Bungo Stray Dogs (Season 5) Episodes 4 & 5: Though we’re only on the fifth episode of the season, Bungo Stray Dogs has been moving at a breakneck speed in terms of its plot. With the introduction of Bram Stoker in the fourth episode, things have been shaken up, considering that Fukuchi’s plan is proceeding smoothly. The Armed Detective Agency is the only one that stands in his way… or so it seems. Turns out that two members of the Hunting Dogs suspect Fukuchi for different reasons but are unable to turn the tide against him. The latest episodes are just the beginning in what promises to be another entertaining arc full of twists and turns, as well as plenty of action.
Bungo Stray Dogs (Season 5) Episode 4 “Hero War, Gang War” Recap:
Opening where the last episode ended, Akutagawa tells Atsushi to flee. As his final act, he cuts open the fire extinguisher to create a smokescreen, allowing Atsushi to escape via the submarine. Before Fukuchi can reverse time to prevent Atsushi from escaping, a team led by the UN guard arrives and reports the situation to headquarters, and Fukuchi is unable to do anything lest headquarters become suspicious. Arriving in Yokohama, Atsushi is collected by Ango, who elaborates on Akutagawa’s actions towards the end. Once the coast is clear and the men have left, Fukuchi releases the final member of the Decay of Angels, who is Count Bram Stoker. Through some exposition and dialogue exchange, his past and ability are revealed; he turned into a vampire due to his ability, and he can convert others as well by biting them, but he has taken a vow not to create more vampires. Furthermore, his body is severed in half as well, without any limbs whatsoever, and a holy sword is still in his body and can kill him. Stoker refuses to be a part of Fukuchi’s schemes but is threatened by Fukuchi to take part and bites the corpse of Akutagawa.
Afterward, Higuchi has apparently received a message from Akutagawa, which she is stunned by since she just attended his funeral. As she is about to confess her feelings to him, she is suddenly bitten by Akutagawa, now a vampire, and turns her into one too. She later bites Gin, who in turn bites Hirotsu, and as Tachihara is unsure of what to do, Hirotsu uses his ability to send him away to save him. Tachihara, in actuality a Hunting Dog and a spy, relays everything to the team, who deduces that it is the Armed Detective Agency’s doing, and to stop the spread of vampires, they need to kill the original vampire. Teruko expects matters to not proceed smoothly, given the divide in the police form since Ranpo’s press conference in episode 1.
Considered by Jono to be one of the believers in the Agency, Tachihara asks Fukuchi if he can pursue that line of investigation by himself, but Fukuchi denies this instantly. Tachihara continues to persist though, saying he has a pen drive full of information for Commissioner Yasui, who also believes in the Agency’s innocence. Although the pen drive, revealed to have been broken and fixed by Tachihara, does not reveal his identity as Kamui, Fukuchi feels it can get in the way of his plans and offers to hand it to Yasui himself. While Tachihara hands it over, he casually tells Fukuchi that he will let Yasui know that he is coming, causing Fukuchi to curse him inwardly.
Heading to an isolated, abandoned plot of land, Fukuchi tells Stoker to turn Yasui into a vampire as well, only for Tachihara to reveal himself. He suspected Fukuchi and followed him since the pen drive is a voice recorder and has a GPS as well, and military police are listening in to all that’s been said. Fukuchi tries to stab him with his sword Amenogozen by sending it into the past, but Tachihara uses his ability to control metal to separate him from the sword. Revealing that Ogai Mori, the Port Mafia leader, learned from Yosano about his being a Hunting Dog member, Tachihara is quite upset at Fukuchi’s betrayal. He decides to become a double agent for the Port Mafia and hatches a strategy with Mori to kill Fukuchi, which almost works when he notices a T carved into a wall. At that moment, Tachihara is suddenly stabbed by Amenogozen from behind.
While praising Tachihara’s strength and thinking, Fukuchi reveals that he was not attacking Tachihara after all, earlier; instead, he carved the T so that his past self would know of Tachihara’s turning against him. When he saw the T, he sent the sword into the future to stab Tachihara. Furthermore, he also cuts Tachihara’s eyes to blind him, making it nearly impossible for him to use his ability. Fukuchi then reveals that he is doing what he is doing since he sees himself as the bringer of the five signs that lead to an angel’s death, hence the Decay of the Angel’s name. An angel, according to him, is someone who causes death and destruction without getting involved themselves, possesses wealth and is not accountable. They are false rulers and must be brought down.
Turning to Stoker, Fukuchi asks how long it will take to convert the world into vampires, to which he replies a mere four days. Tachihara doesn’t believe that, but Fukuchi reveals that vampires can convert others into vampires too, which is why things will happen very quickly. Carrying Stoker to Tachihara, he converts him into a vampire, too, before Tachihara can commit suicide. Over the next four days, the vampire virus spread across the world, causing chaos. The UN Chairman recalls what Fukuchi had said in his speech about the need for a new world army, and asks the Commander of the Order of the Clock Tower to unleash the special weapon, One Order, as the episode ends.
Bungo Stray Dogs (Season 5) Episode 5 “At the Port in the Sky (Part 1)” Recap:
Beginning in the seemingly restored Armed Detective Agency office, the episode sees Atsushi and Kyoka surprised that everything is back to normal so soon. Kunikida, now healed by Yosano, appears along with Ranpo, the latter revealing that they’re actually in one of Poe’s books to come up with a new plan. The previously missing Kenji and Tanizaki are there too, and President Fukuzawa commences the meeting. To get everyone on the same page, they take stock of the current situation where sixteen militaries have fallen, having been turned into vampires. They are controlled by Bram Stoker, one of the ten tragedies of humanity defeated by Fukuchi using the holy sword, which Fukuzawa suspects was part of his plan. There is further chaos and confusion since vampires cannot be distinguished from other people, causing lots of doubt.
A still from Bungo Stray Dogs (Season 5)Ranpo then reasons that the Decay of Angels wants access to the special weapon One Order, one of the three sealed weapons, a weapon that is of a mind control type similar to Fukuzawa’s ability. Elsewhere, the One Order weapon is extracted by men in biohazard suits under heavy guard with lots of security measures. Revealing that it takes fifty thousand bullets in war to actually kill someone since even soldiers are against the idea of killing, Ranpo says that One Order was made to combat that. It allows people to follow orders unquestionably. However, due to the fear of a violent coup, the weapon was hidden away – but not destroyed – since the one using the weapon could control everyone under its command. Fukuchi will gain control over the Army of Mankind through One Order and already controls the vampires through Bram, and the Agency’s goal is to stop the handoff of the weapon in twelve hours.
At an airport, Aya (the ten-year-old girl saved by Kunikida in season 4) sees the news but is in disbelief over it since she saw Kunikida herself. Jono, also at the airport, catches up with fellow Hunting Dogs Teruko and Tetcho (there because Fukuchi said Ranpo would deduce everything) and wonders if they should take Agency associates hostage. He hears Aya’s heightened heartbeat and figures out that she is an agency sympathizer, and Jono then explains to her that he does not care if the Agency is innocent or guilty. Instead, he simply cares about terrorizing and torturing people under the law, which scares Aya, but he is then stopped by Tetcho.
Just as their argument is about to turn into a fight, Fukuchi shows up and stops them, also apologizing to Aya. He leads Jono to another room in the airport, asking Jono what he thinks of the Agency’s strategy on the way, and Jono is impressed by them so far. Fukuchi then reveals himself as the one manipulating events and the leader of Decay of Angels and asks Jono to join him, reminding Jono of the time he tricked bank robbers into killing themselves. Saying that Jono used to be a part of a criminal organization and was recruited for this purpose, he welcomes him to the Decay of Angels. Jono’s first mission is to assassinate the Agency members since his plan has one crucial flaw.
Meanwhile, the Agency members are in Anne’s Room, hidden inside the airport. Ranpo’s strategy is to kill Bram Stoker, the source of the vampire infection, without whom the vampires cannot be commanded. It should be an achievable task since the Hunting Dogs w ill not be guarding Stoker. Fukuchi has seen through that, and Jono accepts his mission, as a brief flashback ensues where Jono is thanked in the bank after the bank robbers die. Jono then attacks Fukuchi, injuring him, and tells Fukuchi that this is his own fault since he much prefers the sound of people thanking him than them being tortured.
However, Fukuchi uses Amenogozen to block the attack in the past, and Jono uses his disintegration ability to try and escape since he has evidence of his treachery. However, a vampire, Akutagawa, has sealed the door, preventing his escape, and Fukuchi uses a flaming sword to get Jono to turn back into a human. He is then bitten by Akutagawa, but Jono manages to warn Fukuchi of things not going his way before being carried outside by Akutagawa.
Bungo Stray Dogs (Season 5) Episode 5 “At the Port in the Sky (Part 1)” Ending Explained:
Who witnesses Fukuchi’s confession?
In another flashback, it is revealed that Jono had, in fact, slipped Aya a note when threatening her, telling her to follow him since she believed in the Agency’s innocence. Jono had, in fact, been suspecting something since Tachihara had returned with the pen drive since Fukuchi’s heartbeat had given him away.
Aya has been hiding in another small room right next to this one and witnesses everything that took place without being seen. When she tries to take a picture as proof, though, the flash alerts Fukuchi to someone’s presence, and he quickly moves to dispatch them, only to find no one there. Aya went inside the first room as he exited it, and as Aya knew she would be killed if caught, she tried to think of a hiding place. She suddenly thinks of one, and Fukuchi is unable to find anyone in the room as the episode ends.
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Bungo Stray Dogs (Season 5), Episodes 5 Links: IMDb
Bungo Stray Dogs (Season 5), Episodes 5 Cast: Mamoru Miyano, Yûto Uemura, Yoshimasa Hosoya
Where to watch Bungo Stray Dogs
