‘Bungo Stray Dogs’ Creator Kafka Asagiri at Anime Expo 2023

Kafka Asagiri is the creator of Bungo Stray Dogs, one of the most iconic manga and anime titles. At Anime Expo, Kafka Asagiri participated in a panel where he discussed his work as a storyteller as well as the creativity behind Bungo Stray Dogs.

Asagiri’s answers to the moderator’s questions were in Japanese and then translated through an interpreter. The answers written in this article are paraphrased.

Kafka Asagiri at Anime Expo

The Bungo Stray Dogs manga was first released in Japan in 2013. Yen Press released the series in North America in 2016. During the panel, Kafka Asagiri talked about how this series is the first manga story he has ever written. The moderator asked how Asagiri became a mangaka, or manga writer. Asagiri said that he was an office employee before becoming a mangaka. He was inspired by something a character in the Black Lagoon manga said. This character, being the villain, said, “Our lives are not defined by our work. Our lives are defined by how we live.”

The characters in Bungo Stray Dogs are all named after authors of classic literature. During his talk at Anime Expo, Kafka Asagiri talked about the way that he wants people to appreciate classic literature as well as to be able to relate to the stories being told.

Asagiri finds classic literature to be very interesting, but others cannot enjoy it if they do not read it. Asagiri said that one of his goals is to make classic literature easy to consume and to pull people into those stories.

When Asagiri was asked about the inspiration behind Bungo Stray Dogs, he said, “The Avengers.” Specifically, the famous lines and mottos throughout The Avengers were what inspired him. He went on to explain a few of the characters and films some of the characters are inspired by, including Dazai, Ranpo, and Dostoyevsky. Dazai was inspired by The Mentalist. Ranpo was influenced by the movie, Sherlock. Dostoyevsky was inspired by the Joker from The Dark Knight. 

The moderator asked how Asagiri decides which authors to incorporate into his story. Asagiri said he thinks about authors who are famous and have strong reputations. Also, the moderator asked what made Asagiri choose Atsushi to be the main character in Bungo Stray Dogs. Asagiri said that, in Japan, “The Moon over the Mountain” is in middle school textbooks. Everyone who is middle school or high school age in Japan knows Atsushi Nakajima.

There is an arc in the Bungo Stray Dogs series called “The Dark Era” where audiences get a glimpse into Dazai’s past. Asagiri mentioned that this light novel was inspired by Picasso’s “Blue Period” and could be more accurately called “The Black Period.”

Bungo Stray Dogs Season 5

Bungo Stray Dogs season 5 will premiere on Crunchyroll on July 12th. The moderator asked Asagiri if he could tell us some of the highlights of season 5. He told the audience that Ranpo finally gets to make a move. The Armed Detective Agency knows that things will work out in the end once Ranpo is able to participate in the battle.

Also, Asagiri told the audience that Sigma is his favorite character. Sigma was introduced to anime-watchers in season 4. Asagiri told us to keep an eye on Sigma during this new season as well as the feud between Dazai and Fyodor.