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Beastman (獣人 Jūjin) is a species of anthropomorphic animals that reside in the world of BNA: Brand New Animal.
Description
The scientific name of Beastman is Homo sapiens bestia. Beastman is the closest living ancestor to the human. They share a similar evolutionary lineage and their last common ancestor existed after the divergence of Australopithecus (~2 million years ago). However, their genetic data does not primarily use DNA, and instead uses beast deoxyribonucleic acid (BDA).
While some still live in hiding in predominately human-populated areas, the majority of beastmen live in a special exclusion zone known as Anima City. The reason for this is due to prejudice between both species which further exacerbated by controversies that surround the City's foundation and increasing possibility of all-out war between them over the position of most dominant race on the planet, the latter which Barbara Rose attempted to avert as of the final episode.
Beastmen, while their true form is that of an anthropomorphized variant of any animal species, have the ability to change into a human form, with no obvious beastman traits present. Thus, it is easy for one to dwell among humans without raising alarm should they not revert to their beastman form.
Variations
Regular Beastmen
The most common beastmen variant. These are beastmen who have intermingled with beastmen of other animal species throughout generations and are restricted to one animal form. According to Rose, the child of two regular beastmen can only inherit one of their parents' animal form.
Purebred Beastmen
Also known as True Blood Beastman, this variant refers to beastmen who choose not to interbreed with beastmen of other animal species throughout generations out of pride over their nature. Through Alan Sylvasta, purebred beastmen holds great contempt towards their regular brethren to the extent of willing to exploit the conflict between humans and beastmen just to eradicate them all, and may very well the mastermind behind centuries-old prejudice between both races. In addition to being reclusive, purebred beastmen can conceal their true nature among humans and ordinary beastmen alike, as Barbara Rose was unaware of their existence. They have extremely powerful forms that can be rivaled with Transcendent Beastmen. Nonetheless, they are not exempted from succumbing to Nirvasyl Syndrome.
Transcendent Beastmen
Beastmen who have transcended and turned into god-like beings, signified by their immortality and tremendous powers, including the ability to assume full beast form shrouded in an ethereal aura. As stated by Alan, a beastman, purebred or regular, can become one through being ritualistically exposed to the blood of 1000 of their brethren, possibly through sacrificing them. Even so, accidental exposure also works providing the amount of blood is sufficient to endow godhood, as shown in the case of Shirou Ogami, the original Ginrou. As the latter also carries the souls of his fellow Nirvasyl beastmen citizens (some of which were plausibly his loved ones) within him, Shirou is much more powerful than transcended beastmen who gained their powers through traditional means. In fact, while transcendent beastmen can still be killed with sufficient injuries despite their immortality, Shirou can only die if he chooses to. Additionally, Shirou's howl can pacify beastmen, even while they're succumbed to Nirvasyl Syndrome, though this may or may not be exclusive to him alone thanks to circumstances that surrounded his transcendence.
Human-Turned Beastmen
Arguably the newest variant to appear. Unlike the rest, they are originally humans who turned into beastmen due to receiving their Beast Factor through artificial means (blood transfusion with a Beast Factor-laced blood). Because of this, human-turned beastmen displayed superior shapeshifting abilities, capable of taking form of many species and even altering their body mass to achieve superhuman feats. Through Nazuna, human-turned beastmen can even assume full beast form with fiery aura not too different with transcendent beastmen and even likely share all powers and abilities of the latter as well, thought their version plausibly pale in comparison. Even so, thanks to their unusual beast factor, human-turned beastmen possess abilities unique to themselves that, if properly honed, enable them to rival even both purebred and transcended beastmen in strength.
Only two known human-turned beastmen have appeared so far, Michiru Kagemori and Nazuna Hiwatashi, whose base animal form being tanuki and kitsune respectively.
Species
See Also
Gallery
Trivia
- Beastmen while in their human form can unintentionally turn into their beastman form while under extreme emotion such as fear, anger, sadness, and excitement. This may be a contributing factor as to why beastmen were not able to hide their existence.
- It's unknown how large the statement of them being humans capable of turning into animals, but it is explained that they are actual anthropomorphic animals due to the beast factor while their human form is a disguise.[1]
- Human-turned Beastmen have dual-colored eyes that normal Beastmen lack.
- The concept of "beastmen" may be a callback to Gurren Lagann, an anime many former Studio Trigger employees worked on under Gainax.