Yosano’s Past Is Eerily Similar to FMA’s State Alchemists
The following contains spoilers for the Bungo Stray Dogs Season 4, Episode 9, “A Dream Of Butterfly,” now streaming on Crunchyroll.
With Episode 9, Bungo Stray Dogs Season 4 opted for an unpredictable tonal shift, from action-packed fight scenes and quirky character introductions to the slow and deeply disquieting flashback revelation of Yosano’s war-ridden childhood. In a self-contained mini-arc, the show exploited one of his most common elements — the time jump — to go back 15 years and recount the story of a senseless massacre. Yosano, barely 11 years old at the time, was heartlessly used for her ability and turned into what would be known as the ‘Angel of Death.’
As Yosano painfully relates her experience, the world of the anime transforms into a much more realistic, high-stakes stage for human cruelty and unimaginable suffering. As is true for other works, war is where Bungo Stray Dogs suddenly shines, its profound humanity hitting the viewer where it hurts. The unjustifiable bloodshed of the fight Yosano is forced to take part in has been featured many times before in anime, Fullmetal Alchemist’s Ishval Civil War perhaps the most masterful example of this.
Bungo Stray Dogs Finally Explains Yosano’s ‘Angel of Death’ Nickname
It’s not clear which war it is or where it’s set, but the details are not extremely important. All the audience knows is that 15 years ago, an island appeared in the ocean and became the center of a conflict that seemed…
