Oh man, things are picking up speed fast! Dogs Hunt Dogs was the official name of the episode and it’s perfect. It’s also what’s likely to define the season at this point, in my opinion. We’re about to have a whole lot of action and isn’t it great that Bones is a studio that can really deliver on that front.
It’s actually been a while since I’ve watched a full-on action series. This is going to be a nice change.
They really spelled it out for us nicely here. I remember this part being more confusing. But the episode set out all the rules that we need to know. There’s a book, and whatever you write in it becomes reality but it was to have internal consistency with whatever was written before. It has to be a story. Oh, and the bad guys have a page of this book. Uh oh!!
The one thing that’s not clear yet, is why are they after the Armed Detective Agency specifically. If they wanted to get rid of gifted there are a lot of other places to start. I mean, random unaffiliated gifted would seem like a pretty easy choice. Then again, that’s not likely to make as much of an impact. And I guess the Port Mafia and Special Division are all more protected and difficult to crack. But it seems to be more personal than that, doesn’t it. Like there’s a vendetta here? Then again, maybe not.
It was just for a little bit but they let Yosano take center stage. She’s actually one of my favourite characters in the show but so far has been so grossly underused that even these few brief moments were exciting to me. Hopefully, she’ll get to do more. This is the first time she’s out in the field and well, I’m getting ahead of myself here, but at this point, there is no home base anymore, is there?
I hadn’t read the Secret Origins so the opening episodes were the first time I saw that particular story. Imagine my surprise at seeing Oochi Fukuchi show up to lend Fukuzawa a hand to go see young Oda in prison. I actually remembered all those names. I’m impressed with myself.
So it’s going to be reiterated but Fukuzawa and Fukuchi are old friends. They have known each other for a long time and have helped each other out throughout the years. And now, Fukuchi is the one that is going to track down the Armed Detective Agency. And make no mistake, the Hunting Dogs’ intro wasn’t bluster and classic anime bait ‘n switch. These guys are in fact strong. Possibly stronger than you think.
They might not be the most professional at first glance but they get the job done. And the job is the destruction of the Armed Detective Agency.
Kenji is also my favourite. At this point, I think I’ve called 80% of the characters my favourite. I have a very tenuous grasp of that word.
There’s another Bungo Stray Dogs side story, more of an alternate universe. It’s called The Beast. It’s a retelling of the beginning of the show with the characters of Atsushi and Akutagawa switched. At one point, Akutagawa is training with Kenji and you get a very similar type of scene. Kenji is very true to himself and that’s what makes him so comforting in moments like this.
Kunikida is also very true to himself. But with an ideologue, that can be a double-edged sword.
… aren’t most swords double-edged? Isn’t that a good thing?
Had you guys forgotten about Atsushi. I kind of did. I’m glad he’s alright.
It’s not as if the Armed Detective Agency always acts as a cohesive unit. We’ve pretty much seen all of them go off on personal missions or pair up with someone else for a little while. But it feels a little different now, doesn’t it? Fukuzawa has been arrested. It seems his power is still working for now so I guess the agency still exists in some way but they don’t have any place to call home. Doppo’s team is on the run and in big trouble. Ranpo is cut off from everyone else. And meanwhile, we got our little tiger cub who has no clue about anything that’s happened so far. From what I can tell, he doesn’t even have the means to contact anyone else.
It’s a good thing Kyouka showed up at least. I’m pretty sure that poor boy is useless by himself.
I don’t know if any of you remember this. In the first episode of BSD, some thugs from the Port Mafia had invaded the Agency head quarters when Kunikida comes back with Atsushi for the first time. It cuts to a quick scene of Kunikida throwing them all out of a window. It was a joke scene, I’m pretty sure they all lived. But the image we were given was that the Agency was not to be trifled with. They are powerful, organized, and very capable of defending themselves. And they didn’t stand a chance, did they?
By the way, what did I tell you about characters that stand out? Of course, white hair red tips is important. I hope Dazai is ok… I’m pretty sure we haven’t seen the other guy before. I would have remembered someone with multiple heart-shaped beauty marks. I’m not complaining, I think these designs are hilarious. I just want all of us to appreciate the excess together!
So here we are. The Armed Detective Agency is scattered and seemingly completely outmatched. They’ve also lost both of their tacticians which is an issue. And just when everything seems lost, the mafia steps in. And now, I’m not sure if everyone’s saved or things just got way way worse…
So, what group is the final member of the Hunting Dogs infiltrating? Nothing’s going to be straightforwardly what it says on the tin, is it?
Also, I’m not quite sure how the book works. Apparantly, the Detective Agency do have memories of what they’re supposed to have done, but it’s not a total over-write, since they also still know they’ve been framed. What meta-tomfoolery is this?
All I know is that, even with the explanations, I don’t know what’s going on.
Also, I’m unsure of the timing on Dazai’s “arrest” (?). The Hunting Dog’s are very suspicious.
I can say most of this has clear answers. But I would stay suspicious of everything