Bungou Stray Dogs is a mystery-detective anime which also includes supernatural phenomena. The result? An exceptional treat. It is prime proof that supernatural fiction can still work if done correctly.
The show features badass characters named after famous authors with their abilities based on their literary works. Amusing, Isn’t it? The abilities are quite innovative and the storyline keeps you engaged throughout the show.
The plot revolves around the clashes between the Port Mafia and the Armed Detective Agency along with the mysterious organisation known as the Guild.
The members of these organisations are strong and have unique abilities. Here’s the list of the strongest Bungou Stray Dogs characters, ranked.
Bungou Stray Dogs has many interesting characters with unique abilities. The characters are named after famous writers and poets while their abilities on their works. Soseki Natsume is the strongest character in BSD while Chuuya comes a close second.
25Hirotsu Ryurou
Ryūrō Hirotsu is a member of the Port Mafia and commander of the Black Lizard. He is ruthless and does not think twice before killing for his gain. Contrary to his motives, he assumes a calm and stoic demeanour.
He is quite powerful and also has a high battle IQ due to his experience.
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Hirotsu Ryurou’s ability, Falling Camellia, causes things to fly backwards with just a touch. His ability can be used to bend pipes with just a touch. On humans, it can cause the bones to break making them a formidable opponent.
24Lucy Maud Montgomery
Named after a Canadian author, Lucy Maud Montgomery is a former member of the Guild. She was one of the creepier characters with a twisted personality. This is mostly due to her poor treatment at the orphanage.
She lost a battle with Atsushi and gradually developed feelings for him.
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The ability, Anne of Abyssal Red, allows Lucy to create an alternate reality known as “Anne’s Room”. This ability imprisons people in the room if they get caught while playing hide-and-seek.
This ability can pose a serious threat to people as they might be imprisoned for a lifetime making it a dangerous ability.
23Alexander Pushkin
Named after a famous Russian poet, Alexander Pushkin is a member of the Rats in the House of the Dead. He lacks physical strength and acknowledges his weakness but seems to be proud of his ability.
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A Feast in Time of Plague allows Pushkin to infect his targets with a special type of virus. When two people are infected with the virus, it causes them to fight each other. This virus can only be gone if the host is dead.
Although he is physically weak, his ability makes him a dangerous opponent and ranks him a little higher on the list.
22Mark Twain
Mark Twain is a former member of the Guild who appears jovial most of the time. Despite his appearance, he can get pretty serious when facing strong opponents.
He believes Atsushi to be his biggest adversary. He also believes in giving up when faced with an adversary you cannot overcome.
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Twain’s ability takes the forms of the doll-like creatures known as Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer. With his ability, Twain can shoot with absolute accuracy by attaching either Huck or Tom to one of his bullets.
21Junichiro Tanizaki
Junichiro Tanizaki is a member of the Armed Detective Agency and is one of the most “normal” people in the Agency. Tanizaki has an aptitude to adapt to his surroundings, which makes him a worthy adversary.
He is deeply attached to his sister and gets extremely bloodthirsty when Naomi is threatened.
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Tanizaki’s ability, Light Snow, allows him to project illusions in a certain range of areas around him. This area is covered with snowfall. Even though his ability does not seem like it’s the strongest, it is definitely super versatile.
He can change the surroundings and camouflage people. He can be a great support member as well.
20Akiko Yosano
Akiko is the member and the sole physician of the Armed Detective Agency. She is kind sadistic and aggressive, this behaviour is further amplified by her ability’s conditions.
She is very well trained in physical combat and is quite strong. She is also very well-versed in human anatomy giving her the extra edge.
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Thou Shalt Not Die is one of the rarest abilities in Bungou Stray Dogs. It allows Yosano to heal any wound as long as they are half dead. As she cannot heal the people with minimal injuries, she fatally injures them before healing.
19Kenji Miyazawa
Kenji Miyazawa is a member of the Armed Detective Agency. He is one of the most optimistic people in the show. He is jovial and gets along well with everyone. He is the breadth of fresh air for the Agency.
However, he changes immediately to a more menacing version of himself when he faces danger or if his friends require his help.
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Undefeated by the Rain grants Kenji superhuman strength allowing him to perform superhuman tasks. It gives him the ability to lift cars with ease or rip a steel door.
He also has extreme durability and can survive life-threatening situations.
18Ogai Mori
Ogai Mori is the leader of the Port Mafia. He is a clever man who is good with strategies and planning. He is merciless and can kill anyone without any remorse. He is also able to create a sense of fear in his enemies.
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Ogai Mori’s Vita Sexualis lets him manifest a girl named Elise. She follows the will of Mori and helps him meet his goals. She also moves quickly and protects the user.
17Yukichi Fukuzawa
Yukichi Fukuzawa is the president of the Armed Detective Agency. He is a serious man with a great sense of responsibility. He is never seen smiling, however, it is pretty obvious that he has a soft spot for cute things.
He is proficient in various martial arts and has great swordsmanship skills.
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All Men are Equal allows Yukichi Fukuzawa to suppress the abilities of those in the Armed Detective Agency. They need to pass the examination for the ability to take effect.
16Ivan Goncharov
Ivan Goncharov, named after the Russian novelist, is a member of the Rats in the House of the Dead. He is one of the creepiest characters we encounter in Bungou Stray Dogs.
Having had his “unhappiness removed”, he is either seen constantly smiling. He looks like he is on the brink of bliss or completely mad with joy. Even in battle, Goncharov’s joy never ceases.
Ability
Goncharov’s ability, The Precipice, allows him to control the earth element. He can manipulate rocks and can use them for defence and offence. Since he is connected to the earth, he has extreme spatial awareness.
The rocks he manipulates are extremely sturdy withstanding heavy blows from Atsushi Nakajima and Ryunosuke Akutagawa. Nonetheless, it proves to have a weakness against their combined attack and ultimately loses the battle.
15Sakunosuke Oda
Sakunosuke Oda is a member of the Port Mafia and was the closest friend to Dazai. He was a patient person who rarely killed but did not lack the fighting skills required to be a member of the Port Mafia.
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Oda’s ability, Flawless allows him to predict 5-6 seconds into the future. It’s an ability that leaves most of the attacks useless as he can already see them coming. This ability also keeps him away from danger.
14Doppo Kunikida
Doppo Kunikida is a member of the Armed Detective Agency and is very professional and diligent. He is practical to a fault and is always seen with his signature notebook. Despite making some questionable moves, he is a loyal and trustworthy Detective.
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Kunikida’s ability, The Matchless Poet allows him to get objects he writes in his notebooks. However, he cannot make objects larger than the notebook.
13Nathaniel Hawthorne
Nathaniel Hawthorne is a former member of the organization known as the Guild and later joined Rats in the House of the Dead. He is a religious man and has strong beliefs.
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Hawthorne’s ability, The Scarlet, allows him to convert his own blood into holy words. These words can be used as bullets or can be built up as a shield to deflect.
12Kouyou Ozaki
Kouyou is a member of the Port Mafia who wields a similar ability to that of Kyoka. She handles herself with grace and elegance but leaves no chance to show her sinister nature.
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Kouyou can control the Golden Demon who is a sword-wielding phantom. This is the same type of ability that Kyoka has, the only difference being the fact that she can control it with her own will.
11Kyoka Izumi
Kyoka Izumi is the latest addition to the Armed Detective Agency after leaving Port Mafia. She was like a doll who lacked all the emotions and follows all the orders from the Mafia.
Izumi is a great acrobat and has good memorization skills. She is also adept at swordsmanship and has great infiltration skills. She also has complete anatomy knowledge.
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Kyōka’s ability, Demon Snow allows her to cut down anyone. The ability manifests as a female sword-wielder who listens to orders coming from a mobile phone.
10Atsushi Nakajima
Atsushi Nakajima is a member of the Armed Detective Agency. He suffered from a traumatic past which affects his day-to-day activities. He is constantly tormented by nightmares and flashbacks.
This causes him to suffer from self-esteem issues. This also leads to him not trusting his gut and making poor decisions. He eventually becomes stronger and more confident and becomes incredibly reliable.
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“Beast Beneath the Moonlight” gives Atsushi the ability to transform into a white tiger. In the beginning, Atsushi seems to be unaware of the fact that he could turn into a tiger. He did not have any control over his transformation.
His transformation into the tiger gives him incredible strength, speed, durability, and regenerative capabilities.
9Akutagawa Ryuunosuke
Ryuunosuke Akutagawa is a member of the Port Mafia who starts as a recurring antagonist and slowly redeems himself throughout the series. He is named after a Japanese short story author.
He is a strong character with a powerful ability. He mainly wants to get acknowledged by his mentor Dazai.
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Akutagawa’s ability, Rashōmon manifests as a special ability that manifests as a large shadow-like beast. It is summoned from Akutagawa’s coat and can consume anything in its way.
Rashōmon can even consume space which creates an invisible barrier that can block most of the attacks. This versatility of his ability makes him rank a little higher on the list than Atsushi.
8Tatsuhiko Shibusawa
Tatsuhiko Shibusawa was involved in the Dragon’s Head Conflict. He was originally sent to end the strife but he ended up exacerbating it out of his agenda.
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Draconia’s powers are similar to No Longer Human but not the same. This ability creates a mist which has the power to separate the user from their ability. This ability will then attempt to kill the user.
If the ability succeeds, it becomes a gem which adds to Draconia’s collection room.
7Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald
Named after the famous Detective author, Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald is the main antagonist of the Guild Arc in the anime. He is the leader of “The Guild” and also one of the strongest characters in Bungou Stray Dogs.
His life story evokes a sense of sadness. He loses his daughter to sickness, as he could not afford the treatment. This drives his wife to become schizophrenic. His goal is to get happiness back to his wife.
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Francis has the ability known as the “Great Fitzgerald”.This ability allows him to gain power equal to the amount of money he spends. He can also activate this power by throwing checks as it counts as spending his wealth. He was able to completely dominate Atsushi with his ability.
“Great Fitzgerald” is only useful to those who are extremely rich and makes it invalid to others. However, in the hands of Francis, it’s an extremely powerful ability, making him one of the stronger characters.
6Kyusaku Yumeno
Kyusaku Yumeno is a member of the Port Mafia and is also referred to as Q. The gender identity of Yumeno is not revealed. Q has a twisted, sadistic personality due to the immense abuse they suffered in childhood.
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Q’s ability, Dogra Magra, is a mind control curse that causes the targets to suffer from hallucinations and attack anyone in sight without regard for who they might be. The only way to stop Q is by “No Longer Human”.
5Fyodor Dostoevsky
Fyodor Dostoevsky is the leader of the Rats in the House of the Dead and a member of the Decay of the Angel. He is an intelligent man with brilliant strategies. He is confident enough to let himself be captured by his enemies.
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All we know so far about Fyodor’s ability, Crime and Punishment is the fact that he can kill someone with a single touch. This ability is not limited to skin-to-skin contact and he was able to kill someone with gloves on.
Some fans believe that this ability works on the principle of karmic retribution. Like most of the abilities, this ability is weak against Dazai as well.
4Howard Phillips Lovecraft
Howard Phillips Lovecraft is a former member of the Guild and appears to be a fairly odd person. He is a nonchalant no-battle to the point where he fell asleep after being shot by Doppo Kunikida.
He is odd but also super powerful. His ability also cannot be nullified by Osamu Dazai.
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Great Old One allows Lovecraft to transform either a part or his whole body into a monster with lots of tentacles. He is also capable of regeneration which is pretty dope.
3Dazai Osamu
Dazai Osamu is an entertaining character with a rare and super helpful ability. He is very strong and quite experienced in fights. He was a former member of the Port Mafia and the current member of the Agency.
He is highly suicidal and attempts to kill himself at every chance he gets.
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Dazai’s ability, named after one of the darkest books, allows him to nullify every other ability just by a simple touch. This means that the greatest of the abilities wouldn’t matter to Dazai as he can just erase them making him a formidable foe.
2Chuya Nakahara
Chūya Nakahara is Dazai’s former partner in the Port Mafia. He is one of the five Executives and is one of the strongest characters in Bungou Stray Dogs. In Twin Dark, Dazai is the brain while Chuuya is the brawn.
Chuuya is temperamental, arrogant and blunt, however, he is not an impossible man. You can still reason with him. He also enjoys fighting and taking down strong opponents. His ultimate downfall is his intense hatred towards Dazai.
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Upon the Tainted Sorrow allows Chuuya to manipulate the gravity of anything he touches. Like, imagine that he can literally manipulate gravity, which is really overpowered. His ability is however weak against hyperspaces and Dazai.
1Soseki Natsume
Soseki Natsume is the strongest character in Bungou Stray Dogs. Natsume is a highly influential man respected by Mori and Fukuzawa as well. He was able to make Sakunosuke Oda give up killing by speaking to him once.
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Soseki Natsume’s “I am a Cat” is the strongest special ability in the Bungo Stray Dogs series. This ability allows her to see through everything, including humans and the future.
By using this ability, Soseki has managed several catastrophes. He can also destroy buildings pretty easily.
About Bungou Stray Dogs
Bungou Stray Dogs is a manga series by Kafka Asagiri and illustrated by Sango Harukawa. It has also received an anime adaptation.
The story follows Atsushi, a weretiger, who later joins the Armed Detective Agency, where people with special abilities help keep peace in the area.
The agency faces peril from time to time and must rise up against all odds.
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