English Dub Review: Bungo Stray Dogs “Cannibalism (Part One)”

This girl is the bomb!

OVERVIEW (SPOILERS)

The Port Mafia stares down the remaining members of the Agency…or so it seems, as Junichiro has used his Light Snow illusions as a diversion to let them get away with Yukichi. Their plan now is to find the one who made this virus and kill them so that neither side will have any reason to fight. Their intel leads Asushi and Kunikida to the slums with a clear suspect, but once they corner the guy, they find he has no ability and was only scared of some gifted trying to cover up a hit and run, along with being protected by children who are willing to kill or die to protect him. Among them is a girl with lifeless eyes wearing a necklace of grenades, and despite Kunikida’s attempts to calm her down, she detonates them in hopes that it will protect her brother.

This turns out to be a replication of something that Kunikida once successfully stopped in the past, almost as a sick joke by Fyodor. Asushi also gets something, the seemingly undoctored info on the real culprit behind the virus, along with a message from Fyodor to “not waste time changing the rules”. Unfortunately, Junichiro is still a hostage of the Port Mafia, who plans to turn him into a double agent, but he uses his illusion ability in conjunction with Kunikida’s to escape and lock a few key Mafia members in the building while he goes to assassinate Mori…only to be stopped by Ozaki. Luckily, he’s saved by Kyoka and the two escape to meet up with the rest of the Agency.

Yukichi awakens in Lucy’s “Anne’s Room” with a warning to not fight the Port Mafia.

OUR TAKE

With the gang war officially underway, the Armed Detective Agency has a battle on two fronts: protecting their boss from the Port Mafia while also trying to kill theirs, but also investigating a way to stop Fyodor’s plans before either of them have to die. And it seems he has no clear depths he won’t stoop to achieve this, even putting children on the frontlines in order to lead Atsushi on a wild goose chase and show how pointless their attempts are. At least, that’s how it seems for now. With three episodes left in the season, there’s plenty of time for them to figure out a winning strategy, especially now that Yukichi has awakened and will hopefully be willing to provide a voice of reason as things continue to go to shit.

We also get to see Junichiro show his chops with his illusions against members of the Port Mafia. Members I am completely in the dark on and have no recollection of seeing this season, so I can’t really tell you how impressive of a feat his being able to evade them is, but I CAN tell you that this subplot is a picture of how this conflict is starting to pick at the rationality of either side. Ultimately, they just want to protect their respective leaders but will do anything to make sure the other will die if that ends up being necessary, even threaten loved ones of the enemy. It’s no surprise then that Junichi tries going for killing Mori when he has a chance after having his sister’s life dangled in front of him in negotiations to become a double agent, but it’s also a sign that Fyodor’s plans are starting to have their intended effect, which could get worse the longer this war goes on. Also nice to see Spike Spencer really flex his acting chops.

We’re likely in for even more escalation of things as we enter the final three episodes of the season, and I have a feeling not every one of the named characters is getting out of this alive. Will Fyodor get what he wants and have one of the bosses die to enact his bigger schemes? Will they die so that the rest of the gifted may live to foil him? That’s a lot to imagine and a lot to look forward to as we begin the final countdown next week.