Bungo Stray Dogs 3

The third season of Bungo Stray Dogs arrived in spring 2019, more than two years after the second. Studio Bones made it again, and it ran from April 12 to June 28, 2019, with 12 episodes. It adapts chapters 38 to 53 of the manga by Kafka Asagiri and Sango Harukawa. It builds on the first two seasons, so watch those first. The movie Dead Apple also came out in 2018, between Seasons 2 and 3.

Like Season 2, this season opens with a long look into the past. The person remembering is Ango Sakaguchi, a government worker who once knew Osamu Dazai well. He thinks back to a time years ago, soon after the former boss of the Port Mafia died. Back then, Dazai was only a teenager and a brand-new member of the Mafia. He is sent to look into rumors about a huge, strange explosion that once wiped out part of the city. People also whisper that the dead boss may have come back. To find the truth, Dazai is paired with Chuuya Nakahara, a hot-tempered boy who leads a rival gang. Their search leads them toward a legend about Arahabaki, a god of fire. These episodes show how two very different young people first became partners, and they reveal a darker, colder side of Dazai than viewers had seen before. They also show his bond with Mori, the man who now leads the Mafia.

After the flashback, the story comes back to today. The big fight with the Guild, the group from America, is over. The detectives and the Mafia joined forces to protect Yokohama, and for now the streets are quiet. Atsushi Nakajima, the boy who can become a tiger, goes back to ordinary cases with his friends. But peace does not last. Word spreads that groups from other countries are slipping into town. Dazai senses that something terrible is coming.

The main danger is Fyodor Dostoevsky, a very clever man who heads a secret group. Like everyone in this show, he is named after a famous writer, here the great Russian novelist. Fyodor likes to work from the shadows, so the agency must outthink him rather than just outfight him. Atsushi and the Mafia fighter Ryunosuke Akutagawa, who teamed up to beat the Guild's leader, still do not trust each other, but they may need each other again.

The season keeps the show's mix of goofy comedy and serious drama. Reviewers praised the flashback episodes in particular, and the series placed second in Newtype's anime awards for 2019. On MyAnimeList, it scores about 8.2 out of 10, and over 700,000 members have added it to their lists. It also sets up the larger conflict that Seasons 4 and 5 continue in 2023.