Bungou Stray Dogs – 03

This week Bungou Stray Dogs had improved a lot over its last episode, probably because the main storyline has kicked in. Look, I’m always in favor for character developments more than plot development, and one of my favorite character development is through the small character moments when the cast interacts with each other. That’s why I like KyoAmi a lot because they nailed those moments and made the characters such a joy to watch. Bungou Stray Dogs, on the other hand, is one of those rare times that I would recommend the opposite. The times they spend talking together is the weakest part of this episode. They spend times do the gags that we already know: Atsushi being shy, Junichiro keeps feeling sorry for Atsushi, Naomi keeps dominating Junichiro, Dazai keeps talking about suicide and Kunikida keeps getting furious over Dazai. And those gags were not even funny to begin with.

Things really got geared up after that, when a woman (Higuchi) showed up with a request for the organization, which ends up being a trap. While I see a lot of issues on the series’ character interactions, it’s actually the main storyline where Bungou Stray Dogs shines. The pacing is much faster and more entertainment, but more importantly, the action part sheds a new light to those characters that we haven’t had a chance to see before: Junichiro can become uncontrollable mad if someone hurts his sister. Naomi, appears mostly as a dominant incest-obsession archetype, literally shields her body to protect Junichiro, our main character Atsushi can turn into a tiger now on his own will, and Dazai is always one step ahead of everyone. The new characters introduced in this episode are a mixed-bag, unfortunately. Akutagawa is a reasonable character with just enough unique skills (Rashomon) and clear motivations to stand out on his own, but the character Higuchi is just plain and feel more like a plot device. Poor Higuchi even got slapped by Akutagawa for not completing her job. Now this is bad writing. Well I guess Akutagawa supposed to be a cold, ruthless guy but showing him slapping woman is no way justified that. Cruelty for the shake of just cruelty is terrible. But I can put that aside for now as long as they don’t repeat that same mistakes. I also love the introduction of Port Mafia gang here, albeit target the weretiger just because of the money is a bit of a letdown. But I guess there is more to it as why the weretiger attracts so much attention from all the gangs. I think the rest of the series we will learn more about it and exactly what they want to do with the weretiger.

The visual and characters design remain strong and actually at this point I trust the show on these. This is a rare compliment I would give to any shows but I believe Bungou Stray Dogs deserves this. Basically most of the second part is a step in a right direction, and if they keep going into that direction, Bungou Stray Dogs could become a very entertaining show.

~SuperMario~