The following is a list of characters from the manga series Bungo Stray Dogs.
Creation and design The characters of Bungo Stray Dogs were created by Kafka Asagiri and designed by Sango Harukawa. Asagiri noted that in the making of the story, the character designs were developed first rather than their plot lines, as the restrictions of the plot might cause the characters to become too flat. The manga originated from Asagiri's idea to gather multiple famous late authors and draw them as young adults and teenagers with supernatural powers, and in his hope that more people would find an interest in literature with the series.
Major characters The following are recurring, major characters from the manga series Bungo Stray Dogs.
Atsushi Nakajima
Named after Atsushi Nakajima. Belonging to Armed Detective Agency. A young man who previously resided in an orphanage before being thrown out by his abusive caretakers under the claim of being "too old" after he turned eighteen. The impact of the abuse he went through severely traumatized him and drives his will to fight in order to find a reason to live. He is willing to risk his life for others and is extremely selfless, because he believes protecting others is what gives his lfie worth. He slowly gains more confidence as the series progresses. His ability, , references Nakajima's short story The Moon Over the Mountain (山月記, Sangetsuki), also known as Tiger Poet (人虎伝, Jinko-den). It allows him to turn into a large white tiger with incredible strength, speed, regenerative capabilities, and durability. Initially, he had no control over it, and retained no memory of the events that occurred whilst transformed, but gradually learns how to utilize his ability properly and gain control over it.
Osamu Dazai
Named after Osamu Dazai. Belonged by Armed Detective Agency. A feared former executive of the Port Mafia, now working with the Agency. He takes Atsushi under his wing, which is the primary reason Akutagawa resents Atsushi, as Dazai had abused and later abandoned Akutagawa as his "mentor" when he left the Port Mafia. He is referred to as a "suicide maniac," most notably by Kunikida, due to his constant suicide attempts, contemplations of a peaceful death, and his obsession with double suicide. Despite his carefree, relaxed demeanor he is also extremely cunning, intelligent, skilled, and brutal. His ability, , allows him to nullify any ability he comes into physical contact with. This includes skill users and objects that are formed by skills (for example, he dissolves items created by Kunikida's ability), the latter of which was confirmed in the light novel Osamu Dazai's Entrance Exam (文豪ストレイドッグス 太宰治の入社試験, Bungō Sutorei Doggusu: Dazai Osamu no Nyūsha Shiken). He spends his free time listening to music and annoying Chūya.
Ryūnosuke Akutagawa
Named after Ryūnosuke Akutagawa. A 20-year-old member of the Port Mafia. His ability, , allows him to control any cloth he wears, which he mainly exercises on his overcoat, turning it into sharp blades of fabric or beastly jaws to rip his opponent apart. Rashōmon also has the power to eat away at the fabric of space itself, granting Akutagwa a shield impenetrable by conventional means. A former apprentice of Dazai, Akutagwa desperately seeks his approval even after Dazai's defection, and heavily dislikes Atsushi for gaining that easily while his own attempts to do so fail. He is noted to be excessively murderous, to the point if presented with a problem, his first thought is killing the cause of the problem. In contrast of it, his demeanor is usually calm and stoic, but he has a short temper and is intolerant towards anything he perceives as weakness, believing only the strong have a right to live. For all of his flaws, Akutagwa can be very considerate to the people who have his approval, having a good relationship with his younger sister Gin, and often spending their shared day-offs with her. Due to growing up in the slums and his lung disease, he is often very sickly and has a persistent cough, which in turn makes him strive for Dazai's approval before his time comes, as he has a deep respect for the man ever since Dazai gave him a job at the Mafia.
Chūya Nakahara
Named after Chūya Nakahara. He is a 22 year old executive member of the Port Mafia and Dazai's former partner as Double Black (双黒, Soukoku). His ability, , allows him to manipulate the gravity of objects as long as he is in contact with them, including himself. He is rather short (160 cm) and dislikes being reminded of it, especially by Dazai. Although rather hot-headed and ruthless, Chūya is generally a reasonable person, if no one tries to push his buttons, more so if Dazai isn't present. He is regarded as one of the strongest ability users in Yokohama, being the vessel of the sentinent Ability singularity, the God of Calamity Arahabaki, a secret military experiment to create an artificial Ability, that broke out of confinement and sealed itself into Chūya's body. He can call upon it's power using a technique called Corruption, during which Arahabaki takes over his consciousness, which, while driving his Ability overdrive and thus granting him even more power to the point of being able to form miniature black holes, turns him into a mindless beast that has no concept of anything besides itself, with the only goal of destroying everything in sight until it's body gives out. The only known way to stop Corruption is Dazai's Ability, which is why he was partnered up with Dazai. He appreciates wine, and heavily dislikes Dazai. Despite that, Chūya does care about Dazai's safety on some level, though he claims only because he's the only one who has the right of killing Dazai, as Chūya put up with the former for years.
Armed Detective Agency The are the main protagonists of the series. They are an ability user organization focused on solving crimes considered too violent or difficult for the metropolitan police to handle, often involving ability users or the supernatural. They are highly connected in the network of government agencies and military personnel, handling a large amount of classified work. The agency's licensed staff are granted police-like authority.
Frontline guard members: Atsushi Nakajima, and Osamu Dazai.
Doppo Kunikida
Named after Doppo Kunikida. Known for his meticulous planning, organization, perfectionistic tendencies, and extreme fixation on his ideals. Due to this, he is easily riled by Dazai's pranks, which he falls victim to quite often as he is Dazai's assigned partner. He often writes and makes plans in his signature notebook, which has "" written on the front cover. The notebook is linked to his ability, . His ability allows him to materialize objects by writing them in his notebook, ripping out the page, and willing them into existence, as long as the object is not larger than the notebook itself. He can produce an exact replica of an object simply by looking at it as long as he understands its mechanism and proper usage. He can utilize pre-torn pages from his notebook and notes that he has prewritten. He can remotely materialize items from a large distance, allowing him to help fellow Agency members from afar. His ability, as well as anything he materializes, can be nullified by Dazai, and the object will be reverted into paper.
Ranpo Edogawa
Named after Ranpo Edogawa. A detective regarded by many as the "greatest detective in the world" (世界最高の名探偵 sekai saikō no mei tantei), he is highly sought after by the police and helps solve cases both related and unrelated to the Agency, with a reputation for never solving a case incorrectly. Despite being one of the oldest members of the Agency and held in high esteem by many, he adopts a childish demeanor and lacks basic everyday skills (such as riding the train). However, he has been shown to be serious when the situation calls for it. He is the only Agency member without a true ability, rather, he possesses prodigious observational and deduction skills, which is referred to as the Ability, . Ranpo does not like to acknowledge he doesn1t actually possess and Ability and convinced himself that he needs the glasses given to him by Fukuzawa to activate Super Deduction.
Jun'ichirō Tanizaki
Named after Jun'ichirō Tanizaki. An 18-year-old assistant at the Agency who mainly focuses on gathering information as his ability, , allows him to project illusions within a certain area, which is not suited for combat. He cohabits with his younger sister Naomi and treasures her dearly, despite finding some of her antics annoying.
Kenji Miyazawa
Named after Kenji Miyazawa. A 14-year-old optimistic and carefree boy hailing from the countryside, he is extremely popular among Yokohama residents due to his honesty and cheerful attitude. This makes him the Agency's primary data collector from eyewitnesses. His ability is called , which grants him superhuman strength when he is hungry.
Akiko Yosano
Named after Akiko Yosano. She is the medic of the Agency, feared for her torturous treatments. While her ability allows her to heal any wound, as long as the patient is on the verge of death; this often results in her injuring her patients thoroughly before healing them. In her past, she was a nurse in a war and used her ability to heal the soldiers. All the soldiers called her their angel. But they eventually got exhausted with repeatedly dying and being brought back by her just for them to die again to the point that one of her friends among the soldiers attempted to kill her. That is how she got the name "Angel of Death".
Yukichi Fukuzawa
Named after Yukichi Fukuzawa. He is the President of the Armed Detective Agency, as well as Kunikida's mentor. His ability, , allows him to control and restrict the abilities of his subordinates. This ability is especially useful for those who lack control over their abilities, like Atsushi and Kyōka. Fukuzawa is a former government assansin, having been the bodyguard of Mori Ougai, the current Port Mafia boss back when the latter was a freelance underground doctor. After meeting Edogawa Ranpo, he founded the Armed Detective Agency for the sole reason to give Ranpo somehwere to belong to. Fukuzawa is also childhood friends with the commander of the Special Military Police Unit, the Hunting Dogs, Fukuchi Ouchi. Fukuzawa is a stoic and imposing man who is practically never seen smiling, and has an unmatched proficency of swordsmanship, being able to square off against powerful Ability users on pure skill alone. Despite his cold exterior, he's very fond of children and cats.
Kyōka Izumi
Named after Kyōka Izumi. A 14-year-old orphan girl who was taken in by the Port Mafia and became their youngest assassin. Her ability, , materializes Demon Snow, a ruthless sword-wielding phantom that only follows orders coming from her mobile phone, which allowed Akutagawa to control her ability in the past. Her parents used to be assassins as well until an enemy attempted to use a body manipulation ability on them. Kyōka's mother, who at that time owned Demon Snow, killed her husband and subsequently herself as she was gradually succumbing to the ability, her last words ordering the phantom to protect her daughter and passing on this ability. However, this technique was incomplete, resulting in Demon Snow only listening to orders from the phone.
Kirako Haruno
Named after a character from Jun'ichirō Tanizaki's novel Naomi (痴人の愛, Chijin no Ai, lit. A Fool's Love). A clerk working at the Armed Detective Agency. She has a cat named Mii-chan, who turns out to be Sōseki Natsume in cat form.
Naomi Tanizaki
Named after the main character from Jun'ichirō Tanizaki's novel Naomi. Jun'ichirō's sister and a high school student who has a brother complex and frequently likes to tease him. Although she can be tiresome to her brother at times, she is a capable young woman. She only works part time at the agency, due to her young age.
Katai Tayama