Bungo Stray Dogs' newest season is coming in 2023 and the hype from the first trailer alone is already nigh unbearable for fans of Bones' supernatural detective caper. With the release of a brand new key visual, the official Twitter page unveiled two new cast members playing members of Japan's elite "Hunting Dogs."
Produced by studio Bones, Bungo Stray Dogs follows the crime-fighting efforts of the Armed Detective Agency as they contend with the Port Mafia, as well as nefarious superpowered terrorists. Each main character is named after and based on a popular literary author with a superpower similarly based on their written works.
Yuki Kaji plays Saigiku Jono, a mischievous-looking member of the Hunting Dogs who is seen in the official trailer handcuffing himself to Dazai, seemingly arresting him. Kaji is one of the most recognizable names in anime voice acting, from his role as Eren Jaeger in Attack on Titan to Todoroki in My Hero Academia to Meliodas in 7 Deadly Sins, and much more.
The real-life Saigiku Jono was a playwright and journalist who dipped his hand into politics. According to the bsd-bibliophile on Tumblr, he was what is known as a gesaku writer, gesaku referring to "playful, mocking, joking, silly, or frivolous" literature. There isn't much documented about Jono, but the description of gesaku seems to fit with how this smiley fellow is portrayed in his anime design.
On the flip side, there's Tetcho Suehiro, voiced by Yohei Azakami, who is also voicing Guel in Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury this season. Suehiro, like many of the members of the Hunting Dogs, is a novelist with a political background in real life, having been a supporter of the Freedom and People's Rights Movement.
Jono's ability is as yet unconfirmed, but the trailer suggests that they are the one who arrests Dazai, effectively taking him off of the stage during the ensuing crisis. Atsushi finds himself pondering what Dazai would do, making this the second arc in a row that Dazai has found themselves indisposed, but for how long remains unclear.
Similarly absent from the preview are the members of the Port Mafia, save for a cameo by Chuuya Nakahara. With the public's rage directed at the Detective Agency, it'll be interesting to see how Mori and the Port Mafia respond, whether they'll offer assistance or keep their distance to avoid incurring the wrath of the Hunting Dogs.
Yuki Kaji and Yohei Azakami will join the previously announced new cast members Akio Otsuka, Makoto Koichi, Takehito Koyasu, and Takeshi Kusao for season 4. The reveal of the new cast members has been accompanied by a synopsis of the new season, courtesy of the press release:
“Your detective agency is a pride of the country.” It has been about a month since the Armed Detective Agency, in collaboration with the Port Mafia, won the "cannibalism" operation masterminded by the "Rats in the House of the Dead". The Armed Detective Agency was awarded the highest medal for safety contribution, the Order of the Azusa Bow of Exorcism, and was praised by the whole country. Then an urgent request from the government comes in... But it turns out to be a trap set by the cunning "Demon" Fyodor, who was supposed to have been captured...! Officials of the government are suspicious of the justice they uphold. A special unit of the military police, the "Hunting Dogs," is ready to take action. The "Decay of the Angel" are roaming the streets to bring about the destruction of the world. The Armed Detective Agency, which has been slandered by the public since its glory, faces new enemies one after another and its bottomless despair...
The Hunting Dogs are the least of the detectives' worries, and the new season will follow their efforts to evade pursuit while investigating the true threat: the Decay of Angels. Takehito Koyasu voices Nikolai Gogol, a terrorist, and member of Decay of Angels named after the Ukrainian author seen in the trailer calling out the Detective Agency.
Bungo Stray Dogs Season 4 is set to premiere in Winter 2023, but no set date has been announced.
Source: bsd-bibliophile/Tumblr