Episode 7

Love for the Disease Called Ideals (理想という病を愛す,) is the 7th episode of Bungo Stray Dogs anime series. It aired on May 19, 2016.

Synopsis
Following the Azure Messenger's bomb threat, the Armed Detective Agency must race to prevent the deaths of hundreds, which would taint the Agency forever. However, Dazai's seemingly distracted by Nobuko Sasaki, the lone survivor of their raid on the abandoned hospital...

Summary
The Agency convenes regarding the Azure Messenger bomb threat, which can decimate the majority of Yokohama. The client poses a challenge to the Agency to disarm the bomb by sundown, lest word of their failure would spread if they are unable to complete the task. Fukuzawa issues his orders to the Agency in a mission to save Yokohama, uncover the Azure Messenger's identity, and fight for the Agency's reputation.

Kunikida enlists Rokuzō's help in tracing the bomb-building equipment. Meanwhile, Dazai spends some time with Sasaki, but Kunikida and Atsushi visit him to brief him on their earlier meeting. Nevertheless, Dazai asks for Nobuko's opinion on the Azure Messenger from the perspective of a social psychology teacher. She suggests that the Azure Messenger may be related to or might be the Azure King himself. Later, the Agency contacts them that Ranpo has returned from a case and has deduced that the bomb was set in a fishing tackle store in Negishi.

On their way, Kunikida and Atsushi are contacted by Rokuzō and Ranpo respectively, telling that the bomb is located at a former defense force facility. Dazai is also contacted by Fukuzawa, who reports that the cabbie has died. The three head to the defense facility, where they are ambushed by the enemy forces. Dazai and Atsushi look for the transmitter; Kunikida repels the shooters, but he then faces an Ability user, who breaks the key to the transmitter. Meanwhile, Dazai and Atsushi locate the transmitter, but they also face a heavyweight opponent. With Dazai and Atsushi unable to fend off the man in physical combat and Kunikida trapped in the user's number Ability, Kunikida and Dazai switch places through a wire gun. Dazai nullifies the user's Ability, while Kunikida defeats the opponent with ease. Kunikida also recreates the release key through Doppo Poet and successfully disarms the bomb.

Sasaki chances upon Kunikida at the cemetery and tells him she lied earlier about her significant other, who has actually died. Dazai contacts him, where they meet at the abandoned hospital. He tells Kunikida that he has contacted and invited the mastermind behind the incident to the hospital. Rokuzō arrives, though he is not the perpetrator and simply hacked into Dazai's account to also face the real mastermind. At that point, Rokuzō pushes Kunikida out of the way and is shot by Sasaki, the Azure Messenger, whose significant other was the Azure King. As she explains her motives, Dazai drops his gun onto Rokuzō, who fires at and kills Sasaki out of vengeance for his father, before he himself succumbs to death.

Light Novel and Anime Differences

 * Unlike in this episode, the light novel features Kunikida asking Sasaki to stay with him at his place instead of Dazai's (after staying at his place) to secure her protection.
 * In the light novel, Kunikida and Dazai perform an espionage mission at an American embassy in attempting to locate the bomb's location, where they learn about a bomb purveyor named Zadkiel Alamta and initially suspect him of being the Azure Messenger. In this episode, both the espionage mission and Alamta's character are omitted.
 * Ranpo personally returns to Yokohama after his case in Kyūshū in the light novel, while in this episode, he remains in Kyūshū and communicates with the Agency via phone call.
 * In the light novel, Dazai discovers that Ranpo's Super Deduction is not an ability after touching his hair to see whether No Longer Human could nullify Ranpo's ability, which does not. Dazai then concludes that Ranpo merely utilizes his regular deduction; this is also the first time that Kunikida learns about Ranpo's fake ability. This does not occur in this episode, though Dazai touching Ranpo's hair to try to "nullify" Ranpo's ability is shown in another episode.
 * This episode omits a scene from the light novel where Kunikida and Dazai stage a skit of Dazai being "discovered" as the Azure Messenger in order to trick the real culprit.
 * The former defense force facility in the light novel houses a transmitter to a device that paralyzed a passenger airplane's operational systems, where Kunikida and Dazai head to in order to override the transmitter to prevent the airplane from crashing into Yokohama. In this episode, the facility is the location where the transmitter can deactivate the bomb itself.
 * The light novel specifies the ultimate fate of the unnamed number ability user, while his fate is left ambiguous in this episode, ending only with his defeat from Dazai's ability.

Trivia

 * It is subtly hinted (though never totally confirmed) that Kunikida may have a type on Sasaki, especially given Dazai's consistent and comical nudges on him regarding the matter. Interestingly, the real-life Doppo Kunikida married Nobuko Sasaki in 1895.