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This has been an abnormally generous year for fans of Bungo Stray Dogs, what with a fourth season to kick off 2023 and now a fifth mere months after the last's conclusion. With the newest trailer, fans can mark July 12 on their calendars with the hope that it might just succeed where the last season stumbled slightly.

We reviewed Bungo Season 4 back at the start of April and gave it a "4 out of 5," praising its ambitious dramatic turn but citing the pacing as a problem that held it back. Overall, it was very good, but it definitely helps that fans don't have to wait more than a year for a continuation, or else it might have been received less favorably.

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A Global Stage

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Just as the last teaser hinted at, the schemes of the Decay of Angels have made the Armed Detective Agency appear as villains not just in Japan, but on a global scale. Fukuchi of the Hunting Dogs is seen proclaiming before the United Nations that the response to global terrorism should be a global military; "The Army of Mankind," as he calls it.

It's setting up Fukuchi not simply as an antagonist of circumstance - hunting the framed protagonists - but as an opportunistic villain who might use the chaos to enact his own goals. Between the Hunting Dogs and the Decay of Angels, led by the mysterious "Kamui," who is suspiciously absent in this trailer (*wink-wink* manga readers), the Agency has their work cut out for them.

If the last season was about the characters at their most disconnected, then this is the season about them getting together to strike back. It even looks like they'll be convening at their office, but this almost feels like a fake-out similar to those deceptive Marvel trailers. That is unless Ranpo finds a way to prove the Agency's innocence, which looks to be quite the feat.

Ever-Increasing Hype

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In the typical tradition of Bungo OP's, the seasons switch off between GRANRODEO and Screen mode, and this season is gifting fans with a new hit by the former, titled "Tetsu no Ori" or "Cage of Iron" in English. It's a frantic and pulse-pounding track that matches the chaos of the numerous storylines presented.

The trailer is really building up to the duel between Atsushi, Akutagawa, and Fukuchi that the Season 4 OP cruelly teased despite Akutagawa being a no-show. However, he is absent no longer, and will once again team up with Atsushi, even combining their abilities as they did at the end of Season 3. It might just be the anime fight to look forward to this summer.

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Meanwhile, Dazai and Fyodor are still trapped in Mersault, the advanced prison from which they've been sending instructions to their cohorts. Chuuya appears to be breaching the prison and leaving quite a lot of destruction in the process, possibly to break Dazai out. Also, Nikolai Gogol returns, no doubt to cause more mischief.

But perhaps most excitingly, fans have their first anime look at the final member of the Decay of Angels, Bram Stoker. Manga fans are well aware of what he has in store, but for anime-only viewers, take it from a fellow anime-only who has accidentally spoiled himself, this story is going to go to some weird places, in a good way.

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The fact that we are getting two seasons in one year - not even one season but split into arbitrary halves - is incredible, but some fans are concerned. Season 4's biggest flaw was how its episode count forced them to cut certain scenes, which particularly affected the Sky Casino arc. This new season has to pace itself to adapt this story properly.

But even if Season 5 exceeds expectations, has better pacing, and doesn't adapt a novel at the beginning like usual, there's what comes after that has some fans worried. Judging from the trailer, the show is catching up with the manga very quickly, so who knows how long we'll have to wait for Season 6.

With all that said, fans should rest easy and put faith in the team, which has thus far knocked it out of the park since the series premiered in 2016. Even if it takes some time before another season, there are plenty of novels to be adapted and the potential for some more original films to be created. Bungo Stray Dogs is in a good place, and with any luck, it will stay that way.

Source: Crunchyroll

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