Riz

Riz (リズ) is a secondary character in Beastars, and the main antagonist of the "Who killed Tem?" arc. He is a student at Cherryton High School and a member of the Drama club.

Appearance
Riz is a light grey brown bear, his height being approximately around 2 meters. He has been seen wearing different costumes throughout the series, such as his school uniform which is composed of a white shirt, with a pair of overalls and black shoes. He has also been seen wearing a sweater during his stay with companions of the same species in his dorm room.

During his confrontation with Legosi, he wore a black sweatshirt, light jeans and light colored shoes.

Personality
Riz appears to be a kind brown bear, he was very loved and respected. However, he has a hidden corrupt side. Beneath the innocent facade, Riz is a cruel, cold-blooded freak/serial killer who did as much as he could to cover up his murder. Unconsciously, he slaughtered Tem, his close friend, when he apparently refused to take his government-mandated strength reduction medication thinking he wouldn't need it. Riz's brutality is increased, when he was seen sucking the fingers of Pina, who believed he would be killed.

History
The whole fact that he accidentally killed Tem is made tragic by the certainty that all bears are now forced to take medications that limit their strength when they grow beyond 200 centimeters in height. These come with terrible side effects. Tem's friendship made Riz think he could manage without his pills. Riz remembers that Tem accepted him exactly as he was and remembers them hugging each other, before his memory screws up, after having Tem annihilated.

Although, from the first scene of the manga, we know that Tem died cursing his own killer. Later, Riz admits that he was so happy that Tem saw through his exterior facade the "monster" that was inside, that he felt so much affection for Tem for revealing his true sinistrous personality that he altered his memories to make them happier, but it seems that the event has gave him a taste for carnage. It has only advanced in recent chapters, to the point that he now sincerely believes that Tem wanted to be devoured and Riz eating him alive will make him his "best friend".

He has an extremely incredible strength, even when compared to other carnivores and has to regularly take force-limiting medications to make sure he keeps his strength under control. He stopped taking them in preparation for his big brawl with Legosi.

Trivia
1. Riz was introduced as a background character (standing next to Kai) during the slight beginning of Episode 8 in the Anime version of Beastars.

2. It is thought that he fully resembles a Grizzly Bear due to his small details from his appearance throughout the Manga version and the Anime version.

3. It is also thought that Riz may be a nocturnal bear while protecting his herbivore/small carnivore friends from danger, along with other large carnivores next to him during the festival blackout in Episode 8.

Riz