Bungou Stray Dogs - Episode 39 - 10 Second Anime

Ranpo solves the stage-play murder mystery his way, but the young detective has drawn the attention of the Gifted.

Episode 39 — "The Day Is a Dream, The Night Is Real"

Hmm.

I knew it was coming. At some point, the Bungou Stray Dogs flashback frame would return from its drab, colorless hue to the vibrant, eye-popping colors of previous seasons. The question was when and how. Masterfully, the change happened through Ranpo's eyes. Fukuzawa reframed Ranpo's autistic and paranoid perspective of everyone else lying about what they saw. Ranpo accepted that others couldn't see what he saw because they were ignorant children, and he was one of the Gifted. I still question if Fukuzawa's voice technique on Ranpo is a manifestation of his unique Gift. But the former government assassin believes Ranpo has no Gift. The boy merely has an incredible talent for observation and deduction.

It's enough that Ranpo believes he is one of the Gifted, but that immediately puts him in danger. The events of this case are why Fukuzawa founded the Armed Detective Agency, not just with weapons, but with Gifts, the supernatural skills of Bungou Stray Dogs. I recognized the audience scapegoat as Natsume Souseki (the alleged strongest Gifted who can turn into a cat), and the language of the stage-play used a keyword known only to a few in Yokohama: unusual power (異能力, いのうりょく, inouryoku). The play called people who used the Gift "能力者, のうりょくしゃ, inouryokusha," Gifted. The playwright's conspiracist had declared open war on the secret Gifteds in the Port Mafia and the Military Police. Fukuzawa, I'm sure, resolves this case with the balancing leg of the Armed Detective Agency.

Heh.

These fallen angels in the play accuse the real angels of killing them. This scenario in Bungou Stray Dogs is like Hamlet staging a play to elicit guilty reactions from his stepfather. Fukuzawa recognized the word "Gifted," and so did someone else in the audience. Ranpo never heard it. But Ranpo had already solved the murder mystery of the play and wondered why the audience didn't complain about it either. He is an autistic savant.

Fukuzawa reframed Ranpo's detective abilities as a "Special Gift." The retired government agent called Ranpo one of the "Gifted." After giving him thrift store glasses, Ranpo can turn his skills on and off. It's a lie told to a child, though. That voice thing Fukuzawa does is incredible! And now, Bungou Stray Dogs is in color. And Ranpo is the lovable chuunibyou we've known all these years. He knows there is an actual murder afoot at this stage-play and aims to stop it!

The star of the play died on stage! Fukuzawa must keep the audience inside the theater so the culprit doesn't escape. Uh oh. Natsume Souseki is a missing person. Did he turn into a cat? That sounds like a red herring and a frame job to me. Fukuzawa worries about Ranpo. The boy may be a detective, but he has no way to protect himself. The mission statement of the Armed Detective Agency takes root in Fukuzawa's mind.

The theater producer hatched a plan with Ranpo. This production will be the most over-the-top parlor-room murder mystery revelation ever. Ranpo aims to use the small fry murder suspect to catch the Big Fish. Wow. So much cringe. I'm sweating sympathetically with Fukuzawa. Souseki was kidnapped and hidden away by the real murderer! Which was the dead man on stage! The actor wanted to stage an actual death, but he saw the audience didn't want that. He was acting only for himself, which is anathema for a performer.

The Bungou Stray Dogs epilogue starts, and so does the goal of V, the orchestrator of the threats on the theater. He wanted to capture as many Gifted as he could. Natsume is missing, the playwright is dead, and the suspicious cop has Ranpo in his police car. Worse, the playwright is the victim of a locked-room murder mystery. Cliffhanger!

Next time, the Armed Detective Agency begins.