REVIEW: ‘Bungo Stray Dogs’ Episode 59 — “Land of Inhuman Demons, Part 2”

Bungo Stray Dogs Season 5 Episode 9, “Land of Inhuman Demons, Part 2” picks up right where the last episode left off with Aya and Bram Stoker cornered against a vampiric Akutagawa. Ouchi Fukuchi needs to regain control of Bram in order to control his massive vampire army, but can the Armed Detective Agency stop him before he achieves his dastardly goals?

It was only a few episodes ago when it seemed like the Armed Detective Agency might be close to stopping Fukuchi. Since then, the Hunting Dogs still refuse to believe their innocence and along with Fukuchi have been picking off Agency members one by one. Atsushi is now trapped and being interrogated by Hunting Dog vice captain Teruko Okura which does still lead to the possibility of him convincing her of the Agency’s innocence, but it seems less likely at this point. It’s impressive how well the season has been able to subvert expectations and keep the Agency and the viewers on the backfoot.

One of the best moments of Bungo Stray Dogs Season 5 Episode 9 is the much-anticipated confrontation between Fukuchi and Yukichi Fukuzawa, the leader of the Armed Detective Agency. Fukuchi’s sword Amenogozen has the ability to transcend time and space, something that has made him impossible to defeat so far. Fukuzawa’s past relationship with Fukuchi leads him to tell Fukuchi that he has the ability to know the past before dodging one of Amenogozen’s time-bending attacks. In typical Bungo Stray Dogs fashion, however, Fukuchi doesn’t let that stop him and ultimately still has the upper hand over Fukazawa.

There is a really great line from Fukuchi where he tells Fukuzawa that because the battlefield changed him, the man he knew is no more. It segues excellently into a flashback that shows how the two came to know each other and who they were before the horrors they would encounter changed them at their core. Seeing how that change affected the two very differently is evident in how they go about trying to change the world. Fukuzawa uses his abilities for the betterment of others while Fukuchi has become so twisted and evil that there seems to be no path to redemption for him.

That character growth is so important and it also shows how two different people can start on the same path but can arrive at drastically different ends. Fukuchi even tells Fukuzawa that he is afraid the battlefield will change him, which it ultimately does. Their individual attitudes towards war and how to end it are different enough to pull the two friends apart in a way that never recovers and also gives an interesting twist on the “war is hell” trope.

Meanwhile, the Nikolai Game to escape Meursault is still going on with neither Dazai nor Fyodor able to claim victory yet. Dazai did appear to defeat Fyodor in the last episode but still hasn’t managed to escape the prison itself. There drastic tonal shift every time the series shifts back to the Nikolai Game is jarring at first, but the way it ends in Bungo Stray Dogs Season 5 Episode 9 leaves so much on the table and builds the suspense and anticipation for the next episode. Getting Dazai back would be a massive win for the Agency but it’s not going to be that easy. It’s understandable that his return has to be earned, but it does feel like it’s starting to drag on just a tad too long. That’s not to say that the Nikolai Game isn’t interesting, it is just so disconnected from the main narrative that it sometimes takes away from the more intriguing parts of the story.

Bungo Stray Dogs Season 5 Episode 9 is another excellent episode with high stakes and incredibly dramatic moments. It’s still impossible to see just how the Armed Detective Agency could come out on top against Fukuchi, but while Atsushi and the gang are still fighting there is always going to be a chance.

Bungo Stray Dogs Season 5 Episode 9 is streaming now on Crunchyroll.