English Dub Review: Bungo Stray Dogs “Bungo Hound Dogs”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

Suspecting that Lucy is cooperating with the terrorist organization known as the Armed Detective Agency, Jouno and Tetchou pay a visit to the cafe where she works in hopes of tracking down Atsushi and Kyouka.

Our Take: 

Now that the Decay of Angels’ true intentions are revealed, the Armed Detective Agency can thwart the terrorist organization and clear their names. But, of course, we can’t forget that the Angels can’t execute their plan to erase the state until the full moon, which is ten days away. So Atsushi and the surviving members must race against the clock to accomplish their high-stakes mission. However, there are also the Hunting Dogs they must deal with, with the military team continuing to cause life-threatening issues to the agency.

The episode showcases more of Atsushi and Kyouka continuing their mission to find the Decay of Angels. However, the plot mainly focuses on the Hunting Dogs, who are sent to search for Atsushi and Kyouka’s partner Lucy. Lucy can transport anything to her pocket dimension, including humans. This makes her a valuable asset to the Agency, so the Hunting Dogs will stop at nothing to find her.

Their mission leads the Hunting Dogs to the Sky Casino, owned by Sigma. Sigma is a member of the Decay of Angels with the power to gain information from people just by touching them. Unfortunately, he’s also an amnesiac yet desperate owner obsessed with keeping his casino safe, making him a dangerous threat to the agency and the Hunting Dogs. Sigma even tried to blow Tachihara up with his coin bombs and an unmanned plane. That’s how desperate this guy is. More importantly, Sigma has a page from the supernatural book, which Atsushi and Kyouka are after. Although, the agency’s mission gets even more challenging when Sigma frames the Hunting Dogs as terrorists, sending his guests to attack them.

With the Angels’ latest diabolical plan resulting in the Hunting Dogs being in hot water, the fourth season of Bungo Stray Dogs transitions from its seasonal plot akin to The Fugitive to another world-saving arc for next week’s finale. There were plenty of moments that got me invested in the Agency going on the run, which still helps me get past its convoluted elements. Thanks to the previous episode and “Bungo Hound Dogs”, the season has the opportunity to end its tension-filled arc on a thrilling note. Let me remind you again that this season is my first exposure to Bungo Stray Dogs.  

Although, I wish that Crunchyroll would upload the episodes on time, which has happened since the first episode. Besides that, “Bungo Hound Dogs” offers an enjoyable new perspective highlighting the Hunting Dogs in action regarding its comedy and characters. Hopefully, based on its surprising conclusion, the Hunting Dogs will finally see the truth about the agency in next week’s finale.