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**DISINTEGRATING HEADPHONE WARNINGS**  

Just when you think that things couldn't possibly get worse -- the trump card you thought the season was building towards gets played! There's mysterious things afoot, though, so I'm hoping something can pull our Detective Agency out of dire straights, because their plan has me eight KINDS of nervous!   

At this point, I'm just hoping everyone makes it out alive -- and we still have more than half a season LEFT. *sweats nervously*  

LINK TO REACTION: https://streamable.com/98m6y6

Thank you for watching with me and for all the support!

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Bungo Stray Dogs Season 5: Episode 5 Reaction! PORT IN THE SKY, PART 1?!

LINK TO REACTION: https://streamable.com/98m6y6 **DISINTEGRATING HEADPHONE WARNINGS** Just when you think that things couldn't possibly get worse -- the trump card you thought the season was building towards gets played! There's mysterious things afoot, though, so I'm hoping something can pull our Detective Agency out of dire straights, because their plan has me eight KINDS of nervous! At this point, I'm just hoping everyone makes it out alive -- and we still have more than half a season LEFT. *sweats nervously* Thank you for watching with me and for all the support! Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/RomaniaBlack My Anime: https://myanimelist.net/profile/RomaniaBlack Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/RomaniaBlack You can mail me a letter or anything (except food, please) at this address: Romania Black PO Box 768 Harrisburg, IL 62946 USA

Comments

—ARGENT

Yikes! This season just keeps getting worse and worse, Asagiri really knows how to stress someone out enough to the point they consider therapy. (Let's be real, it's the bsd characters who need it the most tho sjdnekdjh) lmaoo. But anyway, I actually have some thoughts of Fukuchi and Fyodor's relationship based on what you've been discussing. First off, I would like to establish my belief that Fyodor is someone who rarely gets his hands dirty himself. He is a master schemer and manipulator, just like Dazai. Their entire strategies usually hinge on the prospect that other people (their chess pieces) will act in accordance with their goals on the big wide chess board that is the world. It's honestly very creepy how meticulous they are even when not directly in the picture or actively commanding their associates to do such and such things. With that in mind, I think Fukuchi is another sort of catalyst for Fyodor's own ideologies to be set into motion. We see many examples of him using people to get what he wants while making them THINK they are the ones controlling him and that he is forcibly cooperating instead of the other way around. Take what they give him, give away what he has to, and the difference plays in his favor. Fukuchi is incredibly intelligent, don't get me wrong, but the problem is his desperation. He is so fixated on trying to purge the world of "Angels" while not realizing (or rather realizing and ignoring) that he has become an Angel himself, just as cruel and just as mad in order to "free" everyone from tyranny as he utilizes tyrannical methods. The hypocrisy/dichotomy of his identity as the heroic soldier who serves to save the innocent and the traumatized soldier who wears a thousand faces to kill, actually reminds me a lot of Reiner from AOT. Those who are manipulated into their designated paths are a fool to themselves because they also create a mask of deception that equally fools their conscious brain. As such, they become driven too much, their surviving self calls all the shots, wondering why true justice feels mythical instead of tangible. Fyodor wants to purge the world of gifted in a similar fashion and also sees himself as this prophet of God (perhaps God himself) but it seems more like a guise to excuse his actions— and what better excuse than the Lord(?)— rather than a delusion he is fully lost in. To that end, I think it's also important to note what Mori had said to Atsushi at the end of season 1, ep 12: "An arrogant enemy who feels invincible is the most vulnerable opponent of all." Fukuchi is OP as hell and I don't think he's entirely blinded by pride BUT that's precisely enough reason to believe that he can be a henchman if he's made into a LEADER or believes he is one. Leader of the Hunting Dogs. Of the Decay of Angels. Of the Army Of Mankind. And he might be so distracted with his violent desires, that he wouldn't realize if Fyodor was using him or not, it's maybe not even a possibility in his mind since he probably thinks he can easily eliminate those who don't align with him anyway (just like what happened with Jouno). And another thing that made me question this was what Fyodor had asked Dazai during their little counseling session in season 4, ep 8: "My subordinates are always waiting for instructions, they lack initiative. How might I get them to become more autonomous and effective?" Idk but if we put it into perspective now, it feels like he's taunting us, because Fukuchi is the perfect example of what Fyodor hinted he wants. Someone with initiative and who doesn't need orders to carry out a plan when he's already accomplished so much. And while Fyodor's sitting back all comfortable in his prison cell pulling the strings on other schemes while Fukuchi has his own agenda, it makes sense that there could be an opportunity for him to overrule the situation completely. Especially since Fukuchi is setting up so many things that fit Fyodor's criteria for gifted annihilation, whether international or not and that's probably why he may have chosen to work with him in the first place. I guess we'll just have to see but all of this is making me nervousss! 😭

Dana

Sorry Romania, but your pain fuels me. Feel the pain. FEEL what we've had to go through for years, with everything rapidly spiraling out of control and going to shit. Suffer with us :)))))) BSD is love, BSD is life, BSD is also Pain. It stands not for Bungou Stray Dogs but for "Big Sad, Damn", actually, or "Big Sad Depression" would perhaps be more fitting, or maybe "BULL SHIT, DAWG" would be the most accurate of all, lmao. Ahaha I am perfectly sane and normal from this series, yes I am-- *laughs while crying* Fukuchi and his stupid time sword is indeed ridiculous hax, and I still love BSD dearly and this doesn't even come close to ruining it for me, but this is probably the aspect/part of the series that I hate the most. And that's.... well, not great, considering that he's kind of the main antagonist here, aside from Fyodor! I feel like there's a lot of compelling themes Asagiri is trying to portray with him (as with all his other characters), specifically furthering the series' anti-war themes and commentary on the failings of the state, as I talked about a few episodes ago, but unfortunately all that is getting buried under the bs OP time sword here that's allowing him to take down literally all of our good guys one after another. Like, he keeps trying to portray himself as a sympathetic villain, but I can't feel for him at all because all I can do is hate him because he's so damn overpowered and undefeatable??? He's SO annoying and hateable, I just want him gone 😭😭😭 and I think what it comes down to is that Asagiri is a character writer first and foremost, but he isn't the greatest at writing the overall plot, which is also why BSD as a whole in the manga (excluding light novels) is mostly just a string of one-off chapters, and then mini arcs, until we finally reach this huge arc, and there's not really great transitions between any of these. BSD's pacing is one of its main weaknesses, and the anime only magnifies this problem because the pacing in the anime is even faster. But back to the point, Asagiri has explicitly said in an interview that "normal stories have the plot first, before characters are created along with the plot lines. However in our case, the restrictions of the plot might cause the characters to become too flat. Seeing the characters gave me inspiration for their pasts, and I was able to come up with really rich characters." This reverse approach of writing his story, BSD being so character-driven, is probably why I love it so much, and why the characters are some of the most nuanced and realistic and relatable I've ever encountered in media, but it does seem to cause Asagiri problems with creating a long-term manga plot as a whole, where he wants specific things to happen along specific characters' arcs, I guess, but he doesn't always know how to write a fully coherent and satisfying plot to make those moments happen. Again, BSD's flaws are nowhere near bad enough to ruin it for me, there's too much about this series that is incredibly special to me; this is just something I've come to realize about it, and how Asagiri operates. All that being said, no matter how bleak things get, I really do believe that BSD will have a happy ending, because this story is ultimately a hopeful one. Everything always comes back to what Dazai says to Fyodor about "humanity may be sinful and foolish, but what's so wrong about that?", but more importantly, what he says at the end of season 4: "The ones that really make the world turn are the ones who howl, run, and shed blood within the storms of uncertainty. You and I are powerless in the face of their intense spirits." BSD is about absurdism, which is the philosophy that the world is inherently absurd and irrational and that it's impossible to find meaning in it, but that there is value in rebelling against that absurdity and trying to live anyway. Every character who is struggling to live and find their reason to live in BSD embodies this idea, especially Dazai, who has changed so much since his Port Mafia days and has come to realize these things and appreciate them, thanks to Oda's dying advice to him -- which is basically that exact aforementioned concept, that Dazai will never be able to find the coveted "meaning to life" that he's always been searching for, but that his life will still become a little better (never perfect, but better) if he goes to the side of light and helps people. All of their struggles have value, and it's those struggles that make them stronger than supposed godly beings like Fyodor or Fukuchi or the Dazai of the past: therefore, Jouno enlisting a little girl to attempt to be the downfall of someone like Fukuchi is realistically a ridiculous idea, but thematically it's beautifully fitting, because it's the so-called "ordinary" folks in this universe that cause the biggest change. Just like Aku sparing that guard and then the guard indirectly saving Atsushi might have caused a domino effect, like you mentioned, Aya's actions here might also cause a domino effect for ending Fukuchi, regardless of whether or not she can actually do anything super effective or what we would consider powerful. It's the intentions that matter, in the end: the rebelling against the apparent futility of it all. And as you mentioned, there'd be such poetic irony if Aya made any kind of difference here, since a little girl isn't somebody that Fukuchi would ever consider a threat, and Jouno knew exactly that, which is why he picked her. "Walking Alone", the episode with Kunikida and Aya originally, is straight from canon, it's chapter 40 in the manga, so I've literally never understood why Bones made it an OVA (not that I can ever understand their decisions...)... especially because it came out at the end of season 2, but they skipped ahead two chapters to it, because chapters 38 and 39 are in season 3??? Not to mention that on pretty much every streaming site now it's considered episode 25 and lumped in with season 2, not even labeled as an OVA, so I'm just very confused by it all lol. JOUNO IN THE ADA WOULD HAVE BEEN SO INTERESTING 😭😭😭 His character is SO fascinating to me.... He was in a criminal organization before, and he still has sadistic tendencies, but he seemingly learned the value of protecting and helping people; he reminds me of Dazai??? Obviously not exactly the same, but the parallels are definitely there. That scene with the old woman is so powerful (THANK YOU FOR NOT CUTTING IT BONES, I WAS SO WORRIED)....... I just want to see so much more of his past, there SO many complexities with him I feel. And his ability is so COOL and it was animated so well; gone too soon 😭😭😭💔 You were exactly right about him being sus of Fukuchi last episode....... I remember reading this chapter and the whole time I was wondering and hoping Jouno was going to betray him.... I was so happy when he did, but if only he hadn't chosen to attack Fukuchi right then and there in that damn room. Ugh 😭🫠 I also just hate that Jouno is blind but Asagiri never really does anything with that aside from the heightened senses stereotype, and I swear by this point he straight-up forgot he made him blind at all; I don't know if Fukuchi telling Jouno to look at Bram without giving any kind of description at all was supposed to be a joke or not -- in the manga panel his expression very much is like "??? wtf bro, I'm blind" -- but it's frustrating either way 😭 don't take Jouno away so soon when he has so much interesting potential and should be disability rep to boot 😭😭😭🫠 Small detail I love: Aya walking in front of a store called "Smile Store", that's right behind Fukuchi when he tells her that "I'm here to protect your smiles". Similar to Kyouka walking by a crepe store when she and Atsushi are incognito on the street in season 4 (Kyouka loves crepes). Good stuff. BSD is not above making sexual references; the hacker kid makes a dick joke with his finger to Kunikida in the Dazai's Entrance Exam light novel, and there's also another one I can think of in another novel off the top of my head...... there's only a few, but they do exist, although I'm not sure if the sword was meant to be one lmao. Am extremely amused though by the fact that I saw a different set of subtitles that had Jouno calling his ass his "derriere". 🤣 This was another incredible episode though, with amazing art, animation, and my god, the TENSION in the last few minutes was absolutely stellar, I was SCARED. Cannot believe I'm saying this, but I'm actually really excited for the next one; here's hoping they keep the quality up. The ED is beautiful, I'm glad we finally got one (even if I wish it had original animation like the one in s4 :'''), cause at this point I was expecting we never would lol. Couldn't help but laugh to see that you were so out of it that it took you halfway through it to realize it was new. 🤣😭

romaniablack

Ahahahaha, I cannot IMAGINE the months you all have had to suffer chapter to chapter, but yes, the pain is REAL. “Spiraling” is a good word for it, hahaha! The *laughing while crying* is appropriate, here! Fukuchi is definitely such an aggravating antagonist and I like Asagiri tying in the anti-war message with his series. I do love that Asagiri is a character writer, though; that’s probably why I love this series so much! 🙂 I honestly write and think of stories a lot like Asagiri, so that’s funny! I DO hope that Dazai’s words come back to make the ending a hopeful and happy one! I’ll definitely have to note your line about absurdity because I really liked it! That is a good point about the OVA – I forgot that it was in the manga! It’s been so long! I can see a Dazai quality in Jouno, too! I love the parallels from the different “Sides” from this. I honestly forgot he was blind, though, until you mentioned it because of the note about “looking” at Bram, hahahahaha!! That’s a fun note about the Smile Store, too! And that’s RIGHT about the dick joke; I forgot about that! XD So risque! 😛 This episode was great but I’m just going to stay in this state of TERRIFIED the rest of the season. Cheers? But yes, the ED is really pretty! And yeah, this entire season has thrown me off so much! It’s been crazy and we’re only halfway through! Hoo boy! Thank you for the comment and kind words!