Bungus season 3 gives us some of the most interesting character development in the entire series thusfar, packaged in what is also the worst paced season of the entire show. The Chuuya/Dazai arc that kicks off the season establishes a very interesting dynamic between the two, as well as providing more depth to Dazai beyond his rather cliched, permanently aloof atitude. However, unlike previous flashback arcs, the viewer will find that these four episodes have zero bearing on the actual overarching plot of the season, taking up precious screen time, and contributing to the excessively rushed nature of the story that follows. Despite this, I still very much enjoyed episodes 5-10, as they further fleshed out some of the weaker characters, introduced a potentially compelling new member of the agency, introduced an intriguing, badass villain, and finally pitted the two central organizations against each other, forcing each to make desperate moves against the other and pushing the established bounds of the various character's abilities in new and creative ways. HOWEVER, as the show is hyping a final duel between Fuzukawa and Mori, the two most mysterious, and, supposedly, most powerful members of each organization, the interesting decision is made to throw away any tension or stakes whatsoever. They achieve such a feat through the usage of the all-powerful DEUS EX MACHINA, which will quickly become a favorite plot device within the narrative. First, the show pauses, flashing back 12 years to explain the nature of Mori and Fukuzawa's relationship. This flashback essentially exclusively exists to justify the ridiculous deus ex that follows, known as Natsume.
This is all NOT TO MENTION, that it could have easily replaced the Chuuya/Dazai arc and been given the time to paint a more interesting and compelling picture of the pair of bosses. Back to the present, Natsume, who has essentially just been introduced save for about 5 minutes of flashback time in season 2, arrives on the scene to defuse the fight, robbing the viewer of what could have been the greatest fight of the entire series, that has been hyped up since the beginning of season 2. This move perfectly encapsulates much about what I hate about bungus. This season promised to be a full look into the more relationship focused crime drama aesthetic embraced in previous flashbacks, however, just like these flashbacks, this theme is swiftly thrown out the window in favor of generic shounen battle tropes. The tension the show's creators feel between wanting to create a cash-grabby shounen fight anime, and a more intrigue-heavy crime drama has never been more obvious. What follows is a mediocre push into Fyodor's "hideout" that would make Araki proud in just how many abilities are made up, and then promptly forgotten, including, but not limited to:
But pulling things out of its own ass isn't reserved just for ability powers, this philosophy extends to characters as well. Instead of fighting Fyodor, instead of fighting the virus ability user, instead of even fighting each other, Atsushi and Akutagawa and thrown against Ivan, whose name I had to look up because I wasn't aware of his existence until this episode. Ivan is an out-and-out, stereotypical, fanatical grunt, who serves no purpose other than to stall Atsushi and Akutagawa in the chase for the virus user. He is literally just a plot device, and the FINAL FIGHT OF THE ENTIRE SHOW is wasted on him. One of potentially most epic scenes, in which Akutagawa comes to terms with Atsushi and grants him demon armor to defeat the enemy, is wasted on a character whose screen time extends about 1 minute outside of the actual fight. I can't see a single conceivable reason why he would fight them in place of any other established character, save for the fact that either A. the show didn't have time to establish him because it was poorly planned and paced even worse. or B. because the writers genuinely didn't know what Fyodor's ability does, and were worried what they would come up with wouldn't live up to the hype. Either of these is an obviously glaring flaw in the storyboarding and writing of the season, and adds another nail to the coffin of an already mediocre ending. I generally believe that a good ending should leave the viewer with no other plausible endings. I.E. the events of the ending should so succintly wrap up the plots, relationships, and tension of the story in a manner that is so logical, that, in the audience's eyes, there are no alternatives.
This not one of those endings. Personally, it would have been infinitely more compelling to see the two bosses fight head-on, and see how killing their former colleague, and thusly condemning their organizations to war, affects them. This would also set up the future conflict, as the losing organization struggles to find its identity, deciding whether or not to attack what once was their allies to avenge their lost boss, all the while further hyping up Fyodor as the master of manipulation and subterfuge that he is presented as in the beginning of the season. Did I mention that Fyodor gets caught because he forgot that security cameras exist and decided to go to a coffee shop. It's arguably even less climactic than a certain vehicular death suffered by another antagonist. Last but, not least, to add insult to injury, in a season that impressed me with the progression of its characters, nothing is learned or gained in the final two episodes. Rather, the writers recycle the exact same conflicts from the last season to add a bit of spice to our edgy two man kill team. Atsushi still has trouble finding value, but likes doing good, and Akutagawa really wants Dazai to like him (and there are two more orphanage flashbacks, to make things worse).
They come SO close to breaking ground though, as Atsushi rudely explains to Akutagawa that Dazai didn't leave him because he was weak, but because he didn't allow himself to be calm or vulnerable. And Akutagawa nearly has a breakthrough, before deciding that he wants to kill Atsushi again 10 minutes later. As well as this, Atsushi nearly gets to see the loyalty and dedication present within Akutagawa, when he uses Rashoumon to enhance his tiger abilities. Akutagawa treats this move as though it will kill him, leaving Atsushi to finish the job, even callin it a "last resort" YET NO harm befalls either of them. If akutagawa died, or even if he was somewhat drained afterward, it would serve to prove to Atsushi that there was genuine good within him. But, instead it acts as a cheap deus ex to defeat the already cheap, plot device villain. This isn't quite as bad as Darling in the Franxx, but fuck it's cringe.
SCORE: 7.5 (Before episode 11, this would probably have been a 9ish)
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