English Dub Review: Bungo Stray Dogs WAN! Episode 2

OVERVIEW (SPOILERS)
The Armed Detective Agency and Port Mafia end up meeting at the public baths and antics ensue.

OUR TAKE
We continue the parody adventures of this series that I have only seen the third season and movie of! But hopefully that’s not something I’ll need to mention each week since a parody should stand on its own without much need to know what it’s parodying. However, this was also clearly just made for fans of this material, so I guess I should be judging it by how well it uses the characters? But then, it’s a comedy and comedy is a lot more subjective in execution. Plus it’s not like there’s any character development in these for me to comment on, and much like other comedy spin-offs of other anime, the characters in it are basically turned into their most prominent traits from the main series, which is where this series gets its comedy from. So, I suppose what I’m getting at is that this would be difficult to review even if I had intimate knowledge of this show and its first two seasons. And I guess there’s nothing preventing me from watching those in between these episodes.

Anyway, this episode’s main plot is about how the two main groups, who are usually constantly at odds with each other, end up needing to put aside differences and play nice at the public baths, which are common in Japan. This then forces characters who normally can’t stand each other to repress their respective animosity for the other group and keep things peaceful for the sake of the public. Naturally this doesn’t last and antics ensue. And just like any other fun parody, it gives viewers a chance to see characters interact who normally wouldn’t get the chance to due to the plot keeping these groups at a distance during times of peace. It can make those familiar with these characters wonder what could be in a universe where these groups aren’t rivals or enemies, which at the very least is good fuel for fanfics. And I’m sure that, as this series moves along, we’ll likely get more character focused sketches instead of the whole group. Giving me more reason to just sit down and try these first two seasons. It might at least prepare me for if there’s a fourth season. Anyway, just ten more weeks of this to go, so I should probably study up on those first two so I have something more substantial to talk about to next time!