English Dub Review: Bungo Stray Dogs “A Perfect Murder and Murderer (Part 1)”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

Kunikida is being held for a murder that Ranpo is certain he didn’t commit. Meanwhile, Poe is determined to solve a murder mystery that has had the police stumped. Ranpo has some thoughts on that situation, too.

Our Take:

It doesn’t take long to have another murder case on our hands. However, this mystery might be more complex than the previous ones, which were quickly solved by Ranpo’s intellect. The reason for that is the member of the Rats in the House of the Dead, Mushitaro Oguri, who can erase any evidence leading to him.  

Known as “Perfect Crime”, this power resulted in Mushitaro being uncatchable, as he’s responsible for killing the author and stealing his manuscript. Additionally, Mushitaro killed another victim and threw him off the building to throw off his scent. Considering his unique ability, he seems like a formidable foe for the Detective Agency. That is if Ranpo’s luck has anything to say about it.

The fourth episode moves away from the Fukuzawa/Ranpo prequel arc to focus on the present. Here, we have Ranpo teaming up with Guild member Edgar Allan Poe (Todd Haberkorn) to solve a murder mystery and clear the name of Doppo Kunikida (Patrick Seitz), who’s framed for the crime. Poe is seen as Ranpo’s rival, who has a pet raccoon named Karl and an ability that transports readers into any novel they’re reading. While that ability isn’t shown in this episode, it does showcase the goofy chemistry between the friendly rivals that many fans would expect. As a newcomer to the series, I did find myself chuckling a bunch of times whenever Poe and Mushitaro react to Ranpo, which is enough to forgive its complexity.

I also want to mention the episode’s tone. The first three episodes of season four were showcased as noir detective stories that were overly grim, with a dash of humor from Ranpo to boot. “A Perfect Murder and Murderer” maintains the dark tone from the mystery element but increases its comical appeal. This would’ve resulted in the show’s tone becoming uneven, but the episode has enough funny moments to keep me from closing this case early.

Overall, the first part of “A Perfect Murder and Murderer” brings us back to the present with another formidable mystery for Ranpo to crack. I am concerned about how I’ll feel toward the rest of the season regarding the world-building now that we’re back in the present day, however, I’m still intrigued by Ranpo’s “detective child personality”.