When years have passed between the releases of new seasons of a television show, it can be easy to forget that events in the story are still quite fresh to the characters. This week’s Bungo Stray Dogs saw the government recognizing the Agency’s achievements from way back in Season 2, setting up a meteoric rise all in service of a cataclysmic fall.
The last two weeks followed Ranpo in his investigation of a murder that turned out to be more of an assisted suicide for the sake of art. In the aftermath, Ranpo sparked something of a friendship with the culprit Mushitaro, but after they were driven off by police, Nikolai Gogol appeared to seemingly silence Mushitaro, who quickly warned Ranpo over the radio that the Agency was about to receive a job and that they mustn’t accept it.
Yokohama Chainsaw Massacre
Bungo can be pretty violent at times, from characters being gunned down, stabbings, light decapitation, and so on, but something about this week was especially vicious. It started early on, during the Agency’s briefing when the aftermath of several grizzly murders is shown on TV. The body horror was quite detailed and felt somewhat out of character for the show.
While it isn’t gratuitous per se, it certainly sets the tone, and effectively at that. This arc has been said to be the darkest yet and after how this episode ends, that’s not really up for debate anymore. Even having written about the season and the rumblings about its darker content prior to airing, it was surprising to see how quickly things intensified.
Some might argue that the pacing might have even been a bit too quick to set up such a huge plotline, and it definitely comes at the viewer quickly. For perspective, while this is already the sixth episode of the season, it’s the first time viewers have been reunited with the Atsushi, Dazai, or anyone from the Agency. Unlike last season, there isn’t a lot of time to catch up with them.
Dazai especially got the least ceremonious re-introduction what with him being instantly arrested, likely to spend a good deal of the season out of the fight. This wouldn’t be a huge deal if he hadn’t already been incapacitated for much of the Cannibalism event. It’s not all a loss, however, as the previews suggest he’ll be chatting up Fyodor in some form of confinement. There are still plenty of surprises ahead, for certain.
Sins of the Past
If one can forgive the breakneck pace, the underlying tension of the episode and how it builds to the twist that truly sets this arc into motion is masterful. Ever since the season’s start with Fukuzawa’s flashbacks to his violent deeds, there has been a theme of sins coming back to haunt these characters. Not just Fukuzawa, but Dazai, Kyouka, and most excitingly, Yosano.
Yosano's real-life authorial counterpart wrote the poem Thou Shalt Not Die as a message to her brother, demanding that he come back alive. This was during the time of the Russo-Japanese War. She was a pacifist and notable feminist of her time, so seeing her imagined as a former combat medic is a fitting choice. Getting to see how she became who she is might be the most exciting thing to look forward to, and that's saying a lot.
So while this arc might be getting off to quite the uproarious start, it isn’t without promise for the character writing, and surely won’t deprive fans of some explosive action. With the sheer amount of stuff in the trailer leading up to this season’s release, this might be the most packed climax yet. God only knows how Francis will fit into the picture, to say nothing of whether he'll be an enemy or ally.
Nikolai might be one of the most unhinged villains yet in the series, perfectly fitting such a demented plan to bring down the Agency. Their ability to create portals alone is super powerful but having it activate from behind his cape fits his magician aesthetic beautifully. His power compliments his personality and mannerisms, the latter of which are some of the most expressive thanks to the great animation.
Speaking of, Yuu Yoshiyama is elevating the standard of animation for this series with each fight and even contributed to one of Nikolai’s twisted displays of comical flare. Yoshiyama is definitely an animator to pay attention to, between their command of speed during the action, their impact frames, and the choreography. This is the best possible season to have an animator like them on board.
This marks the true beginning of the Decay of Angels arc and the hype is real before even the bulk of the Military Police’s Hunting Dogs has been revealed. After such a gruesome scene, it’s going to be very interesting to see how the Agency can rebuild the faith entrusted to them by the government and the people. But however they manage it, it will probably be really, really cool.