Bungou Stray Dogs 2nd Season

I'm going to divide this review into 2 parts, because this season is divided into 2 as well as the third season. 1. Dark era (Dazai and Oda) This is without a doubt the best part of Bungo stray dogs as a whole. Telling in just 4 episodes the entire history of Oda, masterfully carrying out its characterization and exploring its ideals and problems. This part also serves to demonstrate Dazai's past, such part is well shown to make an analogy with Kyoka rather than to explore the character, I believe. This arc is absurdly well directed, with beautiful camera angles, absurd soundtrack and beautiful animation, not to mention the beautiful direction of the power to see Oda's future, easily generating one of Bungo's best fights. 2. Guild arc This arc solves almost all the problems of the first season of Bungo, further deepening the other characters (especially Kyoka, Akutagawa), further exploring Atsushi's flashbacks (also making them better) and demonstrating how they affect him in a better way . The villains of this season are also extremely charismatic, the entire guild and the mafia of the port are expanded and presented in a very charismatic way. 3. Details that I like to talk about...cause why not? The openings in this part are beautiful, as well as the endings, both have such a cool meaning and the first clips of the opening (in the Dark era) are so beautiful. Summing up for real now, Bungo stray dogs second season introduces us to more characters that we already know are charismatic, with beautiful animation and an even better soundtrack. Score: 8.5

Bungou Stray Dogs starts up with 4 episodes that deepens in one of the main characters, Dazai, telling us more about his past work. Literally the first 4 episodes are waaaay better that the whole first season. Sadly, after the 4 episodes, we are back in the present with Atsushi and the crew. The rest of the episodes are okay, the problem never was the main story but the main character. Atsushi is a poorly written character. He's useless, he believes he's weak and it's quite annoying how he believes so. I can't relate or empathize with him. I don't really know about him besides the same scenes from the past (been orphan and a person nagging him). As I said in my previous review (season 1), I dislike useless damsel in distress characters that in the near (late) future, will become an OP character. Dazai, on the other hand, is a great character that with the adition of the 4 first episodes, makes me like him more. He's way more interesting and I can empathize with him a little. This kind of characters makes think: Not all characters have to be vocally struggling to be relatable. So the first 4 episodes stand alone, i would give them a 9 or even a 10, but with the sum of the other episodes, the average is 7.

Bungou Stray Dogs 2nd season is the my favorite season in Bungou Stray Dogs series. Why?? In my opinion, the first season mainly focuses on Armed Detective Agency and Port Mafia, the main character and people around him, introduces each side character with their ability/crazy personality in each episode. When you know the relationships of each character, like basic knowledge (but also enjoyable), then you can understand the sequel seasons. The first 3 episodes of 2nd season focuses on Osamu Dazai and the dark era of him, introduced the importance/badass new character in Port Mafia gang. Many secret in the first episode will be clear in this season. So I suggest to watch 1st season first. I love the first 3 episodes of this season the most. (They can make you easily love personality of Dazai lol). But if you prefer the main character, our tiger Atsushi, more than Dazai, don’t worry. This season will shows you the improvement (and action seen) of our tiger. The art and action seen are not that remarkable but the character development and relationship between them are the best of this show. (and hair/cloth of each characters is very unique, I love their designs.) I personally love that they keep how opening with letters like in 1st season. I personally like opening and ending of this season more than other season.

This season is truly a massive improvement over the first season, the humor has drastically improved along with the action scenes, drama and "feel" moments. The characters had far more depth to them through the second season than the first and they did a great job utilizing every character. Also, Atsushi got a lot more useful towards the end of this season, so don't worry about that. There is a lot more port mafia in this season as well and trust me, that isn't a bad thing. If you were on the edge about continuing this anime after the mediocre first season, I strongly recommend it. There is plenty of good things in this season.

TL;DR: Story was a lot better and darker than the first season, the characters got a bit better, and overall improved from the first season. Story: 8/10 The thing about BSD is that while they give us information, it always feels like they're just scraping the top. Everything goes over so fast, and they don't really let the plot thicken. Some things are just glossed over, even though I feel like they were important for the story. It was interesting to see that the saying "my enemy's enemy is my friend" was implemented here, though only for a short time. They also did give us a little sneak peek of what's going to happen in the future season; already setting up the plot for it. Art: 7/10 BONES studio has many talented artists; but in BSD it seems like they aren't putting their A game. It's still very pleasant to look at, especially the backgrounds, but in those super serious and badass moments when the characters are yelling, and truly speaking from their hearts, their facial expressions don't match. The emotion that their words have rarely match their faces. Sound: 9/10 Sound is not that hard to mess up, but BSD really knows when to drop the beats. I don't have that much to say about it, other than the OST is great as usual. Character: 7/10 The characters did improve from the first season, but like in many cases, their characters arcs were over so fast. The first few episodes did amazing job, but they only dig deep onto three characters, and that's it. For the rest of the season we got to see some nice character development, but to me they did them too quickly - though that might be because there was only 12 episodes. Enjoyment: 8/10 I did not have any "what the hell is happening? this doesn't make any sense!" moments! I didn't outright cackled, but I did laugh in few occasions. Didn't cry, but some of the scenes did hit me deep. I really wanted to finish this fast because the story was good and intriguing. Overall: 8/10 It's a good second season. I was glad to see the character development, and that they didn't just go directly to the "we have a common enemy so we're best friends now", but stuck with the characters' personalities.

Bungou Stray Dogs adored by many but I come out of season 2 feeling a little eh. It was in no way shape or form so bad that it's unwatchable but considering the hype that surrounds it, I expected more. While in technicalities this was a pretty good sequel to the first season with lots of character and plot development, beautifully animated fight scenes and unique storyline I couldn't help but feel something was lacking. Bungou Stray Dogs feels very rough around the edges, the main characters albeit Atsushi are well designed and interesting but Atsushi as the main character just doesn't do it for me. He of all characters felt the least developed and any improvement he did make was so lacklustre I couldn't find me caring. I was more moved by Akutagawa's growth until I found out he's just a whiny bitch dying for Dazai's approval. I did however really enjoy Dazai's backstory and Kyouka's arc and the over events in this season. The storyline of this season was honestly engaging but I feel like they could have been dealt with in a better way. Every time something was getting interesting it was over and the anime moved on leaving me feeling like a whole lot of nothing happened. The opening and closing songs were nothing special either but I did enjoy the animation in those sequences. I think I will give season 3 a stab as I am invested in some of the characters but overall I have to say I'm expecting pretty big things from season 3 for it to live up to it's hype.

Honestly, I'm writing this review a year after seeing the second season because the first four episodes of this season are what I consider the highlight of this entire series. While the story managed to feel a little less disjointed from the first season to help boost the season to my overall rating of a 7, truly the first four episodes are the reason I stayed invested in the series. The development in the characters, the animation, and the plot itself for only FOUR EPISODES, is what's truly memorable. The episodes really made an overall okay season worth it for me, and maybe it will be worth watching for you as well.

After watching Bungo Stray Dogs 2, I have nothing but praise for this series. So many mysteries and questions about Dazai's past that were left unexplained in season one have come to light. It has been exciting to see the chemistry between Dazai and Akutagawa when they were still in the same organization back then. And now, we also get a chance to see some new chemistry between Akutagawa and Atsushi. It was a joy to finally see some improvements and positive actions coming from Atsushi at last. In my opinion, Akutagawa is the star of this season; the first impression I had of this character from season one has been totally wiped, and now I think he is a great character. The artwork and music were all very fitting with the show. All in all, I have tremendously enjoyed this series.

This season is sadly my last favoritte seasons of the whole anime. I mean, they explain some back story of the characters which is perfekt and just how I like it, but there was something about the main story that just felt slow, at least in the beginning. It picks itself up and become better and more interesting towards and end. I belive maybe they fokus on the backstory of New character each season and this season was not the characters i was interested in. So maybe you like it. Either way if u liked season 1 i actually do recommand you watch this season and just bear with it, cause it will be better towards the end and the story and informtion given in this anime is making it easier to understand what is happening In the 3rd season which i also recommand watching, but u can read that review over there.

---oiginal language: portuguese--- ---additional language: English--- English: First let me congratulate you on this wonderful season The first arc about the past of daizai was great, I like this model of explains well the past of the character, at the end of the season we see that the past is much deeper still The guild arc left me very neutral, it was neither good nor bad, it can be said that the anime did the basics the right way. The development of the protagonist is kind of dubious yet but I have nothing to complain about Anime super recommended but would not get into my favorites, Anime 8/10 PT-BR: Primeiro deixe-me parabeniza-los pela essa temporada maravilhosa O primeiro arco sobre o passado de daizai foi otimo, gosto desse modelo de explica bem o passado do personagem, ao final da temporada vemos que o passado é bem mais profundo ainda O arco d'guilda me deixou bem neutro, não foi bom nem ruim Pode-se dizer que o anime em questão fez o basico do jeito certo O desenvolvimento do protagonista é meio duvidoso ainda mas não tenho nada a reclamar Anime super recomendavel mas não entraria nos meus favoritos, Anime 8/10

It's a solid improvement on the first season with a couple of strong emotional through lines. It all felt very surface level in S2, and while not everyone has evolved beyond that, there's been some genuine progression for more than a few characters, including a great deal from Dazai who stole the show in the first arc. The final fight works well enough to get your blood pumping in the usual Shonen way while adding something a little extra for our characters to get over. The use of gifts has also gotten more interesting and impactful. With an MC who still seems pretty basic and arcs that are, in the end, pretty toothless though, I can only say that this series has improved, not yet evolved.

This season is definitely better than the first one with the amazing adaptation of Dazai's mafia past and the conflict between three organizations. STORY [7/10]: The story doesn't pick up where season 1 left. The first four episodes of season 2 revolve around Dazai's past from the perspective of his friend Odasaku (which is the adaptation of the second light novel) and everything after that takes place after season 1. I read the novel before watching this season and already loved the story and the newly introduced characters there. They did a beautiful job adapting it. The tone of the first four episodes is different from the rest of the anime and it is much more of a crime mystery/thriller, but that just makes it more intriguing. The rest of the season is about the three-way conflict between the agency, the Port Mafia, and the Guild. It's a good concept with awesome fights where new characters with new abilities are introduced, but the reason for this conflict is a bit confusing. You kind of know what every party motivates to fight, however sometimes I completely forgot what the Guild's goal was. ANIMATION [8/10]: This season maintains the same top-notch animation style as the first season. SOUND [8/10]: For some reason, the music stood out to me more this season (probably because of the Odasaku arc). I liked this season's opening and ending more than last season's and the soundtrack really helped set the mood. CHARACTER [9/10]: Old characters are developed and new characters are introduced. The Odasaku arc honestly steals the show this season, because they really took their time to establish the main characters Osamu Dazai, Sakunosuke Oda and Ango Sakaguchi and their relationship. The Guild arc brings in completely new characters who are inspired by non-japanese authors. All of them have interesting abilities and personalities (I find Lovecraft highly fascinating). The feud between Atsushi and Akutagawa escalates further (especially in the last part of this arc) and the mini-rivalry between Poe and Ranpo was probably one of my favorite parts of this arc. ENJOYMENT [8/10]: Overall, I really think that this season was more entertaining than the first one and I enjoyed my time watching it.

Reviews if you don't have time. *SPOILER-FREE* If you like good shows with awesome characters, “Bungou Stray Dogs”, one of the most popular shows in the genre, might be worth to waste a little time on. It is a manga adaptation with powerhouse studio Bones at the helm of animation. As one might expect from the name alone, Bones did an amazing work with this adaptation. From the design of the characters and scenes to the powers each of them have, it is all very well executed and done. The fights are good and exciting and have a good flow and balance to them. It is not a Bones masterclass, like shows such as “Mob Psycho 100” but still is a noteworthy show, animation wise. The plot is actually well written and despite being, specially at the beginning, isolated cases that change every few episodes, the major and overarching plot points and mysteries remain interesting and captivating and normally end up in a pretty satisfying climax towards the end of the season. Some stories are better than the other which makes it a little hard to watch some parts but overall, they are all pretty good. However, if there was one thing that the shows in the genre and “Bungou Stray Dogs” does beautifully is the characters. They are unique and amazingly design. Their powers are well thought out and used in a way that makes sense and it is not pointless. Overall, a show worth watching if you like good characters and detective-like shows.

Overall, it's just as well made as the first season, but the two arcs in this season are much more interesting than anything offered in the first season. I really like the dark era arc that encompasses the first four episodes of this season, it's notably more serious than anything else in the first two seasons which makes it stand out to me. While the first half of this arc is unremarkable, the second half is absolutely fantastic and still hurt my feelings even though I already knew what would happen in the end. This arc also had to have a few minor changes from the novel's source material to make it work in a television format, almost all of these changes are for the worse in my opinion but most of it was unavoidable given the differences between the two mediums. What bugs me the most though is the action scenes really got shafted in this arc, being much less interesting than they were in the novel, which has a really strong John Woo influence that I adore, meanwhile the action in the show is solid at best but lacking by comparison. But at the end of the day it's still a fantastic arc, even if it can't compare to the original novel it's based on. After the fourth episode the tone changes back to that of the regular Bungo Stray Dogs you got from the first season, which is extremely jarring at first going from dead-serious and heartbreaking to goofy and over-the-top. But the second arc of the season is great as well, having good battles and an interesting plot that hard to predict much of the time. This arc is faithful to the manga it's based on as far as I can tell, so don't expect anything new if you've already read the manga, but a few minor scenes are definitely removed here and there. I still think it's stupid how some of the mafia goons use Tommy guns when there are clearly more modern and reliable guns like the Uzi or MP5 shown being used at other times, while this may seem like a nitpick the original manga doesn't have this problem as it's drawn in a way that's ambiguous as to what specific guns are being used. It's also hard to see how much damage Atsushi can take in this arc compared to the first season where he took more punishment and could keep fighting, but now he seems to get knocked on his butt and incapacitated from less damage than before, which I found confusing. After all that, it's just a really exciting arc to follow and the criticisms I mentioned don't really take away from that. At the end of the day, it's not only consistent with the quality of the first season, but its quality surpasses it due to the arcs being better than the first season's. But, at the same time, it carries all the same problems the first season had with it as well, so don't expect it to change your outlook too much if you aren't already interested in the series. But really, the most important takeaway is that you should read the Osamu Dazai and the Dark Era light novel because it's the best version of the best arc so far in the series if you ask me, but if you don't want to I guess you can just watch this season instead but you really should read the novel first because it's just that amazing. The previous sentence may make it seem like I don't recommend this season, but I actually highly recommend it, I also recommend you watch and read everything Bungo Stray Dogs because it's very good.

This anime is too good to be true. Every character is so beautiful and the cinematography is amazing. You end up taking lots of screenshots. It's hard to choose one favourite character. There is no fan service whatsoever and every character has depth and every character is likeable and has believable motivation and struggles and idk this is an exceptional show. It reminds me of Naruto and Darker Than Black. But some characters are unique. For example Dazai. I guess in the beginning you could kinda compare him to Yato from Noragami, but his further development is something I have never seen before. There is a perfect mix of comedy and action and drama and everything. So many characters and I want to know more so definitely will be reading manga. I think it's my favourite show now.

Ah, wow! This was such a big improvement from season 1! From the get go, the season pulled me in, and it was so interesting to look into Dazai's past and his role in the Mafia. Anyways, this went way beyond my expectations. Finally, we see some proper growth from Atsushi, from 100% doubting himself down to idk 50% doubting himself? So, propr to him from that! We also learn about the Agency boss' ability here, and I think it's quite interesting! Knowing about that, it'll be interesting how much more relevant it'd be in the future. On the other hand, the formidable enemy of the season was not so well-formed imo.. Like I guess I wanted to know more about them? Each Guild character just felt kinda all over the place for me, though I got absolutely annoyed with the Guild leader. Overall, this season was a good rollercoaster ride, concluding excitingly as well.

Spoiler free article: A short description that's just a bit longer than normal synopsis to give you rough idea what to expect from this anime. Conclusion for TL;DR at the end of the articles. Reading time: 2 minutes read Review: The story are way improved compared to the first one, the way the story telling goes so crisp, each arcs are so enjoyable on it's own right that I feel like they should make it longer. I don't know how they can make it this short but it feels anything but short. The lines they chose this time reflect more of their real life work and personality compared to the first season. Maybe the most apparent things is the character growth, it's normal, why is this a good thing? Well, most of the time, anime character got a sudden growth spree or just stuck like that the whole time, so a normal growth is rather rare, it felt so organic that it feels real, all characters mind you, so the supporting characters also in it. The visuals are same but not same at the same time, it have the same art styles and same quality, but it's depicted way darker this time, since season 2 have a relatively darker storyline. The detailing of the city are also great, since they moved to a lot of other sides of Yokohama, we got to see more of this city, it's just like Google Map, but better. The battles aren't that great though, I mean, it's smooth, but not as smooth as the first one, that's why they added a lot more effects and transformations and what not to distract the viewers from the animation itself. The musics are way as enjoyable if not better than the first season. I think Luck Life just might as well the face of Bungou Series OSTs, they're involved in all of the series so far, and all turned out to be great. The sound effects are crisps and on point, no unnecessary exaggeration with the explosion and what not. The seiyuus are even better, since they retained the same casts and sound director, the chemistry is just way better, they messed up very well, they're already acquainted very well with their respective characters. Conclusion: Reasons to watch: -An amazing improvements compared to the first season -More plot heavy than action, so it's truly enjoyable for someone who loves story Reasons NOT to watch: -Plot heavy might not be a good thing for the one who love action filled anime

Warning: spoilers ahead. In all honesty, I really enjoyed the second season more than the first one. Probably due to how Dazai's character is explored more thoroughly here, regarding his Port Mafia past and everything. Oh, and Oda Sakunosuke? I am in love with you and I will always have you in my heart. Although Odasaku only appeared for 4 episodes, I was able to grow an attachment to that man, as well as the friendship he shared with Dazai. In a workplace where you really can't distinguish friend from foe, you're really into suicide and are a dark and lonely genius, having someone you can actually trust sincerely as a friend is heartwarming. It hurt me both physically and mentally when Dazai ran to Oda's dying body. Oda tells Dazai that the world isn't all black and white, that good and bad aren't as simple as that. They're all grey -- they all somehow end up doing rather dirty work to chase a goal. Dazai listens to Oda, his only real friend during his time in the Port Mafia, and Oda tells him how it'd at least be better for him if he were to join the side which saves people. So, in regards to his friend's last dying wish and words, Dazai ends up leaving the Port Mafia. He joins the Armed Detective Agency, and his appearance visibly softens. From going all black to having a light blue undershirt and a brown trenchcoat. Although I do think that I like Dazai's Port Mafia outfit more compared to his ADA outfit, I prefer his current personality and beliefs. He has always been a dark and lonely genius, and probably still is, but his view on life is slightly more hopeful and 'light'. It's not exactly easy to describe, but I just like how Dazai is in the present, as annoying and unpredictable he may be at times. Dazai and Chuuya's partnership is also something I liked -- frenemies that trust each other with their lives. Although they probably never explicitly said anything about it, they'll always have each other's backs, and both of them know each other like each of the back of their hands, and that is exactly why Chuuya is 'annoyed' at Dazai. Nevertheless, their teamwork is great. The fight between ADA and Port Mafia becoming them allying against The Guild also highlighted how treacherous people can be, and it is basically part of human nature. You can't believe everything you see or hear, and you can never take anything at face value. There is seemingly always a reason behind something. Human intentions are impure, and that is basically what makes Dazai up. He is a sickening, impure genius, whose intentions are rather unclear at times, but he is Dazai -- the genius that has successfully made everyone fall in love with him. I don't know what I'm ramblng about anymore. I just love Dazai and the plot is pretty good. Honestly, I didn't want to start Bungou Stray Dogs at first as I felt like it was rather overhyped, but I was proven wrong when I actually gave it a shot. I wasn't really aware what it was all about, but after finding out this was actually seinen, I was intrigued. I love animes that tackle rather political and psychological themes. Characters like Dazai are the ones who pull me into the story as well (see: Lelouch from Code Geass and Guren from Owari no Seraph). They are just great.

Bungo Stray Dogs 2nd Season is an extremely solid follow-up to the first season and a worthy contender. Before I say anything else, this season is easily better than the first, Much more action packed and the arcs are alot more fleshed out. The plot of the anime is actually really thick this season, especially with the First Arc containing alot of lore for Dazai and on the Port Mafia itself. The character development throughout this season is really neat aswell there are some noticeable changes in behavior in some characters so be on the lookout for that because it can be really cool to see. Some moments are also really wholesome with the banter between characters and the non action or dramatic moments being really chill to watch. The animation this season is noticeably better. Not with the character design but with the battles, they feel alot more fluid and honestly just look badass, I mean If you like badass fight scenes I'd watch the second season for that alone, there is a ton of them this time round. The backdrops themselves are pretty similar to the first season, with the locations being mostly the same with a few new areas shown on screen however it's nothing special. The OST this season Felt alot more mainstream, With the OP sounding like something you'd hear in a popular Osu! Beat map and something that would be Extremely Popular. Overall this was a very solid second season and does leave alot to be desired in a third season but that came out years ago. 8/10

This season is awesome. We get to see a lot more interactions between the mafia and the ADA and they're gold. As usual, the art is beautiful; the coloring and sharpness are so pleasing to watch. Akutagawa has a cute little simping moment in the end. It's cute. This anime is just really good in every aspect. The build-ups and pacing are great. The action scenes are well-crafted and there is no unnecessary, braindead, monologues. Thank god! Plus, you'll come to love more characters, and guess what. All their actions make sense. Hooray! It's a good sequel to the first season. No let downs. Just more good moments~