Untangling the Bungo Stray Dogs Anime: The Ultimate Canon Explained

After the conclusion of Bungo Stray Dogs season 5, fans were left pondering the canonicity of the anime's ending. Despite surpassing the manga's storyline, the anime studio BONES released an episode based on only a few panels of source material. Typically, this would be considered an anime-original ending. However, with the announcement that the anime will resume in the future, fans are now questioning the legitimacy of the anime's story. If it is indeed canon, how will the series progress moving forward?

How is the Bungo Stray Dogs anime ending different from the manga?

Osamu Dazai as seen in the anime (Image via BONES)

In contrast to most anime adaptations that follow the manga's storyline, the anime version of Bungo Stray Dogs managed to exceed the original manga's narrative. While the manga's final chapter depicted Aya's sacrifice of jumping off a building to extract the sword from Bram's body, the anime's conclusion went even further.

The ending of the Bungo Stray Dogs anime brought forth significant revelations. Firstly, it unveiled that Aya had indeed succeeded in her mission by extracting the sword from Bram, which resulted in Bram regaining his full powers. With this newfound strength, Bram utilized Akutagawa's assistance to save Aya from her dangerous fall.

Chuuya Nakahara depicted in the anime series (Image via BONES)

In a surprising turn of events, it was unveiled that Nakahara Chuuya had never been an actual Vampire. Rather, he had assumed the guise of one in order to aid Osamu Dazai in his mission to defeat Fyodor. In a dramatic culmination, one of Bram's manipulated vampires viciously stabbed Fyodor, forcing the helicopter they were aboard to hurtle towards a nearby building. As a result, Fyodor's long-lasting scheming finally came to an end.

Around the same time, Fukuzawa managed to seize the One Order from Fukuchi, who had received a message from Amenogozen revealing his ultimate goal. According to the message, a war was predicted to erupt in 36 years, and Fukuchi sought to prevent it by consolidating all the world's armies under his leadership.

Fukuchi and Fukuzawa depicted in the anime (Image via BONES)

Fukuchi unveiled his plan and asked Fukuzawa to take his life in order to become the Chief Commander of the Army of Mankind. Unable to carry out the act, Fukuzawa was ultimately surpassed by Teruko, who fulfilled his request, granting the leader of the Armed Detective Agency the title of the new Chief Commander.

However, the Bungo Stray Dogs anime finale left fans with an intriguing scene that unfolded two hours after Fukuchi's demise. A mysterious antagonist engaged in combat with Atsushi and Akutawaga, though their true identity remained undisclosed. Nevertheless, this enigmatic villain bore a striking resemblance, combining features from both Fukuchi and Fukuzawa.

The villain depicted in the anime (Image via BONES)

Given the peculiar spectacle, determining the canonicity of the Bungo Stray Dogs anime ending becomes challenging. Nonetheless, the revival announcement made by the anime suggests that there is justification to consider the story as canon.

Fans can only confirm this once the manga reaches that particular point in the storyline. Typically, it takes around three chapters for the manga to catch up, but the author Kafka Asagiri may decide to extend the Bungo Stray Dogs anime ending storyline.