Title: Bungo Stray Dogs Vol. 16
Author: Kafka Asagiri (Story), Sango Harukawa (Art)
Publisher: Yen Press
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Pages: 192
Genre: Sci-Fi, Action
Publication Date: November 24, 2020
The Story
Volume sixteen of Bungo Stray Dogs sees the deal made between Atsushi and Fitzgerald; however, it wasn’t a deal that was easily made. Fitzgerald had a member of the guild, Ms. Mitchell, being cared for as she was in a coma. The deal was for Atsushi to bring her to Yosano so she could use her skill to heal her. In exchange, Fitzgerald will give him information on how to save and rebuild the ADA after they were framed and are now being hunted by the new group The Hunting Dogs.
The ADA and the Mafia are also coming to working terms with each other. Their demand is that one member of the ADA switches over to the Mafia in exchange for their protection. The person that they want is Yosano. The majority of the volume then deals with Yosano’s complete backstory and how she and Mori had a history with each other and why she doesn’t want to go back.
Fitzgerald ends up getting in contact with them and alerts them to the situation; however, the Mafia feels it’s a trap but they are bound by Mori’s orders to assist them. Once they get to the meeting place and wait for Atsushi, one of The Hunting Dogs shows up and a battle takes place. Apparently, this is the fifth member of The Hunting Dogs that was eluded to in the last volume and it appears as though he can manipulate swords at will, sending them flying through the air or even controlling swords held by someone else.
There is something off about this skill user that doesn’t sit well with Yosano. Just when she thinks she has it figured out, the mysterious fifth member reveals their identity and our volume comes to a close.
Simply thrilling! After reading Yosano’s backstory, there is no way that you can’t feel sorry for her. Everything she went through… how she earned the nickname The Angel of Death… all of it created a ton of sympathy for her as a character. There was even some well-earned respect for Ranpo during her backstory as well as if it weren’t for him, Yosano probably wouldn’t have joined the ADA or be where she is today. The ending wasn’t so much a cliffhanger as it was more of a shock. I liked the subtle misdirection they used to build up to the ending while still making it relevant to everything else that was established in this volume! Not a major swerve but one that was still extremely interesting!
The Characters
Yosano was front and center in this volume as the bulk of it was dedicated to her backstory. War has changed over the years. Those who wielded the sword died out because guns were created. That turned into cannons, then ships, planes, bombs, etc. Skill users are the next evolutionary step for war and Yosano’s skill of healing others was to be used to prove that skill users were worth investing in.
However, the praise she received soon turned into a curse. The soldiers she helped were being sent back to the front lines only to get healed by Yosano and then sent back out again. It wore on Yosano’s mind as well as the soldiers. Some of them began to realize that as long as Yosano was around, they would never be able to go back home. In fact, one of them made an attempt on her life because of it. Some of those soldiers who once called her an Angel, started to refer to her as the Angel of Death.
What’s worse was that Yosano’s commanding officer is one that we all know… the current head of the Port Mafia, Mori! He was her superior during the war and the one who controlled her very destiny. He forced her to heal and care for the soldiers just so they can go back out and lose a limb, get shot, etc. Mori couldn’t care less about their well-being. He was simply obsessed with proving to the brass that skill users were the future of warfare and he would stop at nothing to get his point across. It was for that very reason she didn’t want to make the deal with Mori and rejoin the Mafia in exchange for their protection.
Final Thoughts
Another amazing edition of Bungo Stray Dogs! Yosano’s backstory was so deep and interesting that it could have been a spinoff series on its own. Also, I love the little game that Dostoevsky and Dazai played while in prison together. They are playing mind games with each other but either side is way too smart. This is turning into a fun game of mental chess that I’d like to see a bit more of.
The next volume looks to pick up the action with Yosano vs the fifth member of The Hunting Dogs. Plus, we may get the information out of Fitzgerald in regards to saving and rebuilding the ADA! Lots of great stuff is coming and while I may sound like a broken record, I need to restate it again… this series just keeps getting better and better with each and every volume! I love all of the details between the characters, how their pasts tie into the main story, how everything has an impact on the world, and so forth.
This volume proves that once again and makes you wonder just how many other people have deep-rooted connections to each other throughout the various factions? If there is one thing that Bungo Stray Dogs excels at versus a lot of other manga I’ve read, it’s that it’s amazing at world-building and tying character development directly into it! This volume is a prime example of that!
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This item was provided for review by Yen Press
