10 Second Anime - Bungou Stray Dogs - Episode 26

The new season starts with the story of Dazai's and Chuuya's first meeting as the Port Mafia investigates sightings of the previous Boss. Season Premiere.

Episode 26 - "Dazai, Chuuya, 15 Years Old"

First Thoughts.

Episode 26? What happened to 25? Well, if you watch from the streaming sites, that 25th episode was actually an OVA from 2017 that fit in sometime in the aftermath of the 2nd season, but didn't really affect anything. It was basically a day in the life of Kunikida, which is nice since his deal is his very detailed diary and schedule. The point of that episode - don't mess with Kunikida's schedule. It was also a nice glimpse into Kunikida's character and why he makes an excellent executive officer to the Armed Detective's number one agent Dazai. But really, don't mess with his schedule. You'll have... problems.

For this premiere, we're going back to the same formula of the second season where we start with an extended flashback dealing with Dazai's past and how the Yokohama of today got that way with the precarious balance of power between the Port Mafia, the Military Police, and the Armed Detectives. The manga source material deals with the present time of Atsushi the Tiger, so the sources of these flashbacks come from the series of novels following Dazai's past. The trick to these flashbacks is trying to figure out why this backstory is important to the present story we'll soon jump into.

Here, we get to see how Chuuya and Dazai formed the strongest Port Mafia duo ever, why they're so tsun-tsun for each other, and why Chuuya wants Dazai back, even if he won't admit it. The story picks up during the difficult transition from the old Port Mafia Boss and what happened after Dr. Mori killed him and succeeded him. The same studio and staff are handling things, so all the quality action, writing, music, and humor is all here. It's a satisfying feeling to get pumped up for those set action pieces again.

Hmm.

I mentioned earlier that there was an OVA that was episode 25, and it didn't really matter to the story. There was also a movie in between last season and now, and that story did matter. It will be interesting to see if the events in there will matter to this backstory with Dazai. The point of the movie was how those with personified special powers, like Atsushi with his tiger,  Kyouka with her sword maiden, and Akutagawa with Rashomon, lost control of them and regained them, forging a stronger bond and reconciling their past sins with their current selves. Go check it out, because you'll like Atsushi's character even more afterwards. I don't know how many episodes this backstory will take, but as long as Chuuya and Dazai get their chops into each other, it will put some salve on my impatience to see the current crew.

Heh.

Ooh, Chuuya was always a powerful punk. It sounds like he was the leader of his own gang before joining the Port Mafia.

So helpful that this flashback tells us the name of the novel they're adapting. The Dragon Head Conflict, another Dazai story of his days in the Port Mafia.

Chuuya's gang is called "The Sheep" and he's their King. He has some kind of issue about that title.

Dr. Mori has some logistics issues with the Port Mafia suppliers. Some of them don't trust the transition of power was totally legit. Hey, Dazai was a witness too.

Dazai was always a good strategist and game theorist. He and Dr. Mori are tied together to make sure the Port Mafia doesn't kill them for killing the old Boss and tear themselves apart in the ensuing power vacuum.

Here's your plot - investigate the appearance of the resurrected Boss in the shanty town built inside a crater. Having Darker Than Black flashbacks all of a sudden...

Ha! Dazai doesn't like the idea that he reminds Dr. Mori of his younger self.

Hey, it's that mustache guy Hirotsu.

And there's the auspicious first meeting of Chuuya and Dazai - a blindsided sucker punch kick to the back.

Dazai wants to know if Chuuya has heard of Arahabaki - a psychic who brings back the dead. Dazai doesn't mind interrogating someone with their boot on his chest.

And then they fight! I've always enjoyed how Dazai's power only works against other special powered users, which meant that he was the most fearsome natural fighter in all of the Port Mafia. He just wasn't very motivated...

And whoa! Purple Ghost Boss!

This cold guy Randou is restraining Chuuya. No, I mean he's actually cold and needs to wear a warm coat and muffler. That's not some bastardized Japanese way of saying Jack London, is it? He must be important, otherwise they wouldn't show him and give him lines.

Ha! Here's the start of the tsun-tsun Double Black team.

Ho! Mori just plain admitted to Chuuya that he killed the old Boss. Now they're all conspirators together. His daughter loli fetish aside, Dr. Mori is a smarty every day. Every day.

Mori is a good judge of character too. He sees something special about this pairing.

I like this quote. It contains multitudes of felonies - "The Mafia's true nature is to control rational action by a plethora of means." Violence is only one tool in that felonious tool chest.

So, Arahabaki again. Here, it's a beast of black flames. Elsewhere, it's a pre-Shinto god or demon whose name has been used in many other Japanese contemporary modern media titles. Oh, you should know by now that contemporary modern media is a euphemism for comic books, cartoons, and video games. Nerd stuff.

This resurrection stuff looks legit, judging from how the Boss talked directly to Mori on those surveillance cameras from the vault.

Woof. The shanty town's crater was made by that Arahabaki's explosion 8 years ago, connected to some foreign soldier.

Of course! Both Dazai and Chuuya say no to the team-up. Double tsun-tsun!

Mori has a secret reason for putting them together besides the game theory relationships. We fans know what that reason is. They're the best team evar!

Ooh, let's fight already! Dazai is quick to master his sigh for seeing the hotheaded Chuuya jump into danger.

Next time, Chuuya and Dazai meet one of the Port Mafia's three rivals, and not in a friendly way either.