English Dub Review: Bungo Stray Dogs: Dead Apple

Your dose of Bungo Stray Dogs reviews isn’t done yet! Set between the second and third season (which, going by this and My Hero Academia, seems like the place where movies like this just typically go in a show’s chronology), Dead Apple follows the re-emergence of Tatsuhiko Shibusawa, whose Gifted ability forms a fog throughout Yokohama which forces other Gifted to kill themselves with their own powers. The Armed Detective Agency investigates to get to the bottom of this, but find their powers have been turned against them. While this is happening, perpetually suicidal member Osamu Dazai goes missing, which leads some to believe him a suspect in the case.

An anime getting a movie like this is a status symbol of sorts, since it means that viewers are so engrossed with the world and characters that there’s enough demand to see an original story on the big screen. But there’s a typical downside to this, and that’s that the story itself is often pretty inconsequential to where it takes place, despite how much spectacle is behind it. This undercuts quite a bit of tension going in, particularly because any and all characters who weren’t introduced in this very movie are shielded from any and all permanent damage or development from the events of the plot, as well as the fact that anything that occurs here will almost certainly never be mentioned again (or if elements from the movie become popular enough, they’re done over to fit better in the canon story, like with the recent “Dragon Ball Super: Broly” film). This has become common enough that most approach movies like this knowing that possibility, but it’s still a bit disappointing either way.

But that freedom from narrative impact also presents a potentially interesting opportunity, which is that whoever’s working on this film can play around with the characters and setting in ways that the mainline story wouldn’t be able to. Characters that barely or never interact can get those scenes together, certain powers can be played around within new and fun ways, and the plot of this stand-alone adventure can be written as its own solid piece as opposed to forcing itself to cram into ongoing events. Dead Apple does this by presenting many characters a chance to face themselves, both in the form of their abilities going rogue, but also internally resolving lingering issues. This could have been no more than them facing evil clones of themselves, but the inability to rely on what they’re used to does ratchet up the tension at the moment, which is all the time it really needs to make it enjoyable.

You really don’t need to look much farther for exciting spectacle than one of these sorts of movies, since said spectacle is what will keep your ass in the seat so that you can come out of the theater feeling that you had a generally positive experience. Though as I’ve explained, the lack of inter-connectivity with the show it’s based on pretty much just ends up making the movie feel like empty calories than a sufficient meal. It’s got all the flavor, with some extra seasoning, but it’s a fun time filler and not much else.