English Dub Season Review: Bungo Stray Dogs Season Five

The fourth season of the popular fantasy mystery series featured gripping stories and stellar animation. Sure, its sudden switches in tone took some getting used to because of how off-putting they were amid its dramatic moments, but they hardly make a dent in its quality. Plus, some of these humorous parts made me chuckle a few times. More importantly, it’s a great continuation of Bungo Stray Dogs that successfully took “The Fugitive” route by having the Armed Detective Agency going on the run after being framed for murder. Of course, based on the season four finale, the agency’s quest to clear their names had only begun. Fortunately, we didn’t have to wait too long to see what happened next. Unsurprisingly, the short wait was worth it, not just for me but also for the show’s fans.

The fifth season of Bungo Stray Dogs serves as a continuation of the season four events, in which the agency learns more about the Decay of Angels while proving their innocence. They discovered that the group’s leader is a person code-named “Kamui”, later revealed to be the leader of the Hunting Dogs, Ochi Fukuchi (David Vincent). With his time-traveling sword called Amenogozen, Fukuchi plans to change the world he sees fit by raising a vampire army and using the government’s secret weapon, the One Order, to control them. Atsushi (Max Mittelman) and the agency embark on a life-threatening quest to stop the seemingly powerful Fukuchi and save the world again.

Since the first episode, “The Strongest Man”, it’s evident that season five benefited from the elements I enjoyed from its previous season. One is the animation, with Bones returning to produce it again. Regarding the character designs, action scenes, and style, the animation in Bungo Stray Dogs never fails to express the stunning graphics spectacularly. One such example of its splendid animation style comes from “Hero vs. Criminal”, where Atsushi and Port Mafia member Akutagawa (Allegra Clark) join forces to battle Fukuchi. It also worked well in translating the characters to their chibi forms during its attempts at humor.  

Another element was the characters. This season is more focused on the action than season four, and my lack of vast knowledge of the lore remains noticeable. Not to mention that this season is two episodes shorter than the previous one, with eleven episodes instead of thirteen. However, the show managed to maintain its efforts to provide engaging character moments amid the high-stakes action without breaking its pace. More importantly, it delivered the most threatening and formidable foe I’ve seen in the series so far: Fukuchi. In addition to his frustratingly powerful skills, Fukuchi has an understandable agenda emphasizing his empathy and the show’s theme of justice and war. He’s also effectively voiced by David Vincent, known for voicing Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez from Bleach.

But, of course, we can’t forget about its humor, as Bungo Stray Dogs retains its approach of balancing its drama with humorous antics, mainly from the character interactions. Since season five focuses on the characters facing potential demises during their fight with Fukuchi, I was again concerned about the serious moments becoming overshadowed by the sudden tonal shifts. One such example is Dazai when he’s escaping prison with Sigma. One minute, Dazai provides a dramatic moment or two. The next, he suddenly becomes a kooky sidekick from a buddy cop comedy, much to Sigma’s annoyance. While that may be the case occasionally, it didn’t come close to becoming off-putting or irritating. Yes, the comedy was weirdly timed and unexpected like the previous season, but it can also be suitably humorous if done correctly, which it did.

Because of my experience with season four, I had an easier time following the fifth season of Bungo Stray Dogs. More importantly, it gave me a clearer perspective on what to expect from the series regarding its concept and characters. The only question remains: was season five as good, if not better, than season four quality-wise? As someone who’s still new to the series, I would gladly say “yes”. Sure, it’s the shortest season of the series so far, but it wisely used this length to portray a consistently engaging and effectively stylistic showdown that earns its urgent stakes and emotion. From the looks of things, the show still has plenty of juice left in its tank to reach season six. If that’s the case, then I’m ready to experience another adventure with the Armed Detective Agency whenever it comes out.