#shimano

Kiryu is a red kangaroo because their main defense is kicking and punching. I like the idea of him being an animal who lacks other options like claws/fangs/horns/antlers/etc (though kangaroos do have sharp claws but shhhhhhhhh)

Majima is a coydog (coyote dog cross) because of how unpredictable they are. You don't know if you're getting a tame dog or a wild coyote, and the latter may come across as mad if stuck as a pet. I was actually going to make him a wolfdog at first, but felt coydog fit him better!

Note that everyone important to Kiryu is a carnivore, while everyone important to Majima is an herbivore. That's important :)

Nishikiyama is a Ezo red fox. I liked the idea of him being a smaller carnivore that's more likely to run from confrontation, leading to his inferiority complex towards Kiryu, a powerful herbivore (also note that the majority of yakuza are carnivores). Reina is also a fox btw.

Haruka is a shiba inu/akita cross, with Yumi being a shiba and Jingo being an akita.

Date is a german shepherd because cop, and Kashiwagi is a harpy eagle because... actually i don't have a good explanation, I just wanted a bird and I felt like harpy eagle fit him.

Kazama and Daigo Dojima are lions as I see the Dojima Family (and Kazama Family) being primarily composed of lions for that Shishigumi reference. Daigo is darker/has a darker mane to fit the stereotype in Beastars that lions like that are born leaders.

Saejima was almost a tiger because, well, its an obvious choice. But to fit the rule I gave myself, I settled on water buffalo instead, while Shimano is the tiger among lions.

Sagawa is a river otter because (to me at least) he didn't appear all that threatening at first glance in Y0. But then you get to know him and see how vicious he is, which kinda lines up with otters.

Shout out to that post that said Melon = Nishitani because yes, you are so right. I made him a pronghorn/lion cross because pronghorns have sick horns, and I mixed him with lion so I could at least give him some of his iconic hair.