Bungou Stray Dogs - Episode 43 - 10 Second Anime

The Armed Detective Agency investigates a series of murders. Ranpo suspects the case is a trap and tries to prevent it.

Episode 43 — “Tragic Sunday”

Hmm.

The plots in Bungou Stray Dogs continue to involve intricate plans spanning several episodes. Ranpo recalled how his first day with Fukuzawa, ten years ago, connects to the five Decaying Angels. Did Souseki also plan that far ahead? Fyodor arranged his plot around Gifteds to unravel the balance between the Port Mafia, the Military Police, and the Armed Detective Agency. We still need to learn why he wants to put Yokohama in chaos. But we know the Crime and Punishment wielder loves nudging groups to attack each other. The military wing that recruited Fukuzawa all those years ago, The Hunting Dogs, will track and destroy the stray dogs of the Armed Detective Agency.

The voice of Nikolai Gogol in Bungou Stray Dogs, Takehito Koyasu, always plays the same character. The clownish sing-song tone belongs to Bon in Fumetsu no Anata e, Pesche in BLEACH, and Roswaal in Re:Zero. His surreal circus vocals are well-matched to the absurdist realist stories of true-life Russian author Nikolai Gogol. One of the founders of Russian realism in the nineteenth century, his works influenced many other writers, such as Dostoyevsky, Kafka, and Nabokov. He authored novels, short stories, and plays, often using humor, satire, and the grotesque to expose the corruption and absurdity of society. Some of his best-known works are Dead Souls, a novel about a con man who tries to buy the souls of dead serfs from landowners to get a loan from the government, and “The Overcoat,” a short story about a poor clerk who saves money for a new coat, only to have it stolen on the first day he wears it. His short story, “Viy,” might have inspired the “V” name of the terrorist group in the Bungou Stray Dogs prelude episodes before it became Decaying Angels.

Heh.

This award ceremony put a target on the Armed Detective Agency’s back. Kunikida’s training session with Atsuji has a foreshadowing element: the young Tiger’s human form must match the animal’s strength if he wants to rush into situations. Uh oh. Ranpo recognizes a series of murders as the case Oguri warned him about — The Decay of the Angel. The other detectives can try to stop the fifth murder from happening, but he’ll try to stop the trap.

Atsuji hears a clue from Sakaguchi that government moles are responsible for aspects of the murder scenes. Atsuji can smell a rat, rather, the lack of coffee on an impostor. Unsurprisingly, for Bungou Stray Dogs, Dazai was the first target of separation from the Armed Detective Agency. All the past crimes of the detectives became known because Decay of Angels made Oguri’s Gift of erasing evidence turn off. Government officials, the Hunting Dogs, came after them after that.

Ranpo already tracked down a clue. One of the Decaying Angels gravely injured Chief Taneda, who oversees the division for Gifted affairs, after he took a page from the Book from him. Yeah. The Book in Yokohama that the Guild came after with Fitzgerald. Whatever someone writes in its blank pages comes into reality. Fitzgerald wanted to bring back his dead daughter. Nice. Atsuji is better at manifesting parts of the Tiger at will, like biting into guns. Ah. Taneda knows two of the five Decaying Angels. They have roles! Jester Nikolai and Demon Fyodor. Ranpo may have met one ten years ago when they tried to kidnap Souseki.

Nikolai pulled off an elaborate frame-up job. But did he die himself? Who holds the pen writing on the Blank Page? Next time, the Hunting Dogs hunt stray dogs.