Episode 49

Bungo Hound Dogs (文豪ハウンドドッグス,) is the 49th episode of Bungo Stray Dogs anime series and the twelfth episode of the fourth season. It aired on March 22, 2023.

Synopsis
Suspecting that Lucy is cooperating with the terrorist organization known as the Armed Detective Agency, Jōno and Tetchō pay a visit to the café at where she works, in hopes of tracking down Atsushi and Kyōka.

Summary
Following his successful Mafia infiltration, Tachihara returns back to base and regroups with his fellow Hunting Dogs. The four sans Fukuchi discuss intel they gathered regarding the Agency's activities over the past few days, during which Teruko deduces that the fugitives have probably found a base and a leader.

Ango leads the group's plan on the Agency's next moves as wanted criminals, noting Lucy's ability as the key that will allow them to act during their operation using Anne's Room as their primary hideout. Transporting Atsushi and Kyōka to the pocket dimension with her, Lucy disguises herself and sets out to Airtram Terminal.

Fukuchi meets and drinks with Fukuzawa in the interrogation room. After exchanging pleasantries, Fukuchi urges Fukuzawa into making his subordinates surrender, an offer which Fukuzawa declines. Fukuchi instantly strikes Fukuzawa with his sword; Fukuzawa swiftly counters his move and attempts to have Fukuchi cut his restraints, though Fukuchi stops in time to prevent him from doing so. Fukuchi then proposes a deal with Fukuzawa that he shall tell him about Kunikida's condition after his sacrifice, but Fukuzawa refuses again, asserting that he senses Kunikida still alive.

While bickering about the title of strongest Hunting Dog, Jōno and Tetchō head to Café Uzumaki and question the café manager about Lucy's possible involvement with the Agency, to which the manager discredits Lucy's reliability for the Agency. Jōno praises the manager's coffee but immediately exposes him of lying. Jōno then presses him about knowing Lucy's ability and its usefulness to the Agency, as well as how he can be an accessory to an act of terrorism, until Tetchō stabs his foot and calls him out for his methods. Vowing to grant Lucy and the Agency a fair trial, Tetchō pleads to the manager for his cooperation; the manager reveals that Lucy went to the Sky Casino.

Teruko and Tachihara meet with Sky Casino manager Sigma and ask him to close the casino to find terrorists hiding within the place, but Sigma refuses. Threatening them with his staff's Directional Resonance Guns, he demands them to leave at once. In response, Teruko has the landing zone detonated to forcefully seal the casino's exits as they search for the terrorists. Sigma directs his staff in handling the crisis, only to panic once by himself with the possibility of the Hunting Dogs finding out about the casino's true nature, so he resolves to kill them at once.

Tachihara stakes out the casino and finds Atsushi enter a room, where he soon finds no one but a hidden safe with international coins. Sigma discovers Tachihara's actions and, ignoring Fyodor's past advice not to engage with the Hunting Dogs at all costs, triggers a coin to explode on Tachihara and, after he survives the blast, crashes an unmanned aircraft into the room. Teruko arrives and stops the aircraft alongside Tachihara, much to Sigma's dismay.

As the Hunting Dogs deduce the terrorists' objective with the coin bombs, they engage with armed casino staff, which Atsushi—inside the casino premises with Kyōka and Lucy—senses as they have predicted. Instructed by Ango per Dazai's plan to have the Hunting Dogs discover the coin bombs and target the comms room, the three lay in wait to soon work with the Hunting Dogs to stop the attack, prove their innocence, and capture Sigma for knowing the page's location as a Decay of the Angel member.

With the casino staff incapacitated by the Hunting Dogs, Sigma grows desperate and decides to resort to his next plan of attack. In Meursault, Dazai asks Fyodor's reason for choosing Sigma to protect the casino, knowing that Sigma has no past and with the Sky Casino being only made eight days prior. Fyodor merely answers that Sigma is the most powerful of all as someone who has nothing else.

Tachihara continues to battle the staff, with Teruko getting weakened from stopping the aircraft earlier. Hotel guests come out and question them; Tachihara assures them that they are with the police, but he soon gets stabbed and attacked by two hotel guests. Discovering that Sigma has deployed a bounty on the Hunting Dogs, the two are surrounded by the other hotel guests. Fyodor further notes on Sigma's hellish tenacity to protect the casino, remarking that a desperate mediocre man is the most terrifying of all.

Manga and Anime Differences

 * In the manga, after arriving at the Hunting Dogs' headquarters, Tachihara originally encounters Tetchō observing a line of ants. This was ommitted.
 * When Lucy rides the taxi to transport Atsushi and Kyōka to the terminal, she doesn't wear any disguise yet in the manga.
 * Fukuchi mentioning Kin to Fukuzawa on his visit and their further casual talk was not included in the episode. Furthermore, the statement made by each other that the battle will be won by their side is ommitted.
 * In the manga, Jōno originally asks the store manager if the cafe is a family business to which the manager replies that she runs it with his wife and is currently out at the moment. Later on, Jōno finds the manager's wife actually hiding in the back room. This was not included in the anime.
 * Jōno thinking that he indirectly lost the competition between him and Tetchō being the best Hunting Dog when the latter swore on his sword to protect Lucy is not included in the episode.
 * In the manga, Sigma originally helps a guest after losing on a card game. This was ommitted in the episode.
 * After Sigma tells Tachihara and Teruko to leave after refusing to lock down the casino, Tachihara originally shows his disapproval on Sigma's statement. In the episode, Teruko straight up expresses her anger.
 * After the first explosion caused by the unmanned aircraft, there is originally a second explosion.This was ommitted in the episode.
 * Dazai and Dostoevsky talking in secret code was not included in the episode.