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Someone take this girl to the club NOW‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️

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But don’t you realize just a little that I’ve wanted to live a normal life? And how hard I’ve worked for it? I’ve been hanging by a thread, and it’ll break with a bit more weight. I tried my best to be careful, though. You see that, don’t you? I’m not weak, my troubles are just too heavy. It’s stupid to talk like this. But if I don’t speak out loud and clear, people are taken in by my cheeky manner. Even you are. ‘He’s only acting when he talks about his troubles’ – that’s how casually you all take me.

Dazai Osamu, “Putting Granny out to Die” from Dazai Osamu: Selected Stories and Sketches

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NNNGGGGHHHHHHHHHH

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Again he is smiling, this time not the wizened monkey’s grin but a rather adroit little smile. And yet somehow it is not the smile of a human being: it utterly lacks substance, all of what we might call the “heaviness of blood” or perhaps the “solidity of human life” - it has not even a bird’s weight. It is merely a blank sheet of paper, light as a feather, and it is smiling.

Dazai Osamu, No Longer Human

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sometimes i think about dazai

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…and with an intensity that nearly rivals that of religious faith.

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controversial trench coat man

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In the end, it's not even clear if Atsushi saving Dazai was driven by the fact that he instinctively tried to save a drowning person, or by his intention to rob them for self-survival. I think it's very nice how this ambiguity is enstablished since the very start of the story: I feel like the story starting with the protagonist being torn between altruism and self preservation is very emblematic of bsd's themes.

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I know I've talked about this plenty already but I literally can't take off my mind how despite being objectively horrible towards her, Akutagawa praising Kyouka is such a frequent, heartbreaking occurrence. Like THE ISSUE with bsd's generational trauma is that every mentor trains their student according to how they'd treat themselves. Mori repeatedly says he sees himself in Dazai; he allowed Oda to be killed because he didn't think it would have effected Dazai that much, but that's only because it wouldn't have effected Mori that much in his place, because it was just the most rational thing to do; but of course it wasn't the same for Dazai, who was left utterly destroyed by Oda's death. Dazai never offered Akutagawa the validation for his life he so desperately needs because for Dazai that sentiment is just incomprehensible– how could the suicidal maniac understand the need to be allowed to live, when living is so fundamentally meaningless for him? And Akutagawa constantly praised Kyouka– constantly, but that's never been something Kyouka, quite confident by her own nature, ever needed; she needed to be loved, cherished, protected, overall to be treated like a child, but Akutagawa never gave her that, because - again differently from Kyouka, who had a relatively normal early childhood and would know what being loved is like - he himself was never a child.

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*gnawing at own forearm* do you ever think about the fact that the only time we clearly see oda in the main series is right when dazai's about to go on a speech that presents bsd's underlying philosophy & driving force for the agency?

"An ex-hitman has no right to turn good." ...do you really think that? That's utter nonsense.

of course it's nonsense – because turning good is what oda wanted for himself, even before he wanted it for dazai. oda didn't want to kill; he wanted to write. of course turning good is achievable – because that's what oda was trying to do. for dazai, that's proof enough that it's possible. he believes it because oda did.

and then!! he keeps going!!!

so you want to be good. you killed people and you want to be good and you don't think you can be, because of who you've been until now.

What should one do when what they want is at odds with reality?

you do what oda did, what the agency does: you fight for it, because that's all you can do.

What do we fight for? How should we live? Nobody can give us the answers to these questions – all we have is the right to agonize over them.

all you can do is try to make it happen, stumbling the entire way, getting lost trying to find your answers. recklessly dashing through the gutter, like stray dogs caked in mud.

this is what dazai believes, because he's seen it happen – with oda, and then with the agency. the ADA gives out second chances to anyone who's trying to be good, to fight to create meaning for themselves.

oda told dazai to be good, and the agency gave him the opportunity to act on it. so when he's trying to convince kyouka that she, too, can be good – that she can join the agency and leave the darkness she's been living in... of course he thinks of oda. of course.

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When discussing or analyzing Dazai, one thing I hope you will keep in mind when reading anything I write about him is that from my perspective, he is always, always both.

What do I mean by this? Well, I find there tends to be a general split among people who hold the opinion that "he's a manipulator and will always be manipulative" and "he's doing his best to be good and helpful and live up to Oda's last wishes for him", of which, neither is completely right - because he is both. But even among the people who hold to this dual-nature interpretation, I find that his individual actions and motivations still tend to be thought of in a dichotomous manner - is it manipulative, or genuine?

Again, I think it's always both.

Dazai has a very pragmatic view on a lot of things - he is always looking for the usefulness of things and people so that the situation turns out in his favour. He's incredibly adept at this, and his prediction and placement and careful reveals are all manipulation tactics to get his allies and enemies doing exactly what he needs them to. I don't think anyone can contest this since we see it over and over in the series.

But that's not all there is to it. He's not solely manipulative and he does, to some extent, sympathize with others - I think there are several instances of this in the series, but I want to stress that this has been apparent since Chapter 1!

For context, Dazai is recalling what Atsushi said to him a few minutes earlier, but it's very interesting that it should be this specific part of the conversation. He could've flashed back to the part where Atsushi said he had nowhere to go; no money, no food - he is about to trick him into joining, after all, and this is the key piece he uses to basically force Atsushi into the Agency. But instead it's Atsushi's self-deprecation that catches his attention, and it really does, because even during the conversation, he turns to look at him after he says this with an odd expression.

You could say that this makes Atsushi easier to manipulate, if that's your angle, but that can't be solely it, because in the later conversation with Hirotsu, we know Dazai was planning to bring Atsushi into the Agency and set him up as one half of the new Double Black the moment he met him. The panel shown there is the riverbank, set much earlier in the day than this scene. He was already planning to pair him with Akutagawa since he figured out he was the tiger, so what's with this reaction?

Well. Sometimes the simplest explanation is the best.

He manipulated Atsushi into joining with the intention of utilizing him in his future plans. He also helped him and gave him a place to belong, and importantly, he likes this kid! It's both.

I think much of it might be that his brain just kinda works way too fast - he's such a natural at crafting these elaborate plots and seeing how things connect and gathering useful people like resources that it's practically automatic - though this is not a great means when you're trying to be a kinder person. There's an omake, I believe, that has him saying "I like using my head for justice", i.e. using these underhanded means to act for the better. Not great, but those are the kind of gifts he has. He's way more suited to exploitation, but is choosing to use these tactics to save people now, which is quite reminiscent of what he tells Kyouka. Kyouka's talents lie in killing people - when what you're good at isn't who you want to be, what do you do? Well, I expect you use what you have, even if it's not ideal.

Now, about the current situation with Sigma - I think he definitely likes him, and is intrigued by him and his situation. We did get a little thought bubble where the guy amusedly compares him to Atsushi, and you can't tell me he doesn't care about Atsushi (listen to the onsen drama cd, or read 55 Minutes if you somehow don't believe me). But also, it's undeniable that Sigma is in a very vulnerable position of being homeless and having had no one be genuinely kind to him before. His trust is very easy to earn, and with the latest chapter, Dazai has now saved his life multiple times. There is, as always, a practical purpose he needs him for. And I have to be somewhat amused because Dazai is quite literally telling Sigma everything he ever wanted and needed to hear. It's a brilliant means of quickly endearing himself to Sigma - but I don't think that's all it is.

Look. The most honest moments we get in this series from Dazai are, interestingly for an expert manipulator, when people are at their most vulnerable. In spite of every pointlessly cruel act he inflicted on Akutagawa, his first meeting with him was open and transparent; much like the orphanage director, it seems he thought this treatment would make him strong and adaptable (he's wrong but that's not the point of this). He cuts Kyouka off in irritation and says "don't give me that" when she implies that she would fail the entrance exam. He tells Atsushi it's normal to cry after losing a father figure and to feel however you feel, even if that person caused you nothing but incredible pain and cannot be forgiven. He refuses to entertain Sigma's assumptions that Dazai sees himself as a superior being to him.

Selective honesty can also be utilized to great effect; Mori does this, and undoubtedly it serves this purpose for Dazai too. But I want to stress that I do sincerely believe this is all still honesty from him. Manipulation, or genuine?

Both. It's both.

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The more naked a person’s words are, the more comical, broken, and made-up they sound. When I think about that it makes me extremely sad. My words come out in a sputtering fashion and they may not have any logic to them, but there is true reasoning to what lies within my heart. This fuzzy feeling within my heart is rather complicated and words cannot easily explain it. That is why what I say comes out in fragments, and I am anxious to piece together those fragments so that you can get a sense of the whole, but the more I speak the more I blunder and get myself in trouble.

Dazai Osamu, A New Hamlet

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adding on to this now

atsushi's pov: akutagawa

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define soulmates? it's them

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y'all remember when asagiri said that akutagawa is the character that goes through an even bigger transformation than atsushi throughout the series? i think that's already reflective in his new design. and oh my am i excited for his further development

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atsushi's pov: akutagawa

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symbolism and significance of clothing/character design in bungou stray dogs

one of the most admirable features of the bungou stray dogs series is the attention to detail in every aspect. i feel that each time i reread or rewatch, i notice new specifics that intrigue me to analyze further. character design, especially the clothes worn by the characters is definitely one of mentioned specifics. in the bungou stray dogs universe, character design does not possess merely an aesthetic function, but it aids in understanding each character - their personality, motivations, the author/work they are inspired by, and what i feel is most notable - their fate (past, present and future) and how it is intertwined with and depends on other characters. this is what i`ll attempt to showcase in the following, on the examples of a few characters.

atsushi nakajima/ryūnosuke akutagawa

naturally, these two are to be analyzed together as their design was, in essence, made to contrast each other - which, just in the start, hints at the momentousness of one to the other. atsushi is the light, akutagawa is the darkness. atsushi's eyes carry vividness and life inside of them, akutagawa's are pure gloom. however, the two are not completely black or white, they are not distinctly "good" or "bad", as they carry parts of each other - which is shown in the hints of black in atsushi`s design (the black streak in his hair, which we were robbed off from in the anime but alright, and in his clothes). the same concept, just vice versa, is seen in akutagawa`s design.

both wear clothes they got from those dear to them, or rather those who gave them a sense of purpose, a reason for living. in atsushi's case, each of the agency members, in akutagawa's case, dazai. the coat is, in a sense, a remnant of akutagawa's experienced trauma, as is atsushi's hairstyle. just from this surface-level description, it can be seen that these two, are in fact, as i`ve written in my other analyses, two sides of the same coin, yin and yang if you will. they`re similar, yet different - they complete each other.

dazai osamu

at first glance, what is most noticeable about dazai`s design are, of course, the bandages wrapped around entirety of his body. i feel that, other than being remnants of previous attempts, these bandages emphasize his seemingly invisible psychological/emotional wounds, protecting him from the real world, and from further pain.

in the dark era, dazai`s left eye is covered by said bandages. at his deathbed, oda takes them off - from that moment on, oda allowed dazai to "see", both "good" and "evil" worlds - as up until now he had only seen a world of evil and suffering, and was blind to what the rest had to offer. thus his other eye was opened.

although, even if he has seen both sides, he still wears the bandages, holding onto them even while imprisoned in mersault. he is still yet to find his reason for living, and is yet to uncover the wounds he`s gotten throughout his life, if ever. this notion of hiding the real self from the world matches well with yozo of no longer human (who i believe was a big inspiration in the making of dazai`s character).

“I have always shook with fright before human beings. Unable as I was to feel the least particle of confidence in my ability to speak and act like a human being, I kept my solitary agonies locked in my breast. I kept my melancholy and my agitation hidden, careful lest any trace should be left exposed. I feigned an innocent optimism; I gradually perfected myself in the role of the farcical eccentric."

this quote also describes the essence of dazai`s character, in simplified terms.

other than that, there exist other obvious contrasts between port mafia and ada dazai - already seen in the usage of colors. in the port mafia era, dazai wears a black coat, given to him by mori. on the other hand, once he joins the ada, dazai wears lighter clothes, symbolizing his turn to the life of good - some black still remains, however. he now wears a bolo tie with a green pendant - many suspect this was a gift from odasaku, which i also believe. dazai holds onto this as a reminder. of his past, and of what he is to do with his future.

sigma

sigma's character stands out in several ways - as he is the only character not inspired by any author, and is a creation of the book. many characters in the series struggle to find a purpose, but in the case of sigma it is even more apparent. that longing for a reason of being becomes the main feature of sigma`s soul, as well as an initiator of his every action.

he is one of the characters with the lightest color palette. i believe that this symbolizes his innocence and divinity as compared to the other characters who have experienced the horrors of the real world all too well. his outfit demonstrates how he initially sees himself - as a manager of the sky casino. it is, at first, the core and essence of his being. the ambiguity of sigma's character and reason of living is also seen with his hairstyle, which is half-and-half, incomplete. uncertain. just like his existence. it`s as if sigma is an unfinished novel.

rest of the characters

the concepts i mentioned beforehand in analyzing character design are also present across other characters in the series. naturally, they embody the works of the authors they are written after, such as kunikida's design. other characters also showcase their fated connections with others, such as chuuya wearing the hat gifted to him by mori. (i could make a separate post about chuuya`s design and how it follows his development through the series, which i might just as well do later because this is already getting too long). the contrast between the past and present self seen in dazai can also be applied to ranpo's attire (the past being before he met fukuzawa - wearing only black clothes, representing the darkness of his mental state. the present being his current look, which embodies what he sees as his main role and reason - a detective). i will touch up more on these certain characters and their designs in upcoming posts.

and...the color purple?

now, i believe this may be a stretch but as i am obsessed with color symbolism and especially purple, i will just get this out.

now, there are a few characters with purple presence in them in bungou stray dogs, as it's a rather rarely used color. i`d noticed that the mentioned characters all had something in common - an uncanny, almost haunting presence at times, as well as experiencing deep psychological distress or disorder. which made me wonder: what could purple mean in character design? and most specifically - purple eyes, which are seen to be rare among the cast?

you can already draw a correlation between fyodor and fukuchi as purple-eyed characters. but once you add yosano and mori into the mix, the reasoning changes. when you think of it, it`s all characters who have power over human lives in a sense more divine than the other characters - fyodor and yosano with their ability, as well as fukuchi with his sword and persona, mori being a doctor.

but then again, we also have sigma who is engulfed in lighter shades of purple, unlike any other character in bungou stray dogs. which makes me wonder about his possible future role.