Studio Bones president Masahiko Minami revealed in a stage discussion at Crunchyroll Expo that original author Kafka Asagiri is working closely on Bungo Stray Dogs Season 4.

Minami said that the production team had “lot of discussions and collaborations” with Asagiri, in which a lot of new ideas were floated.

While it is common for studios to ask original authors of the work they are adapting to participate in the production process, this is mostly done out of respect for the creator and due diligence. And usually, it is a representative sent by the editorial department of the publishing company who takes part in meetings conveying the ideas of the author.

However, Asagiri turned out to be a special case as he was involved in these meetings every week and was incredibly active and helpful in the production process of Bungo Stray Dogs anime.

“Asagiri is kind of a special case in the sense that he comes to every single meeting every week, which is a little bit rare because usually a publishing company will send a representative from their editorial department to be a middleman between the author and us. But Asagiri is so helpful and incredibly active in participating in the production,” Minami said of the author’s involvement.

According to Minami, Asagiri has been involved in the production of anime closely since season 1. Sharing how helpful the original author of Bungo Stray Dogs has been, the Studio Bones president recounted a story about a trip which was organized by Asagiri.

“This is kind of a friendly story to share, but as we were working on the script and scenario for season 1, a lot of different people within the staff – such as the producers and Asagiri – we all went on a trip to Yokohama and worked on the script together as a way to get away from the office but still have a fun and collaborative environment,” Minami said at the expo.

The production team was initially wary of Asagiri as they didn’t know what kind of a person he was. However, such interactions helped them build a relationship with him and establish a sense of trust which helped a lot going forward, especially during the preparations of Bungo Stray Dogs Season 4.

The president also touched upon the role that Character Designer Nobuhiro Arai played in the anime, saying that he made sure everything came together in the anime, also taking up the role as Animation Director.

“Because there are so many different characters – almost every week there’s a new one introduced – we asked Arai to manage the animation direction. He is involved in every part of the process where a character appears. The animation direction is really handled by Arai to make sure everything comes together and is consistent in look and feel.”

Minami ended his discussion saying that the production team worked really hard to “make this new season so awesome and to bring it to you guys in a state that would be exciting.”

He asked fans to look forward to it and support it.

Bungo Stray Dogs unveiled a new trailer for season 4 of the anime and an “overseas visual,” illustrated by character designer, Nobuhiro Arai and background design by Tsuyoshi Kusano on Aug 6, 2022.

Takuya Igarashi will be directing the season with Yoji Enokido serving as the script writer, Nobuhiro Arai and  Yumiko Kondo will be character designer and art director respectively. BONES will be in charge of the animation.

Bungo Stray Dogs is a manga series written by Kafka Asagiri and illustrated by Harukawa 3 5. It started serializing in Kadokawa’s Young Ace magazine from Dec 4, 2012, with its chapters collected into 22 tankobon volumes. The manga also has multiple light novel spin-offs written by Asagiri and illustrated by Harukawa.

Crunchyroll describes the series as such:

Kicked out of his orphanage and on the verge of starving to death, Nakajima Atsushi meets some strange men. One of them, Dazai Osamu, is a suicidal man attempting to drown himself in broad daylight. The other, bespectacled Kunikida Doppo, nervously stands by flipping through a notepad. Both are members of the “Armed Detective Agency” said to solve incidents that even the military and police won’t touch. Atsushi ends up accompanying them on a mission to eliminate a man-eating tiger that’s been terrorizing the population…

Source: ANN