Bungou Stray Dogs

I LOVE THIS MANGA !
I watched the anime, after that I read the manga.
Characters have interesting personalities and all of them are trying to find some kind of recognition and appreciation of others. It is the most obvious with Akutagawa - Dazai - Atsushi triangle, but others do it too.
If you like action and a little bit of drama, you will like it !
I think story is classic - good guys and bad guys, but the way it's written is really interesting. All of the characters are on both sides in their own ways.
The connection between ''good guys'' and ''bad guys'' through the character of Dazai is a great idea.
His intellect is something that makes this story really great. He basically can predict the future in a way.
I hope that the anime will have more seasons based on this manga because of all the great stuff, scenes and fights.
I am not a big fun of art, it is just not my style. The art was the reason I wasn't sure if I will read the manga and watch the anime, but I am really glad I did. So, if you do not really like the art, trust me, you have to READ THIS MANGA and watch the anime.

I'd like to preface this review with the fact that I LOVE this series. I'm probably biased because it hits me right in all of the different features that I enjoy in manga. I only read it in the last few days, and it was a complete binge because I couldn't put it down. I've been reading manga for most of my life, and I think the only one I've enjoyed more was Shaman King, but this series has a long way to go, and may prove to be my favorite. I absolutely can't wait until it's licensed to be released in English.

Gushing aside, as of the time of this writing, only up to chapter 31 has been translated (even by fans, as far as I can find), so that's what I'm going on. The anime looked good, so I picked it up, only to not want to wait for the next episode to come out. So I decided to read the manga. It's just as good as the anime, if not better.

The story is handled very well. There are three factions fighting towards an end goal and against each other. Things are very clear when it comes to figuring out where the story is going--and yet not completely predictable. It's very much a common setup for the target audience genre, but that's certainly not a bad thing.

The art is extremely clear and nice to look at. The artist does a very good job with not only scenery and characters, but action scenes as well. It's all framed in a very nice way and it's easy to tell when you're looking at a comedic scene and when you're looking at a serious scene.

The characters are great, and with time, they're being fleshed out more. At this time, I think it's best to leave this category at "they have a lot of promise and the series hints that the promise will come to fruition."

I'm obviously enjoying this manga a lot, since I binged it and then scoured the internet for more translations once I was caught up.

Overall, I'd definitely suggest this to anyone and everyone--and I have been. Bungou Stray Dogs is a great read and it's looking like that will be the case for quite a while to come.

I decided to write this review because Bungou Stray Dogs's MAL page only has glowing reviews, and while I do think there were aspects of this manga that were likable, I didn't see any review reflecting what I thought were some notable aspects of this series, namely its mediocrity and subscription to overused shonen manga tropes. I was honestly surprised that this manga is categorized as a seinen manga because I think it resembles a shonen manga much more. That aside, I really only found BSD to be above average at best, and here's why.

Story (5): The story is the main bone I have to pick with this series. It's very battle-heavy, to the extent that I'll sometimes just skim the battles to get back to the plot. The only thing that keeps me slogging through the fight sequences is wanting to know more about certain characters' pasts. What happens besides the fighting is a lot of typical shonen manga plot points: teaming up with the baddies, nakama power, making the baddies see the light, nakama power, overly tragic past trauma, nakama power...and it'd be fine if these devices were at least executed in an original way, but the way BSD does it just makes me want to yawn because consistently the story lacks development and relies on tropes to progress. So if you enjoy the kind of plot found in Fairy Tail or similar manga, you'll eat this right up. Overall, the story runs on action and flashy, overpowered characters and it lacks dimension. There is no exploration of an overall theme or idea, which is what I think defines seinen masterpieces like Naoki Urasawa's Monster. The most recent chapters show potential for taking the series in better direction, but thus far the majority of the series is still lackluster.

Art (8): What initially attracted me to this manga was the art. I read that its art was among the most liked in Japan, and I thought the character designs looked nice. The art quality stays consistently strong throughout the series, something I appreciate. The artist avoids the "Same Face Syndrome" that plagues many other series, and there's even a page at the end of one chapter showing how each character has a different eye shape. The artist is clearly quite skilled, and I particularly enjoy the color palette used in the color splash pages. The style is more modern style, and vaguely reminiscent of Yana Toboso's (creator of Black Butler). I do think there is an over-reliance on screentones, and the artist has some trouble with making older people actually look old and not just like young people with facial hair. But in general, I think the art is quite good.

Character (6): The characters have an interesting premise in this story in that they are all named after renowned authors, and their attitudes and abilities are reflective of the works of the author they're named after. I found this to be quite interesting, and the mangaka pays quite a bit of attention to making the characters consistent with the characters of the authors' most famous pieces (see the characters F. Scott Fitzgerald, John Steinbeck, and Margaret Mitchell) and I think I was able to appreciate this more because I had read most of the books referenced for the English/American authors. The references of the Japanese authors were lost on me, but I trust that they are equally as nuanced.
Beyond this premise that doesn't have to do with the story at all, the characters are largely cut-and-dried, relying on eye-catching character designs to disguise their lack of true substance. I think the most interesting character is Dazai, though even he is rather flat as it is still unknown why he joined the detective agency and what motivates him in general, though this may be revealed later as the series is ongoing. The mangaka tries to make the characters quirky, but it ends up just coming off as contrived and forced. The series merely skims over character development, causing a lack of sufficient reason to feel attached to the characters.

Enjoyment (6): Despite the subpar plot and cookie-cutter characters, there was just enough for me to read this manga up to the most recent chapter, so it's a 6 for enjoyment. The quality of the art definitely helped. There's enough plot material to keep me reading, but it's rather superficial.

Overall (6): I think this manga is a fine time-passer that looks great on paper but fails to deliver much. It's like a mix of Black Cat and Owari no Seraph drawn in the style of Black Butler. It might be a good read for shonen manga junkies but I found that it lured me in under the guise of an original premise, but showed itself to be rather mediocre.

Stray dogs is the manga name that's trying to sound like a band name, and that's already a statement in itself. Its main appeal is unique story and character design that is blended with a familiar concept (power user organization fights bad guys) that seems to draw people in. Crime noir/gangster theme? check. City where anything can happen? check. Main conflict being war between groups of special power users? check. If you happen to be a fan of Durarara or Darker than Black, chances are that this manga will appeal to you.


Story-7
Atsushi, An orphan who is kicked out gets a second chance at life when he is saved by a suicidal man (Dazai) who happens to be the head of an ability user centered detective agency. The man offers him a job, and Atsushi having nowhere to go hopes that he can finally feel accepted for once. The main story focuses on his role in the agency and how his view of the world changes as more is revealed about the various ability users. Right now I don't feel that story is necessarily the strong point of this manga. The author is able to create suspense rather well and presents pretty much all of its characters as enigmatic-they seem to have backstories or pasts that haven't been looked into yet and are inexplicably also connected with...something. But we don't know yet. Rather, as of now it reads like that of a good shounen, which is rather a straightforward approach of fights and exposition. However, I feel that the story will become more prevalent and complex because right now the author has just barely established the important characters.

Art-9
The art is great. It well highlights in particular dramatic elements, where things like facial features need to be clearly expressed. The manga is drawn in a very clean way which is rather easy to look at but never skimps on details like costume and character design. In fact, each character can be identified by their clothes alone simply because the design of each one sets them all apart. Fight scenes are beautiful to look at and the effects around the powers that the characters use have a lot of impact. This is definitely one of Stray dogs strong points.

Characters-8
Where do I start? If you've noticed, each of the characters are named after rather well known authors in both Japanese and English literature (think books like the Great Gatsby or The Grapes of Wrath). The author's name also has a relation to what power the character has, and their powers are named after one of their works. This is a great way to familiarize the audience with the characters because it gives a small amount of interpretation as to what things they like and what their personality would be. A lot of their little habits are shown which gives us a better connection with them. At the same time, I feel that this concept could possibly feel gimmicky if future characters have nothing in common with their namesake other than it and their power, but that also would make it easier for the audience to follow without context. Nonetheless, I still feel that the author has so far kept consistent with naming. As for character depth, currently the only ones developed are Akutagawa, Atsushi, and Kyouka, but as mentioned earlier, all of the characters hold a TON of potential depth because the mystery atmosphere is captured so well. The series also has little symbols and metaphors throughout, like Atsushi's eyes or Dazai's use of the word "dog".

Enjoyment-9
Although it isn't very developed right now and the arcs feel somewhat short, Stray dogs nails all of the unique concepts that it introduces and feels very fresh as a result. The story and characters are just beginning to come together and I feel that the series as a whole holds a large amount of potential. This is one to watch out for.

Overall-9
An enjoyable mix of action and mystery, I would recommend Stray Dogs to anyone who feels like watching either genre or wants something new. The art is refreshing as well as the characters, which both are the furthest from "generic".

*note This review was made with 4 volumes released, 24 chapters and is subject to change.

I LOVE THIS MANGA READ IT MAKE IT POPULAR
story:10
Everybody loves TRAGIC right? The main character is not your ordinary person. He was abandoned by his parents, sent to an orphanage, the orphanage kicked him out, and the story begins with him starving to death..... he saves the life of a "SUICIDAL MANIAC" that is based off of osamu dazai. It turns out that osamu dazai (yes his name is the person who he is based off of and his ability his his best book) is a DETECTIVE of a "detective agency", which is actually a group that is made to do jobs that the govt. and polices and other shiz dont want to. It consists of people who have SPECIAL ABILITIES that not everyone is born with. And it turns out that the main character is one of them. And thus begins his new life where he does missions, fight, save, and go against the MAFIA.
Art: 10
I really liked the art, it was very DETAILED and COOL. The character's clothes were so STYLISH, and it is very fitting. I LOVED the MC's style like those GLOVES , SUSPENDERS, white collar shirt, pants, BELT, and his HAIR OMG HIS HAIR SOOO UNIQUE
Character: 10
The characters are really lovable, well except for the mafia (maybe). They are very funny especially the MC and suicidal maniac. And the "true detective" is really cool, he might act like a d*ck at first, but you'll understand why, it's really cool. They are really sylish. Everyone is very unique. These people include but are not limited to:
-A girl who has a brother complex, u might find her annoying at first, but you'll CRI (not literally) when u see what she will do to protect her brother
-A gentle guy, but DO NOT mess with his "family" (friends too)
-Suicidal badass maniac that is op in his own way and very funny, smart, and willful
-A doctor that is very badass, u might find her annoying, but when you see her skills and her actions. omg she on my top 10 badass women
-A wimpy MC at first, but when his past keeps on haunting him (which makes him wimpy) he thinks deeply and just go all super saiyan on the enemies
-There's so many good people so im just gonna stop right there.
Enjoyment: over 9000
MAN I LIVE FOR THIS STUFF! Im so impatient like when is it gonna update. 8 chapters in and im obssessed. It has so many genres and things i love about it, i think this will be in my top ten, no it already is, and let me tell you, i read a lot of manga, not as much as you veterans of 2D, but a lot.
Overall: 100
100 some of yall might not like it idk y, cuz some ppl might only watch (OR READ) hentai, some might only watch ecchi, some might only watch romance, well thats u and dis is meeeeeeeeee

The city of Yokohama, Japan gives light to a great story between a boy named Nakajima Atsushi, the Armed Detective Agency, the Port Mafia and many other guilds and groups that bring about a great read.

Story: 8
So far, so good. The plot has been developing greatly since the beginning of the series. I think people will end up speculating about what's going to happen next which is what a mystery-genre manga ought to be. The development of the plot comes along with new characters and freshly-laid-down arcs that will probably leave readers wanting for more.

Art: 9
Neatly and beautifully done. Characters are practically distinguished easily and are all appealing to the reader's eyes. Not to mention that some of their outfits are not at all generic in the 21st century but this just gives a good point in their own unique way. The fight scenes encompasses all the details and highlighting points of the characters' abilities and the action genre of the story.

Character: 9
Do you recognize any of them? The origin of the names of the characters and their abilities is a unique touch to this manga. The names of different Japanese, American and even Russian authors come out as befitting characters with some of their well-known works as their abilities. Also, unique attributes of some characters from the manga are also shared with the authors from real life. For example, Dazai Osamu (from the manga) is shown attempting to commit suicide by drowning himself in a river. On the other hand, Dazai Osamu (the author) was also suicidal and later on committed a double suicide with Tomie Yamazaki (never been mentioned in the manga) by drowning themselves. Connections like that also exist in other—but not all—characters and this just gives a more in depth knowledge about their origin and relationships with each other. Character development is also shown to progress admirably on every arc or when a connection between two characters has been established.

Enjoyment: 10
Definitely a must read. Action, mystery and comedy have been balanced well in this manga. It will come to a point wherein the readers will be encompassing their own ideas about the what's going to happen next. It's thrilling and mind-blowing in its own way. Everything comes together with each passing arc in the storyline and the series greatly holds potential. Better watch out, this manga will probably crawl up its way to the ranks on the long run.

Overall: 9
I wanted to give it a 10 but the story hasn't ended yet, right? I highly recommend this series being that it's a good read alongside with a good anime. It's not at all generic and will most likely get even better as the story progresses.

I'm currently asking for more.

Story: 7
The mangakas have set the plot up beautifully, and I, for one, can't wait for it to be set in motion. If they continue to handle it this well, it could become one of the more solid storylines I've seen

Art: 9
There's only one word to describe the art, and that word is beautiful.

Character: 6
I would love to give them a 7 (because they are interesting and well-written), but since there hasn't been much development, I have to knock them the score down a little. Of course, this is subject to change. There's only 12 chapters out after all.

Enjoyment: 8
It's easy and fun to read, with great art too.

Overall: 8
Between the amount of potential and the great way it's written, Bungo Stray Dogs definitely deserves a high score.