“Bungo Stray Dogs” Presents Literary Classics to Fans Around the World

Initially published in 2014, “Bungo Stray Dogs” is an ongoing manga series that follows Nakajima Atsushi , a homeless orphan living in Japan. After being kicked out of another orphanage and on the brink of starvation, he accidentally stops the detective’s suicide. Osamu Dazai . Learning that Atsushi can transform into a white tiger, Dazai recruits him into the Armed Detective Agency (ADA) , a team of people with similar supernatural abilities. Finally, as part of a family, Atsushi and the rest of the ADA use their crime-fighting skills in Yokohama and meet other shapeshifters in the process.

The special thing about “Bungo Stray Dogs” is the names of the characters, since most, if not all, are characters named after famous authors and poets. The abilities of the characters often correspond to the literary styles or works of the person for whom they are named. Even the title of the manga, ” Bungo Stray Dogs” , incorporates literature: the word “bungo” It translates as “literary” in Spanish.

By referencing these various literary figures and works, “Bungo Stray Dogs” exposes its fans, specifically those in the West, to literary works and authors they may never have heard of. Many of the main characters wear the named after Japanese authors and poets , so most Western audience members may have trouble recognizing their names and influences.

However, the series also features characters named after more well-known Western figures: Edgar Allan Poe , Francis Fitzgerald and HP Lovecraft , for example. Once fans learned that the characters had author names, they were quickly inspired to research their various works. This sparked a popular trend in TikTok in which fans bought the works of reference authors. Many of these books have been integrated into fandom conversations.

The names of the authors are not the only literary reference within “Bungo Stray Dogs” , since some of its characters are based in figures of these novels or even in the authors of the novels themselves. In this way, reading the authors’ works can help shed light on both the manga and its characters.

Many online phenomena have sprung up as fans of the series became more familiar with the authors who named the characters. For example, some fans have created entire blogs, documenting old photos of authors and detailing notable encounters the authors have had with each other. These blogs have made finding information about authors and their works much easier because everything is centralized in one place.

But why is it so important that “ Bungo Stray Dogs ” inspire its fans to read the authors and works it refers to? It has always been believed that consuming media from different parts of the world can help to understand how things work in other places. Our views are limited in scope, but can be expanded if people choose to examine different works from around the world.

By opening yourself up to art from other cultures, you can expose yourself to media that can be just as relatable and transformative as the mainstream pop culture in your own country. “ Bungo Stray Dogs ” makes it easy to find new authors and new works, since you only have to search a list of character names. It makes the process of finding new literature and authors simple and accessible to anyone with the curiosity to investigate.

Bungo Stray Dogs manga it’s amazing in itself and what makes it even better is the wide range of literature it exposes you to.