Beastars #5

Paru Itagaki's acclaimed manga continues with a cover that demands attention: a powerfully built anthropomorphic panda, cigarette dangling from a toothy grin, dressed in a yellow shirt and draped with a bandolier of bullets, casually gripping a stalk of bamboo. It's a wonderfully unsettling image — equal parts menacing and absurd — that captures exactly the kind of tonal tension Beastars does so well. This 2019 Ki-oon edition is a great entry point into one of manga's most thought-provoking explorations of society, instinct, and identity.