Bungo Stray Dogs is killing it with its fifth season and trust me the anime just got better with each passing season. Being a long-term fan of the series can make you think I’m being biased but seriously everything about this anime will blow you away and season 5 is just as amazing. Bungo Stray Dogs is up there with Fairy Tail and Horimiya in my best anime list. Surely it is one of the most underrated anime ever. And, to top it off one of the most exciting ones!
We get tons of stories about Yakuza in Anime but what about the Mafia? We have one popular detective named Conan but do we have another that comes close? Yes, now we have them in one show! Bungo Stray Dogs is all about the Mafia and Detectives on their own missions. Additionally, joining them is the Army of the State in seasons 4 and 5 which made it more exciting!
Endings mean the world, in any event, when they’re simply the beginning of a genuinely new thing, however of the multitude of things anticipated from Bungo Stray Dogs Season 5 finale, a legitimate end wasn’t one of them. The steady surge of drama gave the feeling that this curve was not even close to getting done, and keeping in mind that there is more story to tell, this finale unquestionably felt like the finish of a significant section.
Bungo Stray Dogs Origins
Produced by Bones, directed by Takuya Igarashi, and written by Yōji Enokido Bungo Stray Dogs is based on the manga written by Kafka Asagiri and illustrated by Sango Harukawa. This shows just how much this anime is taken seriously and polished by these talented individuals. The story focuses on individuals gifted with supernatural powers, which often refer to their character, tracing back to real-life relics. The most common and popular of them would be Osamu Dazai using the power ‘No Longer Human’.
This power nullifies other special powers and if anyone is into books, they would know that ‘No Longer Human’ is the title of the book written by Osamu Dazai. This writer is also very similar to the one in the Anime so needless to say that Dazai inspired the character. The characters use these special powers for different purposes including holding a business, solving mysteries, and carrying out missions assigned by the mafia or agency and as a military force.
The Gripping Narrative
The plot of Bungo Stray Dogs mainly follows the ‘Armed Detective Agency’ members and their everyday lives but events changed in season 4 when the past of how this agency came to be was revealed and Rampo got all the screen time. This change in theme was never sudden or undesired rather it makes the narrative more gripping and engaging.
Bungo Stray Dogs Season 5 brings about a serious issue as dangerous as the movie took their world to. In season 5 we actually get to explore many characters. Their personalities and reasons to be on the team they are fighting for. All occur simultaneously as our heroes are blamed and targeted. The fifth season was announced and it premiered on July 12, 2023, which was very early so the waiting time was not much for the fans.
Interest Peaking Bungo Stray Dogs Season 5
What made Bungo Stray Dogs Season 5 interesting is the potential possibility to see a duel between the characters that previously joined forces like Dazai Vs Chuyaa and Dazai’s students Atsushi Vs Aktagawa. This is the first anime where we cannot tell the main characters apart from the sides. Even though Jujutsu Kaisen is following that track now, this Anime did it first. If someone says that Atsushi is the main, you can always debate back to why he isn’t.
Also, every single character gets their full backstory displayed with equal time so even though everyone we see is a holder of special power, none gets the special treatment here. Coming to an extra easter egg, if we focus on the title of the Anime ‘Bungo Stray Dogs’, we can get a hint about who the show might be about originally or the reference of where the Bungo Stray Dogs name comes from. In season 5 the story stresses this fact of unique naming with proper visuals.
Dazai, Ango Sakaguchi and Oda are the trio of best friends and who are called stray dogs basically due to their lifestyle of joining the port mafia, having no family, no security and always wandering around not knowing the destination. The word Bungo means Literary and the show ironically makes the roles fit in as most writers led hard lives until they got recognized or famous, and like them, the representing characters are very intelligent which gives us a Death Note level shocking revelation of strategies.
A Must Watch
Bungo Stray Dogs Season 5 is slowly focusing on Oda’s story. So, we will understand finally if he remained a villain or not while exploring his future plans and purpose to collaborate, is it out of friendship or just a political action we haven’t explored that yet. All 11 episodes have been released so far and the situation remains as hectic as ever because Dazai or Fyodor might just die, as they have 30mins to live or die.
What I loved the most was how double-sided all characters can be. Some are quirky in the most intense situations, and some are traumatizingly cruel while actually being nice. A child got involved to save the whole nation and during all these outstanding acting performances remains the discovery of the character’s true identity, hidden power and their true aim making us hooked to all episodes and the cliffhanger they end the episode with.
The stakes are higher than at any time in recent memory and the air is very miserable. In any case, notwithstanding this change, the satire is as yet top-level and networks well with the activity of the anime. Sigma and Dazai is one clever pair nobody might have anticipated while Aya and Bram is the best expansion to Bungo Stray Dogs Season 5. To be completely honest, you will enjoy a thrilling ride with abundant comedy, action, and mystery combined in one. Then there are the constant plot twists to keep us on the edge of our seats.
