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EP. REVIEW: Bungo Stray Dogs

In any event, I believe Lucy is one of the only (if not THE only) anime characters I've ever seen with braces.

Sakaguchi Ango in real life was an author who presented back then conflicting and controversial stance on the idea of "Japanese Pride". While he used to hop from genre to genre having quite an eclectic writing resume, his key works always focused on the cultural and social issues within Japan. His key work, Darakuron, literally paints the defeated post-war Japan as healthier and more truthful than the pre-war Japan blinded by nationalism and pride. While the ongoing atmosphere in Japan was that Japan was "wronged", Sakguchi was one of the first writers to be truly disillusioned with the cultural conservatism that led them to the situation they were in. Japan did not want to hear they were wrong, they did not want to acknowledge that they comitted crimes or did horrifying things, but Ango still wrote about it as if it was not a taboo - the tone of his works almost made fun out of the stagnant traditions and nationalism that pre-war Japan was so embroiled in.

"Instead of traditions and beauty, we need more convenience in our lives. Destroying temples in Kyoto would not bother us at all(as a nation), but the moment the street cars stopped running, we'd be in trouble. I don't care for Horyuji or Byoduin even if they were burned to the ground. If need arose, we might as well do that and build a parking lot there."

Just like most of the authors the characters in Bungou Stray Dogs are based upon, Ango's life was a tragic one as he lost his father due to cancer and inherited a giant debt. Due to the nature of his writing, he most likely spent his years with his life being in constant danger(alas despite censorship and conservative anger, a big portion of post-war Japanese public was enamored with idea of breaking away from the past and embraced that aspect of his works despite the "taboo" context of it). And while he did manage to create a life and a family for himself, he died from a brain aneurysm.

Likewise Oda Sakunosuke also was another author who did not fit the "traditional writing style" of the times. Interestingly Oda WAS a real life friend of Dazai Osamu. In fact, the toast to the stray dogs is especially fittting as modern critics group Oda, Sakaguchi, Ishikawa and Dazai as the "Japanese Decadents" - self-destructive disillusioned outcasts within the writing circles and within Japanese literature. Dazai, Oda and Sakaguchi were the stray dogs of literature(Bungou) of their times. When Oda died from punctured lung, Dazai was disheartened , to the point that his death led to Dazai writing a heated and emotional eulogy which condemned the literature's "traditions" that caused a lot of Oda's works to be banned or shunned. Oda's characters, just like Oda in the show, were frank, stubborn individuals driven by the conflict between their beliefs and the basic need of survival. His works explored the lives and customs and sometimes futility of the "common folk" of Japan, depicting the cruel and dark life of postWW2 Japan.

Oda made a brief remark to Ango about how his power wasn't something he could control, or at least not just call up, so I think he may essentially just have random flashes of short-term precognition.

Oda made a brief remark to Ango about how his power wasn't something he could control, or at least not just call up, so I think he may essentially just have random flashes of short-term precognition.

It is going to be a sad day when we drop Oda as a POV character and go back to Atsushi. Like this character so much more.