Manga Review: Bungo Stray Dogs

Don’t worry. Its spoiler free.

I loved the Bungo Stray Dogs anime. It comes in high on every list of the best Seinen anime- for good reason. It is amazing, from the unique protagonists, interesting anti-heroes and truly evil antagonists. The story arcs are explosive and unpredictable. There is growth, introspection, and motive.

I keep saying every anime is my favorite, but this is truly up at the top. Its one of a kind. I binged the whole series when I first watched it, and immediatly as I was finished, I watched it again (Which truly is not something that happens often.)

After finishing the anime and the Dead Apple OVA (which should not be missed. It is important to the storyline, and Dazai and Chuuya are so much fun to watch) I knew I needed more, so I picked up the manga.

Chapter 53 is where season 3 of the anime ends. Immediatly after the ending of that story arc, a brand new one begins. I struggled to find a way to talk about the upcoming arcs, since I promised to keep this review spoiler free. All I can say is the next few arcs don’t disappoint. They are just as spectacular as the previous ones.

New characters are revealed, some that are interesting and funny, some that are lovable and intropective, and others that are as evil as they come. We have the return of our heroes, back and better than ever, as well as some new interesting allies each with their own backstory, abilities and quirks.

Art: 5/5. The design is great, fun to read, easy to follow. I sometimes struggle with some action manga due to fighting, speech bubble placement, and so on… but BSD is easy to follow. There are often colored panels after each comic to show the scene in muted colors which are always special. The cover art is always great too!

Should you read it: Yes! If you loved the anime and want more, absolutely. Even for a beginner, it’s easy to keep up with and very enjoyable. As of this writing there are 98 chapters- and I’m curious to know if the production for season 4 hasn’t begun yet since the orverarching story that began in chapter 54 hasn’t quite wrapped up? In eny event, I am looking forward to seeing these next few story arcs animated.

Did you read the Bungo Stray Dogs Manga? What did you think?