Bungo Stray Dogs – Season 4 Episode 9 Recap & Review

Endless

Episode 9 of Bungo Stray Dogs season 4 titled ‘To Dream Of A Butterfly’ begins with Francis stating his deal with Atsushi and how the latter is arriving at the Port Mafia’s hideout in 20 minutes. Kenji and Tanizaki are excited but Mori thinks it is a trap. However, Yosano is ready to complete the deal regardless which has Tanizaki asking why.

He says he will take her place in the Port Mafia if she can tell him about her past and who is the ‘angel of death’ that the Hunting Dogs are interested in. She looks at the butterfly clip that she always wears and we go into a flashback to 14 years ago during the Great War when Fukuzawa and Mori were allies. 11-year-old Yosano is drafted by Mori to heal the soldiers who are indebted to her.

One day, she notices a Soldier barely paying her any attention as he reads a book and she approaches him. They banter and he uses his ability to turn a butterfly into a metal clip and gifts it to Yosano. He calls her an angel and says she is part of the gifted regiment that can end the war. As the war wages on, every time the soldiers die or are hurt, Yosano heals them.

The Soldier who gave her the clip thanks her and keeps a tally on his military dog tag of the number of times she saved his life. But soon she realises that it is no war as the soldiers are sent to die every day and she just brings them back to life with no option of retreat or surrender. She hears the soldiers not wanting to fight anymore but Mori forces her to heal them.

Over time, the soldiers realise that they cannot surrender till she is present and try to kill her. In the chaos, she loses her clip and while searching for it, the Soldier announces on the radio that Yosano is the angel of death. He wishes her goodbye and hangs himself. As she runs to his room, she sees his goodbye letter in which he says that she is too just and she tears up.

Back in the present day, Yosano says after the Soldier’s death, she was arrested for trying to set off explosives to sabotage the war. 3 years after the war, Mori rescues her but Fukuzawa stops him from using Yosano’s ability to lead a new gifted regiment. While they fight, Ranpo runs away with Yosano who says she shouldn’t live. He cheers her up that with his ability they can work well together and he returns the butterfly clip that she had lost.

She is still upset as she thinks people will just use her for her ability. Ranpo counteracts that she should go where she is not needed such as the Armed Detective Agency as they don’t need her healing ability but her kindness. On recalling Ranpo’s words, Yosano decides to do everything she can to save the Agency and Kenji and Tanizaki join her as they go out to meet Atsushi.

The Episode Review

With so many intriguing characters, it is time we got to know all of them. And season 4 is truly fulfilling as we not only get an origin story for Ranpo but also our next favourite Detective, Yosano. And with her always undermining her ability and barely using it over the seasons, we finally see the reason for it.

A complete waste of her ability, Mori does a subpar job of using her instead of coming up with a different strategy in which the soldiers could win with the least number of casualties.

As for that Soldier, something feels increasingly suspicious by the end of this episode of Bungo Stray Dogs. One, we never see Yosano bringing him back to life or not. If she did, she did it against his wish which could very well make him the fifth and mysterious Hunting Dog. Or two, he does look a little familiar, so if he is indeed dead, then someone who is linked to him may have a vendetta against Yosano and is using the Five Deadly Omens (V) to exact revenge.