Bungo Stray Dogs S5 Pacing Prediction

 (x-posted from my tumblr)

Okay. So, I have literally been sitting on this ALL DAY and decided I needed to make a post and shout this into the void to get out of my head. Also because I haven’t really seen anyone else float this idea before, and it’s either because my idea is clearly totally insane, or I’m a genius (lol jk, but seriously, I think it’s viable?)

First thing, this is basically my prediction of how the rest of the S5 eps are going to go and what manga chapters each ep will correlate with (and also how they might title the episodes):

EP1: The Strongest Man - ch78-80
EP2: The Answer to Everything - ch81-83
EP3: HERO VS CRIMINAL - ch84-87
EP4: HERO WAR, GANG WAR - ch88-91
EP5: Portway to the Sky P1 - ch92-94 (*currently*)
EP6: Portway to the Sky P2 - ch95-97
EP7: Portway to the Sky P3 - ch98-100
EP8: Wicked Realms Beyond Mankind - ch101-103
EP9: The Two Fuku’s - ch104
EP10: In the Small Room P1 - ch105-107
EP11: In the Small Room P2 - ch108-110

(chapters are based off how the chapters are counted in the tankobons, NOT the way the chapters are numbered when they are released monthly because Asagiri-sensei fucked up the numbering of the parts here and there with all the half chapters. Also if you count the pages - we’re going at about 100 pages of content per episode.)

 Anyway, you’re probably looking at this and going - hold up, chapter 110? Yes. Chapter 110. Which is going to be coming out in September (or chapter 109.5 - either way, my prediction would still stand).

So. There are three viable options to what I believe would actually be satisfying endings to season 5, especially given the most recent chapters and where we are currently in the anime (I will elaborate on my thoughts on each): 

1) Anime ends at the same place the manga is for whatever we get in the September chapter (chapter 109.5 OR chapter 110, either works)
2) Anime ends at chapter 109 (everyone’s “dead”, worst cliffhanger for anime only’s ever T-T)
3) End at Ch104 (Two Fukus) and do not animate ANY “In the Small Room” chapters (this is a stretch at this point).

Option 1: I know some people might think this is farfetched, but I’ve been watching anime long enough to know - this actually is a very viable option and has happened before - with Fullmetal Alchemist! FMA released it’s final chapter in June 2010 and FMA:B aired it’s last episode on the first week of July, literally barely 4 weeks later. Also, Bones just so happened to animate FMA:B as well so… clearly this is not out of the question for them. Now, this option also is based on what actually gets released in September, BUT the reason I think it may be a good way to end the season is because I strongly believe ch110 is the uphill turning point for the ADA, which means it’s a good place to tease and set up a possible S6.

This is also based off my general prediction that I also strongly believe the Mersault/Fyodor/One Order stuff is going to wrap up by December/early 2024 and we’ll actually segue somehow into an Order of the Clocktower arc. Why do I feel this? It just… makes sense from a flow perspective I guess? This arc is clearly in it’s final stages, and Dazai is already in Europe so…. I dunno. I’m not Asagiri-sensei okay T-T. This also means I don’t actually see the ADA getting a nice “break” as you would typically see in between arcs, but I do see a potential transition. Which means that a potential S6 would continue with the uphill climb AND also have enough leeway to transition to another story arc a few episodes later without it feeling weird. (why am I even talking about s6, we know it’s not coming out until 2030 T-T)

Option 2: The reason this is option 2 is mostly just because I would feel so sad if they ended the season with chapter 109. That last panel showing Dazai, Atsushi and Fukuzawa out of commission is ABSOLUTELY a spectacular season ending cliffhanger shot… BUT AT WHAT COST??? T-T I DON’T WANT THE SEASON TO END WITH CHUUYA SHOOTING DAZAI IN THE HEAD OKAY IMAGINE THE HATE OMG. To be fair though, this is probably the final chapter of the newest volume coming out in September (Vol 24) so… I do actually see this as probably being the more likely option? I just really want the season to end on a positive note, ya know?

Option 3: The only reason I left this option in is because this was my first assumption at where season 5 would end when the season was first announced, but as the episodes come out it definitely doesn’t seem possible. This option really depends on how they animate this next segment “Portway to the Sky” which consists of 8 FULL chapters, which I have broken it up into 3 parts. If the anime truly does follow my pacing this is clearly impossible though. They would REALLY need to slow things down (basically drop to 1-2 chaps an episode which seems very unlikely). After 104 though we have “In the Small Room” as the next contained “mini-arc” - there is no other stopping point. This basically means if we get past 104, they HAVE to completely animate all of “in the Small Room” up until 109 (or 110), or else the season will literally just end in a dead zone and it would be so awkward trying to start a potential S6 anywhere in between so I just don’t see it happening. So… yeah - at this point, ending things at 104 seems incredibly unlikely, but I’m leaving this as a “point of no return” indicator.

Anyway, feel free to share your own predictions with me :)