Wan! Episode 11

The Dark Era (黒の時代編,) is the 11th episode of Bungo Stray Dogs Wan! anime series. It aired on March 24, 2021.

Japanese
A New Year's card is given to those who are indebted to us out of gratitude for the year and in hopes of remaining friends with them in the upcoming new year. Can such a humane act be fulfilled by a man named Dazai!?

Summary
In the Dark Era, Oda and Ango visit Dazai late at night in Bar Lupin for their usual nightly meetup. After catching up with one another, the three toast and clink their glasses.

Later, when Ango brings out his camera, Oda recalls a superstition that one's soul gets sucked out every time their photo gets taken, making Dazai ask Ango to take many photos of him until his life runs out, but Ango refuses. Dazai swipes his camera and captures Oda's photos, though all of them appear blurry.

Soon after, a seemingly drunk Oda listens to Dazai's stories, during which he eagerly mishears him mention "curry". Ango remarks on this point, so Dazai thinks of cooking some curry; Ango urges him not to, knowing how Dazai is a terrible cook. However, Dazai insists that they make "dark hot pot" altogether and even proposes to make them a special superhuman stamina hot pot, further irking Ango. He then asks Oda to refute Dazai's theatrics, only for Oda to remark that he merely believes Dazai if he says it would be good and looks forward to trying it out someday.

During one New Year's Eve, Dazai enlists Oda's and Ango's help in writing New Year's greeting cards with him. Dazai immediately commits a writing mistake and decides to merely give it to Mori. Ango soon recommends they include zodiac drawings; Oda, from his experience in drawing with the orphans, draws a satisfactory cow (supposedly an ox), earning Ango's praise, after which Dazai adds "demonic-like" drawings behind the cow.

Ango later suggests they make sweet potato stamps; Oda makes a writing mistake by not flipping his writings on the stamp, Dazai carves out a curse-like stamp, and Ango (after Dazai and Oda swipe out his card) carves out a "lame" cow stamp. Eventually, Dazai hands out his cards to Oda and Ango with their respective stamps that are also stamped with his own.

Oda thanks Dazai, while Ango ponders on the essence of receiving a New Year's card, which is intended for expressing gratitude and hoping for an ongoing friendship with the receiver. Dazai and Oda then call out to Ango and wish for the three of them to be good among one another, afterwards toasting to the new year ahead. Meanwhile, Mori frighteningly receives Dazai's curse-like New Year's cards.

On another occasion, Oda reads a psychological test: one question asks what appears before a person in a forest, with choices being a white rabbit, a large wolf, or candlelight; Dazai chooses the first, while Ango the third. Oda reads on that those who answer the first seek the purity of white and the warmth of the rabbit, and are prone to loneliness; those who answer the third are very prone to loneliness.

Though Ango does not trust the book, Dazai asks Oda to read another question. He asks Ango what he would have when he is in paradise; Dazai repeatedly whispers "curry" to Ango, which forces him to indeed answer curry. Oda explains that the answer tells someone's first impression of the person of their dreams. Dazai then gives his own psychology test: given if he once sneezed on Ango's book and returned it on the shelf, he asks Oda whether Ango will forgive him should he apologize to him sincerely. Oda blankly answers positively.

For the last question, Oda asks them how many stars do they see in the night sky. Dazai answers that there are none, while Ango answers that he would want something, even a candlelight. Their answer turns out to be the number of good times they get to spend with their friends. Ango tries to diffuse the negative aura, while Oda remarks that they have merely gathered at the bar like an ordinary usual day. They then toast to an ordinary day for the three of them, upon which a candid photograph of them is shown.

Throughout the credits, Dazai sits in the bar alone, until Oda and Ango finally arrive.

Characters in Order of Appearance

 * Osamu Dazai
 * Ango Sakaguchi
 * Sakunosuke Oda
 * Ōgai Mori (eyecatch)

Manga and Anime Differences

 * The calico cat does not appear in the manga, unlike in this episode where it is constantly in the bar; the barkeeper is also shown to tend to it, such as when he gave it some food.
 * In the manga, the three try to draw a rat to coincide with the Year of the Rat. In this episode, they draw an ox or cow for the Year of the Ox.
 * The trio does not get a photo taken in the manga contrary to the last scene shown in this episode.

Trivia

 * This is the second episode that adapts special chapters from the manga, the first one being the Bungo Stray Dogs Preschool! episode.
 * Towards the end of the first part where the camera pans to Dazai's drink, a photograph can be seen (albeit almost obscured at the upper-right corner frame), which seems to be the photo taken of them that is shown at the end of the episode. Presuming this photo is taken in the past during the Dark Era, then the episode may be told from Dazai's perspective at present, considering how he now has the photo with him at the bar counter.
 * The photo at the end of this episode is a reference to the in-universe photo taken with the three of them. However, the difference is Dazai being shown in the middle in the Wan! photo, while Oda is in the middle in the canon photo.
 * The calico cat's appearance in this episode might be a nod to the calico cat's appearance in the anime adaptations of the light novel, given how both the Wan! manga and the Dark Era light novel do not indicate the calico cat's appearance.
 * This is the first episode where the ending song differed from its previous episodes, which is Kaze ga Fuku Machi.
 * The ending credits depict Dazai sitting alone at Bar Lupin. This is the fifth time that the ending credits differed from its previous episodes.
 * Oda and Ango are depicted wearing their novel- and manga-based outfits: Oda wears his pinstriped shirt, and Ango wears his striped necktie. To note, their outfits in the anime are simplified, with Oda's shirt and Ango's necktie both revised to have plain colors.