I’ve been following Bungo Stray Dogs since I first saw it way back in 2016. Every season has been entertaining, but it got even better over time. Season 4 was a real game-changer, introducing the most drastic plot twists yet. Season 5 picks up right where the fourth season left off, throwing viewers into the thick of action and conspiracy once again. Join me for a review of Bungo Stray Dogs 5th season!
Warning: This review contains spoilers
Visuals: 8
The visuals are much the same as in past seasons. Nothing has changed, but nothing needed to, as the art and animation in BSD has always been high-quality. I still love the distinct art style and character designs. Some of the fight scenes are also great. Another visual element I enjoy in this series is the lighting. It’s often dramatic and beautiful. On top of that, I like the face expressions and the vivid colors.
Visually speaking, some of the best scenes were these: 1) Atsushi and Akutagawa versus Fukuchi on the ship deck; 2) Tachihara versus Fukuchi in the building ruins; and 3) Fukuzawa talking with Fukuchi with the sunset behind them. I also really liked the look of the prison cells where Dazai and Fyodor were trapped. On a final note, I love the way faces and eyes are drawn in this art-style. The expressions are always great.
Story: 9
The story category was magnificent. The plot picks up from where it left off last time, with the Detective Agency in big trouble thanks to the Angels Decay and the Hunting Dogs. Atushi reunited with other members of the Detective Agency, and together, they hatched a plan to get Fukuchi on their side. Little did they know that Fukuchi’s true identity was “Kamui,” the leader of the Angels Decay. So begins the exciting fifth season.
Even without such an exciting start, the story would have still been pretty good. I have a few small complaints, like the finale episode being too rushed. But overall, the plot structure and pacing were great. The scale of the fifth season was also rather amazing. In the past, the threat level posed by “the bad guys” was relatively local. (The exception is Dead Apple.) But in seasons 4 and 5, the villains are threatening society as we know it. They are opposed to “the State” as a concept, so basically, the world is at risk.
If an anime uses its narrative to explore interesting themes, then I’m very likely to give it a high rating in the story category. BSD 5 was fairly psychological and philosophical for a super-power action anime, so I’m impressed. The show explores themes through the actions and responses of different characters. Basic themes include hope, courage, and teamwork. There were also more in-depth themes like war, trauma, sacrifice, and the cycle of violence.
Audio: 8
The audio was terrific as usual. While I didn’t end up loving the opening song too much, I am glad it was done by Granrodeo. That band, for me, is synonymous with Bungo Stray Dogs. (The title of the opening is “Tetsu no Ori” meaning “iron cage.”) As for the ending song – “Kiseki” by Luck Life, I absolutely loved it. It incorporated references to past BSD ending songs in its lyrics. Even if hadn’t done so, it would have still sounded epic.
Besides having an awesome OST and great songs, Bungo Stray Dogs also has great voice-acting. Most of the cast members are very talented, with a long history of roles in anime. Mamoru Miyano, most famous for being the Japanese voice of Light in Death Note, plays Osamu Dazai. Another notable name in the world of seiyuu is Kamiya Hiroshi, who voices Ranpo Edogawa in this series. Others whose voices I especially enjoy include Sumire Morohoshi (Kyouka), Akira Ashida (Fyodor) and Akio Ohtsuka (Fukuchi).
Characters: 8
Bungo Stray Dogs is ultimately a character-driven story. In the fifth season, we learned a lot about Tachihara, Fukuchi, Fukuzawa, Aya, and Teruko. There’s a lot of age diversity, from ten-year-old Aya all the way to Fukuchi, who is probably in his 60s. For the most part, the character development was good. However, I wasn’t impressed with the almost nonexistent character arc of Atushi in this season. It doesn’t even feel like he’s the protagonist anymore. He wasn’t that important in saving the world.
My only other semi-serious complaint is the same as it in all seasons of BSD: there are too many characters to spend time developing all of them. That being said, I think BSD does the best it could do given this difficulty. At least, I would be hard-pressed to think of any way to do it better. Besides a few small criticisms, the characterization in this anime remains commendable. The concepts of the characters are always good, and of course, it’s great how they make references to the authors after whom they are named. On a final note, I also loved Lord Bram the Vampire.
Personal Enjoyment: 9
Personal enjoyment level is an important piece of my review style. I always enjoy Bungo Stray Dogs, but I think I love seasons 4 and 5 the most. Everything was just so dire and epic. There were aspects I enjoyed from all the previous categories: visuals, audio, story, and characters. The creative abilities are also pretty cool. I mean, there’s a sword that can travel through both space and time. That’s so cool!
On a more serious note, the themes surrounding war interested me more than most other elements of the fifth season. The true objective of the Angels Decay was to unite the world by doing away with the bounds of countries, alliances, and wars. The world would be one nation, and there would be no more war. That’s an incredible idea. I mean, I’ve seen it before in other anime series – such as Code Geass – but I enjoy it every time I see this idea explored. BSD 5 was spectacular in terms of personal enjoyment.
Overall Score: 8.4 / 10.0
The overall score is the average of the five numbers given for the categories above. My scale operates like this: 1 is so bad it basically shouldn’t exist, and 10 is so good that improvement is impossible. Most of the anime series I like fall in the 7s and 8s, with some of the most well-crafted stories getting into the 9s territory. As you can see, BSD 5 earned a high score from me. I’ve been following this series too long to not love every bit of the new season.
Thanks for reading~
Anime Rants 