The year 2023 has been unusually kind to Bungo Stray Dogs fans, what with the premiere of a fourth season to begin the year and the announcement of a fifth season a scant few months after the end of the previous one. The latest trailer gives viewers a reason to mark down July 12 on their calendars in the hopes that this season will pick up where the previous one left off.
At the beginning of April, we reviewed Season 4 of Bungo and gave it a “4 out of 5,” praising its ambitious dramatic turn but noting that the pacing was a concern. It helped that fans didn’t have to wait more than a year for a continuation, because otherwise, the overall reception could have been cooler.
A Global Stage
The Decay of Angels’ plots have, as the last teaser suggested, cast the Armed Detective Agency in a villainous light not just in Japan, but across the world. The Hunting Dogs’ Fukuchi is shown advocating before the United Nations for the creation of a global force, or “The Army of Mankind,” to combat global terrorism.
This establishes Fukuchi as an opportunistic opponent who may exploit the confusion to achieve his own ends, rather than merely as an antagonist of circumstance who is out to get the framed protagonists. The Agency has their work cut out for them between the Hunting Dogs and the Decay of Angels, lead by the enigmatic “Kamui,” who is conspicuously absent from this trailer (*wink-wink* manga fans).
The official trailer for Bungo Stray Dogs Season 5 can be found down below-
Season one focused on the individuals at their most distant; season two is about them banding together to get even. They appear to be holding a meeting at their office, but this could be another false Marvel trailer in disguise. Unless, of course, Ranpo figures out a means to demonstrate the Agency’s innocence, which appears to be a tall order.
Ever-Increasing Hype
Following the seasonal pattern of previous Bungo OPs, this season’s offering to fans is a new smash by GRANRODEO named “Tetsu no Ori,” or “Cage of Iron” in English. It’s a tense and exciting score that reflects the mayhem of the various plots.
Even though Akutagawa isn’t in the trailer, it’s clear that the Season 4 OP was cruelly setting up a showdown between Atsushi, Akutagawa, and Fukuchi. But now he’s back, and he and Atsushi will once again work together, this time even merging their powers like they did at the end of Season 3. This summer’s anime battle might be the best one yet.
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Dazai and Fyodor, however, remain imprisoned in Mersault, the hi-tech prison from which they have been issuing orders to their followers. The prison seems to have been breached by Chuuya, who appears to be wreaking havoc in an attempt to free Dazai. Nikolai Gogol is also back for more mischief-making.
Perhaps most notably, Bram Stoker, the last surviving member of the Decay of Angels, will make his anime debut in this episode. Manga readers already know what’s coming, but I’m warning anyone who hasn’t read the manga that this story is going to some crazy places, in a nice way.
It’s wonderful that we’re receiving two seasons in one year, especially because it’s the same season split in two at random intervals. The episode limit was the main problem with Season 4, especially for the Sky Casino storyline. The next season needs to go at the right speed to do justice to the source material.
Some viewers are concerned about what will happen after Season 5, even if it improves on previous seasons in terms of quality and pacing and does not begin with an adaptation of a novel. If the teaser is any indication, Season 6 may not be far off. The show is swiftly catching up to the manga.
Fans may feel assured and have faith in the crew because they have consistently delivered excellent work since the show’s 2016 premiere. There are many novels that could be adapted into films, and it is possible that more original films could be made even if it is sometime until next season. Hopefully, this positive trajectory for Bungo Stray Dogs will continue.
