Bungou Stray Dogs Season 2-
One of the driving themes behind the show is the value of self-worth and how hard it is to obtain it. It drives a number of characters who are seeking something intrinsically missing in their lives. Atsushi is driven by a notion of worthlessness driven into him as a child. Akutagawa seeks acknowledgement from Dazai due to being raised in the slums and so can only affirm his existence through combat. Dazai initially tried to make himself 'whole' during his Port Mafia tenure through the thrill and danger. Oda wanted to become a better person through his care of the orphans. Kyouka only sees herself as a killer and feels trapped in the role others defined for her. Expanding on that, the anime shows how crippling self-doubt and self-labeling can be. Atsushi is bound by chains forged of his own making. Yes they were tempered by his past but as Akutagawa points out, it has blinded Atsushi to the point where he's failing to recognize how good his current circumstances are. He has to move forward and determine his worth not by how others value him but by his own internal metrics.
I wasn't feeling the early parts of the 'proper' Season 2 (post flashbacks). It felt as if Atsushi had reverted back from some of the character development he had made at the end of the first cour. The Guild wasn't particularly interesting either early on, primarily from an ability standpoint as they seemed to be mirrors of existing abilities. However that shifted a bit and the show ended a lot stronger than I expected. Atsushi and Akutagawa's interactions helped further the other's character progression. The Guild's plans kept getting increasingly crazier. Some of the later Guild abilities were pretty fun as well such as Edgar Allen Poe's.
Gatsby's power is so stupid that I love it. The show does a better job of balancing the comedy vs dramatic moments compared to the first cour.
From a visual standpoint this is easily one of BONES's more striking productions, not so much due to the combat sequences but rather the art direction and storyboarding. Igarashi shows generally have great layouts and this is no exception. There are a lot of iconic scenes in the show due to how good the storyboarding is. Storyboarding is really the heart of any anime and Igarashi has long since mastered it. I didn't even know that Igarashi storyboarded or directed the last episode when I watched it but the quality on all fronts was so high that you can tell anyway. The character art in the finale was an
embarrassment of riches. There's also a plethora of reaction faces throughout both seasons.
So.
Many.
Reaction.
Faces.
Is the rest of S2 as great as the opening four episodes? No. Those were of a different caliber and beast altogether. However the rest is good in the sense that it's an improved version of S1 with a tighter scenario, bigger stakes, and better handling of tone discrepancy. It's nowhere near as scattershot as S1 where almost everything felt clunky (besides episodes 7-10). The heavier focus on internal-conflict helped to thematically tie the season together. Igarashi should just continue doing more adaptations (well either that or get rid of Enokido).
Special call out to the
fantastic ED. It really drove home some of the more emotional moments in the season. When Kyouka walks into the Agency and her eyes light up...
