Last time I wrote a review about this series, it was a little incoherent, so I felt like i give it another, proper try.

Bungou Stray Dogs isn't a bad anime by any means, and with fewer series under my belt, I might have genuinely enjoyed it. However, it falls short as a seinen anime, primarily because it leans heavily on classic shounen tropes, almost as if collecting them as trophies. Here's a breakdown of my thoughts:

The Plot:

The anime starts off like many shounen series do: the main character is an outcast with a unique power that inadvertently attracts a powerful monster. This power grants him immense strength, but also isolates him from others. He struggles to control his abilities until a mysterious organization of quirky characters steps in to help. While the plot is very ordinary, there are small side stories with depth and emotion. While the plot is solid enough for the most part, there is, however, a fundamental issue with the plot and setting that ultimately made me drop the series, which I'll discuss in detail later.

Presentation:

The animation is decent and consistent, with some extra budget allocated to fight scenes. The first season, in my opinion, doesn't quite measure up to other works by Studio bones, like the Mob Psycho or even My Hero Academia. As for the soundtrack, it's largely forgettable.

The Characters:

The characters are quirky, often presented in a comedic tone rather than a serious one. While this isn't inherently a bad approach, the frequent shifts between serious and comedic tones are poorly executed, often undercutting any tension that has been built up. The characters' quirks aren't as grating as those in most shounen anime, and they’re written with enough depth to be engaging—if you don't dig too deep. However, they lack meaningful character growth. Despite facing hardships or trauma, the characters tend to revert to their established personas, with little lasting change or impact.

Plot Armor:

One of my least favorite tropes is when ordinary characters survive being sliced, bludgeoned, or riddled with bullets, only to have their survival explained away with some asinine, contrived reason. This is a common occurrence in shounen anime, and Bungou Stray Dogs is no exception. It's not just about characters surviving unlikely situations; it's about baiting viewers into believing a character has died—often with a cliffhanger—only to reveal that they survived without any major injuries. Another anime I watched not too long ago had a character survive being stabbed in the heart, because they trained really hard to move their organs and it still makes me mad.

Port Mafia:

Now, let's talk about the Port Mafia—a ruthless criminal organization that controls the underworld, kills competitors, kidnaps children, and blows up entire city blocks. Yet, despite their supposed menace, they are treated with the same level of seriousness as Team Rocket from Pokémon. I understand that the anime aims for a lighter tone, but the inconsistency is jarring. We’re introduced to the Mafia with a scene where one of their top members walks into a police station and murders people out of sheer anger, but just a few episodes later, other members are easily defeated by the good guys and are sent flying as if their plan to capture Pikachu has just been foiled. The Mafia is so poorly depicted that it undermines many other aspects of the anime. Additionally, their business model is confusing. Despite being a "mafia," I recount no evidence of drug trade, weapons smuggling, or money extortion. Instead, they seem to focus on being overly edgy, blowing things up, and killing civilians. One character even slaughters an entire train full of people just to provoke a fight with the protagonists, and despite being beaten to a pulp, he becomes a recurring character.

Verdict

Bungou Stray Dogs had the potential to be a solid mystery anime, but the poor handling of its main villains for the sake of cheap comedy throws the overall tone off balance and diminishes any meaningful moments. While there were some moments that kept me engaged, after taking a break following the second season, I have yet to find the desire to continue watching.