Reviews for Bungo Stray Dogs 4

At long last, we finally get another season of this superb series. Fans of the series will be pleased, that it not only looks like it hasn't missed a beat. But also, if I'm honest. It looks better than ever. You can seriously tell, the care to detail in so many areas, the presentation, how things transition. It's all done so well, and it'll make any fan of this series happy, while making any potential new fans, want to be invested in it's product. It's tense, it's creative, it does it's job and more so. Story and characters: 9 I will say to avoid spoilers, that fanswill know why this is the start of the series, they'll understand how and why it's starting off like so. But I'd honestly say on that front, in credit to the story and it's contents. It really creates such an intense and thrilling atmosphere, that it'll draw any kind of person in. If you're watching it for the first time, it'll be enjoyable even to you. They really nailed the core setting down, like a play funny enough. Setting the perfect scene, and getting you invested from the gt go.

That's not just down to the story too. The characters that you witness really draw you in.They're got a confident aura about them. The sort that'll keep you not only entertained, but appreciate them more. An anime does things right, when they nail on this kind of attention to detail. A story can be good, but if the characters are bland as all hell, then it won't be entertaining, but here, it's enough to make anyone want to see more, and go back to see the older seasons.

Art and sound: 9

Honestly, the way they pull this off, is not only super creative, but the style of it all. Just works so well with how tense the show is. The way things transition, while still remaining in a good tone that drives it forward. Not leaving you feel out of touch by going in any weird directions, and making you less interested. The art, and sound blend together perfectly, to paint the picture of a great looking and sounding product. Where it be in black and white, or in full colour.

Bungou's 4th season has kicked off with a bang, and looks as good as the previews showed it would be. A must watch, and a must enjoy for sure. If you're new to this series, I'd recommend either going over the manga, or novels, or watch the previous seasons as well. As if you enjoy this, you'll enjoy those too.

After watching the first three seasons and movie recently, along with this fourth season, I can tell why the Bungou Stray Dogs franchise is so big in Japan, albeit a bit less popular overseas due to it being more of a seinen series. The cast is quite unique, there is a solid balance between humour and serious moments, and the presentation is very well done. Without a doubt, Season 4 of Bungou Stray Dogs has been the best installment in the series thus far, as it was definitely the most thrilling and consistent of all the seasons. Since Season 2, each season kicked off with aflashback that focused on certain characters of the show, and the flashbacks usually ended up being the best part of the season itself. However, this time around, I was thoroughly impressed by the fact that the events flashback sequence related to the events in the present quite a lot, and built upon them effectively, which was what was lacking in Season 3. I felt the present arcs were even better executed than the flashback, which was great.

The fundamental reason why this season worked better than the previous three in my opinion is that the stakes felt higher than they’ve ever been, and I genuinely felt worried for some of the characters, fearing they would meet their demise. Each episode was filled with twists and turns, which made it all the more thrilling, and the episodes just flew by every week. The sense of mystery felt stronger than it ever has been. You thought you knew what was coming, and then another twist happens. What’s more, the twists for the most part, didn’t feel forced at all, and were executed very nicely.

The cast of characters felt even more fleshed out this season, with Ranpo and Yosano really taking centre stage for a few of the episodes, and I’m glad they focused on characters other than Dazai and Atsushi, and gave more balanced development to each character of the Detective Agency. Some mature themes were present in their backstories, and I grew to appreciate their characters much more with the events that transpired in the past and future surrounding them. It felt like much needed information on their character was delivered, and it was delivered well.

The animation and designs continued to be consistent throughout, meaning that the production was probably healthy, and the staff finished the episodes ahead of schedule. Good job by Studio Bones here as usual. The soundtrack was good as always, capturing the mysterious and darker tones of the series. OP and ED were great as well.

I have virtually nothing but praise for this season of Bungou Stray Dogs, and aside from a few powers that felt a bit over the top, it wasn’t much of a problem for me personally. Overall, just a very solid, thrilling season that was a pleasure to watch every week, and the best season of the series to date. With Season 5 coming in summer of this year, you bet I’m excited for what’s to come.

The only reason that I have not given these first few preliminary episodes a 10/10 is because they are just that, preliminary. If Stray Dogs Season 4 continues to perform at the level that it is, and follows the content and writing quality of the manga chapters it is currently adapting, a 10/10 will be a no brainer in the near future. The upcoming arc is easily one of best, if not the peak arcs of the series, and if I'm being honest, I was initially annoyed that Season 4 started with another flashback arc because I was so eager to see the adaptation ofthe coming manga arc.

My expectations, however, was blown away. The foreshadowing, dynamics and writing, even within the few characters that reared their head in the first three episodes was just absolutely spectacular. Showing the advanced capabilities of even a young Ranpo, along with setting the seeds for the dynamics between Fukuchi and Fukuzawa is just a perfect way to ease viewers back into the series that has not released episodes in years.

Now that the first episode of the new arc has aired, along with the OP and ED, I can comfortably say that my sky high expectations of the series, have been exceeded even further. The animation quality, sound, music, characters and everything are displayed just as I dreamed. If you have stuck around with the series this long, the payoff is now, and if you are thinking about starting it, I can confidently say it is worth it.

Categorical Scores

Plot (So Far): 9/10

Characters: 9.5/10

Dialogue and Writing: 9.5/10

Animation: 9/10

Music: 10/10

Overall: 9.4/10

With every season I watch this series I can't help but notice that the same formula works worse and worse, to the point of completely falling flat. Let me explain what feels wrong with Stray dogs. First, following the already existing pattern, we have flashbacks. Way too lengthy flashbacks that add nothing to the story for two simple reasons: they are too ordinary and they add nothing to the character in question. By being ordinary I mean that there would be no difference if the story of the flashback was set in the present, as the plot of said events doesn't differ in any meaningful wayfrom what the characters are doing in present time. Even worse, even though there are years between flashbacks and the actual events of the main story - the characters are the exact same as they were, like they were in stasis this whole time or not even existing. I know that without major events people don't go through major change, but at least some progress is to be expected, characters mature and get experience even if the viewer/reader is not going through every second of their life. Oh and while I am talking about character development - there is almost NO progress for the rest of the cast too, even though they are actually going through a serious event.

Second, the lack of logic. Yes I know this anime has supernatural. But you see, even the supernatural follows SOME rules, or it will soon deteriorate into a mess. And this is exactly what happens in Stray Dogs. Almost half of the season is a kind of mystery-solving detective story. What do you expect from it? Logical investigation, interrogating suspects, collecting evidence, cornering the criminal into revealing themselves. Or you can just get a set of BS accusations based on "I AM A GENIUS '' claim that suddenly are all correct even though they make no sense at all. It is almost like saying "The sun is up so it is monday '' while it is indeed monday. Yes, you are correct, but your reasoning is completely wrong and you can't make me believe you used any kind of logic here. Oh and don't forget to make anyone involved in the investigation more stupid than they should be so our "genius" claim would be at least somewhat believable, or just make the mystery in question predictable and obvious from the start.

Third, the lack of thrill. When the action comes you could expect adrenaline, high stakes, a battle of life and death. Not here though. Because the plot armor is so THICC for everyone that characters are basically immune to all kinds of blades, bullets and explosions as long as it is not THE tragic moment. Cause when THE moment comes - suddenly a character can be damaged even by strong wind. I know that this is used to both fill the title with action and have some kind of a point to continue with the plot, but at least give characters a thing to fight over. Because "fighting for their lives" while your plot armor doesn't allow you to even be wounded is not a working justification for me to be engaged. Maybe if characters in combat at least used their magic powers in an interesting way it would be enjoyable, but nope, they do the most basic stuff one could imagine.

Overall I have an impression that Stray Dogs simply tries to be way too many things at once. It wants to be over the top with abilities like Jojo does, but doesn't embrace the required "over the top and out of charts' ' level, as it also wants to be a serious show. It wants to be a serious detective/mystery story, but lacks good mysteries and can't make a logically sound investigation process. It wants to have deep characters but only throws one flashback on a barely developed character with one defining trait and calls it a day. It wants to be an action but lacks both the thrill and the spectacle. To be honest I didn't read the novel so I don't know whom to blame - poor adaptation of great source material or poor writing in the source, but the result is the same - I don't find Stray Dogs in any way enjoyable. I would only recommend this anime if you are watching it in the background while cooking or doing something else, because if you pay attention to what is happening on the screen - you will lose all the fun in its shortcomings.

After long years of wait, we finally get to see the continuation of arguably one of the best shounen in these modern days, Bungou Stray Dogs. After watching the fourth season throughout, I came to the conclusion that it still retains the quality of the previous seasons, which is an impressive thing since most of the time, it is hard to have this level of consistency. As a long-time fan, I'm thoroughly contended. The fourth season started off with the backstory of the Agency - how it was first formed. Basically, the first three episodes or so follow the story of Fukuzawa and Rampo, from theirvery first encounter to the creation of the agency. I was enthralled that the fourth season begins like stated because now we get to know in detail who was involved in the creation of the agency, how it was made possible, and why it was first initiated. And the fact that the fourth season begins with Rampo, one of the characters in which I've looked up to besides Tanizaki, made it even more fascinating to watch.

Not only Rampo and Fukuzawa, but the backstory of Yosano was also later revealed along the way. With that being said, we will get to know how and why Yosano decided to join forces with the Agency. And not to mention, the relationship she has with one of the members of the Hunting Dogs.

The rest of the episodes, however, are basically fresh contents that serve as the continuation of the previous seasons. The story carries on with the problems that were not fully resolved in the first three seasons. What is praise-worthy about it is the fact that they were able to do it with the same pacing and delivery that we are familiar with.

Besides the content of the story, the rest are completely similar, if not the same as the previous seasons. The animation and sound that were presented in the fourth season were no different. I mean, why would they change something that had nothing to be fault in the first place?

All in all, the fourth season of Bungou Stray Dogs successfully came out as the sequel that I have hoped for. The overall quality of it is on par with the previous seasons, if not slightly better due to the amount of excitement entailing around the story. The only downside of the fourth season is that we didn't get to see Dazai in action and last but not least, the infuriating cliffhanger that the season had left for us.

dont understand why this isnt being watched more and topping the seasona charts an incredile prequeal begining into a equally great story line with a large in depth look at what an amazing chracter rampo is . cannot get enough. unique story in every way art style is beautiful and personally one of my favorites amazing character cast at the agency so well rounded you can hardly tell who is the protaganist the show has a mature feeling with realistic interactions and characters when it really needs it i cannot imagine someone not enjoying this series not finished yet so 9/10 for now but if it continues 10/10

I had to rewatch the previous season because it is been so long. I just want to watch it while the plot of the previous season is still fresh in my mind. there aren't many anime that handle the story involving special abilities, crime organization, and mysteries as good as bungou no stray dogs did. Its broad range of themes is propelled by creative writing. It is one of the masterworks of its genre, so I want to have the best experience possible while watching it. First off, the anime begins with a flashback of Rampo's past. He basically gained a lot of exposure this season.and that basically adds in depth identity prior to his character and role to the armed detctive agency.

The detective agency will confront yet another disaster that will lead to their demise and cause them to face dillemas. They must take a calculated approach as they deal with the perpetrators. They also did an excellent job of introducing new powerful characters who exude an intimidating aura. The story's sense of mystery and unpredictability will have you on the edge of your seat.

The art does an excellent job of presenting the story. and that enhances the appeal of this anime in addition to its well-written mystery elements. The attention to detail they applied to the presentation is excellent. especially in the first few episodes, I like the way the monochromatic colors they used transitioned into full color. It is quite expressive and helps in expressing the character's emotions and perspective.

Overall, it's great and one of the best anime this season. and definitely worth watching

This is the season BSD takes a big leap forward and starts getting juicy. Things start getting more serious and there is more of a central plot than the previous seasons. U also get some good backstory on some characters and the Armed Detective Agency as a whole. Anyone who says it follows the same formula as the other seasons, i'd have to question whether they actually watched the entire series to this point... this season has a different feel than b4 and is simply better than previous seasons, as is evident by the 8.45 score. That's one hell of ascore, and it deserves it.

I have such fond memories of this series, and I was so excited to return to it—finally!—but then I remembered all the reasons Bungo Stray Dogs is a “have to be in the right kind of mood” anime for me. Here’s what I loved about it: the humor this season did all it needed to to encapsulate the charm of Bungo Stray Dogs, and I was happy we got to see that through a few new avenues. Well, new and old avenues, but the old avenues (like Ranpo) got more of an opportunity to shine this time around. I also was happy to see anuptick in the drama department and a bit more of a stabilized plot than we’ve seen in the past because I think, with the plotlines this anime deals with, it can handle high drama pretty well when it wants to. And it did.

That being said, I’m still not a huge fan of the season starting with a story from (x) amount of years ago before moving into the present-day storyline. I just feel like it fragmented this season a bit too much and didn’t give me enough time to be reacquainted with the characters I’ve missed for so long. I also wasn’t always the biggest fan of the new characters we got to see in this season or even with the division of screen time allotted to the already established characters. I don’t know, I suppose I found this season a bit more lackluster than the others. The antics were quite as pronounced, either, which I suppose is a sacrifice needed for increasing the drama, but still. I don’t know, if the series continues, I’m going with it, but I hope it brings back some of the charm it lost for me this season.

The reason why I started watching this anime is very simple: I was playing Fate Grand Order at the time, so these historical characters with special abilities (or these metahumans with the names of historical characters) have an inexplicable attraction to me. I will admit that most of Bungo Stray Dogs' appeal is provided by its interesting characters. But as an animation that has ended the fourth season, I can't deny that it is difficult to maintain the freshness of this series with only interesting characters. Beginning with season 2, we'll see a flashback story to kick off each season, and a main storyline to confrontthe new organization, complete with a variety of new characters whose superpowers will humble the previous ones. I don't think "being formulaic" is a problem. If this is a story about fighting with superpowers, making stronger opponents seems like a straightforward solution.

However, even though we've reached episode 50 (four seasons plus a movie) and will have season 5 (actually it's more like the second half of season 4) in July, I still don't feel I myself know more about the world of Bungo Stray Dogs. What is the origin of the power? How to judge the strength and level of abilities? Why do some people have powers and others don't? Will capable people be discriminated against and treated differently? Is no research institute curious about Dazai's abilities?

What I'm more worried about is that none of these questions accumulated through years of watching (there may be more if I think about it carefully) hasn't even been considered by the author Asakiri Kafka, because I watched several seasons of fighting villains, and even no suspense was thrown.

Akutagawa, Fitzgerald, Fyodor, now it's Decay of the Angel's turn, Atsushi's character arc and ability curve are still confusing, and Dazai is Lv.MAX as always. I believe this is also the reason why most people's perception of this series continues to decline.

Since the story is not over yet, I'm not in a hurry to draw conclusions, because thanks to BONES' wonderful animation, I will continue to watch it with a numb mind. What if it surprises me in the near future?

I hope so.

Another case of BSD struggling with whether it wants to be good or not. The flashbacks as always, are the best moments of the show. Always masterfully written with great direction that makes a solid one-off story. The overarching plotline on the other hand is a mess. Somehow always making a writing misstep after a good scene. You'd think "How is that possible? It's just a backstory, it takes away from the current events." but when you look at the show holistically, the flashbacks existing in a bubble outside the current events is exactly the reason why it's the only parts of the show that hasa solid foundation.

This season's exploration of Ranpo and Yosano's pasts, akin to the excellence displayed in Oda's backstory from season 2, and to a lesser extent, Dazai's from season 3, adds depth to the characters and continues to weave into present-day events nicely. For once, the writing felt committed, now that it felt like the events have actual consequences, especially with the impact of Fyodor in the first half. Eventually, after the episode with Nikolai which was fantastic, "The Hunting Dogs" gets written into existence without any real foreshadowing, which isn't the issue. As always, my biggest gripes come with the haphazard introduction of plot points and the neglect of essential story beats. It struggles with tone shifts and trying to make me care for most of the events, specifically because of lackluster worldbuilding. It relies heavily on the viewer filling in very huge blanks by themselves until they decide to actually write later on. And without being hooked in the first place, people would hardly care enough to try and play into this formula. For the same reason, the explanations don't feel satisfactory to me.

I find it difficult to enjoy BSD but highlight its flaws without explicitly spoiling the specific examples, but ultimately it just hinges on the eye of the beholder. How I see it, it's just the horrible worldbuilding that takes away from the smaller scenes. It's wasted potential, really. A bad mesh of good ideas.

Story: 4

Animation: 7

Visuals: 7

Music: 9 (OST) 8 (OP & ED)

Characters: 7

Sound: 8 (Sound Design) 7 (Voice Acting)

Favorite Episode: 9 - A Dream of Butterflies

The 4th season has now ended, question is... was it good, short answer, well obviously, slightly longer answer - Just like the previous three seasons, the 4th was just as good, introducing a new cast of character that are mostly written very well, my favourite being teruko. The story continues basically right after the third season, and in all respect it is better than the third season in many different ways, I wish I could explain why but I do not want to spoil the story. The visuals are pretty average though, just a run of the mill anime visually, but, it does have it's moments whenyou think to yourself "That was a pretty cool scene."

The music in the anime was alright, The Intro song does have nice points about it, for example the kick was nice and bassy but with a tinge of high end to hear the hit of the kick, the mixture of the piano, synths, bass guitar and Electric guitar were are really well mixed and not at all during the OST did it get muddy.

Overall, the anime can't get higher than what I have scored, but it is still worth the watch.

So----Dazai and Chuuya? YES~ To anyone who is like --- debating whether or not to watch this anime, don't hesitate watch it RN! Honestly this was kinda forced on me to watched, but just from the first season i was hooked (Season 5 you are deeply awaited). I usually watch romance and shoujo but this made me change my opinions about genres, Anime is awesome! The suspense had me clenching me teeth, the humor had me falling out of my chair, and the characters---well---what can i say about Dazai and Akutagawa? The characters especially were very well written and portrayed, i adored their humor and relationship with eachother as well as the multiple agencies and new characters, Their abilities are also pretty cool and not overdone.

The fourth season of Bungo Stray Dogs delves into the first part of an increasingly large-scale conflict that utilizes all the narrative developments previously established. We are finally given an in-depth look into the backgrounds of Ranpo and Yasano, the fragility introduced by their immensely powerful talents, and their relevance to the situation at hand. There has also been a slight departure from the often comedic tone in favor of tension and maturity, but this is a welcome substitution given the circumstances and stakes. It is worth mentioning that the first half leans into the mystery genre, so expect a fair amount of dialogue initially.

SPOILERS FOR SEASON 4 Bungo stray dogs' season 4 is the highest rated completed season in the Bungo Stray Dog series. While it may have a seemingly interesting plot and characters, it ultimately fails at any sense of logic and is a consistently frustrating show to watch. Here is my review of Bungo stray Dogshit. Pros: Some of the abilities are cool, like the aging one. Hunting dogs' group is somewhat cool. Sound design is excellent. Animation is fluid, no big issue with production. Cons: My first problem is how the show will set up some crazy situation for the characters to be stuck in, then present a complete asspull to explain how they get out of it. Dazai and Rampo are quite good examples. In the beginning of the show, the hunting dogs arrest Dazai and send him to a prison called the Meursault. This prison, according to the Bungo stray dog wiki, is all the way in Europe, in a place where only high governing officials know the location. The prisoners, Dazai and Fyodor Dostoevsky, are trapped in what looks like a floating prison, while their hearts are monitored. With all this in mind, how does the show make Dazai still relevant in the plot? They make it so that Dazai can control his heartbeat and so that he can send Morse code-like messages to Ango. Why does Ango have access to a high security prison in Europe? Yes, it is true that Ango is a government official in Japan but how does he have access to information from a top-secret place security prison all the way in Europe, not Japan? Since when could Dazai control his heartbeat to such an extent of sending messages? Dazai uses this to send a warning to Atsushi to “turn on the sprinklers’”. How does Dazai know that Nathaniel is working for Fyodor? How is Dazai and Ango sure that someone will be at the screen to see the message? How does he know that Fyodor will specifically send Nathaniel to kill Francis? In the show, Fyodor says a couple of lines about how he wants to take out the eyes of God. He doesn’t reveal any more information about when it’s going to happen or who he is going to send, but this is just enough information for big brain genius Dazai to deduce that he will send Natheniel at this moment. Also, how do they communicate back and forth? Let’s give the show the benefit of the doubt that Dazai is able to clearly communicate outside of the prison, how does he know that any of his plans have worked? As far as I know, it is not possible for Ango to control Dazai’s heartbeat. Fyodor is even worse as they don’t even try to explain how he communicates outside of the prison. Francis just says that “oh he’s really good at this type of stuff he’ll find a way to communicate”. While it may seem like I’m nitpicking this one scene, this is just a common issue present in this season and throughout the entire series. Another example is Rampo and Oguri. I’m not gonna get into too much depth on a tangent on what happens between them, but Oguri has an ability that can remove any evidence from a crime and make it unprovable. This should completely counter Rampo, but no, Rampo only looks fazed for a couple of scenes and then he goes back to being a big brain genius. Not only does he figure out who killed the guy, but he also figures out the whole backstory behind the history of the murder. This is such a missed opportunity for some great character development. The plot could have Rampo finally be a more complex character by him losing confidence or maybe realizing he isn’t gifted, but no, he just goes back to being the same 1-dimensional character. The explanation he gives is somewhat confusing, but that’s not my issue with him figuring it out. It’s that his “deduction” is not stuff he figures out on his own, it's stuff that just happens to be there like the manuscript being wet in a certain spot. We don’t even see much of Rampo walking around and examining the crime scene. These two examples show how random this show can get. I feel like the writer is trying to make an “I got you” moment but fails to create a logical and reasonable way the characters reach their conclusions.

Logical inconsistencies don’t just only follow the good guys, but they also affect the villains. The villains own a book that can write anything into reality, but they take the weirdest path to destroy the agency and take over the world. Why not just kill them with the page. Yes, it is true that the page needs to have a narrative consistency to work, but is it really that hard to write a scenario in which 100% guarantees their death? This whole sky casino stuff is also really random. Why do people accept that there is a floating casino. As far as we know, this world is not a super sci-fi advanced. Why have the explosible currency? Who knows if the money will be distributed around the world? Not the biggest complaint, but it really shows how random the plot can get. With the ability to write anything into existence, why do all of this?

The backstories in this show are ok, while I did enjoy Yosano backstory, Rampo and Fukuzawa are kinda pointless. The reason why Yosano's (and Dazai’s from season 2) backstory works is that it shows how her personality and morals change to them in the present time. This is not present in Rampos and Fukuzawa backstories. I do appreciate the whole murder mystery and Rampos and Fukuzawa interactions. However, the characters are not much different to their present counterparts. Rampo is still child-like and goofy and Fukuzawa is… well still Fukuzawa. It really should not have lasted more than 2 episodes.

But by far, my biggest issue is just how much they fake character deaths, here are some examples in which a character “dies” but comes back later.

Oguri: “dies” to Nikolai in episode 5, comes back in episode 11

Nikolai: “dies” by himself in episode 6, comes back in episode 12

Taneda: “dies” by Sigma in episode 7, comes back in episode 8

Hirotsu: “dies” by Tachihara in episode 10, comes back in episode 13

Yosano: “dies” by Tachiahra in episode 10, comes back in episode

12

There are probably more that I'm forgetting but these are just some examples. I’m fine with characters dying but to have them revived this many times is annoying and ruins any emotions I feel.

In the end, I would forgive all of this! If only it led up to something cool or interesting. In fact, I have more complaints, but I won’t get into them as this review is really stretching it. Maybe a great fight scene or a great plot twist but none of this really happens. The fight scenes are OK at best while the plot generally follows characters running around, not doing much. Like the entire Yosano ark has her running away from a puppet controlled by Tachiahra. This show is really summarized in its confusing plot, 1-dimensional characters, and mediocre fight scenes.

the thing with bungou stray dogs, in my opinion, is that literally everything is happening all at once! everything is all over the place and is complicated for me to absorb. like there's no general storyline and suddenly a new arc or an accident jumps out of the blue into the current happenings and the previous issue hasn't been made clear for the viewers. and i really hope the meaning and reason behind very fundamental questions be solved finally too! but maybe that's the whole point of bsd and many may enjoy these sudden happenings, the excitement and absurdity of it all. onthe other hand i personally really enjoy this whole concept of using world's writers' names and their books as a source! and while there's a clear goal to reach in parts i can't leave my sit at all.

This anime grabbed my attention from season 1. But this... this was above all the excpecation I ever had for this series, or any series. It should get and 11/10. Anticipation: To be honest, I wasn't too thrilled after the first episode. But later I realized it was a jam on its own. And it was the beginning The surprises came one after the other, you thought you saw everything but no, they come up with a new thing to blow your mind once again. I love this non sense. Don't you want more of such things? Also, the stakes never were as high. Plot: Not onlythey brought new stuff which we didn't know of before, but also took existsing characters and light them in another shade with new information we never knew of. They manage to combine the new and the old into this new season, to creat something we never experienced before. Not just antoher funny moment of Chuuya and Dazai (which I love, don't get me wrong), but so much more.

Characters: Well, the focus changed a lot during this season. Dazai is almost completely gone (and I am happy every moment he was there), and even Atushi didn't get as much screen time as past seasons. I don't feel like this season added a lot to his character, unless previous seasons. The remaining members, other than Kyoya, had more attention, especially a certain someone (no spoiler). Also, another character we knew so well, suddenly needs to face itself the way the never did before, but it wasn't explored much. The mafia also didn't get a lot of spot light, but when they did... they never stopped impressing you. We also meet some totally new characters, most of them from two new orgenizations.

Prequal episodes: Starting from season 2, the anime brought preual episodes. In season 2 we met Oda and season 3 we saw the first encounter of Dazai and Chuuya. This time, Dazai was abesent and was replaces with Fukuzawa and Rampo something like 10 years befoer the main plot (I think). We got a glimpse througt this for the about to come in a way, but I think the new beauty of it was showing those two characters who, again, don't get a lot attention.

As for visyal styke, I'm not sure it's much differet then previous seasons, so... not much about it.

Hope it was helplfu and thanks for reasing this long stuffl :)

It was a great watch and kept me hooked from the start till the end . Starting from the first episode, it show us the past of the two founding members of the Armed Detective agency. Lots of new characters that seemed like they have been there from the start but never showed till now. We get to deep dive into some of our main characters' past like Akiko and awesome plot twists connecting each other like a spiderweb. Eagerly waiting for the next season, seeing where this season left off. I would recommend it to anyone who have been keeping up with this series.

After the last season peaceful ending, this season completely destroyed all tranquility the ADA had. It is interesting the introduction of new characters, as well as presenting us in more detail the past of others. The new organisations are both thrilling in a way, one because of how powerful the members are and the other because of its cunning and mysterious nature. I can only say that this season is like a big chess played by Dazai and Fyodor, so there is no predicting the future of the characters. As someone who read the manga, I am really happy with the way the art styleand how they animated everything. BSD is not only about action, mysteries and mind games, but also about how the characters evolve, and that is what I love about this anime, you can definitely see a character development, in addition to everything the characters have, the super power alluding to a book of the author they are named after, their personalities and interactions.

Let's introduce a scenario where the ADA will get caught in a fucked up state. Let's bring Dazai every God damn time because he's a fan favorite, but also remind people that the main character is actually Atsushi and not Dazai. This is basically what happened in the main conflict past 3 seasons. S4, however, took a different approach where it left Dazai and Fyodor backstage as puppet masters, while the story progressed the same but now, with Rampo getting some spotlight. I hate to break this but, at this point, Atsushi is a really weak main character surrounded between characters who have more interesting stories totell. It's kind of ironic that his conflict is about self-worth, finding purpose despite being rejected, yet he's the least among them all. He has, however, interesting moments when he's facing Akutagawa, who constantly stands in his way. Their rivalry makes them interesting, but sadly Aku got no show this season. He literally has 0 screen time, if you exclude the appearance in the opening (the OP is pretty lit btw. ED... I still think "Lily" is the best BSD ED).

Though I already highlighted, I just love the small details the show adds. For instance, Edgar Allan Poe's ringtone is the cries of a Raven, one of Poe's famous poems.

BSD characters are generally an encyclopedia if you want to find about classic literature authors, and their best works. The Anime is really an homage to all the great people in literature history and you can certainly find someone you can get invested in in their works.

I currently read a few of Edgar Allan Poe's short stories & poems, reading Fyodor Dostoyevsky's Crime & Punishment, read Usamaru's manga adaptation of No Longer Human, and planning to read something by Yosano Akiko.

Conclusion

At the heart of all,

Bungou Stray Dogs is not about the overall story or mystery, it's not about the homosexual tension between hot dudes, or it's not about me mindlessly simping over a crazy doctor.

It's about Kafka Asagiri's appreciation to all the great authors & writers through his imagined personifications of them, in these characters. And a director who understands it.

I don't think this is a great story, but I still love these characters.