The following discusses specific plot info from all current seasons of Bungo Stray Dogs, as well as the film and several light novels. Mild spoilers ahead.
On the surface, Bungo Stray Dogs seems like a reasonably isolated story, pitting superpowered detectives and criminals against each other in modern-day Yokohama, Japan. And yet, as the series has gone on, every new piece of lore paints a portrait of a much larger world influencing - and influenced by - the story of the Armed Detective Agency, with “the Great War” being a defining moment.
There is still much that readers/viewers don’t know about the war, even how exactly it started or what in particular it was fought over, though it is known to have been focused around Europe. More is known about the impact of the war, and its far-reaching effects on just about every faction involved in the story as audiences know it, making it effectively the origin point of the franchise.
The Sides
While a great many of the countries involved in the war are known, their allegiances haven’t been fully specified. Interestingly, more details are known thanks to supplementary material such as novels, films, or even stage plays. 2021’s Bungo Stray Dogs: Storm Bringer, which was both a light novel and a stage play, details that Japan was allied with France and Germany.
Japan’s precise involvement is unclear and, in fact, the country’s place in the war was a point of contention within the government. As revealed in Season 4, Fukuzawa was enlisted to assassinate bureaucrats who would have pushed for Japan’s continued involvement in the war. By killing them, Japan exited the war, although the deed weighed heavily on Fukuzawa’s soul.
But as for the other side of this war, the only other country specifically called out is England, constantly characterized by the might of its nation’s Gifted operatives. It’s unclear if they were aided by America or Russia at all, or if those countries participated. Given the way England has been presented in the series, however, it’s not unthinkable to imagine they were able to withstand a three-country alliance.
The Order of the Clock Tower
In the film Bungo Stray Dogs: Dead Apple, written by series writer Kafka Asagiri, the fog incident in Yokohama escalated to the point that the Order of the Clock Tower feared it would expand to the rest of the world. It was none other than Agatha Christie who called Ango Sakaguchi and informed him that a Gifted with an incineration ability was en route via aircraft to destroy Yokohama.
There was no negotiation at all, and the polite manner in which Agatha condemns the city to destruction speaks volumes about her and her nation's authority and power. That's without acknowledging the Ability-users they have access to. While Christie and her cohorts have yet to make proper appearances in the anime series, the story has already set them up as a formidable and frightening power.
The Victor
The Great War’s winner is unknown, but according to the light novel, 55 Minutes, the war is said to have ended with a treaty signed by France, Germany, and England. Japan had already backed out of the war, partly due to Fukuzawa’s actions, but given Yosano’s account of her hellish time in the war, Japan’s efforts towards the end of the war weren’t going smoothly.
While the victor isn’t clear, the losers are well documented. It’s strongly suggested that Andre Gide, the leader of Mimic, who battled Oda in Season 2, fought for France in the war. In the show, he spoke of a betrayal, wherein his unit was given false orders while their country signed the treaty. By doing so, their unit could be cast out as criminals after launching one final attack.
Additionally, the experimentation performed by different countries in an attempt to turn the tide of the war resulted in projects that created many of the characters as fans know them. Storm Bringer also revealed that Chuuya Nakahara was a clone created to harbor the entity known as Arahabaki. Similar human experimentation and ability augmentation are suspected to be the basis for the Hunting Dogs seen in Season 4.
The Importance of A Gifted War
Season 4, Episode 9, “A Dream of Butterflies,” illustrates the true point of this war, regardless of its cause or the victor. Amidst Yosano’s terror in the face of her responsibility to heal the wounded soldiers so that they might die again, Mori explains why it is necessary. He asserts that victory is reliant upon realizing what is the strongest tool at one’s disposal.
“You know of the samurai, don’t you? They failed to understand war by gun and cannon, and perished. In the war after, the nation that recognized tanks as beasts that could ravage enemy territory, not as simple turrets, massacred the enemy. In naval battles, the nation that failed to realize that planes would be the masters of the sea was the one to fall.”
-Ogai Mori, Bungo Stray Dogs, Episode 46 “A Dream of Butterflies”
This war, which serves as the origin point of Bungo Stray Dogs, was about proving the terrible power of the Gifted, and particularly, how those powers could be abused. The war determined that the Gifted are to be the next evolution of warfare, which subsequently forced people to hide their abilities. It’s the reason why the audience only sees the Gifted appear when they are part of the government or criminal organizations.
And perhaps most importantly, the war is credited with creating a surge of orphans around the world; the very “stray dogs” suggested in the title. In the end, the specifics of The “Great” War are nothing compared to the orphans it produced, which so often make up the central cast of characters, whether the heroes or villains. It is one of the most fascinating conflicts in the story and truly the root of Bungo Stray Dogs.