Bungo Stray Dogs, written by Kafka Asagiri, following members of the Armed Detective Agency (ADA) as they fight against the mafia to protect their prefecture of Yokohama. Many of the characters fans and viewers meet have powers described by a story their namesake authors wrote, such as Luisa May Alcott, author of Little Women, and Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald, author of The Great Gatsby.
While these authors are notable and great, there are many others whose literary reference is better tied to their authors and respective abilities. However, while each character has their own strengths, their personalities can differ greatly from the story their abilities are from.
This article contains spoilers for Bungo Stray Dogs and mentions sensitive topics, including suicide. Please read with caution.
Osamu Dazai
As one of the main protagonists of the show, Osamu Dazai is one of the people who not only guides and aids Atsushi through the start of his journey in Yokohama. His ability, called "No Longer Human," allows him to negate everyone else's so long as he touches them.
Like the author and the main character in the original Osamu's novel, Osamu is suicidal but tries to be silly when around others though secretive at the same time. It is also theorized that Osamu's theme song is based on the author's book, Good Bye, which was left unfinished due to his suicide at the age of 39.
Atsushi Nakajima
Like the original, Atsushi didn't have what could be considered a happy childhood. The character Atsushi wandered around lost and scared to near madness, much like one of the main characters from one of the tales of The Moon Over The Mountain, which is a collection of short stories and the author's first novel to be translated into English.
The premise of Atsushi's ability is to transform into a tiger and can, later on, retain his intellect as a human while in his tiger form, once again like a protagonist from the author's stories. However, Atsushi's ability, called "Beast Beneath The Moonlight," was only inspired by the title of the original work.
Ranpo Edogawa
Ranpo Edogawa is more like the author's novels rather than the author himself. With Ranpo being his pen name, Taro Hirai was an author of mystery and crime stories, which is the field the character Ranpo specializes in.
Ranpo is one of the named characters who has an ability that isn't a power like the others, as proven by Osamu Dazai. This makes things interesting for Ranpo as not all crime and mystery stories include powers, just the natural ability of the character, even though there isn't much to him beyond his crime-solving ability.
H.P. Lovecraft
H.P. Lovecraft is the author of many horror stories, many including monsters of odd nature. The monsters are similar in oddity to the character Lovecraft's ability, titled "Great Old One," which allows him to turn part or all of his body into tentacles.
Lovecraft's personality also resembles the author's monsters, as he is slow to realize what others consider to be normal to others around him. He also retains the ability to regenerate himself, but it isn't a standard ability like the others since Osamu can't nullify the ability, making him an odd creation himself.
Agatha Christie
Agatha Christie, as a mystery writer, seems to have the fitting right to have a character whose ability is more or less unknown. Dame Agatha Christie has the ability, titled after the author's popular book, And Then There Were None but no one knows what it does quite yet.
Like Wargrave from the book And Then There Were None, Dame Christie is plotting and ruthless all the while giving an elegant air about her. She has her reasons for her actions, but they likely won't be revealed until the end, if at all.
Yukichi Fukuzawa
Just as the character Yukichi is the leader of the ADA, his namesake was a leading figure in a movement during the Meji-era for human rights, education, and equality in Japan. This links to the character's ability "All Men Are Equal" which allows him to adjust abilities to be controlled easier so long they pass his exam.
Yukichi's ability links to the original's philosophy and teaching skills that were so great, his likeness was placed on the Japanese currency. Most of the original Yukichi's works were essays or books to better the education of his country and the betterment of its people, just as the character strives for his agency.
Ryunosuke Akutagawa
Ryunosuke is based not only on the author, who was born sickly but also well versed and knowledgeable. The work that the character's ability is based on is called Rashomon, which is more than likely based on Ryunosuke's full novel of short stories, rather than just the story of Rashomon itself.
Rashomon depicts more of Ryunosuke's character of survival of the fittest and violence. Ryunosuke's ability can turn his coat into a monster along with any other clothes he wears, just as many of the characters became a monster in their own way in Rashomon and Other Stories.
Edgar Allan Poe
Taking his ability from two of the great Edgar Allan Poe's tales, "The Black Cat" and "The Murders In The Rue Morgue," this raccoon-carrying man is able to transport anyone into any murder mystery novel they are currently reading. Poe uses his ability to try to outwit Ranpo, trying to give the great detective a mystery he couldn't solve.
This behavior of the character Edgar Allen Poe switches roles with his namesake and Ranpo Edogawa, as Ranpo was an admirer of Poe. This makes the character Poe a great match to the detective, although his mysteries are constantly solved because of Ranpo's uncanny ability as a detective.
Mark Twain
Corresponding with his namesake's tales The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain's ability uses both of the main characters as dolls for surveillance and accuracy. As Huck and Tom are part of his ability, it's Mark's personality that encompasses their stories of being young kids with a heart but becoming serious as needed.
Mark is much different from his teammates in the Guild as he can seem quite silly at first, making light of situations and trying to relax when given a chance. Like the characters his dolls portray, he grins at a challenge and will take it on, becoming more serious as he fights.
H.G. Wells
Though H.G. Wells wrote many books, the representation of this author has the ability of the book "The Time Machine" where she can send others back in time a maximum of 55 minutes. Just as the original story needed a machine to take a person forward in time, H.G. needs her camera to send someone back or even slow down time.
H.G.'s time machine was used in primarily the opposite that it was used in her namesake's book, as the book primarily moves people forward. Not much is known about her personality, except that she is willing to help where she can and protect as many as possible.