REVIEW: ‘Bungo Stray Dogs’ Episode 60 — “Land of Inhuman Demons, Part 3”

As this heartstopping season approaches its end, Bungo Stray Dogs Season 5 Episode 10, “Land of Inhuman Demons, Part 3,” wastes no time putting viewers smack into the middle of the action. The Armed Detective Agency members are doing everything they can to defeat Ouchi Fukuchi and prove their innocence, but time is running out.

After being attacked by Akutagawa in his vampire form, Bram Stoker and Aya have been left on top of the airport as bait for the Armed Detective Agency. The idea is that the Agency will want to save Aya as well as gain control of Bram’s vampire army in order to stop Fukuchi, giving Akutagawa the chance to attack and kill them before they can do so. Using Bram as bait makes sense, but Aya rightfully wonders why she was kept alive too.

There is definitely more going on than meets the eye in Bungo Stray Dogs Season 5 Episode 10, and it gives Aya more time to shine as a character too. Her backstory has been explored over recent episodes and it’s clear that she wants to prove herself. Her father was abusive, neglectful, and always made her feel worthless, which explains why she so desperately wants to prove him wrong. She could have easily just run away and left Bram to be used as a tool by Fukuchi, but since she knows what it’s like to be seen as just a tool to someone else’s ends she doesn’t want to let him suffer that same fate anymore.

The trap is ultimately triggered by Atsushi, pitting him against his long-time foe and occasional ally Akutagawa once again. Akutagawa as a vampire is so much more threatening to Atsushi than just regular old Akutagawa and the animation in their battle helps establish how much stronger he is. He’s virtually unbeatable now that he can regenerate using his vampire abilities, meaning Atsushi has to kill him if he wants to win. It’s an added layer to the conflict since Atsushi doesn’t want to kill Akutagawa, but with Aya and Bram nearby he might not have to. It sets up Aya to play an important role in stopping Fukuchi and saving the Agency, something the last few episodes have been building towards.

Meanwhile, Dazai and Fyodor are still at it in the Nikolai Game as they both fight it out to escape the Mersault prison. Dazai and Sigma seemed to have the upper hand but were both left drowning in one of the prison’s hallways as Fyodor took advantage of some outside help. The Nikolai Game has been dragging on a bit but is finally starting to show how it will tie into the larger seasonal narrative. Dazai and Fyodor’s conflict has been intriguing and full of twists, and it was nice to see it all start to pay off in Bungo Stray Dogs Season 5 Episode 10.

As the penultimate episode, Bungo Stray Dogs Season 5 Episode 10 does an amazing job of building up hype for an epic finale by finally giving Fukuchi what he has been after. Now that he knows how to open and use the One Order, it seems like it will be impossible for the Armed Detective Agency to stop him from destroying the entire world. Seeing Fukuchi finally achieve his goal with the armies of the world marching to his drum is an unsettling way to end the episode, but there is a little glimpse of hope at the last second that leaves open the possibility of victory.

Bungo Stray Dogs Season 5 Episode 10 sets up for a truly incredible finale by giving the villains the upper hand while still leaving a bit of hope. Everything is set up for the Agency to fail, which is why it will feel so much sweeter if they are able to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

Bungo Stray Dogs Season 5 Episode 10 is streaming now on Crunchyroll.