Highlights
- Episode 54 of Bungo Stray Dogs marks a turning point, as it confirms that no one is safe and that major characters can actually die.
- Bram Stoker, the final member of the Decay of Angels, introduces vampires into the story, elevating the threat level and setting the stage for future episodes.
- Tachihara battles Fukuchi and initially gains the upper hand, revealing the vulnerability of the mastermind and adding to the intensity of the conflict. The stakes have been raised higher than ever before in the series.
Warning: The following contains MAJOR spoilers for Bungo Stray Dogs, Episode 54 "HERO WAR, GANG WAR", now streaming on Crunchyroll.
Ever since the last season of Bungo Stray Dogs, the Decay of Angels' end goal has been made somewhat clear; a series of global terror attacks, culminating in the destruction of the state. However, the new episode offers the first glimpse of just how they mean to create chaos around the world, and it might just be the wildest thing Bungo has thrown at audiences yet.
Last week, Atsushi and Akutagawa faced off against Fukuchi, the Decay of Angels' leader, in an attempt to bring their plot to an end right there, but they were powerless against him. Their opponent's space-time sword undid their hard-fought victory, and Akutagawa just barely created an opening for Atsushi to escape, albeit at the cost of his own life.
Bungo Stray Dogs and Fatality
With all the violence and theatrical drama permeating this series, there aren't many fatalities among the major characters. People are stabbed, shot, and beaten constantly, but thanks to the established durability of Gifted shown over the years and the existence of healers like Yosano, people tend to bounce back pretty quickly. So many of these characters are fan favorites that it would be unthinkable for them to truly die, but something has to give eventually.
One might think that this would have created some fatigue before now, but it isn't as if Bungo is the only action anime reluctant to kill its main characters. That's hardly the default function for most beloved TV shows. Bungo arguably has the attitude of a show that kills its characters more than it actually does. It's a testament to its storytelling that what few deaths have occurred were as poignant, dramatic, and foundational to the story as they were.
This is why Episode 54 felt like such a turning point. There is no fakeout like with Tachihara shooting Yosano last season. Akutagawa is really dead. It's a shocking twist, especially right after he opened up to Atsushi about his illness and the two seemed to trust each other more than ever before in combat. Knowing this series, there's always the possibility of him coming back, but no matter how permanent his death is, the story makes it abundantly clear that no one is safe.
Enter, Bram Stoker
Bungo Stray Dogs has vampires now, and not just in the sense that they exist, but that they are the main crux of the villains' plan to sow chaos around the globe. And it's all thanks to the fifth and final member of the Decay of Angels, Bram Stoker, voiced by the talented Kenjiro Tsuda (Kishibe from Chainsaw Man), named after the legendary Irish author of - what else - Dracula.
Bram is an honest-to-god vampire whose nature is the result of a mutation caused by his ability, one which allows him to turn others into vampiric kin that obey his commands. His debut is something of a pandora's box for the story. It elevates the threat so quickly in a single episode that it could very well be the basis for the rest of the season if not the foreseeable future of the series.
Bram bites Akutagawa, who spreads the infection to Higuchi, who thusly spreads it throughout the Mafia, and from there to the globe. This is how Fukuchi plans to create chaos and therefore convince the United Nations to accept his proposal for a united Earth military, and from there, use the second half of the page to complete his plan. It's complex, ridiculous, and utterly thrilling.
There's a temptation to call this the "jumping the shark" moment, but to be fair, Bungo's ideas have always been wacky in a way that an anime reimagining of literary icons this diverse should be. Of all the ways to incorporate the work of an author like Bram Stoker, this is perhaps one of the smartest ways the author could have accomplished the task.
Tachihara's Stand
This is the second week in a row that Fukuchi has had to battle someone who has uncovered their identity, but this time, the vibe is completely different, because at first, Tachihara is winning. Fukuchi is on the defensive, seemingly powerless against his opponent's manipulation of metal. It's so gratifying to see Tachihara get the upper hand, emboldened by Mori's orders, having caught on that he's a member of the Hunting Dogs.
The blessing of Fukuchi's true identity being revealed is that the audience gets a sense that while they are the mastermind, they aren't as infallible as someone like Fyodor appears to be. They're meticulous, and they've built up a persona to trick everyone around them, and they're so close to dropping the act that every roadblock on the eve of victory causes his blood to boil. It's this weakness that might just be his undoing, not that he'd go down easily.
He's incredibly powerful and skilled, but he's also in possession of a weapon that allows him to cheat his way to victory, which makes him a particularly maddening foe. So even as Tachihara seemingly has him in a corner, the audience can feel defeat coming, the like a dagger being twisted in the wound from when Akutagawa died. This was a great battle with a necessary defeat to illustrate even further how tough it will be to defeat Fukuchi by the end.
From an infection spreading across the world in a matter of days, to a villain who will destroy time itself to avoid defeat, Bungo Stray Dogs has raised the stakes exponentially higher than before. This is a very different series than it once was, and assuming it doesn't eclipse its scope in pursuit of further spectacle, this season has the potential to be one of the best yet.