Haru

"You don't know what it's like to live in constant danger."

- Haru to Legoshi in Chapter 25 and Episode 8.

Haru (ハル) is a main character in Beastars. She was the former leader of the Cherryton gardening club and is currently studying botany at a university.

Appearance
Haru is a pure white dwarf rabbit. She has pale cream fur and the large, dark eyes of an actual rabbit. When she blinks, three small eyelashes are sometimes visible. At the beginning of the series, she is typically seen wearing her school uniform. This uniform consists of a white blouse and bow tie; a long, pleated white skirt decorated with two light blue horizontal lines near the hem; a thin, tan belt; white anklet socks; and black Mary Jane shoes. After she graduates and starts college, she is seen wearing a more casual attire.

In Chapter 25, author Paru Itagaki described her character Haru having "[s]oft looking cheeks and arms." She has stated the following about Haru's physical appearance:"'Haru's appearance—especially her pure black eyes—makes her look like an actual rabbit. Most human babies will look adorable to other humans, so in that regard, rabbits will look somewhat lovely to carnivores. Well, to put it in a way humans can understand, Haru is a lolita.'"

Personality
"I feel that Haru is a character that has many traits that are akin to women, both good and bad. But that isn't where her character truly shines. Her true defining trait is that she's always willing to be true to herself. Many of the characters are portrayed living life with some kind of mask, but only Haru chooses to live life nonchalantly for her own desires. Haru's "childish sincerity" is something she shares with Legoshi, which makes it a very important trait indeed."

- Paru Itagaki, Chapter 25

Haru is the only member of the Cherryton gardening club and is generally excluded from school due to her sexual promiscuity. As a white dwarf rabbit, Haru is regularly treated as a fragile individual by society. She longs to be seen as her own person, rather than something small and in need of protection. Haru tends to keep people at a distance, even those like Legoshi who want to be closer to her, as she feels that the relationships will end up being fragile and superficial because of her status as a small herbivore. As soon as Haru became more sexually active, people only saw her as a sexual being and many of her interactions with others have been shallow and caused her to be isolated from society.

Despite being known as the "slut" at Cherryton High, Haru is actually a rather friendly and outgoing person. Paru Itagaki went as far as to say that Haru is "childish and acts like an old lady" in her character profile. Haru is willing to help out and listen to others, but is very capable of standing up for herself. She is incredibly brave as well, and has little to no problem talking back to the most dangerous of individuals such as the Shishigumi and will even visit places where her life is in risk such as the Black Market.

Paru Itagaki describes Haru as "being true to herself" and "honest to a fault" in her character profile. Haru, though quite small, is thick-skinned and isn't afraid to say what's on her mind, which allows her to defend herself from individuals like Mizuchi, who bully and shun her for her nature. Even though they make her life more difficult, Haru is unapologetically resilient. However, her honesty can be a double-edged sword. She can be rather rude, blunt, and short-tempered with people, particularly with those close to her, but she is capable of being gentle and delicate with others.

Trivia

 * Itagaki wanted to give Haru an easy-to-say name, to distance itself from the name Legoshi, which is quite a mouthful.
 * "Haru" (春 in kanji) means "spring," the season where flowers bloom. This references her love of gardening and botany.
 * Haru is the only character revealed to have a family, consisting of two parental figures and siblings. She is also the only character in the series who isn't an only child.
 * Haru's family dynamic mirrors Paru Itagaki's—like Paru, Haru has two older siblings (brother and sister), and a mother and father.
 * "Paru" also rhymes with "Haru".
 * Haru may be a reference to Zayats from the popular Russian cartoon Ну, погоди! (Nu, pogodi!; English: Well, Just You Wait!).
 * Legoshi and Haru's story has gone full circle. In Chapter 3, Legoshi pounces on Haru because of his hunting instincts. In Chapter 196, Haru pounces on Legoshi to accept his proposal.