Bungo Stray Dogs, Vol. 26

文豪ストレイドッグス [Bungō Stray Dogs] (Comic) #26

by Kafka Asagiri (Original Story), Sango Harukawa

IL PIANO DI DOSTOEVSKIJ STA PER COMPIERSI. Sfruttando il proprio potere segreto, il superuomo è riuscito a riunire le tre singolarità e si prospettano guai grossi per l’Agenzia di Detective Armati. Peggio che trovarsi a dover impedire la vampirizzazione del mondo? Quella era una passeggiata in confronto…

Genres: Manga, Fantasy, Mystery, Comics Manga, Action, Fiction, Graphic Novels

Kindle Edition

First published February 4, 2025

About the author

See 朝霧カフカ (Asagiri Kafka).
Japanese scenario writer and novelist.

Reviews

[Jaye Berry]

Take a shot every time a beloved character dies extremely fast and enjoy your trip to the hospital from the alcohol poisoning.🫶

[Danielle Murray · Rating 5 out of 5]

120: I’m going to blow up and explode and blow up and expl

121.5 edit: oh my god

122 edit: i’m literally gonna cry akutagawa i will NEVER hate you idc… “the next time i say him he was with his ‘new boy’” 😭😭😭😭😭he’s my favourite when is he going for be happy when is dazai going to apologize to him when will he apologize to kyouka… and also like half of yokohamas he’s beat up…. i need his redemption arc so bad i’m actually tweaking. also atsushi hallvulinating the director 😞😞😞😞😞😞😞


126 edit: this series is so stupid because i love it and want to binge all of it but it’s ongoing so it’s just. yeah i’m really excited. in 3 months i’m gonna see the Guild of North American Authors, lead by F Scott Fitzgerald link up with the Japanese Mafia to bomb Fyodor Dostoyevsky. no its really good i promise. hey why are you walking away

On a story note,
1. VERLAINE?!?!!🤯 IN THE MAIN SERIES??🤯

2. can akutagawa not do rashoumon in any clothes? why did dazai make him stop to change outfits in the middle of a fight to literally save everyone’s life. there are bigger fish to fry bozo. he’s just mad akutagawa wasn’t wearing his old ass coat anymore. what a narcissist. god forbid a guy wants to dress like a fantastical knight instead of a medieval peasant. last time i checked dazai didn’t even kill permanently dostoyevsy AND his outfit was ugly. akutagawa 🔛🔝

[Sima ✨ · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is getting more complex and also repetitive. The past chapters are just a loop of death with the characters and we are still not sure who is dead or who is alive, and what if they are just in a novel written by Poe! Well KAFKA what are you doing exactly with all those characters, atsushi is just like us sitting there reading and watching 😭

[Nea Poulain · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bueno Kafka Asagiri, no sé te olvide que elegí confiar en ti y te quiero mucho

[Lili · Rating 5 out of 5]

C'EST QUOI CE BORDEL

(Dostoïevski dans ce tome, grrr)

[Eli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Creo que por acá ya me perdí completamente con la historia

[pollia h]

fyodor i hope u die in a ditch

[sol🌈 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bram’s backstory… 😭😭😭😭😭😭

[Julian King · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vorrei solo urlare.
Come arrivo al prossimo volume?

[Agnès · Rating 2 out of 5]

this feels like glorified slaughter and i don’t even think you can trust it with the rate these people keep coming back

[H · Rating 3 out of 5]

*This review is for Bungo Stray Dogs as a whole, not just this volume. I will add the same review under every volume.*

BSD is good, but not great. I like the character designs and the art is amazing. But it's way too overhyped in my opinion. There are some things I didn't like or found pretty dumb.

1. Everyone is a genius syndrome: 10 characters or even more have an insanely high IQ. if everyone is a chess god playing mind games, then nobody actually is. At some point it stops being 'clever' and starts being exhausting. Like let someone actually miscalculate ONCE without it being part of some bigger plan. BSD intelligence is stylized, exaggerated, plot driven, "genius aura", and characters know things because the story says so. So when someone says "Dazai has an IQ of 200" That number means basically nothing. Just "Please believe he is very smart." Same with Ranpo. An IQ of 200+ is not even useful in real world context. Authors use it like a power level. I prefer characters with realistic intelligence. Because they could exist, you could meet them, and you wouldn’t realize what they're doing until it’s too late. That’s way scarier than an IQ stat pulled from someone’s ass. Actually, where do BSD IQ numbers even COME from?? Asagiri did not run these characters through a Wechsler test. There is no in universe scene where Dazai sits down with a psychologist, Mori hands out scantrons, or Ranpo speedruns Mensa. IQ in BSD functions like "This character is very smart, please clap." Dazai's IQ is 200, Fyodor's is 200 (people argue about Dazai's and Fyodor's IQ, but I really don't care if it's 200 or 215), Ranpo's is 215, Mori's is 175+, Ango's is 170+, a lot of people say Chuuya's is also secretly 150+. So what does "smart" even mean anymore? It becomes a badge, a hierarchy, a fandom flex instead of a special skill/trait and something demonstrated. If everyone is a genius, no one is. There’s no contrast.

2. plot armor thicker than concrete: some characters should’ve been dead five arcs ago. I don't actually mind the plot armor that much, but sometimes it's a bit ridiculous. It gets a bit annoying when every loss is secretly a win in disguise.

3. Fake ugliness: This is the one that bothers me the most. BSD talks about the dark, ugly sides of humanity but then makes them hot, tragic, romantic, and conveniently justified. That’s not ugliness that’s aestheticized suffering. BSD wants to say "Look how ugly and broken humans are." But everyone is hot, everyone is exceptional, everyone has poetic trauma. So the ugliness is symbolic, sanitized, controlled. It’s shown from a distance. The characters are extremely competent, hyper talented, admired by the narrative, rarely truly powerless. They’re bad at living in a romantic way.

4. The female characters are badly written: not necessarily offensively bad but thin. They’re underdeveloped compared to the men, their trauma is glossed over, they rarely drive the plot in a way that isn’t immediately overshadowed, and when they are competent the narrative doesn’t linger on their inner world the same way it does with the guys. Meanwhile the male cast gets internal monologues, philosophy dumps, elaborate mind games and mythologized suffering.

5. The tragic backstory inflation: people don't like when someone complains about this, and I think all the backstories are interesting, but practically every character has the most insane past ever. Everybody’s parents are dead, abused, betrayed, experimented on, orphaned, shot, drowned, and emotionally obliterated. What bothers me is that for a lot of characters (especially female ones) we get a tragic past, one flashback, maybe one emotional speech, and then it’s never meaningfully addressed again. No long-term consequences, no behavioral patterns that actually complicate the plot, no messy coping, regression, or contradictions. It’s always maximum suffering, minimum specificity. Abuse. Experiments. Dead family. Betrayal. Rinse, repeat. Nuanced backstories would be things like loving parents who still fucked you up unintentionally, doing something morally wrong by choice and having to live with it, being privileged but empty, being loyal to the wrong people for too long, slow corruption instead of "one horrific event", failure without a villain to blame. BSD almost never does that. It prefers "Something horrible happened TO me" instead of "I made a decision that shaped who I became." And that’s why it all feels glamorized. If the character is a victim of extreme circumstances, the narrative can always go "see? not their fault." Nobody has to sit in the discomfort of agency. That’s also why characters like Dazai get sanitized by the fandom. If his past is framed as 'he was broken and saved" then people can pretend he was secretly good all along when the whole point should’ve been that he’s functional, charming, and still morally fcked. BSD could have been so much stronger if it trusted quieter uglier human flaws instead of trauma shock value. Less "experimented on as a child" and more "I chose wrong and kept choosing wrong."

6. The characters are not relatable: You always see many people being like "I kin Dazai" but in my opinion, they are not relatable at all. BSD characters don’t feel like people, they feel like concepts wearing drip. The constant galaxy brain IQ, hyper optimized trauma, perfectly timed suffering, flawless execution of plans…creates distance. You’re not watching someone LIVE, you’re watching someone perform a role the author assigned them. Real people misread situations, act out of insecurity, get lucky instead of smart, regret things that weren’t "necessary", fail in boring embarrassing ways. BSD characters almost never do that. Even their breakdowns are aesthetic. Even their mistakes are "actually part of the plan." That kills relatability HARD. You can always relate in theory. But it’s surface level "I relate to their trauma" or "I relate to feeling lost" and not "I recognize this person’s thought process" or "I’ve made that exact dumb choice" That’s why they feel unreal. It also ties back to the IQ thing. When everyone’s a genius the story stops being about human limitations. You can’t project yourself into someone who’s always five steps ahead, because most of us are just trying to survive step one without tripping over our own shoelaces. BSD wants you to admire its characters.
It rarely lets you recognize yourself in them.

7. Sometimes the story also can be straight up boring. Not all the time, but enough that you start checking how many chapters are left like "okay… are we done cooking or what?" To me, early arcs were meh, middle arcs slapped, later arcs felt like Asagiri just kept stacking twists because of escalation addiction.


BSD’s biggest crime is that it pretends to be deeper than it is. It wants to be profound, literary, morally complex, but it rarely commits to letting characters genuinely fail, rot or face consequences. It’s not bad. It’s just overhyped. Dazai especially feels more like a concept and less like a person. Everything in BSD is so glamourized. It refuses to make anything actually genuinely uncomfortable. Nobody is allowed to be truly pathetic, cruel, or wrong without the story going "actually, this was all justified." Like. Let someone be ugly and stay ugly. Also the overhyping of characters is wild. The fandom treats them like they’re the most complex beings ever written when half their personality is: smart, sad, hot, morally ambiguous (but not really). Everyone likes something different, of course, but instead of epic despair, operatic suffering, genius masterminds above consequence, I prefer just people being messy. So yeah. BSD isn’t trash. But it’s not the literary holy text people act like it is. It’s a stylish, sometimes fun, sometimes frustrating series that thinks it’s deeper than it actually commits to being. It's interesting, dramatic, fun at times. But relatable? Grounded? Human? Nah.

Important: If anyone ever reads this, don't take this review too seriously. I was just bored and decided to write a long review. Nothing against BSD or people who enjoy it. I actually used to be a huge BSD fan from like 2020 to 2024. And I glazed it a LOT, so I know how much people in the fandom exaggerate. I would give it 2 or 3 stars for how enjoyable it had been for me. The time in the fandom had been fun, but the story and characters itself are not something I like that much.

[Aisha | عائشة · Rating 4 out of 5]

fyodor when I catch you.

[debchan · Rating 3 out of 5]

ch 115
well at least aya won't die! fyodor's plot revealed requires such brain power that i do not possess at 3:40AM in the morning. as it is, i can only bow down to his mental prowess. and hehe the 36 years war that fukuchi gave his life to prevent was all a lie too!

ch 116
bro is literally the tiktok "helicopter helicopter" sound. ayo francis mention! oh they broke fukuzawa... im gonna need mori to slap some reality back to him but he's back probably safe and sound. i repeat, put kajii and fyodor in one room and only kajii is walking out there alive.

ch 117
bram and aya :( akutagawa's "understood" injected like 12 years into my veins. "i am" blah blah blah whatever he said. but in seriousness that is actually so cool asagiri and terrifying. kunikida turned into bubbles...

ch 118
alas we are now where i've caught up. ive stayed up so late just to get here and yeah it was worth it. i'm kinda flabbergasted. they beat the incest allegations but at what cost. tanizaki and kenji both died with a smile that's diabolical. OMG kyouka and lucy mention! "ive come to save you" fyodor looks so angelic here haha. but finally the villain meets the hero. icb atsushi rly did lose everything all at once. asking him if he's alright after seeing his friends die in front of him (probably bc of him) is so evil he's the best. will we finally get to know more about how atsushi's tiger helps with the book and if the god thing has the blank page since fukuchi had it last and how fast ssk can get back to japan to figure this mess out and how nikolai will react if he finds out about fyodor. (plus the remaining guild/remaining pm/jouno and if fukuzawa felt his 3 subordinates die? i have a strong feeling they didn't really die but if they did that's a massive move from asigiri and all my respect goes to him. excellent choice if so and still excellent choice if he decides to write a way to save them. i'm just along for the ride) i gotta watch WAN after this to forget everything

ch 119
craziest chapter yet. so many beautiful beautiful fyodor panels that man is the loml like kiss MY hand pls. i'm so glad atsushi isn't the book itself as some have theorized (cuz idk that'd be boring) but a bookmark (whatever that means).
"you could have saved them" did he really have to let atsushi know that lmao
this fourth dimension stuff is cool and ik i'll look back at it fondly (the more complex a plot is the more i love it) but in this very moment i'm like ???
the way atsushi accepted his deal SO QUICKLY omg he really didn't care if he joined the evil side as long as the ada was restored
fyodor's face when atsushi grabbed his leg... saved lives i fear
who is this new akutagawa why is in this new getup where did he get that from why does he not know atushi...
for the first time in a long time we're ending a chapter on a hopeful note!

[Luana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vorrei sapere quanto manca alla fine di questo arco narrativo, perché ogni volume é più inquietante del precedente.
Allora la situazione di fondo è la seguente: tutto quello che abbiamo visto fino ad adesso - i Cinque Segni della Caduta, il piano di Fukuchi e tutta la baraonda che ne è seguita - è stato manipolato fin dal principio da Dostoevskij. Al punto in cui siamo, lo spirito di Fukuchi è andato distrutto e il suo corpo è servito come base per la reincarnazione fisica della spada Ame no Gozen: il risultato finale è tremendo, visto che basta essere toccati dalla spada per essere uccisi e inglobati nell'essere divino. Questa è la fine della povera Teruko, che adorava il suo comandante, di Kunikida, di Tanizaki e di Kenji. Dostoevskij, peraltro, ha messo le mani anche sul dispositivo One Order e ha tutta l'intenzione di far sparire l'umanità. L'unica cosa che non ho capito è il suo interesse in Atsushi, o, per meglio dire, nella tigre, qui definita come il "segnalibro che corrisponde al libro originario" (probabilmente devo riprendere la lettura dall'inizio, perché al momento mi sono persa dei pezzi).
Tutto sembra perduto. Dostoevskij ha ottenuto il suo scopo e l'essere divino Ame no Gozen sembra imbattibile, eppure...Bram (il cui spirito ha finito per dissolversi e si è riunita con la sua adorata figlia) ha fatto alla piccola Aya e a tutti gli altri un regalo, lasciando parte del suo spirito nel corpo di qualcun'altro: Akutagawa. E così, si apre una nuova possibilità.
Resta da vedere se Dazai e Chuya faranno in tempo a ritornare, se Ranpo riuscirà a intervenire, e se finalmente si riuscirà a riportare tutto indietro ed evitare questo casino. Comunque, pure questo è stato un volume alquanto sconvolgente, con un bel cliffhanger piazzato sul finale, giusto per non farsi mancare niente. Alla fine ammetto di aver provato pena per Fukuchi - il suo piano mi lasciava perplessa, ma era anche il frutto di tutte le brutalità viste sul campo di battaglia, lui credeva veramente in questo piano, ma si è ritrovato ad essere una semplice pedina. Per non parlare della fine fatta dai suoi sottoposti 🫣

P.s.: c'è stata una piccola comparsata da parte di Fitzgerald, chissà se lui e i membri rimasti della Gilda interverranno nello scontro 🤔

[Emily Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm tired of Fyodor honestly. Why can't he die already? And is Akutagawa actually back? I guess not. It's not really him. I want the real Akutagawa to return.

Everyone's supposedly dying, but I don't believe it. There's no way they aren't miraculously coming back at some point. Seeing Atsushi witness their "deaths" was heartbreaking though.

Where is Jouno? Haven't heard from him in a long time. I briefly remember him getting turned into a vampire, but that's it.

This arc (idk what it's called), but this arc that's been happening since where the anime left off in season 5, has been my least favorite so far. Characters are supposedly dying left and right. Akutagawa is back, but not really. I wouldn't be surprised if this arc ends with everyone somehow returning. My theory is that they aren't actually dead, and they're all trapped somewhere.

The only reason this gets 4 stars and not 3 or lower is because I still very much love the majority of the characters. The story is still good, but right now it's been more disappointing to me. Plus, in this volume, what did Tanzaki mean by "Naomi's real family"? I know him and Naomi aren't actual siblings, but what does her "real family" have to do with anything? I bet that'll become a new plot point later, in this arc or the next. Idk, I just really hope this arc ends with Fyodor's actual death. Sorry to everyone who likes him, but I don't. His true ability reveal was cool, but now I'm tired of him "killing" everyone off.

[Guady · Rating 5 out of 5]

It took me a while but I'm finally up to date with the manga and it's torture.
I love bsd and even if I think things have been insane (in a good and in a bad way) for a while I still love it and it still makes me so so hyped, especially now that I've caught up.

I love Dostoevsky but I hate him, I need him to stop obliterating my favourite characters, I can't take it anymore (I'm going to miss Bram😭). Just please, don't take Akutagawa away, too

As a note to myself, reading all this with the Arcane ost blasting through my earphones is the coolest thing ever

[ila · Rating 4 out of 5]

CH 117
BRAN'S BACKSTORY????? he was such a lovely dad i am sobbing 😭😭😭😭😭 "thank you for letting me keep our promise"????? NO WAY

Kunikida DYING too???? stop stop we have two divas down

CH 118
what the actual FUCK is going on ? Kenji dying too? why is everyone dying

CH 119
Akutagawa coming in to save his bf only for him not to even recognise Atsushi was evil 😭

[Maggie Arndt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Because of spoilers on twitter, I knew most of what happened, but all of the little details I didn’t know about were so good!!! My only complaint (besides the killing of characters) is the lack of Akutagawa!!! I thought it would be further into the story and he would be in it more based on the cover. It still was a really good read, and I read it all in one short sitting.

[Ellina · Rating 4 out of 5]

The most important lesson: do NOT save people from drowning.
And plus, please leave my dear sskk alone, they've had enough.
Despite everything, I still love this manga and I hope all of those things don't end like that, it has so much potential

[Joselyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25: capítulo 118 es tragedia tras tragedia y Akutagawa en el capítulo 119??? My glorioso rey, como le pase algo. Que alguien le quite el lápiz a Asagiri porque ya no puedo seguir haciendo estas cosas.

[canariez · Rating 5 out of 5]

DAZAI DROUGHT CONTINUES. 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

[Daria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Istg Asagiri

[Julian Kliemann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm shocked, amazed, shattered, but most of all: excited

[Sofie · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5; i can see jjk influence and i am Scared but still enjoying myself as of now

[mia-esme 𓇗]

realised far too late that akutagawa's form is the one shown at the end of s5

[lu ¿ aero · Rating 4 out of 5]

ho già detto che non si capisce più niente ma il mio main comment sarà sskk canon!

[Bell Potter · Rating 3 out of 5]

(Aviso: lectura hecha en ejemplar en español, publicado en México. La presente nota se modificará cuando se dé de alta en GR la edición correspondiente).

[metereopatia]

Will my children ever get a break? Not in this volume.

[m ☆ · Rating 5 out of 5]

i literally cannot stop crying…asagiri count your days

[erin]

dogggg get me OUT of this airport!!!!! what is going ON i am stressed.