Manga: Bungo Stray Dogs 7

Bungo Stray Dogs Vol 7
Rating: 4/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher! 

Atsushi-his confidence shot thanks to Q's mental assault-is finally caught by the Guild, due to Fitzgerald's sheer physical might and Alcott's abilities. Q, left to his own devices, turns his eyes toward his next target-Lovecraft, a Guild skill user shrouded in mystery. Soon, the Guild's scheming turns the promised land of Yokohama into a sea of flames-and Atsushi is forced to stand strong once more! 

We wrap up the action from the last volume...before a new problem is presented in the form of the totally creepy Q. He's rather excellently drawn...it really shows the crazy! I have to say the pace on this series is getting better and better. 

Poor old Atsushi is determined to protect everyone but he's the one facing down Q. I did quite like Dazai's ominous comments running parallel to the reveal of Q and his battle with Atsushi, it added another level of tension and danger to the event. Unfortunately Atsushi ends up a little bit broken by Q and his power and faces quite the struggle with himself as he needs to overcome it. 

Meanwhile Dazai decides to bring the government in to it. So we meet government agent Ango, he's part of the Special Division for Unusual Powers. Fun guy....he gives us an ominous message and it seems the Guild are above the law and basically untouchable, according to his information. 

Fitzgerald is also back this volume, and makes his move coming after Atsushi but luckily Kyouka chooses that moment to make her grand return. Unfortunately she ends up in a tricky spot of her own. Interestingly after Atsushi's kidnapping we get a small time jump of a week, to keep things moving along nicely. 

We get a lot more of the Guild this volume, which I'm living for because I love seeing authors I know and have read, or loved or hated their books because I had to do them at school! I love seeing what their power is and how it relates to their books. Good old Fitzgerald has his little dastardly plan to enact to. Basically everything goes from bad to worse in this volume. 

Like I said, this volume has an excellent pace, and there's plenty of action with a nice amount of focus on the Guild, as well as some other elements being brought in like the government division and some struggles for the characters. We end the volume with a nice amount of despair and a plan involving a team up that I've been screaming for since day one! It's going to be really exciting to see this play out, and things are definitely stepping up!