REVIEW: ‘Bungo: Stray Dogs,’ Episode 51 — “The Strongest Man”

The hit seinen series Bungo Stray Dogs from Studio Bones based on the light novel series by Kafka Asagiri returns following the aftermath of the battle at the Sky Casino. In Bungo Stray Dogs Episode 51, the Armed Detective Agency must fight to clear their name and stop the Decay of the Angels. They have a massive hill to climb if they want to convince the police they are not part of the Decay of the Angel and get back to saving the day.

The first character we visit in Bungo Stray Dogs Episode 51 is the Detective Agency’s Doppo Kunikida (Yoshimasa Hosoya). Hospitalized after injuries he received, he is offered a strange deal in exchange for his rehabilitation and freedom. The Hinting Dogs, an elite force within the Military Police tasked with hunting down the Agency, attempt to recruit Kunikida into their services. Kunikida, the loyal friend that he is, refuses to do so even though it means he might lose his abilities forever. It’s a testament to his great character, showing that he values those he cares about way more than himself. I was worried he would be tempted, but it seems like his loyalty is not for sale.

While the Agency is being hunted down, Nikolai Gogol (Takehito Koyasu) comes back into play and explains how he was able to survive the events of last season. His spatial abilities allow him to twist what people around him see, letting him frame the Agency without coming to any harm. What is interesting, however, is that Nikolai is out to get a fellow Decay of the Angel member in Fyodor Dostoevsky  (Akira Ishida). This doesn’t make Nikolai a good guy, far from it, but it does add an interesting wrinkle to the entire situation. Fyodor is an incredibly imposing villain who is seemingly impossible to stop, but having the Agency and other villains like Nikolai after him might make it easier to eventually defeat him.

The real highlight of Bungo Stray Dogs Episode 51, however, is Ranpo Edogawa (Hiroshi Kamiya). Just when it seems like all hope is lost for the Agency after several key members were incapacitated and the rest were being hunted down, Ranpo arrives in the knick of time. His exceptional detective skills allow him to free members of the Agency as well as reveal the truth to the world all without getting caught. Now, that doesn’t mean anyone out there actually believes him yet, but he is vital to setting up the rest of the story with the Agency desperate to provide more evidence and clear their name. Despite not having any powers, what Ranpo does in this episode shows he is one of the most important characters in the series and still has a big role to play in what is coming next.

In the midst of all of this, Ango Sakaguchi (Jun Fukuyama), Atsushi Nakajima (Yūto Uemura), Lucy Maud Montgomery (Kana Hanazawa), and Kyouka Izumi (Sumire Morohoshi) are searching through Atsushi’s mind trying to find the location of the page that has allowed reality to be distorted by the Decay of the Angel. This is a mystery that still has a lot left to unravel in this season and doesn’t play the most important part in Bungo Stray Dogs Episode 51, but the setup it provides helps lay the groundwork for the season to come.

Visually, Bungo Stray Dogs Episode 51 continues to impress. Studio Bones are well-known for their excellent animation and they deliver yet again here. While there may not be any genre-defining battles, the mystery and intrigue are enhanced through quality animation that pays attention to the smallest of details in every scene. The visual appearances of characters like Ranpo in his mission to free the captured Agency members also help make it even more interesting to watch.

Bungo Stray Dogs Episode 51 wastes no time hopping right back into the mystery and providing an excellent setup for what is coming next. There are some great moments that allow characters like Kunikida and Ranpo to shine, and I can’t wait to see how Nikolai’s new development unfolds.

Bungo Stray Dogs Episode 51 is streaming now on Crunchyroll.