I certainly wasn’t expecting to get an episode all about Dazai’s past in the premiere of the second season. It was a little strange to be honest, because it had nothing to do with what we got in the last episode of the first season. It’s like we’ve started a new arc.
But upon further investigation, I found out that this whole episode was part of Dazai’s past in one of the novels, because apparently his past isn’t in the manga. I’m at a little of loss for words because it’s a little jarring that we got this. But! That doesn’t mean that I didn’t like this episode. On the contrary, I loved this episode. Bungou Stray Dogs is always best when it follows these more serious storylines. Even when almost the entire episode was talking, I was absorbed into the story because I really wanted to know what happened with Ango. Oda himself seems to me to be a very interesting character, such as him never actually killing anyone even when he’s capable of doing so. And seeing Dazai in his days with the mafia, he hasn’t changed too much but it’s a little strange to see him giving orders instead of getting them. Dazai was always a very mysterious character, and I’m very glad that we actually get to see how he was in the Port Mafia, and how close of a friendship he had with Oda and Ango. Maybe, we’ll also see why Dazai left.
Where is Ango, what happened to him, and is he really a traitor? And just what is this Mimic group? That’s all the questions I got as the case took a weird turn in the end when Oda found the safe in Ango’s home, as he was appointed to search for Ango. I’m curious of Oda’s character and why he stays as the mafia’s handyman. His ability is very cool, perfect for the kind of lifestyle he lives in.
I just ask myself why they started this season out with this? How many more episodes are we going to get of this? I’m going to guess at least one more, and then we’ll go back to the main story with the Agency, the Mafia, and Guild. But why start with this? Does Dazai’s backstory even matter when it comes to the Guild? Learning that Dazai’s past is never even explored in the manga makes me think that it possibly doesn’t. But then that just makes me wonder why they would include this, especially as the premiere? Does Ango, and Mimic, have anything to do with the main story? I’m a little confused, and a little concerned. With meeting an entirely new group of characters in the finale of last season with new danger brewing, I’m going to guess that there might be a lot of content. But with the anime covering Dazai’s past for who knows how many episodes, I don’t know if that’s going to be a good thing.
I don’t know if Dazai’s past has anything to do with the main story, but if it doesn’t, couldn’t they just have made this into an OVA? I’m questioning their decisions.
This was a great episode though. But I’m still concerned. I can’t even expect how this season is going to go now, but I’m still going to stick around for the ride. I just hope it doesn’t hit the ugly stumps the middle of the first season had.
Possibility of watching: Guaranteed
Possibility of blogging: Guaranteed
