Bungou Stray Dogs

For weeks, Atsushi Nakajima's orphanage has been plagued by a mystical tiger that only he seems to be unaware of. Suspected to be behind the strange incidents, the 18-year-old is abruptly kicked out of the orphanage and left hungry, homeless, and wandering through the city.

While starving on a riverbank, Atsushi saves a rather eccentric man named Osamu Dazai from drowning. Whimsical suicide enthusiast and supernatural detective, Dazai has been investigating the same tiger that has been terrorizing the boy. Together with Dazai's partner Doppo Kunikida, they solve the mystery, but its resolution leaves Atsushi in a tight spot. As various odd events take place, Atsushi is coerced into joining their firm of supernatural investigators, taking on unusual cases the police cannot handle, alongside his numerous enigmatic co-workers.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Dazai, Osamu Main

Miyano, Mamoru Japanese

Nakajima, Atsushi Main

Uemura, Yuuto Japanese

Nakahara, Chuuya Supporting

Taniyama, Kishou Japanese

Edogawa, Ranpo Supporting

Kamiya, Hiroshi Japanese

Akutagawa, Ryuunosuke Supporting

Ono, Kensho Japanese

Yosano, Akiko Supporting

Shimamura, Yuu Japanese

Izumi, Kyouka Supporting

Morohoshi, Sumire Japanese

Kunikida, Doppo Supporting

Hosoya, Yoshimasa Japanese

Miyazawa, Kenji Supporting

Kagura, Kitsune Japanese

Montgomery, Lucy Maud Supporting

Hanazawa, Kana Japanese

Bezerra, Wendel Producer

Suzuki, Mari Producer

Simone, Jamie Producer

Kurakane, Chiaki Producer

Reviews

Jul 11, 2025

Naufalalaziziyo

Recommended

Rating: 7,2/10
Status: Recommended


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💬 English Review

• Story 📖 – 7.0/10
Bungou Stray Dogs introduces us to Atsushi Nakajima, an orphan kicked out of his orphanage, who accidentally meets Osamu Dazai—a suicidal detective and member of the Armed Detective Agency. Set in a world where gifted individuals have supernatural abilities tied to literary figures, the story mixes detective noir, superpower battles, and literary allusions.
...
> The first season is largely introductory, focusing more on world-building, quirky character dynamics, and tonal experimentation rather than deep narrative progression.



• Plot ⚙️ – 6.9/10
The plot shifts between slice-of-life comedy and superpowered criminal investigations. While some episodic arcs are engaging, the lack of narrative cohesion weakens the tension. The Port Mafia’s presence adds stakes, but the season often resets momentum before it builds.

> This season feels like it's still finding its footing—testing the waters before diving deeper in later arcs.



• Characters 🧍 – 7.5/10
Atsushi is your classic “lost protagonist” searching for purpose, while Dazai, with his suicidal jokes and sharp wit, steals every scene. Doppo Kunikida, Ranpo Edogawa, and the rest of the cast are introduced with literary-inspired personalities, though their depth is mostly teased rather than explored.

> The chemistry between characters is a major charm point—even if the emotional growth isn’t quite there yet.



• Visuals 🎨 – 7.3/10
The animation by Bones is slick, stylish, and vibrant, though not always consistent. Character designs stand out, and the action scenes have flair, especially during power activations.

> Visually solid, though not groundbreaking.



• Sound 🎧 – 7.5/10
The OP “Trash Candy” by GRANRODEO is energetic and catchy, fitting the anime’s chaotic blend of action and wit. The background music adds atmosphere but doesn’t always leave a lasting impression.

• Execution 🎬 – 7.2/10
Season 1 lays the groundwork for better things to come. It’s stylish and ambitious, but the scattershot tone and inconsistent focus make it feel more like a preview than a full experience.


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🌟 What’s Interesting About This Season?

• 📚 Literary names, supernatural twists.
Each character is named after a famous author and wields a power referencing their work—like Dazai’s “No Longer Human” or Akutagawa’s “Rashomon”.

> This makes the world feel rich with hidden meaning—even if you don’t catch all the references, the aura of intelligence remains.



• 🤝 The odd dynamic between Atsushi and Dazai.
Dazai’s dark humor, combined with Atsushi’s emotional fragility, creates a strangely compelling duo.

> Their banter is sharp, their relationship messy, but the way Dazai pushes Atsushi toward self-worth is subtle and genuine.



• 🕵️ Detective work with a superpower twist.
Rather than traditional detective cases, the Agency uses their gifts to solve paranormal mysteries and fight crime.

> Think Sherlock Holmes meets X-Men, but with a lot more sass and existential dread.



• 🖤 Port Mafia as chaotic balance.
While not yet the central antagonists, the Port Mafia—especially Akutagawa—adds intensity.

> Their presence reminds you that behind the comedy and literary quirkiness, real danger lurks in this world.



• 🎭 Darkness masked by wit.
Despite the humor, there’s always an undercurrent of pain—abuse, loneliness, societal rejection.

> The anime laughs a lot, but it laughs in spite of the darkness.




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💬 Versi Bahasa Indonesia

✨ Bungou Stray Dogs Season 1
Rating: 7,2/10
Status: Direkomendasikan


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💬 Ulasan Bahasa Indonesia

• Cerita 📖 – 7.0/10
Musim pertama Bungou Stray Dogs memperkenalkan kita pada Atsushi Nakajima, yatim piatu yang ditendang dari panti asuhan, lalu bertemu dengan Osamu Dazai—detektif eksentrik yang punya hobi ingin bunuh diri. Dalam dunia di mana orang-orang dengan nama penulis legendaris memiliki kekuatan unik, cerita ini campuran antara misteri detektif, pertarungan supranatural, dan humor absurd.

> Musim ini lebih banyak memperkenalkan dunia dan karakternya daripada membangun cerita utama secara utuh.



• Alur ⚙️ – 6.9/10
Alurnya bolak-balik antara komedi harian dan konflik kriminal berbahaya. Beberapa arc cukup seru, tapi sering kehilangan tensi karena arah cerita suka diulang atau di-reset.

> Terasa seperti eksperimen awal, masih mencari bentuk dan keseimbangan tone.



• Karakter 🧍 – 7.5/10
Atsushi masih gamang dan rapuh, tapi Dazai selalu mencuri perhatian dengan sarkasme dan karismanya. Kunikida, Ranpo, dan karakter lainnya dikenalkan dengan gaya khas masing-masing, walau kedalaman karakter belum terlalu dalam.

> Interaksi antarkarakter jadi salah satu daya tarik utama—meski perkembangan emosi belum terlalu terasa.



• Visual 🎨 – 7.3/10
Studio Bones memberi animasi yang cukup stylish, penuh warna, dan cukup dinamis. Desain karakter kuat, dan adegan pertarungan punya ciri khas tersendiri.

> Bagus secara visual, tapi belum sampai ke level luar biasa.



• Musik 🎧 – 7.5/10
Opening "Trash Candy" dari GRANRODEO catchy dan cocok dengan vibe unik anime ini. Musik latarnya mendukung, tapi tidak selalu memorable.

• Eksekusi 🎬 – 7.2/10
Sebagai pembuka, musim ini cukup menjanjikan. Tapi karena nada ceritanya kadang terlalu acak dan fokusnya lompat-lompat, hasilnya masih terasa seperti pemanasan sebelum kisah yang sebenarnya dimulai.


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🌟 Yang Menarik dari Musim Ini

• 📚 Nama penulis jadi kekuatan supranatural.
Setiap karakter dinamai dari penulis terkenal, dan kekuatannya terinspirasi dari karya mereka—seperti Dazai dengan “No Longer Human” dan Akutagawa dengan “Rashomon”.

> Ini memberi rasa cerdas dan berlapis, walau kamu tidak tahu semua referensinya.



• 🤝 Atsushi dan Dazai: duo aneh yang menarik.
Atsushi yang rapuh dipasangkan dengan Dazai yang absurd dan misterius—hasilnya campuran aneh antara mentor dan agen chaos.

> Hubungan mereka memang kacau, tapi di balik kelucuan, ada dorongan tulus dari Dazai untuk membangun rasa percaya diri Atsushi.



• 🕵️ Detektif yang pakai kekuatan supernatural.
Bukan detektif biasa—mereka menyelesaikan kasus paranormal dengan kekuatan masing-masing.

> Bayangkan Sherlock Holmes ketemu X-Men, tapi dengan lebih banyak sindiran dan kekacauan.



• 🖤 Port Mafia sebagai ancaman bayangan.
Mereka belum jadi musuh utama, tapi keberadaan Port Mafia—terutama Akutagawa—membawa rasa bahaya yang nyata.

> Di balik komedi dan aksi, selalu ada kegelapan yang mengintai.



• 🎭 Gelap tapi dibalut humor.
Meski banyak bercanda, cerita ini tetap menyimpan luka: trauma masa lalu, kesendirian, dan pencarian makna hidup.

> Tawa dalam anime ini bukan pelarian, tapi cara bertahan.

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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Apr 3, 2025

Protege00

Mixed Feelings

BSD follows the bizarre adventure of Atushi, our Gary Stu, self-insert seinen protagonist. Based in the port city of Yokohama, Japan, BSD pendulums between suspending disbelief and straight-up broad daylight gang shoot-outs, with mixed success.
With each character's quirks, and the juxtaposing anachronistic detective vibes, BSD features a memorable cast. I do want to like BSD more— but as Season 1 stands, it just doesn't innovate much on the genre.
I would only recommend BSD to people who enjoyed Jojo, but wish it took itself a little more seriously. And don't be tempted by the name: besides inspiring the abilities, there don't seem to be ... any direct references to the literature they reference.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Apr 27, 2023

Sukamii

Not Recommended

Bungou Stray Dogs desperately attempts to be a quirky anime that tries to tell a "dark" and "gritty" story about organized crime, detectives and their interplay with a little bit of magic sprinkled in. However, the writing, whether it be the main characters, or any of the antagonists, or even the beats of the entire plot are at best generic (not inherently a bad thing) and at worst (which is the majority of the time) pedantically annoying and annoyingly melodramatic. It so badly wants you to empathize with the main character that every 2-3 episodes it flashes back to our protagonist Atsushis backstory, to the ... point it becomes overplayed and hard to care about. There's no nuance or subtlety with the character or how his tragic upbringing really affected him outside of these flashbacks, and a moment early in the season that feels empty due to its immediate resolution. It feels like a surface level justification that has little to do with the characters growth, struggles and life. For a show that's about detectives, psychology, and understanding the human being- its delivers nothing but shallow analysis and conclusions. It's boring and unentertaining.
Speaking of boring and unentertaining, the "Gifted" systems implementation feels like a half baked idea to me. On one hand, I totally understand the desire to add some degree of a power system to a story like this as it has some noteworthy potential- but this suffers from a similar issue as to what I felt like the Imperial Relics from Akame ga Kill did- there's no real cohesion with what's being chosen for gifts. It's just a power system but for detectives, with some having interesting implementations, with strengths and notable weaknesses like Kunikidas- and others feeling entirely haphazard like Akutagawa or Nakajimas. They don't seem to fit in the overall narrative cohesion of the story, and are more akin to "cool superpowers that we wanted to include" with there being no real precedent for what being "Gifted" actually is outside of apparently being magic that is somehow extremely prevalent but simultaneously not relevant in the public sphere.
A note about the characters, their designs, etc. While this may be more of a personal preference, I don't think any of their designs were all that interesting or memorable. It's a situation where each of the characters were meant to fill a specific aesthetic, but also be designed in a way that they reflect their personalities but often come off as strangely uninspired and uninteresting. I feel like I've seen all of them in another anime, whether it be the archetypes and rolls they fill, their personality, and even their powers- each one of them feels so bland I don't really expect to remember them outside of the names of the authors they stem from. Which is another fairly strong point of contention I have in regards to one character.
Osamu Dazai, the pen name for the author Shūji Tsushima, was a Japanese author who died in a double suicide via drowning in 1938. How does this anime interpret the tragic death of a real human being? By relegating much of the characters dialogue, and near every single one of his gags, to be how badly he wants to participate in a double suicide with a pretty woman. His character was first introduced attempting to kill himself via drowning in a river. It's so unabashedly tasteless, and frankly speaking its gross and was a horrible note to begin this series off with- and it set the precedent for the standard of humor and overall writing this show was to present.
Much of the show persists on an episodic format, introducing characters steadily that have a mild influence or importance to the story on the whole, and are relegated to importance later on- which I can only assume to be in its following seasons. If a character is introduced in an episode, then its more likely than not their arc will be concluded in that same episode. there's nothing inherently wrong with an episodic format, some of the greatest stories ever told have been done so in this medium. Stray Dogs, however, doesn't tell any interesting stories, or build the mystique of the world through this format. It wants to leave little crumbs of information that build towards a grander narrative, but that narrative is paper thin and I just don't think its good.
So far as positives I think the animation quality is fine, same with the directing of action sequences (however the lows for the action scenes are just rock bottom, like the gunfight in early episode 11). They're plenty punchy and tight, with the comedy scenes (while I don't think there's much humor to be found in the show) do a plenty fine job at conveying the attempts at humor and stylization that befits them- but that's not enough to carry the show, or even really do enough to help overcome the shows weaknesses.
Bungou Stray Dogs really doesn't care about its story or its characters, or even the real people they draw their names from. It's embarrassingly unfunny, bland, uninspired, and a slog to watch through. It was a struggle to force myself to watch this show, which is an utter shame as the premise was interesting- I wouldn't have considered it if there wasn't something I thought was worth my time. But the execution of the already struggling story results in a bad season. I'll more likely than not give the subsequent seasons a shot to see if they were able to redeem itself, but my hopes for what follows have plummeted.

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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