Bungo Stray Dogs Season 4: Episode 3 EARLY ACCESS Reaction!
Added 2023-01-21 14:00:02 +0000 UTC*HEARTWARMING HEADPHONE WARNINGS*
This episode absolutely had my HEART! I loved it SO MUCH and the relationship that's developed between Ranpo and Fukuzawa -- I definitely want to read the light novel, now!
Bungo Stray Dogs always manages to do a great job with the "flashback" arcs to start the season off, and this one is NO exception! This episode was surprising, wholesome, fun, and with that twang of mystery to keep you thinking about it the rest of the season!
LINK TO REACTION: https://streamable.com/0jppct
Thank you for watching with me and for all the support!
Comments
Oooohhh, that makes much more sense, talking about “justice” – thank you for clarifying that! Crunchyroll has messed up sub translations before, apparently, so that’s unfortunate! It’s insane to think of how integral Oda is to the ENTIRE story and connecting Fukuzawa, Dazai, and Natsume all together in this series! And like you said, he never really gets to see what all those connections come together to do…which is SO TRAGIC! I can’t live up to the caliber of your comment with my reply, but I love Odasaku as well SO MUCH! He’s my favorite in the story and getting him in this flashback was wonderful! The Dark Era was DEFINITELY the foundation of the story, along with this flashback story, too – I mean, the Dark Era ended with an episode titled Bungo Stray Dogs – ROLL CREDITS! I agree, Fukuzawa has influenced more people than he realized, including Oda. But yeahhh, Ranpo crying and letting out that emotion – it was VERY emotional! And Fukuzawa CARING for someone else, especially it being Ranpo! Ugh…it’s so moving! I loved it in this episode! <3 Fukuzawa, I hope you’re ready for parenthood because it’s about to hit you like a SEMI! I definitely want to read this novel when I can later this spring and talk about it - this flashback was one of my FAVORITES so far (probably 2nd after Dark Era), and I love how it’s set up this season so far! Thank you for the wonderful comment! <3
Romaniablack
2023-02-02 00:54:13 +0000 UTCThe other comment touched on it, but I wanna clarify about a pretty significant translation error in this episode, which is extremely frustrating because it erases a pretty key aspect of Oda's character. Oda does not hate people who kill for the "ritual", but rather, those who kill for "justice". I quote from the novel: "Do you know what their motive is? Justice. I can understand killing for money or because you hated someone, but they’re killing for justice. I don’t want to get involved with a group like that. After they’re done killing for their justice, they’ll only continue to kill. They’ll just stop caring who they’re killing.” To Oda, people who kill for money or revenge have a concrete, end goal, where they will stop killing once they get said money or revenge, but the goal of "justice" for a killer is extremely untrustworthy and shady, because the concept of justice is vague and subjective and nebulous; anyone can twist it to fit their own definition of justice, and continue to kill indiscriminately, because they can always claim that their ends justify the means. Even if they do start out with good intentions, they'll eventually lose sight of what truly is still for the sake of justice, and what's simply them wanting to kill under a pretense of said justice for the sake of killing. This is what happened to Fukuzawa in the past, that he became self-aware of and got himself out of, and I do think the translation of "ritual" applies to him in the same way "justice" does, but for Oda on the other hand, him not wanting to get involved in other peoples' subjective and ever-changing idea of justice says so much about him as a character. Oda has never been a morally "good" or "bad" person; unlike Fukuzawa, he only kills to survive, and even after Natsume inspires him to want to become a writer and stop killing, he doesn't cease his violence and take in orphans because it's the morally righteous thing to do, but simply because he's trying to save himself, and because that's what ends up giving him a more fulfilling life in the end, as he tells Dazai to do for the same reason. The concept of people killing for their own biased claim of justice and how that never ends well is a huge running theme in BSD; we see it with Fyodor, and now V, and Oda is basically spelling out that theme here. I'm not sure why some subtitles screwed this up, but I saw other people saying that the versions they watched got it right, and I listened to the word spoken in the episode and Oda does indeed say what translates to "justice", just like in the novel. So Crunchyroll and some other subs just messed up. 🤦♀️ The reason Oda's scene with Fukuzawa really makes me so emotional though, is because it's the prime, most poignant example of how Oda really is the origin of so much of BSD's story, even never knowing of how his actions will end up saving people like Atsushi and Kyouka and Ranpo, even long before he meets /Dazai/. Dark Era introduces the concept that Oda is the reason that Dazai is saved and can go to the light and save so many other people as part of Oda's legacy, but then HERE we find out that Oda was responsible for things EVEN BEFORE THAT....... Not /only/ is he to thank for Fukuzawa being able to save Ranpo's life, he's arguably the reason they even MET in the first place (Fukuzawa only goes to the president's office at the start of Untold Origins because the secretary called him there to deal with the assassin, Oda; that's why Fukuzawa runs into Ranpo, COMPLETELY by chance!), and, I would argue, /Oda gives Fukuzawa the idea to create the Armed Detective Agency/. Oda mistakenly assumes that the person he's trying to save is Fukuzawa's subordinate, which Fukuzawa is about to deny, because he's always worked alone and even despite his unconsciously growing fatherly attachment towards Ranpo, at this point he still probably thinks they'll go their separate ways after Fukuzawa rescues him here. But even so, Oda plants that seed in his head, and Fukuzawa /likes/ it, because he DOES want to stay with Ranpo and DOES want to help him become a detective and protect him -- I firmly believe that this very moment is what ignites the spark for, a year later, Fukuzawa deciding to go to Natsume for a gifted business permit so they can form the ADA, for Ranpo's sake. Because how poetic and powerful would that be? Not only is Oda responsible for saving Dazai, and everyone that Dazai saves, but he's even indirectly responsible for creating their home, too. It's so beautiful and sad and meaningful and I was absolutely blown away when I first read this scene and realized how Oda really is the one who started it all, in every way imaginable 😭🥺💖 and yet, he never gets to see the fruits of his labor....... he never gets to live and see the happy life that his very existence gives to so many others 😭💔 if he had gone with Fukuzawa here, as much as I desperately wanted him to, Dazai likely would have eventually died in misery in the mafia, and Atsushi and Kyouka probably would have eventually died too, and Akutagawa as well... It's so sad and unfair, but this is how things had to be, for everything to happen the way they did... There's a lot of religious symbolism/allegories surrounding Oda, what with the bible he was given in this episode, which he clearly knows very well, because in Dark Era Gide recites John 12:24 to him and Oda finishes it (the passage "unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed, but if it dies it produces many seeds", which is a direct metaphor for Oda's influence on the narrative and the other characters), and with how he's essentially a guardian angel for Dazai and ends up dying to atone for his sins, and all of this gets even stronger with all the angel and Christian references in Untold Origins. I don't think any of this is an accident, and it's part of why I love Oda so so much; he truly is the reason this story exists, he's the creator, so to speak, and that's rather fitting considering that BSD is all about writers, and all Oda wanted to do in Dark Era was be able to write a story... the story of Bungou Stray Dogs. 🥺💖 I also truly believe that Fukuzawa had a great impact on Oda here, as well. Oda at this point in his life is numb, empty, completely devoid of emotions, much like Dazai was at this age, and is only killing to survive, never wanting anything more for himself, and never even /considering/ wanting more. Fukuzawa's worry for Ranpo, however, makes him see what it feels like to be loved and wanted by someone and to have someone go so far to save them, and it makes Oda /jealous/. I think this is the first time in his life it's ever occurred to him to even /feel/ such emotions, to /want/ something like what Fukuzawa and Ranpo have, and that's truly heartbreaking, but I believe it's what made him more receptive to Natsume telling him to change his life and become a writer later, presumably not too long after this: Natsume gave him the tools to change, but Fukuzawa made him want that for himself in the first place. He's still a terribly depressed person as an adult who doesn't see himself worthy of Dazai's friendship and attention (and I won't go on another essay about how much that breaks my heart too), but he still cherishes those bonds he has with Dazai and Ango, and I think Fukuzawa's love for Ranpo is to thank for Oda wanting to have such a friend, too. It just sucks that instead of getting a boss like Fukuzawa, he got stuck with Mori, of all people 🥲🙃💔 but he also found Dazai, and that was so important for both of them, and so many other characters... This scene is just so special for so many reasons, it's so meaningful; it's one of the most important scenes in the entire series imo 😭💖 Meanwhile, the Ranpo and Fukuzawa crying scene.... 😭😭😭💖💔 It breaks my heart because Ranpo was SO CONFIDENT, he was SO HAPPY to show off his new ability, show off everything Fukuzawa gave him, and he expected him to be PROUD of him, but instead he gets slapped for it, and he didn't see it coming at all..... and I'm sure, in that moment, he was terrified that Fukuzawa would turn out to be like all the other people who turned Ranpo away, who shunned him for who he was, and he probably couldn't understand in that moment what he did /wrong/, just like all the other times when adults got angry at him and he never knew what he did wrong. But it's so important that Fukuzawa got angry not because of what Ranpo said, or because of who he is, but because he was WORRIED about him... and that even after he gets upset at him, he still accepts him back. He doesn't reject him: he was angry not because he did something wrong, or because he hated him, but out of love. And I'm sure that was /so/ meaningful to Ranpo; it's so beautiful because he feels so cared for, but also so sad because he's so desperate for Fukuzawa to not leave him behind, so he apologizes over and over 😭🥺💖💔 It's such a beautiful culmination to their relationship; I love these two so so much. They are the ultimate father and son duo who have such a beautiful impact on each other and change each other's lives for the better, just like (imo) Oda and Dazai 🥹💖 This was probably the second best light novel adaptation in the anime; I really enjoyed it, even if I do wish it could have been 4 episodes and not felt quite so rushed in the middle. But lol I'm already worried about the pacing of this season's content as it is, so there's that (if I had my way, these light novels would be movies or OVAs instead of parts of the season, but Bones doesn't like me so 🥲). I can't wait to hear your thoughts when you eventually read the light novel; it's really really good, definitely one of the best 💖
Dana
2023-01-31 22:59:30 +0000 UTCI have been thinking of doing a video on Beast, the novels/manga/movie -- it would definitely be after Season 4 is over! :)
Romaniablack
2023-01-28 18:42:01 +0000 UTCAhhhhh, that does make much more sense with the translation! Thanks for the clarification on that and the comments!
Romaniablack
2023-01-28 18:41:31 +0000 UTCWill you react to the movie Beast?
Stace
2023-01-28 03:03:09 +0000 UTCThe translation of "killing as a ritual" sounds different. There's another translation which is "killing for morality", which makes more sense. Oda understands killing for self-interested reasons, but not for moral, ethical reasons. I'm not sure which translation is correct though.
Stace
2023-01-28 02:54:21 +0000 UTCOohhhh, that's so cool! Thank you for the information!
Romaniablack
2023-01-24 05:10:56 +0000 UTCAlso the restaurant where Fukuzawa fed Ranpo is the same restaurant Dazai fed Atsushi
Stace
2023-01-24 00:16:42 +0000 UTCThis episode cut STRAIGHT TO THE CORE! And yeah, we're only three episodes in...hoo boy! Thanks for the comment!
Romaniablack
2023-01-21 19:55:35 +0000 UTCNah, the way I cried. What the hell BSD? It's the THIRD EPISODE!
Sebastián
2023-01-21 19:27:21 +0000 UTCYes! It's a great parallel! Thanks for the comment!
Romaniablack
2023-01-21 17:00:21 +0000 UTCFukuzawa had slapped Ranpo for being arrogant, while Dazai later slapped Atsushi for not believing in himself.
Stace
2023-01-21 16:17:51 +0000 UTC
