/anime/141249/bungo-stray-dogs-4
It's been more than 2 years since I first watched BSD (along with Saiki K) and it's one of those Anime where I don't really look forward to new installments, but I'll never get bored watching it telling it's own stories with & for different characters, using it's own gimmicks and just being an overall fun show.
One of the best things about BSD is its back stories. Excluding S1, which was just a setup, all seasons of BSD follows a backstory of a particular character with Dazai as a focal point. This season, however, takes a different approach and follows Fukuzawa partnering/parenting Rampo during their black & white days, and another backstory exploring Yosano in her innocent days (Fuck Yeah! Finally!) without Dazai.
Rampo's flashback scene really deserves some praise, especially the color shift to portray the change in Rampo's view regarding the world and it's people, which worked really really well.
And probably, the most emotional moment of the season is seeing Akiko finding a place, where she's needed, and not for her ability. This episode really brought a tear to my eye, and I was honestly waiting for a separate backstory for Akiko since S1. Glad to see her getting one.
In my opinion, these back stories are way better than whatever the main conflict is, as it gives more depth to its ensemble cast, it's the best in it's drama. A primary problem with having an ensemble cast is unable to give more characterization to every character, ultimately their characters are basic traits and stereotypes. BSD takes its time to expand on its characters, as in the quantity and quality, so it excels at it.
These back stories and character backgrounds culminate into the main conflict of the series. Each season has its own conflict, and the stakes only get bigger as the story progresses. S1 is about saving a single character, S2 is about saving a city, S3 is about saving Japan, and S4 is about saving the entire world & it ends on a cliffhanger. The plot structure is pretty similar, however.
Let's introduce a scenario where the ADA will get caught in a fucked up state. Let's bring Dazai every God damn time because he's a fan favorite, but also remind people that the main character is actually Atsushi and not Dazai.
This is basically what happened in the main conflict past 3 seasons. S4, however, took a different approach where it left Dazai and Fyodor backstage as puppet masters, while the story progressed the same but now, with Rampo getting some spotlight.
I hate to break this but, at this point, Atsushi is a really weak main character surrounded between characters who have more interesting stories to tell. It's kind of ironic that his conflict is about self-worth, finding purpose despite being rejected, yet he's the least among them all. He has, however, interesting moments when he's facing Akutagawa, who constantly stands in his way. Their rivalry makes them interesting, but sadly Aku got no show this season. He literally has 0 screen time, if you exclude the appearance in the opening (the OP is pretty lit btw. ED... I still think "Lily" is the best BSD ED).
Look. I know that corner cutting is a thing, and I'm completely fine with overworked employees doing that, but, these faceless monsters really haunt through the entire season. There's at least one scene where two or more faceless characters talk to each other, and the weird thing is they don't even have mouths drawn. It's a real turnoff. It's something I remember happening in previous seasons too but this season really outdid them all.
Excluding that, the fight choreography is pretty good. Apparently, it's an animation style called the Kannada Style, where the power is visualized by air bursts at the point of impact, and the pacing of an action scene is determined by the decreasing frames, in-between animation etc. It's an effective cost cutting technique and it works. The action is definitely pretty good for its short while.
And there are some interesting uses of shot composition that add extra detailing in a few scenes. For instance;
#####This shot goes in contrast with a similar shot from the previous episode.
In episode 1, Rampo wins the scene as he clearly deducts Fukuzawa's profession, and the background writing "The Night is Real/The Day is a Dream" with Fukuzawa facing "The Day is a Dream" part and Rampo facing "The Night is Real" part because Rampo saw through the reality that Fukuzawa wants to forget as a dream.
Then in episode 2, they swap places, because now Fukuzawa sees through Rampo's dream(/delusion) and opens his eyes into reality.
And the scene after that, is God damn brilliant. And the music... The new OST (which I can't find the name) which consists of muffled voices adds a specifically suspenseful sensation into the scene it plays. The rest of the OST was alright but I was pleasantly surprised upon hearing
Eye of the Tiger at the end, as Dazai explains to Fyodor how wrong he characterized God to be.
- Though I already highlighted, I just love the small details the show adds. For instance, Edgar Allan Poe's ringtone is the cries of a Raven, one of Poe's famous poems.
- BSD characters are generally an encyclopedia if you want to find about classic literature authors, and their best works. The Anime is really an homage to all the great people in literature history and you can certainly find someone you can get invested in in their works.
I currently read a few of Edgar Allan Poe's short stories & poems, reading Fyodor Dostoyevsky's Crime & Punishment, read Usamaru's manga adaptation of No Longer Human, and planning to read something by Yosano Akiko.
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Conclusion
At the heart of all,
Bungou Stray Dogs is not about the overall story or mystery, it's not about the homosexual tension between hot dudes, or it's not about me mindlessly simping over a crazy doctor.
It's about Kafka Asagiri's appreciation to all the great authors & writers through his imagined personifications of them, in these characters. And a director who understands it.
I don't think this is a great story, but I still love these characters. 
