Bungo Stray Dogs

Episode 4

I am coming to accept the fact that, though I enjoy it quite a bit, Bungo Stray Dogs probably isn't a very good show. Like last week, this week's episode suffers from abrupt tonal shifts, a totally useless scene of Dazai propositioning a waitress just to stuff him into the episode, and an increasingly overwhelming cast of early 20th century (and a few late 19th century) authors that make this feel like a shallow who's who. On the other hand, Bungo Stray Dogs's fourth episode still does a few things right and makes some interesting choices in terms of portraying the authors, so it may just be off to a Slow Start.

This week's episode picks up right where we left off, with Atsushi waking up at the agency after the battle with Akutagawa and Higuchi. He's having nightmares about it, and even though no one appears to be blaming him – Kunikida's reprimands are more about getting himself hurt than the actual attack – he's all too ready to pile the blame on himself for his very existence. This leads to the flawed thought that if he leaves the Agency, the attacks on them will stop, so he simply walks away. Sadly he does not take into account that the Port Mafia was out to get the Agency long before he and his bounty walked in the door, and the mafia sends its elite Black Lizard unit to wipe out the detectives.

If you watched Ranpo Kitan: Game of Laplace or have read any Edogawa Ranpo (or the weird movies from the 1960s), you may recognize the name of the unit as belonging to Ranpo's lady thief/human taxidermist from the novel of the same name. Since Ranpo is one of the Agency members, this may indicate that he used to, like Dazai, be on the other side, but it could also be a reference to the fact that Ranpo's serial detective Akechi Kogoro fought the Black Lizard, especially since Ranpo's gift in the show is “deduction.” Regardless, the group is led by Hirotsu Ryurou, a late 19th century author credited with creating the “tragic novel” genre in Japan, which would explain his gift, “camellia,” a flower often associated with sadness in Japanese samurai culture because it falls all at once, rather than petal by petal. In a rare example of the gift fitting the name, Hirotsu's camellia is the power to break things in one fell swoop. Also working for the Black Lizard is Tachihara Michizou, a free-verse poet of the early 20th century who died of consumption very young (like quite a few of the authors in this show). It is interesting that so many who died young have been pulled in to make up the cast, almost as if original author Kafka Asagiri wanted to give them a second chance.

There are some nice visual touches this week, apart from the continuing trend of 19th century authors being drawn as much older than 20th century characters. The scene of Higuchi growing angry against a red background is very effective (although it lasts a little too long), and Atsushi in the phone booth is also strangely compelling. The fights are decidedly less impressive, although the classical music that backgrounds the first few Black Lizard fights works very well. I can't say I'm thrilled with how Akiko Yosano is drawn this week during her “healing” scene with Tanizaki, but I do understand where they're coming from: Yosano was the first woman poet in Japan to use the word “breasts” in her tanka and is considered an early feminist advocate of female sexuality and sensuality. So to a degree, taking off her shirt to treat Tanizaki can be seen as stemming from that reputation, but wouldn't it have been nice to see her portrayed as a more positive picture of female sexual agency rather than the latest incarnation of the oversexed nurse trope?

Bungo Stray Dogs is still working to get its feet on the ground this week, and it really needs to find the balance between humor and action. (Though I did love Miyazawa chucking mafiosi out the window and Ranpo just slurping down a ramune during the fight.) Next week's episode will feature an actual crime that needs detecting (and my favorite of the authors, Ranpo), so maybe we'll see a shift in, if not storytelling, actual plot. We know now that Atsushi has a problem with self-worth, that the Port Mafia wants to end the Armed Detective Agency, and the basic personalities of the main characters. Now it's really more than time to get the actual story going. Please tell me there's going to be one.

Rating: B-

Bungo Stray Dogs is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.