Bungo Stray Dogs (Japanese: Hepburn: Bung Sutorei Doggusu, lit. “Literary Stray Dogs”) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kafka Asagiri serialized in Kadokawa Shoten's seinen manga magazine Young Ace since 2012.
The series follows the members of the “Armed Detective Agency” as they attempt to keep the mafia out of Yokohama.
The anime primarily focuses on the weretiger Atsushi Nakajima, who works alongside others endowed with supernatural abilities to complete various jobs such as operating a business, solving mysteries, and carrying out missions the Agency sets.
Several light novels have been released. Bones' anime television series adaptation aired in two parts in 2016, the first between April and June 2016 and the second between October and December 2016.
Bungo Stray Dogs: Dead Apple, an anime film, was released in March 2018, between April and June of 2019, a third season aired. The fourth season has been confirmed.
From January to March 2021, a spin-off television series based on Bungo Stray Dogs Wan! aired. Bungo Stray Dogs The Movie: Beast, a live-action film, was released in Japan in January 2022.
The Plot of Bungou Stray Dogs
The plot revolves around a young man named Atsushi Nakajima. Following his expulsion from his orphanage, Atsushi takes action in the suicide of a detective called Osamu Dazai, who believes he is drowning in the river.
During his contacts with Dazai, Atsushi discovers he possesses a mystical talent capable of converting him into a berserker white tiger in the moonlight, which is used to torture and expel him from the orphanage.
Dazai recruits him into the Agency, where he meets many other ability users as they work on various cases and events in the city of Yokohama, which is overflowing with people with Supernatural Abilities.
Because there is a bounty on Atsushi's head on the black market, he becomes the target of Port Mafia member Rynosuke Akutagawa.
During his battles with the mafia, Atsushi meets Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald, the leader of the Fellowship of the Guild, who put a price on his head. Fitzgerald explains that there is a supernatural book capable of changing reality related to Atsushi's tiger, thereby creating a black market bonanza.
Fitzgerald disregards the Guild's potential damage to Yokohama in exchange for the book instead of having an airship named “Moby Dick” destroy the city. However, when Atsushi and Akutagawa join forces, he is nearly slain, while former mafia member Kyoka Izumi stops Moby Dick.
Another man, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, appears and wishes to gain the book to eliminate all gifted individuals. He prepares a fatal clash between the investigators and the mafia, but Natsume Soseki, the genuine boss of this group, calls it off.
While Atsushi and Akutagawa are pursuing the virus's creator, Dazai can apprehend Dostoyevsky with the assistance of Fitzgerald. However, it is later discovered that Dostoyevsky contrived his imprisonment in order to lead his followers.
The book's pages are later discovered by Dostoyevsky's group, The Decay of Angels, which utilizes its powers to incriminate the Agency in a murder case. Dazai is imprisoned alongside Dostoyevsky, and the government dispatches military forces known as the Hunting Dogs to execute Agency members.
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As the Agency approaches defeat, Fitzgerald and the mafia strike an agreement in exchange for one of their followers. Throughout the several fights, it is revealed that there is another person above Dostoyevsky who must be stopped.
Atsushi learns via one of Fyodor's supporters, Sigma, that the commander of Decay of Angels is a person called Kamui. Ranpo Edogawa can gather the Agency and show their innocence to the authorities.
Following that, he employs his abilities to ascertain Kamui's identity: chi Fukuchi, the Hunting Dogs' leader. Fukuchi attempts to assassinate Ranpo after being discovered but is prevented by Atsushi.
Dazai had solicited Akutagawa's assistance after realizing Atsushi would be unable to battle Fukuchi alone. However, both Atsushi and Akutagawa are defeated by their adversary, with the latter sacrificing himself in his final moments to allow Atsushi to flee.
Development
Another man, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, appears and wishes to gain the book to eliminate all gifted individuals. He prepares a fatal clash between the investigators and the mafia, but Natsume Soseki, the genuine boss of this group, calls it off.
While Atsushi and Akutagawa are pursuing the virus's creator, Dazai can apprehend Dostoyevsky with the assistance of Fitzgerald. However, it is later discovered that Dostoyevsky contrived his imprisonment in order to lead his followers.
The book's pages are later discovered by Dostoyevsky's group, The Decay of Angels, which utilizes its powers to incriminate the Agency in a murder case. Dazai is imprisoned alongside Dostoyevsky, and the government dispatches military forces known as the Hunting Dogs to execute Agency members.
As the Agency approaches defeat, Fitzgerald and the mafia strike an agreement in exchange for one of their followers.
Throughout the several fights, it is revealed that there is another person above Dostoyevsky who must be stopped. Atsushi learns via one of Fyodor's supporters, Sigma, that the commander of Decay of Angels is a person called Kamui.
Anime
Takuya Igarashi directed, and Yoji Enokido wrote an anime television series adaptation for Bones. The prominent animation directors were Nobuhiro Arai and Hiroshi Kanno, with the former also serving as character designer alongside Ry Hirata. Taku Iwasaki composed the soundtrack for the series.
At Glovision, the series' sound director was Kazuhiro Wakabayashi. Yumiko Kondou served as art director, Yukari Goto as a color designer, Tsuyoshi Kanbayashi as director of photography, and Shigeru Nishiyama as editor.
Granrodeo sang the anime's opening theme, “Trash Candy,” while Luck Life sang the anime's ending theme, “Namae wa Yobu yo” (, I'll say your name).
The series was broken into two halves: the first half, which aired on Tokyo MX, Teletama, Chiba TV, tvk, GBS (Gifu Broadcasting), Mie TV, SUN, TVQ Kyushu, and BS11, debuted on April 7, 2016, and ended on June 23, 2016.
The second part, which included twelve episodes, began on October 6, 2016, and ended on December 22, 2016. Crunchyroll has licensed the series for streaming.
In the second half, Screen Mode sang the opening theme “Reason Living,” while Luck Life sang the ending theme “Kaze ga Fuku Machi” (lit. “The city where the wind blows”).
