History Manga / BungouStrayDogs

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[[redirect:Manga/BungoStrayDogs]]

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''Bungou Stray Dogs'' (''Literary Master Stray Dogs'') is a {{Seinen}} manga by Kafka Asagiri and Harukawa 35 (pronounced "Sango") which began serialization in 2012. It also has novels and an anime in 2016, running for a Spring cour and a Fall cour. Its official anime website is [[http://bungo-stray-dogs.jp/ here]].

Atsushi Nakajima is kicked out of his orphanage. To make matters worse, there are rumors of a tiger on the loose and when he gets to a river, starving and with nowhere to go, there's a guy [[StartsWithASuicide committing suicide]].

Well, [[InterruptedSuicide trying to]] commit suicide.

The man attempting suicide is Osamu Dazai, a member of the Armed Detective Agency. He and Doppo Kunikida are out to find the tiger before anything (casualties, damage or the large bounties for said tiger) gets worse. These two, along with all the people at the Agency, have supernatural powers and Doppo has a sneaking suspicion that Atsushi's part of the big picture.

Not only that, but every single character has a name that corresponds to an author of (a) famous literary work(s) and their powers are based around the works they're known for...one work, at the minimum.

The character design has a vibe of TheRoaringTwenties, but the story is set in the present day.

It has absolutely nothing to do with a [[Manga/StrayDog Fullmetal Alchemist prototype]].

----
!! Literary stray tropes:

* ActionGirl: Akiko Yosano (see CombatMedic below), Kyouka Izumi (LittleMissBadass) and Ichiyou Higuchi (DarkActionGirl).
* AmbiguouslyGay: Edgar Allan Poe's obsession with Ranpo could easily be interpreted as romantic and Edgar hasn't shown any interest in women thus far.
* AnimeAccentAbsence: Everyone in the Guild, an American-based organization, seems to be able to communicate in flawless Japanese. This is never commented on.
* {{Animorphism}}: Atsushi can transform into a tiger.
** [[spoiler:Natsume Souseki, as revealed in chapter 50.]]
* AnthropomorphicPersonification: The characters are based on Japanese and Western writers and their superpower names are based on the books that they wrote. Other than that, fictional characters like Tanizaki Naomi are also based on the writer's published books.
%%* AwesomenessByAnalysis: Ranpo Edogawa. Also Dan Brown, but to everyone else that "awesomeness" is [[DanBrowned gibberish]].
* BerserkButton:
** Junichirou Tanizaki. Don't hurt his sister. Ever.
** Ryuunoske Akutagawa. Actually, he can be pissed off almost by anything. What triggers him most is realization that [[spoiler: Dazai has found a more capable subordinate than him]].
** Mentioning Dazai when [[FieryRedhead Chuuya]] is within range is the easiest way to get him pissed off.
* BlackEyesOfEvil: In manga vol. 5 artist Harukawa 35 [[WordOfGod confirms]] that ''evil'' characters in ''Bungo Stray Dogs'' have darker eyes than the ''good'' ones.
* BlindingBangs: Edgar Allan Poe.
* BokeAndTsukkomiRoutine: The interactions between Dazai and Kunikida when they're not working on a case often play out like this.
* BoomHeadshot: [[spoiler:Oda to some EliteMooks once he goes on a revenge mission against Mimic.]]
* BrotherSisterIncest: Junichirou and Naomi Tanizaki. Quite onesided on Naomi's part.
* BungledSuicide: Dazai is notorious for this.
* CallingYourAttacks: How one activates their ability.
* CastingAShadow: Rashomon, which is controlled by Akutagawa's jacket...cloak...thing.
* CharacterTics: Akutagawa coughs a lot and covers his mouth after that. Half of the time you see him speaking his mouth will be covered.
* TheChessmaster: Dazai, Ougai, and Fyodor are the most notable throughout the series (Dazai is quite notorious for this in universe, while Ougai plays the ObfuscatingStupidity card at times), [[spoiler: plus Gide and Oda in ''Dark Era'' due to their abilities]].
* CombatMedic: Akiko Yosano, who has to make sure the person she's healing is half dead first. She can even heal herself which is extremely handy, but painful.
* ComfortFood: ''Chazuke'' (tea on rice) for Atsushi.
* ConvenientlyAnOrphan: Most characters, but notably Atsushi, Kyouka, and Lucy.
* DamnItFeelsGoodToBeAGangster: The Guild. A bunch of international people named after real life authors who have awesome powers, live swanky lifestyles and kick tonnes of ass. The Port Mafia qualifies as well, with many of its higher-ranking members even dressing like [[TheRoaringTwenties Roaring Twenties]] gangsters, most notably Chuya.
** However, averted by Kyouka, who once was a pawn of the Port Mafia and at present still lives in fear of them despite her HeelFaceTurn, Dazai, who used to be a Mafia executive but now wants nothing to do with them, and in the Dark Era, Oda, who worked for the Mafia mostly [[PunchClockVillain for the paycheck]], and Ango, who [[spoiler: was a sleeper agent keeping tabs on the Mafia for the government]].
* DanBrowned: The real Dan Brown appears and his character's power involves reasoning and it is just as bad as his books' reasoning, the only difference is that everyone can actually see through the hogwash.
* DangerousForbiddenTechnique: Chuuya's true ability, Corruption, which will kill him and heavily damage surroundings unless Dazai is nearby to cancel its effect.
* DeadpanSnarker: Dazai is the master of this. [[InsufferableGenius Ranpo]], too, to an extent.
* DeathGlare: Akutagawa and Chuuya practice it a lot, Dazai and Ogai also have their moments.
* DefeatMeansFriendship: Deconstructed. Ranpo defeated Edgar Allan Poe in the past and Ranpo's egotistical sore winner showboating made Edgar hate the man he had admired until that moment. It wasn't until Ranpo defeated him a second time and treated him kindly in the aftermath that Edgar began to like him again.
* EnemyMine: The confrontation with The Guild has two big fights, which involve this trope. [[spoiler: Dazai and Chuuya vs. Lovecraft and Steinbeck; Atsushi and Akutagawa vs. Fitzgerald]].
* EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep: Applied to an entire organization- the Port Mafia doesn't seem to have a proper name, they're referred to as the Port Mafia because they're a mafia that controls the ports.
* EvilTowerOfOminousness: The Port Mafia's headquarters is a complex of five black skyscrapers that glow red at night.
* EvilWearsBlack: Port Mafia, with few exceptions. Also Lovecraft.
* EyesAlwaysShut: Ranpo Edogawa. Usually his eyes can be seen only when he is using ''Super Deduction'' or is greatly surprised.
* FashionableAsymmetry: Atsushi's bangs are cut at an angle with a long thin lock on one side, and Chuuya's hair is significantly longer on one side than the other.
* FightsLikeANormal: Several characters, including Dazai, Kunikida, Yosano, and Fukuzawa, due to their abilities not directly applying to combat or enhancing their combat skills. Dazai's ability also forces this on other people.
* GuardianEntity: Kyouka's, Kouyou's, Lucy's, and [[spoiler: Mori's]] abilities all manifest some form of this.
* HaveIMentionedIAmHeterosexualToday: Dazai in the first episode/chapter, when he holds Atsushi in his arms. The fangirls weren't convinced.
* HistoricalInJoke: There are plenty of scattered references to the characters' namesake writers' lives and works, but the most prominent is that Tanizaki and Akutagawa both have younger sisters and Mori has a young girl in his care, all three of whom are named after the title characters of stories by the writers that the three men are named after.
* InnocentBystander: Subverted. That funny man who gets in trouble with Atsushi and Junichirou turns out to be [[spoiler: mafia boss Mori Ogai]].
* IronicName: Applied to the Armed Detective Agency, who are armed with superpowers but aren't exactly detectives[[note]]They do some regular detective work, but mostly function as a privately-run special operations team[[/note]]. The only aversion to this would be Ranpo Edogawa whose "power" is just his awesome intellect. Yeah, ''that'' Ranpo Edogawa, listed under AwesomenessByAnalysis.
** None of the characters of Bungo Stray ''Dogs'' are described as dog-lovers, some of them actually hate dogs or are credited as cat-lovers.
* LighterAndSofter: The anime ''heavily'' plays up the comedic aspect of the series and downplays the grim nature of the manga.
* LiteraryAllusionTitle: Several chapters use the exact or modified title of the works by famous Japanese and Western authors. If it is the case, then the character named after this particular author will play an important role in the chapter.
* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters: Split into {{Cast Herd}}s by organization.
* LovecraftianSuperpower: Lovecraft, [[ShoutOut obviously]]. It manifests as CombatTentacles.
* MadBomber: Kajii Motojirou. He also qualifies for MadScientist.
* MasterOfIllusion: Junichirou Tanizaki, with his power Light Snow. Note he's a good guy when this is [[InvertedTrope normally a bad guy trope]].
* {{Meganekko}}: Louisa May Alcott.
* MyNameIsInigoMontoya: Akutagawa introduces himself to Atsushi on their first encounter.
--> '''Akutagawa:''' It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Akutagawa.
* NamedAfterSomebodyFamous: Everyone, from the protagonists to the one note characters, is named after a famous author or a character from an important literary work.
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: The Man Eating Tiger [[spoiler: which is the initial name for Moonlight Beast]], Golden Demon, Anne of the Abyss... some of the ability names can be really scary, even the ones inspired by harmless-sounding books.
* NiceHat: Chuuya Nakahara. [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chūya_Nakahara The poet he's named after also wore a similar hat.]] [[spoiler: Also Natsume Soseki.]]
* PostVictoryCollapse: Happens at least once with Chuuya and Akutagawa.
* PowerIncontinence: Atsushi at the beginning of the story and Chuuya when he unleashes his true ability. Kyouka can only control her ability through very specific means until she properly joins the Agency and Fukuzawa is able to use his ability to give her full control over it.
* PowerLimiter: Fukuzawa's ability allows him to limit the effectiveness of his subordinates' abilities, including outright [[PowerNullifier nullifying]] them.
* PowerNullifier: Dazai's power, No Longer Human, is the temporary version. Fukuzawa's also allows him to do this to his subordinates.
* PuppyDogEyes: Kyouka does this once, asking if she can be accepted into the Agency.
* RagtagBunchOfMisfits: The Agency. An orphan who can become a tiger, a mafia runaway, a suicide-lover, the list goes on...
* RealityWritingBook: The {{MacGuffin}} Fitzgerald is seeking. Atsushi's ability is supposedly the ticket to finding it.
** Kunikida's notebook is a minor type 3 example, his ability allows him to create small objects by writing in it.
* RewritingReality: Kunikida's Ability, Doppo's Poetry. His notebook is a type 3 RealityWritingBook that can be used to create physical objects.
* {{Rule 63}}: Kyouka Izumi and Ozaki Kouyou were male in real life. Here they are female characters.
* ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney: Lampshaded for the Guild, and kind of exaggerated in case of Fitzgerald's ability. [[spoiler: He can spend money to increase his combat strength.]]
* SecretTestOfCharacter: Passing one is a requirement for joining the Agency.
* SharpDressedMan: Many of the characters dress like they just walked out of the 1920s, even though the series is set in modern times. That means that many of the men sport longcoats, waistcoats, and suits, while the women wear fashionable skirts and kimonos.
** Majority of the authors the characters were inspired by were writing around the 20s, which could explain the outdated attire.
* SignatureSoundEffect: Curiously, every Akutagawa appearance is accompanied not by an EvilLaugh, but by coughing. It isn't pointed out yet if he is seriously ill, it could be asthma or something worse.
* SpellMyNameWithAnS: Many characters whose names include the Japanese long o- or u- sound are sometimes spelled with the extra u and sometimes not (for example, "Junichirou" and "Chuuya" versus "Junichiro" and "Chuya," with both spellings being technically correct). This also happens with the series title, though the official English spelling for both the anime and the manga is "Bungo."
* SpinOff: The chibi comedy ''[[http://bungoustraydogs.wikia.com/wiki/Bungou_Stray_Dogs_Wan! Bungou Stray Dogs Wan!]]'', the novel series ''Bungou Stray Dogs Gaiden'', [[http://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2017/02/19/all-new-bungo-stray-dogs-movie-announced a movie and a stage play]].
* SuicideAsComedy: Dazai's morbid fascination with suicide and frequent [[BungledSuicide bungled]] or [[InterruptedSuicide interrupted]] attempts are almost always played for BlackComedy.
* SuperStrength: Kenji Miyazawa, but he has to be running on an empty stomach first. Fitzgerald as well, with his strength proportional to the amount of money he's spent. Atsushi has a more limited version based on partial tiger transformations.
* SupportPartyMember: Among the Agency, Dazai, Ranpo, and Junichiro all fill this role, due to their skill sets and abilities being oriented more towards tactics or reconnaissance than combat. Yosano fits as well, as a CombatMedic.
* TakeThat: It's pretty obvious the writer isn't very fond of Dan Brown, who makes his power the ability to reason improperly.
* TeethClenchedTeamwork: During the conflict with the Guild, Dazai and Chuya team up to fight Lovecraft and Steinbeck (and argue with each other the entire time), and Atsushi and Akutagawa team up to fight Fitzgerald (but only after a fight that culminates in them realizing that they understand each other better than they thought they did).
* TheGoodTheBadAndTheEvil: We start with the Detective Agency (The Good) vs. Port Mafia (The Bad), and then The Guild (The Evil) arrives. [[spoiler: The best thing is that The Guild arc doesn't seem to lead to FriendlyEnemy status, despite attempts to forge an alliance between the Agency and Mafia.]] After the Guild largely disbands, the Rats in the House of the Dead arrive to take their place as The Evil.
* TheNapoleon: Among the adult characters Chuuya Nakahara is the shortest one and extremely hot-tempered. It is hard to tell though if he does have HeightAngst because of this, as only Dazai jokes about his height and they clearly can't stand each other.
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Every time Akutagawa meets Atsushi, he delivers variations of his 'Weaklings should die' speech. It [[BreakThemByTalking deeply affects]] Atsushi at first, but he manages to [[WorldOfCardboardSpeech overcome it later]]. The two effectively give each other one before teaming up to fight Fitzgerald.
* TookALevelInBadass: Atsushi clearly goes through CharacterDevelopment during the course of the story from a humble orphan to a valuable member of the Agency.
* TrademarkFavouriteFood:
** Crepes for Kyouka, specifically with strawberries and cream. Atsushi's gotten crepes for her twice. She's also extremely fond of boiled tofu.
** Atsushi's is ochazuke, a Japanese dish made with rice, tea, and savory toppings.
** Ranpo loves candy and soda, and is rarely seen at the office without something sweet close at hand.
** Chuya likes alcohol, particularly expensive wine.
* TranslationTrainwreck (or [[BlindIdiotTranslation lack of knowledge]]): Why Dazai's and Kunikida's abilities end up translated as "human elimination" and "lone poet" (or "the matchless poet" in the official Yen Press translation of the manga) sometimes. [[note]]For the former, "Shikkaku" can mean "disqualification" or "elimination", but the book's name is "No Longer Human" so it should be translated as such. For the latter, the kanji used for Doppo Kunikida's given name can be read as "solitary," but the title of the book the ability is named after is "Doppo's Poetry."[[/note]]
* VolleyingInsults: Several duos of characters can be named, but Osamu Dazai and Chuuya Nakahara's relationship truly stands out. They can't spend a minute without insulting each other. At times their dynamic can be seen as variation of LikeAnOldMarriedCouple.
* WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway: This trope is [[ZigZaggingTrope going crazy]] in case of Motojirou Kajii's ability. First you were made aware that his ability is ''making lemon-shaped bombs'', that is quite handy, but later you learn that [[spoiler: it isn't his real power. The real one is ''not being harmed by lemon-shaped bombs'', which could make him a loser in the SuperpowerLottery if he wasn't using exactly this kind of bombs.]]
* WeMeetAgain: Atsushi and Akutagawa gets one [[spoiler: (by the end of chapter 33.)]]
* WordSaladTitle: ''Bungo'' is Japanese written language, ''Stray Dogs'' is self-explanatory. While characters are based on real writers or poets, few of them can be called "stray". The author said that they wanted a title that [[AGoodNameForARockBand sounded like the name of a rock band]].
* WritersCannotDoMath: Mostly in the form of ImprobableAge, Kunikida is the biggest victim of this (he used to be a math teacher before joining the Agency, despite being only 22 years old and one of the Agency's earlier members, looking like he's reaching thirty), but the timeline of the also 22-year-old Dazai's backstory (or [[MysteriousPast what's known of it at least]]) is inconsistent and improbable as well.

** This is highly likely, as the authors the characters are based off of were predominantly writing around the 1920-30s.

* AwesomenessByAnalysis: Ranpo Edogawa. Also Dan Brown, but to everyone else that "awesomeness" is [[DanBrowned gibberish]].

* DanBrowned: The real Dan Brown was turned into a manga style character to promote his novel [[Literature/DanBrownsInferno Inferno]] in Japan. Said character's power involves reasoning and it is just as bad as his books' reasoning, the only difference is that everyone can actually see through the hogwash.

* TakeThat: It's pretty obvious the writer isn't very fond of Dan Brown.

** This is highly likely, as the authors the characters are based off of were predominantly based around the 1920-30ss.

** This is most likely because the authors the characters are named after began/were writing around the 1920s.

** [[spoilers: Natsume Souseki, as revealed in chapter 50.]]

Character design has a vibe of TheRoaringTwenties, but the story is set in present time.

* {{Animorphism}}: Atsushi.

It has absolutely nothing to do with a [[Manga/StrayDog Fullmetal Alchemist prototype]]. Unlike that one's name this one has no dogs at all.

* BerserkButton

* LovecraftianSuperpower: Lovecraft, [[ShoutOut obviously]]. The power type is CombatTentacles.

* NiceHat: Chuuya Nakahara. [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chūya_Nakahara The poet he's named after also wore a similar hat.]]

* SharpDressedMan: Many of the characters dress like they just walked out of the 1920's, even though the series is set in modern times. That means that many of the men sport longcoats, waistcoats, and suits, while the women wear fashionable skirts and kimonos.
** This is most likely because the authors the characters are named after began/were writing around the 1920's.

* SpinOff: The chibi comedy ''[[http://bungoustraydogs.wikia.com/wiki/Bungou_Stray_Dogs_Wan! Bungou Stray Dogs Wan!]]'' and the novel series ''Bungou Stray Dogs Gaiden''.

* DeadpanSnarker: Dazai is the master of this.

* VolleyingInsults: Several duos of characters can be named, but Osamu Dazai and Chuuya Nakahara's relationship truly stands out. They can't spend a minute without insulting each other.

* WritersCannotDoMath: Mostly in the form of ImprobableAge, Kunikida is the biggest victim of this (he used to be a math teacher before joining the Agency, despite being only 22 years old and one of the Agency's earlier members), but the timeline of the also 22-year-old Dazai's backstory (or [[MysteriousPast what's known of it at least]]) is inconsistent and improbable as well.

* PowerIncontinence: Atsushi at the beginning of the story and Chuuya when he unleashes his true ability. Kyouka can only control her ability through very specific means until Fukuzawa effectively reboots it.

* TranslationTrainwreck (or [[BlindIdiotTranslation lack of knowledge]]): Why Dazai's and Kunikida's abilities end up translated as "human elimination" and "lone poet" sometimes. [[note]]For the former, "Shikkaku" can mean "disqualification" or "elimination", but the book's name is "No Longer Human" so it should be translated as such. For the latter, the kanji used for Doppo Kunikida's given name can be read as "solitary," but the title of the book the ability is named after is "Doppo's Poetry."[[/note]]

* TranslationTrainwreck (or lack of knowledge): Why Dazai's and Kunikida's abilities end up translated as "human elimination" and "lone poet" sometimes. [[note]]For the former, "Shikkaku" can mean "disqualification" or "elimination", but the book's name is "No Longer Human" so it should be translated as such. For the latter, the kanji used for Doppo Kunikida's given name can be read as "solitary," but the title of the book the ability is named after is "Doppo's Poetry."[[/note]]

* RagtagBunchOfMisfits: An orphan [[spoiler: who can become a tiger]], a mafia runaway, a suicide-lover, the list goes on...

* TranslationTrainwreck (or lack of knowledge): Why Dazai's power ends up translated as "human elimination" sometimes. [[note]]"Shikkaku" can mean "disqualification" or "elimination", but the book's name is "No Longer Human" so it should be translated as such.[[/note]]

* SupportPartyMember: Among the Agency, Dazai, Ranpo, and Junichiro all fill this role, due to their abilities and skill sets being more utility-oriented than combat-oriented. Yosano as well, as a CombatMedic.

* SuperStrength: Kenji Miyazawa, but he has to be running on an empty stomach first. Fitzgerald as well, with his strength proportional to the amount of money he's spent. Atsushi has a more limited version based on performing limited tiger transformations.

* RewritingReality: Doppo's Ability, Doppo Poetry. Type 3, the RealityWarper book that brings things into being.

* TheGoodTheBadAndTheEvil: We start with the Detective Agency (The Good) vs. Port Mafia (The Bad), and then The Guild (The Evil) arrives. [[spoiler: The best thing is that The Guild arc doesn't seem to lead to FriendlyEnemy status, despite attempts to forge an alliance between the Agency and Mafia.]]

* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Every time Akutagawa meets Atsushi, he delivers variations of his 'Weaklings should die' speech. It [[BreakThemByTalking deeply affects]] Atsushi at first, but he manages to [[WorldOfCardboardSpeech overcome it later]].

* TeethClenchedTeamwork: During the conflict with the Guild, Dazai and Chuya team up to fight Lovecraft and Steinbeck (and argue with each other the entire time), and Atsushi and Akutagawa team up to fight Fitzgerald.

* SecretTest: Happens with Atsushi in the second chapter.

* SuperStrength: Kenji Miyazawa, but he has to be running on an empty stomach first. Fitzgerald as well, with his strength proportional to the amount of money he's spent.