The Beastars universe takes place in a modern, civilized world inhabited exclusively by anthropomorphic animals, where society is rigidly divided between carnivores and herbivores.
This world operates under a delicate and tense social balance governed by these basic rules:
- The Prohibition of Meat: Consuming vertebrate meat is illegal and considered the most serious crime. Carnivores feed on vegetables, dairy, eggs, and soy products that imitate the taste of meat.
- The Black Market: Despite the laws, a massive underground market exists where real meat is sold illegally—a place tolerated by the government to allow carnivores to release stress and avoid massacres in public zones.
- Biological Repression: The educational and social system forces carnivores to repress their physical strength and hunting instincts from childhood so that herbivores (who often occupy high political and economic power positions due to their status as "victims") can feel safe.
- The Beastar System: To maintain peace, society elects a "Beastar," an exemplary leader with great strength and empathy who acts as a mediator between both factions and oversees justice.
In this universe, football players would be divided by species leagues or have hyper-specialized roles based on their biological capabilities given the vast physical differences between carnivores and herbivores. While the original work doesn't delve into professional soccer, the laws and biology of its world allow us to theoretically deduce how it would function:
- Positional Roles by Species: An ideal team would leverage genetic advantages. Cheetahs or leopards would be ideal wingers due to their speed; large herbivores like rhinos, hippos, or bulls would be impenetrable center-backs; and a large feline (like a lion or tiger) would have the perfect reflexes to be a goalkeeper.
- Segregated or Regulated Leagues: Running a mixed league without strict rules would be impossible. Most likely, there would be exclusive leagues for carnivores (where the game would be extremely physical and fast) and leagues for herbivores. If mixed, there would be strict anti-doping control and mandatory muzzles or protectors to prevent accidents caused by frustration or instinct.
- The Physical Strength Dilemma: A large carnivore (like a bear or wolf) could seriously injure a medium-sized herbivore (like a deer or gazelle) with a simple legal shoulder check. Therefore, the refereeing regulations would include harsh penalties for the excessive use of predatory force.
- Adapted Balls and Equipment: The ball would need to be much more resistant to withstand the force of a large animal's kick, and uniforms and even cleats would need to adapt to claws, hooves, and different limb anatomies.