Bungo Stray Dogs – Season 5 Episode 1 Recap & Review

Kamui’s Plot

Episode 1 of Bungo Stray Dogs season 5 titled ‘The Strongest Man’ begins with a food truck owner and a customer exchanging coins followed by an explosion. It cuts to an injured Doppo Kunikida watching it on the news as reports claim that it is due to the Sky Casino’s coins. Jono visits him and recalls what truly happened as Kunikida used Tetcho as a shield when the grenade went off.

Jono is impressed with him and offers him a proposal. Join the Hunting Dogs and take down the Armed Detectives Agency. It is revealed that Kunikida needs surgery every month to live. Kunikida refuses and Jono mocks him that he then will lose his ideals along with his special ability – both of his hands have been amputated.

We go back to the hunted – Atsushi, Kyoka, Ango and Lucy hiding in Anne’s Chamber. Atsushi has lost all hope but he suddenly hears Dazai who tells him not to give up. Atsushi is motivated but he suddenly faints.

Back in prison, Jono mentions that Yosano is about to be executed and throws Kunikida’s ripped notebook at him. As Kunikida screams in anger, Jono laughs while a sniper smirks and aims at the injured Detective.

As for Sigma, he is shocked to see that he is alive. He spots Nikolai Gogol who flexes his power. Turns out he isn’t like Yosano but has spatial splicing ability to loop the blood splattered on the ground back into Sigma. However, the casino owner is lost in thought as he wonders if Fyodor ordered a hit on him.

He asks how Nikolai survived. The clown messes around with him and then reveals he created a gap in his body and the chainsaw just went through the gap. But that is not what bothers Sigma – Nikolai was supposed to die according to the plan so that the Agency can never clear their name.

Nikolai says his plan was to die to prove true free will exists. And Fyodor was the only one who understood him. But on realising that he has an emotional connection with Fyodor, Nikolai plans to kill him to be truly free of everything including emotions. Sigma is terrified and Nikolai asks him to find out Fyodor’s ability. 

Elsewhere, Ango tries to deduce Fyodor’s plan as he realises it may be Hawthorne’s bullet that has decommissioned Atsushi. He thinks Atsushi is being held hostage just like during the cannibalism case and when it comes to the nation or the Detective, Lucy and Kyoka will choose the latter. Ango is not sure if he will win the fight but he points his gun at him anyway. However, Atsushi suddenly wakes up and says he knows where the page is.

Sigma told him when he grabbed his hand. Atsushi thinks it is because Fyodor betrayed Sigma by having Hawthorne go after him. But he also remembers empathising with Sigma which moved the casino owner. Ango is relieved as he realises Atsushi simply fainted because his brain needed to process the information sent via a special ability. They finally have a plan as the page is with the leader of the Decay of the Angel – Kamui. 

It cuts to the sniper finally shooting and Kunikida hiding. However, he realises the sniper simply shot the lock. The door opens and a masked man throws a tear gas while announcing that he is Kamui.

Kyoka hopes the whole thing will be over after Kamui is defeated. But Atsushi cannot clearly see where he is. Ango states that pain can sometimes help get a clearer picture. But of course, the girls simply suggest pinching his cheeks or breathing down his neck. Ango offers to read Atsushi’s mind and then go through the pain to find Kamui’s location. Immediately the girls think about stabbing and throwing him.

Suddenly, Atsushi feels as if he has been stabbed by a sword due to someone’s deadly intentions towards him. That is enough for him to clear his thoughts and he sees Kamui’s location. He says Kamui means to assassinate every single Detective and it cuts to him dragging Kunikida and making Yosano vanish.

Former detective, Katai Tayama, who is also being watched by the government has disappeared from his room. Kamui also takes Fukuzawa who is surprised to see himself at the edge of the building and warns that he knows Kamui’s real identity.

We finally see Dazai and Fyodor in Meursault playing a number guessing game. They easily guess the answers and find it boring. Fyodor decides to goad him but Dazai doesn’t fall for it as he says they have the strongest person on their side. 

Kamui takes off his mask to reveal that it has been Ranpo all along. He says he simply took over the real Kamui’s assassination plot. Fukuzawa asks what truly happened as they all thought he had died.

Turns out Ranpo had jumped from the building uninjured and disguised himself to escape. He then deduced the Decay of the Angel’s plan and sabotaged it to get the Detectives. While he used a mirror to hide Yosano’s truck, Poe was the sniper and the one who used his ability to get Katai out. Poe tries to flex his role in the rescue but Ranpo shuts him down.

Fukuzawa orders an end to the Angel’s plot and Ranpo hijacks a press conference. While all the journalists panic, one woman asks Ranpo the motive behind their attack. He plays Nikolai’s message when he had held the officials hostage and wonders how the Detectives who were trying to rescue them ended up as terrorists.

He says he has all the evidence including the fingerprints and chainsaw’s transaction in an envelope sent to all police stations. He then reveals that the reality-altering paper does not allow law enforcement to believe in the evidence as Officer Minoura finds the envelope in the trash. As armed guards surround Ranpo he asks the law enforcement officials to think about the case not based on their job but what they truly think in their soul.

He points out that in the past 12 years, he has saved a lot of officers’ lives which the armed guards agree with. He also points out that due to his cleverness, if he was truly guilty he would never be caught. Officer Minoura who has worked on numerous cases with the Detectives and recently solved Oguri’s case with Ranpo suddenly runs out.

The Episode Review

Season 5 of Bungo Stray Dogs does not disappoint as episode 1 picks up right where season 4 ends. The anime wastes no time in answering all our burning questions from Kunikida’s status to Nikolai’s plan and the leaders of the Angel.

And talking about the clown, Nikolai is so deranged that it makes it that much more fun to watch him as he scares even his own allies. He really needs to get more screen time as he is the epitome of ‘don’t let them guess your next move’.

The episode does feel a little too dark which is usually expected when a season is coming to an end. We have moments like Ango feeling suspicious and getting ready to kill Atsushi if needed. However, we can always count on Ranpo and Dazai to bring the comedy even at the most direst of situations.