Bungo Stray Dogs 2

This is the second season of Bungo Stray Dogs, made by Studio Bones. It aired in fall 2016, from October 6 to December 16, with 12 episodes. It continues straight on from the first season, which aired earlier that same year, and it adapts chapters 15 to 37 of the manga by Kafka Asagiri and Sango Harukawa.

The season starts in an unusual way. Instead of jumping back into the action with Atsushi Nakajima, the first episodes go back in time, years before the main story. Back then, Osamu Dazai was not a detective at all. He was a very young boss in the Port Mafia, the criminal group that rules the dark streets of Yokohama. These episodes are based on a side novel called Dazai Osamu and the Dark Era. They show his quiet friendship with two other men. One is Sakunosuke Oda, a low-ranking Mafia member. The other is Ango Sakaguchi, a man who gathers secret information. After work, the three like to sit and talk at a small bar called Lupin.

One night, Ango goes missing. The only thing left of their time together is a photo of the three friends. What happens next shapes the man Dazai becomes, and it helps explain how he ended up at the Armed Detective Agency. Reviewers praised these flashback episodes. They are calm, sad, and very human, and they give Dazai, who usually hides behind jokes, real depth.

After the flashback, the show returns to the present day. Dazai is now with the agency, working beside Atsushi, Doppo Kunikida, and the others. A new threat arrives from overseas. The Guild is a group of gifted people from America, led by Francis Scott Fitzgerald. Like the other characters, its members are named after famous writers. The Guild wants the agency's official permit, the legal paper that lets the detectives do their work. This means the agency now has to fight on two fronts. On one side is the Guild, and on the other is the Port Mafia, which is still its rival.

This part of the story becomes a struggle for the whole city, with three groups pulling against each other. Atsushi has to grow stronger and braver. He also has to deal with Ryunosuke Akutagawa again, the Mafia fighter who has been his bitter rival, and the two end up in an uneasy alliance. The season mixes the show's usual humor with bigger battles, more danger, and more emotional weight than before.

On MyAnimeList, this season scores about 8.2 out of 10, higher than the first season, and close to a million members have added it to their lists. If you liked the first season's mix of odd detectives, book-themed jokes, and action, this one is where the story really starts to grow.