Highlights
- Fukuchi and Fukuzawa’s friendship was forged through a fiery rivalry, with their first encounter resulting in a draw and mutual respect.
- The Great War caused the friends to take different paths, with Fukuzawa choosing to end the war through assassination and Fukuchi becoming the leader of a terrorist organization.
- Despite their differing ideologies, Fukuzawa and Fukuchi remained friends after the war, although Fukuchi harbored a deep-seated hatred for his former friend.
Ōchi Fukuchi and Yukichi Fukuzawa squared off in an epic final dual to decide the fate of the world in Season 5 of Bungo Stray Dogs. Before reaching this point, though, the pair were great rivals and even better friends who pushed each other to their future greatness by way of the sword.
From treasured friends built in the forge of a fiery rivalry to battling for their vastly different visions of the ideal world, Fukuchi and Fukuzawa are two powerhouses who have a long history. These characters and their relationship left an indelible mark on the Bungo Stray Dogs universe, especially in the show’s most recent season. The leader of the armed detective agency, Fukuzawa, and his ideal future ended up winning the fight in the season finale, but not before the series gave an in-depth look at the times these future leaders spent together in the springtime of their youth.
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The First Encounter
Ōchi Fukuchi’s ability, Mirror Lion, enabled him to become a feared swordsman who went around toppling dojo after dojo to prove he was the strongest. He defeated 39 local dojos with his wooden sword until he got to a dojo that would change the course of his life forever. In this dojo, there was only one person waiting for him, and it was a boy his age, no less. This boy was Yukichi Fukuzawa, and he was already prepared to face his future rival, having evacuated everyone in the dojo to face Fukuchi alone.
The two engaged in their first of many duels, and to both their surprise, they were evenly matched. They fought until night, both winning 18 duels each. Both fighters collapsed onto the dojo floor out of exhaustion, each with more respect for each other than they had when they had met earlier in the day. Fukuchi was the most surprised of the pair, shocked to find an equal in a world where, up until then, he had been king. Fukuchi decided then and there to train alongside Fukuzawa to become the greatest swordsmen together. Fukuzawa responds by whacking him lightly on the head with his wooden sword, claiming his 19th victory.
The Great War
The two kept working hard alongside each other through their adolescence and soared to new heights by the time they reached adulthood. As the nightmare that would be known as the Great War wages on, the two meet by a lake for what would become a fateful meeting. At this point, Fukuchi is serving in the Japanese army, and Fukuzawa is hailed as one of the five great swordsmen of the Japanese government. Fukuchi tells his long-time friend that he has been promoted to the battlefield of Tokoyamijima, which is known to be one of the worst in the whole war, and that he has a bad feeling that when he comes back, he will no longer be the man he was when he left. After a brief pause, Fukuchi asks Fukuzawa to join him at Tokoyamijima, a request that Fukuzawa swiftly denies.
This moment would be the one where their paths diverge forever. Fukuzawa marks their separation as he claims that there is a difference between protecting friends and ending wars, and he will choose to end the war. This also implies that Fukuchi has chosen the path of going to the battlefield to protect the friends he has made. This is the foundation of the differing ideologies that will lead them to the battle that decides the fate of humanity.
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Fukuzawa would succeed in the sense that his life as an assassin murdering military bureaucrats and generals would end up leading to a quicker end to the war. Fukuzawa was so great at what he did that he earned the nickname “Silver Wolf” for his accomplishments with the sword. He would eventually drop the sword as he became horrified at the fact he began to look forward to assassinating people.
Fukuchi’s wartime experience was a different story. Fukuchi would see horrific things throughout the war and do even worse things himself. The atrocities he both committed and witnessed would lead him to become Kamui, the leader of the Angels of Decay terrorist organization. The war changed Fukuchi, just as he himself predicted.
Post-War Era
After the war, Fukuzawa and Fukuchi were never the same, each for their own reasons. Fukuzawa had seen the worst in himself. Fukuchi had seen the worst of humanity. Despite their differences, they remained friends after the war. Fukuzawa would meet Ranpo and open the detective agency. Fukuchi would even join along in some capacity before he founded the Hunting Dogs organization.
Though they were friends after the war, deep inside, Fukuchi still harbored hatred for Fukuzawa. He found Bram four years after the war. He defeated and stabbed the vampire through his torso with the holy sword, and he began his plan for the Decay of Angels. In his time as the leader of the Hunting Dogs, he would become an international hero.
These two friends turned enemies through war are crucial characters in Bungo Stray Dogs. Though they may have ended up with different ideologies and different end goals, they shared an important period of their lives side by side. Without each other, neither of them would have reached the heights they did, and it is possible they would not have found their purpose either.
Watch Bungo Stray Dogs on Crunchyroll.
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