the Shadows We Cast** (光を浴びたらシルエットの違いを笑おう, *Hikari wo abitara shiruetto no chigai wo waraō*?) is the twentieth episode of the *Beastars* anime and the eighth episode of Season 2.

## Synopsis

Sheila doesn't want to only be used in Peach's photos just for "likes", so she invites her to a day of shopping. Legoshi learns about the strength of his limbs by stopping a ferocious meat addict as part of Gohin's training. Juno is offered the main role in the school play, but after spending some time with Haru in the gardening club, she considers herself unfit to be a candidate for the Beastar title. After a visit to a hyperdrugs store, Ibuki reveals to Louis that their childhoods aren't so different.

## Plot

Sheila finds her relationship with herbivores complicated because her fellow student Peach asks her to take a picture together, but Sheila finds it difficult to approach her due to the differences in species. That is why she complains about it to Juno which she envies for managing to get along relatively well with herbivores. Although, Juno lets her know that she only gets along with a single herbivore and shows her the photographs she has with that friendship. Juno mentions that they are very aware of those around them, calling it a defense mechanism and that is why they are difficult to understand. Later Sheila, gathers courage and asks Peach to go shopping. She accepts and they decide to go shortly after classes are over. In the mall, they visit several stores and both girls begin to bond, knocking down prejudice and fear that they had towards their differences in species. At the end of the day they take a picture to consolidate their friendship.

At dusk in the Black Market, Legoshi is next to Gohin observing the carnivores that are out of control. They notice the presence of a ferocious striped hyena, who they must capture and take to Gohin's Clinic. Legoshi is sent to stop the hyena, so they start a fight in which the hyena manages to have an advantage over Legoshi, but he gathers his energy to counter him and defeat him by slamming him against a wall.

The next day at the drama club, Juno is summoned by Sanu, who offers her the role of Adler. She in principle does not disagree with taking the role, but being a female and a first-year, it doesn't seem right. Sanu mentions that that is preciously why he wants her to take the role, to show the whole school the students are ready to fight with their rebellious spirit. At the female locker room, Juno wonder to herself why students have a problem with segregation. When leaving the club, she sees Haru, who is the only herbivore that is the bane of her existence. Juno follows Haru up the stairs, until she sees the door leading to the gardening club. Haru opens it thinking it was Legoshi's footsteps she heard, and invites Juno to come in. She asks her for a favor to help him with certain plants that needed fertilizer. While helping her, she finds the reason why Legoshi ended up falling in love with that white rabbit. She also notes that her vision regarding carnivores and herbivores is wrong, therefore she is not suited to be a Beastar candidate, because she can't consider themselves equals the way Louis does. Before leaving, Juno tells Haru to give Louis a call.

Louis dreams of Haru and is awakened by Ibuki, who lets him know that they have arrived at a hyperdrugs store, where he witnesses a caiman decides to sell parts of his body in order to get some money. The client on this occasion requests something to help him spend at least one night with his wife. This means that the caiman's genitals will be severed, and Ibuki decides to cover Louis's eyes so that he does not see the procedure. Louis makes him lower his arm and decides to observe the scene until the end. After that Louis is on the roof of a building looking down upon the Black Market. Ibuki pleads with him not to commit suicide by jumping off. Ibuki pulls up his left sleeve to reveal that he too was once a product to be cut up and sold, but he managed to escape and build a new life. At that moment Louis receives a phone call and throws his cell phone to the ground below and decides to go have a drink with Ibuki. Shortly after it is shown that the call was from Haru.

## Anime/Manga Differences

* In the manga, the events of Peach taking a selfie with Sheila and then being invited to go shopping happen inside the school, while in the anime, they happen outside.
* In the anime, Sheila and Peach take a selfie in a coffee shop, while in the manga they take the selfie on the seat of a tree, which can be seen near the coffee shop.
* In the anime, Legoshi and Gohin's conversation at the Black Market bar where they track down the striped hyena does not occur. The conversation takes place partially on the roof from which Gohin and Legoshi observe the striped hyena.
* In the manga, the striped hyena is a meat addict who spent his time nibbling on the bone of an herbivore he killed and ignored the meat served at the bar, since it could no longer satisfy him. In the anime, he is a meat junkie rummaging through junk for bones and scraps of meat.
* In the anime, the striped hyena is shirtless, while in the manga, he is not.
* In the manga, Juno sees Haru walking together with Legoshi in the school just before they part, while in the anime, she sees her walking alone outside.
* In the anime, Haru is in her school uniform when she greets Juno, and later when they both do some gardening, only Haru is wearing a work outfit. In the manga, Haru was already in her work outfit when she greets Juno, and when they do some gardening, both of them are wearing a work outfit.
* In the manga, Haru tries to reach for the toolbox inside the clubroom, while in the anime, this happens on the outside of the clubroom.
* In the manga, when Louis visits the hyperdrugs store, he is accompanied by Ibuki, Free and Dolph. In the anime, Dolph is replaced by Agata.
* In the anime, Louis removes Ibuki's hand to see the emasculation of the caiman. In the manga, this does not happen.
* In the anime, the scene is cut where Ibuki is scolded by the two other lions for covering Louis's eyes, who later scolds them by claiming that Louis is only 18.