Bungou Stray Dogs - Episode 40 - 10 Second Anime

Ranpo finds himself in a trap for Gifteds, but is he the snared prey or the trapper? Fukuzawa has the answer.

Episode 40 — "The Secret Founding of the Detective Agency"

Hmm.

These first three episodes of Bungou Stray Dogs have been about Ranpo learning about caring for someone or something else. As an autistic, in the philosophical sense of the word, he only saw the world from his perspective. He never considered that others couldn't make connections and deductions about relationships between evidence and motivation as quickly as he could. He thought they lied about knowing something to make fun of him! Fukuzawa, through the reframe trick, a literal one with glasses, opened Ranpo's eyes to the vibrant color of other perspectives. Fukuzawa also made him learn a harsh lesson about risking his life.

Ranpo usually calculated the risk of harm for himself only from his point of view. He never considered that others might not be willing to pay that price without mitigating the risk. Fukuzawa painfully slapped Ranpo's cheek to show that the Bungou Stray Dogs' elder statesman would not gamble with a colleague's life. The pain in Ranpo's cheek let him feel the injury Fukuzawa felt at seeing a gun pointed at the boy's face. Even better, Ranpo still felt that burn with his truth-seeing glasses knocked off. Knowing that even fools cared for his life and limb was a lesson Ranpo needed to carry, whether he wore his deduction glasses or not.

The third change in Ranpo's perspective came in Bungou Stray Dogs when he saw the city of Yokohama in bright colors. He said, "It looks different." Fukuzawa understood what he meant: Ranpo cared about what happened to the location and the people. That feeling was the urge to protect Yokohama. In a single day, Fukuzawa had taught the autistic young man to see others' perspectives, to care for himself as much as another cared for him, and to keep those people's living spaces safe. The former government assassin had a productive day!

Heh.

Ranpo already knows this policeman is lying to him. And he smelled that the fake policeman was part of the plot to capture Souseki. Literally! The solvents used to undo the carpet glue to kidnap Souseki had come in contact with this police officer. So, why did the kidnapper need to capture Ranpo?

Now it's up to Fukuzawa to catch up to Ranpo. The young detective has hooked his gigantic fish, and Fukuzawa must help him land it. According to the villain, Souseki escaped, so they took Ranpo instead. Bungou Stray Dogs showed us a crime of opportunity. Fukuzawa's clues brought him to question Sakunosuke in jail. Souseki was in the witness protection agency for Gifteds. Ah. The military police unit recruiting Fukuzawa is involved here. Sakunosuke heard from "V," looking to hire a crew to abduct a Gifted. The price of that information? Curry rice.

Ranpo has finished talking to his kidnapper. He's simply counting down to the dramatic entrance of Fukuzawa. Ranpo's unusual interrogation worked: V is an organization of the Gifted that wants to drive out the Gifted. That sounds concerning. Time's up, though. 3-2-1. Fukuzawa! Every punch is so satisfying!

Ranpo didn't see Fukuzawa's slap coming. That was out of his calculation: human emotion. Fukuzawa's admonishment — don't gamble with your life when others value it too. Epilogue time for Bungou Stray Dogs: the fake policeman died in custody. Hey! That's Dostoyevsky smirking in the background. He says the "V" is the roman numeral for "Five." Sakunosuke ate spicy curry because Fukuzawa is a man who keeps his promises.

Now it's the season prologue, one year after the V plot. Souseki has a plan for Fukuzawa and Ranpo to secure a business permit for Gifteds to establish an independent Armed Detective Agency.

Next time, Bungou Stray Dogs returns to the present.