Ranking All Seasons of ‘Bungo Stray Dogs’ With the Tears of Fans
Bungo Stray Dogs is a series that gets better as it progresses. The plot deepens, and we see the characters we know and love become even more dynamic in the story.
The only downside of this series is that we’ll have to wait a while before season six is produced, so let’s take a look back at where each season ranks. Animation and plot are great standards to judge with, but it’s not a happy series, and the best way to rank each season is by how much we’ve cried over it.
6. Bungo Stray Dogs Wan!
Be honest with yourself. This spinoff has brought you more smiles than any other season of the anime, making it worth ranking anyway.
With all the bloodshed we’ve witnessed as fans, Bungo Stray Dogs Wan! gives us a good break from the series. It may not be serious, but laughter is needed when the main series is full of tragedies. Plus, we get to see everyone from the Armed Detective Agency to the Port Mafia turn into chibis. This spinoff definitely gets last place for being too happy.
5. Bungo Stray Dogs Season 1
The first season of Bungo Stray Dogs was responsible for pushing the manga into the mainstream. It wasn’t as simple as following Atsushi, a boy who could turn into a weretiger.
It’s also a story about complicated characters who are all grappling with their dark pasts. Even the fight scenes in the first season couldn’t be scoffed at, but this is just the first season. Twelve episodes could only show so much exposition, and more exciting parts could be found in the next seasons.
4. Bungo Stray Dogs Season 3
The stakes have increased in the third season, and the Rats of the House of the Dead have been a nightmare to deal with for both the Port Mafia and the Armed Detective Agency. None of us could forget how Fyodor was introduced to the story. For once, somebody is actually just as immortal as Dazai.
The third season had a lot more excitement in its plot compared to the second season. It also gave Atsushi’s character more depth after we’d seen him mourn his abusive headmaster. But in terms of importance, the second season gives us a deep dive into an important character’s backstory.
3. Bungo Stray Dogs Season 2
If you’ve been wondering why Dazai is so hopeless in life, this season explains why by delving into his past. Dazai has always found living to be meaningless, even during his time in the Port Mafia. He was also colder and far more brutal, until he worked with a friend named Oda.
I’m not going to make you remember the tragedy, but it’s thanks to him that Dazai found his way to become a part of the Armed Detective Agency. Five seasons through, and any Bungo Stray Dog fan would still cry over the scene.
Through Oda, Dazai learned to value others and be kinder. If only he could be kinder to himself.
2. Bungo Stray Dogs Season 4
The Armed Detective Agency is home to gifted characters who do good, but how was it formed? We only get an explanation of its origins in the fourth season of the anime. Things have taken a drastic turn in season four, and the Armed Detective Agency was framed to be the Death Angels.
It’s a lot harder to follow than the previous seasons, with new characters introduced. Fyodor has cooked up a perfect storm, and we’ve seen our fair share of deaths. But in the fourth season, it felt like the Armed Detective Agency was going to die out. If you weren’t crying, you were probably panicking over season four.
1. Bungo Stray Dogs Season 5
Season five of Bungo Stray Dogs gave us the shock of our lives. Even after all the violence we’ve seen throughout the seasons, witnessing Dazai get shot point blank has to be the most terrifying thing fans have seen in the series.
Dazai’s acting was so good, he would’ve won an Emmy Award. Tears were shed, and the stakes had never been higher.
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