Bungo Stray Dogs: DEAD APPLE (Film)


 * "This article is about the Bungo Stray Dogs DEAD APPLE Film. For the manga, see Bungo Stray Dogs DEAD APPLE (Manga)."

Bungo Stray Dogs: DEAD APPLE (文豪ストレイドッグス ,) is a 2018 Japanese animated film produced by Bones. It is directed by Takuya Igarashi and written by Kafka Asagiri and Yōji Enokido. It is based on the manga Bungo Stray Dogs written by Asagiri and illustrated by Sango Harukawa. Taking place after events of the second season of the anime television series, a group of detectives learns of a string of apparent suicide cases that have been happening to people with supernatural powers.

The adaptation features the anime adaptation's original cast and staff. GRANRODEO sings its opening, 'Deadly Drive', and Luck Life its ending, "Bokura".

It releases on DVD and Blu-ray on November 28, 2018. Crunchyroll released a stream of the movie for premium users on September 01, 2018. It becomes available for free users on November 01, 2018. Funimation streamed the English dub on June 21, 2019.

It was also distributed by German, Russian, Spanish and Portuguese companies.

Synopsis
Power users around the world are suddenly committing suicide one after another, in all cases after a strange fog appears at the scene. At a request from Ango Sakaguchi, the Armed Detective Agency head out to investigate Tatsuhiko Shibusawa, a power user who calls himself "collector," and a man suspected of being tied to the incident.

Summary
It began—six years ago.

The 88-days long “Dragon’s Head Dispute”, which drew in each and every organization into a violent storm of blood, went down in the history of Yokohama’s underbelly as the dispute with the largest number of fatalities. Osamu Dazai, who had escaped death together with his Port Mafia ally, Chūya Nakahara, clung onto the words of his dead friend and bid farewell to his boss, Ōgai Mori, and he was only seen in his new place two years afterward.

The Armed Detective Agency, formed on the foundation of Yukichi Fukuzawa's ideals, welcomed Atsushi Nakajima and Kyōka Izumi as their new members, and they are living boisterous yet peaceful days.

However, strange incidents of Ability users around the world successively committing suicide are happening now. Incredibly, more than 500 Ability users have used their own Abilities to kill themselves. And at every site, an inexplicable “mist” had been found.

The Special Abilities Department in the Ministry of Home Affairs has called this case “Serial Suicides of Special Ability Users”.

The Armed Detective Agency, having received a request from Ango Sakaguchi, has set out to capture the man suspected of involvement in this case.

His name is– Tatsuhiko Shibusawa called “The Collector”, he is an Ability user wrapped in mystery. He’s hidden in Yokohama with his own motives, but they're too, the demon Fyodor Dostoyevsky, secretly involved in various cases, has been appearing and disappearing at will…working to engulf Yokohama in a nightmare.

Unprecedented strong opponents, attacking the Ability users one after another. And while this is happening, Dazai disappears. Atsushi, who had received strict orders under Doppo Kunikida’s command, to “eliminate the mastermind”, runs to the enemy’s fortress with Kyōka Izumi. Yet Ryunosuke Akutagawa from Port Mafia, stands in his way. What is the truth that his sworn enemy Akutagawa tells him, a truth Atsushi hadn’t even imagined? And at the same time, carrying the regret of having lost his comrades in the past, Chūya faces his foe……

Shibusawa, who has appeared as though to put an end to a tedious world. Fyodor, moving in the darkness. And Dazai, who has disappeared into the mist. In a mist from which nothing beyond can be seen, bound by the red strings of fate that have twined around each other from distant days, the story is headed—

Cast
The main cast from the anime will remain with Kazuya Nakai starring as Tatsuhiko Shibusawa.

Staff
Japanese Staff
 * Director: Takuya Igarashi
 * Script: Kafka Asagiri, Yoji Enokido
 * Music: Taku Iwasaki
 * Original creator: Kafka Asagiri, Sango Harukawa
 * Character Design: Nobuhiro Arai
 * Art Director: Yumiko Kondou
 * Chief Animation Director: Nobuhiro Arai
 * Mechanical design: Fumihiro Katagai
 * Sound Director: Kazuhiro Wakabayashi
 * Director of Photography: Tsuyoshi Kanbayashi
 * Assistant Art Director: Hiroko Tanabe  (Kusanagi)
 * Color Key: Yukari Goto
 * Background Art: Kusanagi
 * Background Art Assistance: Nam Hai
 * Editing: Shigeru Nishiyama
 * Key Animation: Hiroyuki Takashima, Shōhei Nishijima
 * Theme Song Performance: GRANRODEO, Luck Life

Reception
The film opened in 74 theatres and earned ¥78,002,000 (about US$740,000) in its first official weekend (Saturday–Sunday), ranking  No. 7. In total, it has of 86,688,808 yen (about US$820,900). In its second weekend, it dropped to No. 9, earning ¥85,031,700 (about US$799,200) from Friday to Sunday. It grossed a total of ¥550 million ($4.98 million) at the Japanese box office. The home media volumes of the film sold 13,125 blu-rays and 10,599 DVDs in their release weeks, and sold a total of 14,086 blu-rays and 12,269 DVDs in Japan by May 2019.

In the "Newtype Anime Awards" from 2018, the film won the category "Best Work (Theatrical Screening)". Chūya Nakahara, Osamu Dazai and Kyōka Izumi also appeared in the character polls. The audio was popular with "Deadly Drive" earning second place behind "Reason!!" while Taku Iwasaki was recognized with the award for "best soundtrack". Takuya Igarashi received the award for best director while Yoji Enokido was second in "Best Screenplay". The film was adapted into a manga series published in two volumes by Kadokawa during 2018.

Critics praised the film but were divided in terms of what the audience would enjoy it more. Manga Tokyo recommended the film for fans of Bungo Stray Dogs due to the return of its characters and the commentary of tragedy explored around the main characters and antagonists. Anime News Network praised the main film for its fight scenes and the emotional character arcs but criticized the handling of some subplots related to Shibusawa. Manga Tokyo also liked the animation displayed in the character designs and fight scenes.

Gallery
Anime Character Designs

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