Following the successful recipe of the previous entries in the franchise, “Bungo Stray Dogs 4” came out 3 years after the previous one, while beginning with a story from the past before getting to the present.
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The past story this time deals with Rampo, how he got to know Fukuzawa and how he ended up in the Armed Detective Agency. The three episodes arc mostly focuses on a specific case revolving around a stage play, which is eventually revealed as much more complicated than it initially seemed. The most interesting part, however, is seeing Rampo in his beginnings, being a truly imbalanced individual on the border of sociopathy, particularly because he could not understand that the people around him cannot realize and understand as much as he does. The way Fukuzawa acts as a father figure, while occasionally being out of his depth himself, works excellently for this part.
The rest of the present arc continues to focus on the young detective, introducing Oguri and his ability Perfect Crime, which essentially cancels Rampo's “Skill”, thus connecting the present arc with the previous one in the most organic way. Soon, however, the issues the ADA have to face this time come to the fore, in the most dangerous situation the group have ever found themselves in. First, they are hailed as heroes by the government for saving Yokohama, but soon, under the plan of the imprisoned but still active Dostoyevsky, the tables are turned. The group are framed for the murder of a significant individual by a new organization named Decay of the Angels, which includes Nikolai Gogol, but also Dostoyevsky. As the authorities are convinced of their guilt, they unleash upon them the Hunting Dogs, the strongest unit in the military police, who also happen to be as violent as they are relentless. Finding themselves in an intense bind and being separated from each other, the ADA ask the help of Port Mafia and what remains of the Guild, essentially bringing all “gangs” to an intense showdown that also involves a flying casino.
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As also happened in the previous transition from 2016 to 2019, the artform has improved once more, with both the animation and the design being much sharper. In that fashion, Nobuhiro Arai's design has definitely picked up a notch, particularly in the way some of the protagonists have grown up, with Atsushi benefitting the most from this approach. The new characters are also quite unique in their presentation with Gogol and and Teruko and Tetcho from the Hunting Dogs being the most impressive. As I mentioned in the review of the previous seasons, the introduction of more and more characters somewhat takes its toll in the diversity of their design, but even this part is improved in this occasion. Furthermore, the colors pop-up more, the darkness in the underground scenes and the presentation of a setting that looks like the WWI are all excellently depicted. The animation by Bones is also of the highest level, with the new abilities all being quite impressive, and the moving sword standing particularly out, as much as the whole approach towards the floating casino.
Where the series truly always thrives, however, is the analysis of the characters and the overall story, and particularly the way the backstories of the protagonists are connected with the various present arcs. This time, the focus is on Yosano and her connection with Mori, in a rather dark arc that also makes a very pointed and harsh comment about the blights of war, and the way governments use people and implement the whole concept for reasons that occasionally have very little to do with what is happening in the battlefield. That Rampo finds himself for the first time in situations he has to struggle to face, the one-on-one between Dazai and Dostoyevsky that is revealed as a cat-and-mouse game, the way the Agency members find themselves from heroes to villains, and a number of shocking twists involving traitors, result in a story that I feel would also function good even in a novel, thus continuing the literary aspect of the series. Also of note is the presence of Sigma, who is introduced in the last episodes and adds an intense existential aspect to the narrative, with the same applying to the role of one traitor who eventually finds himself in a conflict. Lastly, the way propaganda works, and how even video can be deceptive nowadays, add a social aspect to the story, widening its contextual depth even more.
As I mentioned before, I feel that the series would definitely benefit from some permanent deaths of key characters, that would allow the story to focus on the key characters, but this is the only and essentially a minor issue, with a series that continues to outdo itself with every entry. Even if it is still early, it is easy to say that “Bungo Stray Dogs” is one of the best series of the year, with the way it ends also adding to the longing for more.
