Warning: The following contains spoilers for Bungo Stray Dogs, Episode 51, "The Strongest Man," now streaming on Crunchyroll.
A lot of discourse has been had about the last season of Bungo Stray Dogs - how it succeeded and failed as an adaptation, and how the novel adaptation tacked onto the start was unnecessary. However, after finishing "The Strongest Man," it would be fair to say that - at least for anime-only viewers - the time spent with a younger Ranpo paid off brilliantly, making for a delightful start to this new season.
Ranpo has been MIA ever since Episode 44 when he hurled himself out of a window to evade the police, right at the height of the public's turn against the Armed Detective Agency. In the seven episodes since then, the Hunting Dogs have been deployed in full force, the Agency has been more divided than ever, and attempts to stop a terror plot ended up backfiring.
A Sorry State of Affairs
The first half of Episode 51 is content to let the audience wallow in the sad state of its characters, especially Kunikida, who just has not been able to catch a break once. First, that child died in front of him during the Cannibalism event, then he went to jail for it until Ranpo got him freed, and now he doesn't even have hands after attempting to sacrifice himself to no avail.
He seems destined to suffer, and clearly, the pressure has gotten to him. There have been numerous implications that - despite his tough exterior - a part of him is doubting the ideals at his core. With any luck, the ongoing arc will take some time to explore his inner demons, but in the meantime, he's got to get out of prison, the same as Yosano.
Meanwhile, Atsushi, Kyouka, Lucy, and Ango have to grapple with their failure to prevent the Decay of Angels' plot, as the coin explosives have found their way around the world. Amidst this uncertainty, Atsushi remains one of the most optimistic of the whole cast, right up there with Ranpo. As disheartening as it might be at first to have Dazai confined to a prison for an entire storyline, it yields great opportunities for character growth.
Having Dazai pop up as this phantom in Atsushi's subconscious emphasizes his need to gain confidence in his own intelligence just as much as he needs to hone his physical strength. Fyodor and Dazai continue to play their mind games, but it's increasingly apparent that success or failure hinges on what the characters do without the two prominent masterminds in the field.
The Kamui Misdirect
For a story with a reputation for glorious character introductions, it's a bit odd how underwhelming the very concept of Kamui comes off. "Concept" is the key word here because while the remaining two members of the Decay of Angels have been alluded to, the name Kamui hasn't previously been mentioned before this episode.
The leader of the Decay of Angels is a complete mystery but one that hasn't been built up much outside the surprising suggestion that Fyodor isn't the one calling the shots. What's funny is that the way Kamui has been teased in the marketing is all part of a clever deception on the part of the storytellers. The man in the gas mask is none other than Ranpo in disguise.
He interrupts the real Kamui's plan to assassinate captured members of the Agency by pretending to be him and get there first. Now, the audience has even less of an idea of who they could be, yet through Ranpo's deception, we see what kinds of plans the real Kamui is capable of. The unfortunate side effect is that the fakeout feels like it's coming before we've been given a reason to buy into the mystery of the person Ranpo is pretending to be.
Perhaps that is a bit nitpicky, though. After all, this is only the beginning of an arc literally called the Kamui Revelation Arc. Now that the Agency's members are about to be reunited, that mystery can take the spotlight. Frankly, Ranpo's rescue plan itself is a bit more deserving of criticism than anything having to do with Kamui's build-up.
The Return of the Brilliant Detective
Part of the fun of watching a story with a detective like Ranpo is looking at how bad a situation is and wondering "Okay, so how is he going to win?" It never seems to be in doubt that they will win because of course they will. There's only the question of "how?" and a divide between success and victory that grows at a rate faster than the audience can find the solution themselves.
In this way, Ranpo functions like a superhero akin to Superman, who will always win in the end. Some mysteries are about letting the audience piece together the puzzle at the same time as the detective, but sometimes it's about being along for the ride. The solution to the mystery just has to make internal sense and not break our suspension of disbelief.
Kunikida and Katai's rescues are well done, especially the latter, where once again Ranpo employs Edgar Allen Poe's ability to save the day. But something about his rescue of Yosano felt like a stretch. Whether it was how it was written or the presentation, the way he gets the car containing her away without anyone noticing felt a tad too convenient.
Granted, Ranpo's deductive abilities have always been convenient and practically made a mockery of standard mystery conventions. And even with that small moment of ridiculousness, it's hard to stay bitter by the end, when Ranpo makes his statement to the public in a genuinely brilliant moment that goes to show why Ranpo is one of the best characters in the series.
Ever since the introduction of "The Page," its powers have been built up to be unbeatable, but Ranpo makes debunking its reality-amending capabilities seem easy. It wasn't ever all-powerful, it's just very thorough. Even using it requires that whatever is written within has a causal consistency like a novel, meaning it is limited by whoever writes within it.
If Fyodor had to write a clause telling law enforcement to disregard any evidence of the Agency's innocence, then that means that evidence can exist as easily as plot holes in a story. And Ranpo can exploit every detail that wasn't accounted for. Even if their innocence isn't universally accepted, the Agency will have allies - many more than before.
Ranpo's public address is short, but it's powerful and means so much after an entire season prior in which the characters were at their lowest points. It's not bittersweet or tragic, but genuinely uplifting. It's the kind of victory I wasn't expecting until episodes from now. Bungo Stray Dogs Season 5 no doubt has plenty of hardships ahead, but despite a few flaws, the premiere instills a sense of hope that hasn't been felt since the end of Season 3.