Chapter 153 (Beastars)

Howl of the Losing Dogs: A Fine Melody (負け犬の遠吠え よきしらべ) is Chapter 153 of the manga Beastars written and illustrated by Paru Itagaki, published in the Weekly Shōnen Champion of the Akita Shoten publishing house.

Synopsis
At night, Jack and Legoshi observe the full moon, and although Jack is cheerful, Legoshi notices that his tail does not move at all. Jack comments that on full moon nights, he would mess around with Collot and pretend to howl at the moon. He states that wolves used to howl to communicate over long distances instead of using telephones, and that he would like to hear Legoshi howl one day. Legoshi asks Jack if something has happened to him, telling him that he seems to be depressed, making Jack feel nostalgic for that day they met, and Jack claims that he is getting tired of the special classes. Legoshi asks if they are hard, and Jack replies that they are very unique.

Jack tells Legoshi that the five students in the special class are all dogs, which is normal since dogs are the only species made to specialize in intelligence, just as their ancestors wanted. Jack relates that in said class, they have to study material that even the professors haven't been taught. They have a monitor that displays the special class' material, and they just absorb all the knowledge and make a list of the important words in their notebooks, as they learn real history and how animal society works. As soon as they finish a depressing and gloomy history lesson, they leave the classroom and exchange smiles and goodbyes, as if they were robots made only to accomplish the objectives that were given to them and that is why dogs are a useful species, and Jack is just a part of them.

Jack claims that he knows he's suffering, but wonders why he can't hate any of it, why he can't bring himself to cry and run away from it - it's because dogs are made to not feel negative emotions. This being the reason why he has been forcing himself to cry slicing onions. Jack claims that onions are the vegetables that canines hate the most, but for him onions are his salvation, and he needs to get his feelings back. Legoshi asks him to stop, but Jack screams that he can't stand being a Labrador if he can't even cry. While slicing an onion, Jack while crying says that at this rate, dogs are going to turn animal society into a dog dictatorship, and that they are the kind of animals who, when told that it is rational, they can commit mass murder without guilt, claiming that dogs are scary and he is also one of them. Crying too, Legoshi tries to dissuade him by saying that the reason why he can't hate anyone is because he is like that, but Jack asks how he can know that. Legoshi stops him and replies that he knows because they grew up together. Seeing Legoshi, Jack disagrees thinking that Legoshi grew too fast and left him behind, his body grew too much and his heart grew strong and free, seeing places he does not know of and every time he sees Legoshi, he remembers how close yet distant wolves and dogs are. With Legoshi in front of him, Jack realizes that his ancestor has great potential for strength. Legoshi asks Jack to cheer up and wants him to smile. Annoyed, Jack takes a slice of onion and puts it in his mouth. Legoshi quickly tries to make him spit it out, but Jack resists and Legoshi sticks his fingers in to get the onion out of his mouth. Jack feels how Legoshi's long fingers and sharp nails reach all the way down his throat, filling him with pain and suffering. He realizes that Legoshi was always like that, arrogant and strong, the source of his suffering and his reason to live, remembering how they fought when they were children. After making Jack spit the onion out, Legoshi claims that they hadn't fought since they were kids and that if their elementary teacher were here now, he would give her an honest answer. Jack asks him what he's talking about and declares that Legoshi loves to make him suffer. They both smile at each other while wagging their tails. Legoshi claims that now that Jack opened his heart to him for the first time, he should let Jack hear him and proceeds to howl at the moon, being the first time that Jack hears Legoshi's howl and declares that he is his coolest ancestor in the world. Jack asks Legoshi if he wants to know what he's learning in the special class.

Characters

 * Legoshi
 * Jack
 * Collot (Jack's imagination)

Important Events

 * Jack reveals in more detail what the special class is about and that the five students that make it up are all dogs.
 * Jack reveals the reason for his depression and that he used onions to force himself to cry.
 * Legoshi succeeds in encouraging Jack to come out of his depression.
 * Jack offers to tell Legoshi the true story of animal society.

Trivia

 * Although Jack claims that Labradors are made not to feel negative emotions, Jack has been seen crying and being sad in the past.
 * This is the second chapter where Jack is seen crying, the first being Chapter 61.