Highlights
- Kenji's strength and kindness are showcased in a powerful fight scene, demonstrating the subtlety and beauty of Studio Bones' animation.
- Kenji's power, "the power of mother nature," is revealed and adds a grand and primal quality to his character, complementing his personality.
- Dazai's manipulation of another Gifted's time-stop ability reveals his cleverness and the haunting consequences of his decisions, leaving the audience excited for what's to come.
Warning: This contains spoilers for Bungo Stray Dogs, Episode 58, "Land of Inhuman Demons (Part 1)", now streaming on Crunchyroll.
There's an unspoken rule about certain anime characters that are consistently characterized by their almost unnatural kindness; there's a limit to how much nonsense they can put up with. Kenji Miyazawa has always been one of the strongest characters in Bungo Stray Dogs, but it's been a while since the fans got to see their strength displayed with such gravitas - until now.
Last week, amidst the opening ceremony of Dazai and Fyodor's death race to escape from Meursault, both Kenji and Atsushi found themselves confronted by Tetchou and Teruko, respectively. Despite disarming Tetchou and overall putting up a good fight, the episode concluded with the young farmer/detective on the losing side of the battle.
Be Not Defeated by the Rain
We've just recently covered how Studio Bones has adapted Bungo and episodes like this truly speak to the subtlety that goes into good animation. It can't all just hinge on bombastic fights and effects animation, and something about the way Kenji's lip twitches when he hears that Atsushi has been apprehended adds a lot to the buildup. He is the last person whom the Hunting Dogs want to aggravate because as nice as he seems, he can be frightening.
None of this is to say that the fight itself wasn't hugely impressive because it sure was beautiful. The pencil-drawn impact frames of Kenji's kick and the equally visceral punch later on convey his immense strength with appreciable weight. Just the way these moves are telegraphed adds impact, aided by some fierce poses by both combatants. It might even be better than the fight against Fukuchi, which is saying something.
Bungo loves its flashbacks, whether they are small montages or entire episodes, and they're effective because they both humanize the characters while mythologizing their powers. Last season, Yosano's trauma felt raw and powerful, yet her ability and the label it created for her ("the angel of death") lends a larger-than-life quality that feels appropriate for this series.
Up to now, Kenji's power was left somewhat vague in the anime. It was simply understood that he was strong, but to hear his ability described as "the power of mother nature" makes his strength feel all the more grand; primal, yet oddly beautiful, perfectly in line with his personality. Plus he's learned to supplement the anger required to fuel his strength with hunger, which is adorable.
The end result is a fight that isn't just fun to watch but ends with two kindred spirits coming to terms with one another. Tetchou and Kenji aren't all that different as it happens, and all it took was taking away the former's sword for that to become blindingly apparent. It was a smart move from a writing standpoint, both tactically and symbolically. One of the more wholesome moments in between increasingly more grim stakes.
Time Flies
After so many small predictions in past reviews that turned out to be false, it feels good to predict one correctly. In the previous episode review, there was an idea tossed around that one or several of the ludicrously thorough security measures would be utterly outsmarted by either Dazai or Fyodor. It's been obvious since the start that Kafka Asagiri can come up with some crazy ideas, but never let it be said that he can't deliver them with a masterful touch.
The reveal that Dazai has been manipulating another Gifted's time-stop ability to plot his escape and receive information from the outside might be the coolest idea in the series. Its only weak point is that it sort of comes out of nowhere and might have been even cooler if the seed had been planted earlier about this master thief. Regardless, this was an incredibly clever use of his power.
If Kenji and Tetchou's confrontation was the start of a friendship, Dazai's story this episode presents itself as the end of one. Once again, the animation elevates the small moments, like Chuuya thrashing, trying to keep his head above water. The decision to kill his friend is one that clearly weighs on Dazai, even if he plays it off like it's nothing.
It doesn't matter if Fyodor and Chuuya inevitably end up surviving somehow - it's a haunting moment that wouldn't have worked were it not for the visuals and music. It's extra depressing as it's happening to a character that's been turned into a mindless vampiric thrall, with no guarantee that they can be turned back. Assuming Dazai doesn't have a plan to save Chuuya, it will be interesting to see how Dazai deals with this decision - or more likely, how he doesn't.
This was one of those episodes of Bungo Stray Dogs that simply passed by way too quickly, but boy was it one of the best this season, and hopefully, it will only go up from here. Only three episodes remain before the end, and it's looking like the season could adapt right up to the current chapter in the manga. Judging by reactions from manga readers, things are going to get much worse before they get better, but strangely, that's just more exciting.