Is there some grand order in the universe? Something like fate? Some will say the world is ruled by a God who favors order and enforces preset plans. But others will say that it’s chaos and random actions that drive the world. As for me, I don’t know, but I err on the side of the stray dogs – the passionate, violent mutts who rebel and continue to make their own haphazard choices.
This article is a response to the last episode of BSD Season 4. I’m aware that it’s a bit late to be covering it, but I was on an unofficial hiatus for a while, so I’m just getting to it now. Overall, I was extremely impressed with the conclusion of BSD’s fourth season. I’ll briefly recap some of the events and then share a few thoughts.
RECAP
The casino in the sky and its leader, Sigma, are under attack by the Bloodhounds. Fyodor reveals to Dazai that Sigma was created three years ago by “the page,” and is desperate to protect the casino, his only sense of identity. Although Sigma’s desperation makes him strong, he’s still outmatched by Teruko. Atsushi saves Sigma from certain death to ask him the location of “the page.” However, Fyodor’s puppet assassin, Nathaniel, interferes. Sigma falls off the edge of the sky casino, apparently plummeting to his death despite Atsushi’s best efforts to save him.
Ango tells Atsushi and Lucy that they have lost. They don’t know the location of the “page,” and the Detective Agency will now be seen more than ever as active terrorists because they helped Sigma. This is all going exactly according to Fyodor’s master plan. Furthermore, Fyodor wrote in “the page” that all evidence of the Agency’s innocence will be automatically dismissed by the Bloodhounds. In his bubble-like prison cell, Fyodor smugly declares victory. He says it’s God’s will, and that his order will prevail. However, Dazai is unconvinced. He still believes in the spirits of the stray dogs.
In the last few minutes of the episode, hope resurfaces through an unlikely source: Tachihara, the Bloodhound who had previously infiltrated the Port Mafia. This young man saw a video of Atsushi explaining the Agency’s innocence. But just like Fyodor said, the evidence was immediately dismissed. For some reason, however, Tachihara kept doubting the idea that the Agency could be terrorists. Interestingly enough, he spared the lives of Gin and old man Hirotsu. He visits them in the hospital and asks them what they think of the Detective Agency.
Gin and Hirotsu assert that the Agency is most definitely innocent. This inspires Tachihara to begin a new personal mission: convincing the Bloodhounds that the Detective Agency is blameless. In other words, despite what was written on “the page,” Tachihara’s questioning, chaotic mind still reached the opposite conclusion. There is now hope for the Detective Agency.
On a final note, Yosano and Sigma are both alive. The former’s life was spared by Tachihara, and she was taken into custody by the Bloodhounds. As for Sigma, he seems to have been saved by Nikolai, who is also still alive for some reason. I suspect that Fyodor wrote Nikolai’s resurrection onto “the page.”
THOUGHTS
My thoughts on the final episode are quite extensive. To begin with, Sigma was a cool character and I was glad he survived. He’s appealing as “the ordinary man” with no abilities. In addition, it’s fascinating to think that he might not technically be human at all, since he was created by the reality-altering book. I strongly sympathize with Sigma’s sense of purposelessness and lack of clear personal identity. This character should continue to be of interest. I only hope he won’t be manipulated by Fyodor and Nikolai.
Then there’s Teruko. From the moment I saw her, I absolutely loved this character. She is awesome, badass, and strong-willed. Her adult form is also incredibly attractive to me. It was good to learn about her power to control and manipulate age: a terrifying power indeed. Notably, despite having a fearsome temper and hot bloodlust, Teruko is actually fiercely principled. She views herself as a slave to the order of society and will do anything to protect it. Teruko is definitely an admirable hero – even if she’s a bit of a sadist.
I’m pleased that Yosano is alive. I was fooled by that one episode ending where it suggested that she was shot. On the one hand, killing her would have added a level of gravity to the show that could have been interesting to see. On the other hand, it would be positively criminal to kill one of the few female characters in BSD. I really admire Yosano as an adult woman character in anime who is strong and good of heart. As for the other members of the Detective Agency, I think they are all alive, too. It’s a big relief.
Tachihara’s role was, in my mind, completely unexpected and a brilliant twist. It’s hard not to like a character who is curious and trying to find out the truth as well as his way in life. Despite his revenge quest, he refused to kill Yosano because he wanted to be his own person, unfettered by the past. Tachihara would have been permitted to eliminate violent mafia members as part of the punitive police force of the Bloodhounds. But instead, the young man went out of his way to avoid killing Gin and Hirotsu. Tachihara has become fond of the Port Mafia members, and it’s sweet. Truly, this character brings hope to a bleak situation.
The themes in this episode, and throughout the fourth season as a whole, are numerous. Determination, identity, justice, free will, and existentialism are some of the big ones. Fyodor references God, which reaffirms the theory that his motivation is a twisted idea of divinely inspired justice. Whether he thinks there’s a literal God or was speaking in metaphors, Fyodor definitely sees humanity as sinful and criminal.
Order versus chaos was another intriguing theme. I like how Fyodor represents strict order and fate, while Dazai represents chaos and randomness. The idea is that free spirits enact change and defy order, acting in random and chaotic ways as they navigate their lives. The absurdity of humanity is going to win over the strictly logical outcomes. People will always resist the “destiny” forced upon them by tyrants and injustice. Life is so random and chaotic, and that is a critically important theme in BSD.
In terms of characters and themes, I have covered all my most prominent thoughts. I had intended to include a whole other section about production and audiovisual quality, but that can wait until I write the season 4 review as a whole. But generally speaking, the production was good. BSD is a well-made anime with diverse and interesting characters, eye-catching character designs, cool action scenes, and creative powers for the characters. That’s all I’ll say for the technical aspects in this post.
And with that, we have covered everything necessary to go over for today. Thanks for reading and have a great rest of the week. Sayonara!
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