#Akutagawa looks terrible overall

[saffron0v0]

Jumpscaring y'all with this.

Anyways, trying with realism again ( I tried before and it was all scrapped,this is the first decent one)!! If anyone can give me any notes it would be much appreciated!1!

[sskk-manifesto]

Next time we should just skip over ep 3 and do a chapters 84-87 reread

[kyouka-supremacy]

your new banner is so cool.. wow.. I just stared at it for five minutes..

Aawwww thank you 🥺🥺 To say I didn't want to make anything too elaborate, I'm happy with how it came out.

I like that chapter 51 panel so much, Atsushi and Akutagawa are so cute in that half-chibi style, and sskk having their sskk quarrels is just too dear to me. I think it's a very cute moment in their relationship? It may sign an evolution from addressing their disagreements through physical fighting, to facing them through heated quarrels, to (hopefully) solving them by calm words. It's nice how both Atsushi and Akutagawa grow with and because of each other.

And tbh to me that panel is also a... Wow, Akutagawa is really whipped. Like, there's little to no other person on earth who could say the things Atsushi did to Akutagawa and leave alive. Akutagawa must truly be head over heels to go past all of it like it was nothing. It's really cute. In this panel in particular, he looks uncharacteristically collected. It's crazy how Atsushi has changed him.

I like the first part of cannibalism sskk. It's the most light-hearted sskk can be. It's got funny quarrels and coming to common ground in spite of themselves and involuntarily helping each other and overfocused Akutagawa and “once this is done, I'll teach you some tricks besides killing” and “this riding experience is terrible”. Overall, it's the first time in the manga we see Akutagawa being silly, and it's sweet.

I like how in the end the header resulted with it looking like Akutagawa is looking directly at the blog underneath, ahah. I wonder what sskk would think of it. I don't think Akutagawa would be very pleased with my description of him. Atsushi would probably feel uncomfortably called out ahah. Maybe that's what they're fighting over. It's very amusing for me to imagine.

[bluemooniegif]

it's so shocking to me that people are looking at the interview Asagiri just did and saying that we're 'victim blaming Akutagawa'

did we read the same thing??? he's not saying that Ryu deserved any of it, nor that what Dazai did to him was 'good' or 'okay,' he's simply telling us what Dazai's intentions are

it's the same thing as how the Director terribly abused Atsushi because he intended to make him stronger

yeah it backfired, yeah it left him weaker and more broken than he may have been without his intervention, nobody is arguing that it didn't

but understanding someone's intention can help us to understand a character overall; their personality, their actions, their relationships

Asagiri was just stating the obvious here. this has been explored already through the story, he's now pointing out specific things and telling us to look more closely

[no-brain-just-akutagawa]

Beast cover details I noticed

I didn't have this analysis in plans, but as the hq cover of Beast dropped, and everyone's been in a cover analysis craze the past few days (which is fantastic), I thought well I might as well share my thoughts with the world. It'll be very loose and casual, just me pointing some stuff that everyone has already noticed.

Here's the full cover and more under the cut:

I really want to dissect all the photographs that appear on the cover, because I think most of them can be traced back to certain events. First, let's start with the overall theme, and that is everyone who had an impact on the main universe Dazai (who I'm going to call og Dazai). We can look at it both as people who og Dazai cares about (or at least they had some sort of significance in his life, because the extention of his care is debatable) or people who care about og Dazai (same thing here), which also means that they are important to Beast Dazai who based the Beast universe on them as well.

The first important picture is of Akutagawa looking to the side in a somber way. It has the same atmosphere as the picture that Kunikida showed Atsushi back in chapter 3, but it's a pretty regular expression for Akutagawa, so I don't think it matters or was even taken into account while creating the cover.

The second picture is obviously the cover of volume 1 showing the Agency. At first I thought Ranpo was missing, but after a further inspection it's actually Yosano who got cut off. As far as I'm concerned, she's nowhere to be found on this cover, which is weird considering that all the other members have at least one appearance. I know it's probably not to make the cover too cluttered (and the fact that these photographs aren't wide enough for her too fit), but still. I like overthinking stuff, you know.

The next picture is Chuuya. I don't think it has any specific origin and it's also partially covered, but I reminds me of that one panel from chapter 10 in a less angry version while still keeping one eyes hidden (basically being flipped). However, it's Chuuya we're talking about, so he does that pose a lot (still just the thought of Dazai remembering Chuuya as a softer person than he actually is = food for my skk heart). Seeing Chuuya be one of the central pieces on this cover just makes me really happy. They're important to each other, no matter how you look at it.

Another picture featured here is of Mori and Fukuzawa possibly a callback to chapter 30, though I don't think we've seen them standing this close. I like how it's basically a staredown of two of his bosses, one who gave him a place in the Port Mafia and was in general terrible, and the the other who gave him a place in the Agency to become better and find inner peace. Both were important, but in vastly different ways, so putting them against each other is kind of like a representation of two sides of Dazai - the good one and the bad one.

Right next to the picture of Mori and Fukuzawa, there's Atsushi covering half his face which is the exact pose he makes on the cover of volume 10. It's Atsushi's second appearence on the cover and in contrast to the group photo, here he's in his battle stance. Just a cool detail.

A little above it, there's Kunikida in a battle stance as well. Both Atsushi and Kunikida are main fighters in the ADA, so it makes sense that they are portrayed as such. I feel like these single photographs (or however I should call it) are meant to highlight the people who had a really close connection to Dazai. I'll come back to this idea in a minute, but I wanted to point it out here, while we're at it.

On the opposite side of the cover, we have more pictures. The obvious one is the one with the Tanizaki siblings with Naomi hugging her brother and smiling widely, while he is blushing and uncomfortable. I mean that's just them in canon all the time, you guys know I don't like to really talk about what is going on with them, but I'm pretty sure it's the scene from chapter 2, so I'll leave it at that. Right above them, there's a picture that I can't quite pin-point what it can represent. Is it the og Dazai? Someone else? No idea here.

What I think is more important, is the film strip showing Beast Akutagawa, because it's the only picture showing a character strictly from the Beast universe. I think this may be the reason why it's different than the rest of the photos to distinguish between the main universe and the Beast one. Besides that Akutagawa looks so cute here.

Going to the top of the cover, we have the famous photo of Ango, Oda and Dazai but with only Ango and partially Oda visible. It'll sound like I'm pulling it out of my left boot, but I think it symbolises how Ango was a spy and someone who hasn't had the proof of themselves erased. Both the main manga and "55 Minutes" suggest that the Department (which is Ango and the rest) did something to erase the proof that Oda existed, and they also got rid of all the evidence that Dazai commited crime as a member of the Mafia, so he could start a new life. That's not confirmed, but highly suggested. And because of that Ango being the only one of the 3 of them visible might be meant to show that he's the only one not hiding his PM days. You could say: well, it's just a picture, but taking into account how crucial this friendship was in the original timeline, I feel like logically it would be showcased more on the cover if the creator wanted to go for it. But as I said, I do like to overthink stuff, so it's probably the lack of space on the cover haha

The photo I left for last is obviously Oda (I cannot put the cropped close-up due to the 10 pictures only rule, but you know which one I'm taking about). It can be both the ADA Oda and the PM Oda thanks to the filter, but either way it's the person this whole story is inspired by. The whole Beast novel is Dazai trying to make a world for Oda to live, so it's fitting that a picture of him takes up a lot of space on the cover. It's also placed on the right side where Dazai is hiding his eye under bandages which may be a callback to his time in the og Port Mafia (and the fact that Oda was the one who ripped the bandage off, though it wasn't present in the light novel, just in the anime). As I said before, I feel like single shots are meant to highlight the people who had an impact on og Dazai's life: Akutagawa, Chuuya, Kunikida, Atsushi and of course Oda all brought something important into Dazai's life with Chuuya and Kunikida being his partners, Akutagawa and Atsushi his students and Oda his best friend (and partially Ango who doesn't get a full single photo for being a traitor I guess).

The last thing I want to quickly talk about is the overall atmosphere of this cover, because - let's be real - it's beautiful and without a doubt one of the best bsd covers. First things first, I love the colours. There's somthing really nostalgic about this combination of purple and blue. This combination in its pastel glory is such a good aesthetic for the final cover. Then we have Dazai's sad, yet pretty expression and I feel like these fake scratches on the cover were purposelly made to resemble tears, which is very fitting since everyone's crying. The emotion captured here really speaks for itself and if anyone is to look at this cover, they'll immediately know it's going to be a heart-breaking story, which it is (so many emotions ah). Lastly I want to mention the bandages used to symbolize how close Dazai is with someone in the anime openings and endings. Here they unwrap arround him and surround all the pictures which shows how much Beast Dazai craves connection and happiness of these people.

Truly tragic just like the story itself.

PART 2

[sweetleaf-cafe]

Akutagawa and his tea

First off, he loves his tea.

Akutagawa enjoys the taste and warm feeling it brings, in an inconstant world, it's calming to him.

It wasn't something he drank in the beginning, bc why would you drink boiled leaf water?

However, knowing what his health is like, Gin essentially forced him into it.

She'd sit him down and start boiling some water whenever there was a moment of time.

Akutagawa didn't really get it, but it's Gin, so he just went along with it, since she seemed to be happy when he drank it.

At first, it wasn't really to his liking, but after a little bit, he grew to become an AVID tea-drinker.

Not only does he enjoy the tea, but he found the time spent with his younger sister precious.

Given the little amount of time they could really spend together, he'd use the opportunity to really listen to her and talk.

He may really suck at emotional stuff, but he can be a good listener when he wants to be.

Whenever Gin has something to tell him, he'd go quiet and listen intently to everything, only interrupting on occasion to ask for clarification.

During these times, he could be incredibly patient.

Normally, he really couldn't care less what's going on in other people's minds, but he deeply cares for his sister and is almost always willing to listen to her.

At first, he would only drink tea when they were together, but soon enough, Akutagawa would start drinking it on his own.

Especially when he's separated from her for extended periods of time since it makes him feel like she's still there.

Although when he first started brewing his own tea, he was TERRIBLE at it.

Aku didn't want to ask for help but also had very little idea of what he was doing.

Usually, he'd either end up leaving in the leaves for waaay too long or would take them out too quickly.

And even if he'd manage the time well, he didn't know what temperature to heat the water to and would end up burning the tea.

Eventually, after watching him struggle for much time, Gin would intervene and teach him how to brew tea properly.

He ended up extremely embarrassed, but grateful to her for the help.

From then on, Akutagawa would bring a couple cups for them both whenever he noticed Gin looking tired or unwell.

Although, he still made a lot of mistakes and Gin would be forced to hide her grimace at the incredibly bitter flavour.

Especially given Aku's intense stare while he watches her expression, hoping for a good outcome.

Still, she'd always be grateful for the gesture.

Before long, he's figured out the ins and outs of tea and ends up taking it very seriously.

He knows the effects of each type he drinks and how to properly brew it.

Due to being tired after missions and his lack of time, he usually won't put a whole lot of effort into brewing tea.

However, every so often, he'll take his time and really do the job right.

Usually, this is when he's making it for Gin or when he really just feels the need to destress.

Overall, Akutagawa is an AVID tea-drinker and you cannot convince me otherwise.

[starrylemillion]

my best friend and i had a little bsd uquiz phase so here are all of the quizzes we took lol

What Bungo Stray Dog Character Are You (Sadly) by riioskis

Oda Sakunosuke. you are the perfect human. MWah, absolutely flawless and everyway. please marry me oFDwyefwbh i want to marry you rn >:( sadly you are also dead.... and im not a necrophiliac... unless...ahaha.... your epic traits: you are irrisistible. people will haet you for that. but i love you. ur so sexy ahaha you are so cool too. there can literally be nothing wrong with you... and i stand by that.

which bsd character are you most alike based on what type of annoying you are by chie

akutagawa. UNCLENCH. nothing in life needs to be taken as seriously as u take it . how's that relationship of 2 months w one of ur oomfs going btw? uve never met them, u only have about 5 pictures of them, and theres a 3 year age gap between u both. u r 16. everything is fine.

brutal bsd kin quiz by clunt

louisa. you are very shy. so so shy. you want to be included in social situations but you have never had the confidence to. people really like you but can become impatient with your demeanor. you need to gather more confidence. please gather more confidence. you are actually interesting and intelligent but only a small selection of people get to see it

unnecessarily in depth bsd compatibility test by goatvibes (again?? for some reason?? i got a different result this time lol)

ryunosuke akutagawa. BEST BOY BEST BOY BEST BOY. god i fucking love akutagawa. look at how pretty he is. i wanna kiss him so bad. did you hear him refer to fitzgerald as his "dessert" in that one scene? HOLY FUCK. [ahem] ANYWAY. akutagawa is a kinda... violent guy, but outside of fights he's rather calm and collected. he'll probably take you out for tea with him, but not in a normal "would you like to go on a date with me" way itll be more like "get your stuff we're leaving" way. he appreciates his space, but make sure he knows you're there for him. please treat him nicely i beg of you.

which port mafia member are you? ( bsd ) by ranposbabydaddy

chuuya nakahara. marry me /hj seriously tho, you probably have anger issues and a very low temper. you hate when people get on your nerves and you get annoyed pretty easily. you also have some sort of trust issues but you keep trusting people hoping that someone will return the trust and loyalty you feel towards them. although you're quick to anger, you're still fairly easy to reason with and you try to handle things calmly at first.

[chuuyaaf]

Can I have Atsushi, Chuuya, Akutagawa with an gf that’s semi-hard of hearing? Like her hearing cuts in and out of her right ear and it hurts at some points. Like she talks but signs when she’s talking. And other times she’ll just sign? Thank you so so much! Love ya work

Ya boi uses sign pretty constantly and is partially deaf so I feel this ask in my soul. -Zi

⛓Atsushi⛓

When you first explained that you were a bit hard of hearing he felt really bad.

He was so worried you were only telling him because you haven’t been able to hear him.

Or maybe he’s been insulting you without knowing?

“I haven’t been rude have I?! I’m so sorry!”

You reassured him that it was fine, you just wanted him to be aware.

You had gotten used to asking people to repeat themselves when your hearing cut out, although it still annoyed you.

He’s always up for telling you what someone said if you really need it.

He’s very careful about not babying you though.

You’ve been doing just fine your whole life! You don’t need assistance 24/7.

But he’ll try to make things easier for you.

He does his best to learn sign language and catches on pretty fast.

He’s perfectly fine with translating if you just want to sign.

Whenever you get a headache, or more accurately earache, he’ll make sure to get you some pain medication.

He probably started carrying some just in case you forgot yours.

When that happens, he’ll try to find somewhere to sit so you two can wait it out.

Overall though, nothing really changes once you explain everything to him.

Your relationship is still the same, but your life is easier now, which he is incredibly thankful for.

🌹Chuuya🌹

Well, that explains why you ask him to repeat himself sometimes.

He feels a bit bad though since he always laughed when you asked him to speak up repeatedly.

Once you explain how your hearing cuts out, he doesn’t really think much of it.

It’s just another part of your life. You’ve been fine before you met him, it shouldn’t be a big deal, right?

He learns a bit of sign. He’s terrible at signing himself, but he can understand you and is perfectly fine with you only signing.

Though he doesn’t understand every word perfectly.

He does find himself subconsciously speaking a bit louder though.

Not enough to be yelling or anything, just enough to make sure you can hear him okay.

He also doesn’t laugh anymore, he just speaks a bit louder or repeats what he says.

He doesn’t really acknowledge it honestly.

Unless he notices you in pain.

He makes sure you’re okay before pulling you away so you can ride out the pain.

Of course, that’s not always possible when he’s given an assignment, so he’ll tell someone to look out for you until he can get you out.

You’re not always happy that he sidelines you, but you never really mind at the moment.

He doesn’t mean to be overprotective, it’s more of an involuntary act, but he won’t try to change it at all.

He just wants to make sure you’re okay.

❌Akutagawa❌

He would be the least understanding of the three.

You explained one day after asking him to repeat himself several times and it makes sense to him.

Since he talks fairly quietly, you ask him to speak up a lot.

He isn’t very good at signing, but he’ll let you teach him a little so you can sign simple sentences to him.

Eventually, he catches on and gets pretty good at it.

But he’s not exactly sympathetic.

Not that he doesn’t want to make sure you’re okay, he just knows that you might have to ask him to be louder sometimes. Big deal.

Until the first time your ear starts hurting.

Luckily, it was in your shared apartment, and he was more confused than anything.

He asked if you were okay and you just nodded through the pain.

He was completely unsure of what to do and felt very useless.

You took some medication and waited it out.

Once you explained that your ear hurting was normal, he calmed down a bit.

He wasn’t excited that you had to deal with pain, but he was glad that it wasn’t a huge medical emergency.

He probably already has pain meds lying around, so he just keeps some with him and offers them to you when you need them.

He feels a lot less useless when he knows how to help and the small gesture is really sweet.

[narcoticwriter]

My Top Five Characters From Bungou Stray Dogs

Note: This is for fun and aligns with favorites and not necessarily the best. I could do one for my best, but this post will mostly be focusing on my favorites. There will also be manga and anime spoilers, so please read this at your own risk. (It’s best that you’ve caught up with both.) I also haven’t read any of the light novels, which is a crime, but I will in the near future.

5. Osamu Dazai

To start off, Dazai is an enigma. His levels of characterization and the way he does things in the series speaks to that ambiguity. He caught my eye the instant that I first watched the anime. A genius in his own right wanting to commit suicide and enthusiastic about it? It’s obvious that that would be intriguing to me. 

His mannerisms in the ADA and the Port Mafia also interested me, and kept me on my toes with the twist and turns those circumstances and settings took in mere instants.

His ability also interested me, seeing as he was the walking antithesis to the world of ability users. Combined with his intelligence, if he had decided to go rouge, he could do it in spectacular fashion. 

Then came along Dark Era, which gave me the insight of exactly how morally grey (darker grey, really) Dazai truly was. This is also the reason that he is not higher on the list. I acknowledge exactly how terrible of a person he is, and yet I want to know if he was born like this or if something happened to him while he was young. 

It doesn’t help that the sheer calculations and things he pulls to somehow make everything work involves emotionally and mentally manipulating people and groups, the allowance of certain events to take place, along with (of course) the enforcement of trauma for character development in the cases of his failed attempt with Akutagawa and his tabula rosa with Atsushi. 

Overall, his lack of care towards himself and the chilling willingness to do whatever it takes in the series terrifies me and yet keeps me wanting more of it. 

4. Ryuunosuke Akutagawa & Nakajima Atsushi

(The reason I put both is because of their correlations with each other as well as their parallelization and character base/development)

At first, when I watched the anime, I was put off by Akutagawa a great deal. Whenever he would appear and wreck havoc on whatever was happening. It just seemed pointless and I was frankly annoyed by how he would harass Atsushi for having the audacity to exist the way he did. Atsushi, on the other hand, was sad to watch sometimes; you could cut his lack of self-worth with a knife. 

After very deep dives into their parallels and characterizations, and especially after reading the manga, I have come to be refreshed by their revelations and their development as individuals and a cohesive fighting unit (Shin Soukoku). Granted, they still have a long way to go; seeing as their trauma from their mentor figures (Dazai and the headmaster) and their childhood circumstances ultimately shaped their dealings with one another. 

Also consider their combined abilities together. Atsushi’s Beast Beneath the Moonlight and Akutagawa’s Rashomon are one of the perfect mesh of an ability in the series. In contrast to Soukoku’s all-out offensive and emergency shut-off button, Shin Soukoku has both offensive and defensive capacities, making them in ways more efficient than their predecessors. Though Atsushi’s offensive capacities could be polished some and Akutagawa’s physical condition is a handicap, to me they are definitely formidable whether individually or working in tandem.

My personal relation to Akutagawa come from the need to unhealthy gain the approval of a figure that I highly respected, for Atsushi, it was the sheer lack of self worth and trying to find that reason to truly live.

I look forward to watching these core ideas clash and the both of their character/ability developments in the future.

3. Nakahara Chuuya

Dear God, he hurts me sometimes. I see a bit too much of myself in his character, but then again, this is why he’s in the top three, I suppose.

The first entrance and interaction he had in the anime had me full-on belly laughing, and as the series progressed, I grew to appreciate him more and be able to relate to him. 

The reason that he’s in this spot in particular is because of the animated Fifteen light novel. I realized something vital about his character and how he approaches life. He’s loyal as hell and the thing that brought him to the Port Mafia in the first place was Dazai’s fabricated betrayal. Even when he experienced the betrayal, he still asked to spare the lives of the Sheep. This showed me that Chuuya not only struggles with having value within himself, but would probably die in order to prove that he indeed has that value to others and that he isn’t just something to be discarded. It also doesn’t help that he struggles to see himself as human, given his unique circumstances of not remembering anything past the age of seven.

Another reason I like him is because of the complexity and lethality of his ability. Corruption is awesome and yet incredibly taxing at the same time (I have a thing for OP powers that come at a cost), and this goes back to the point of being used as a weapon and nothing more. I would like to know more about his power and how that will play a role in the future of the series. 

(And of course, his brazen and harsh personality is entertaining to watch and read, not to mention some writer’s characterization of him in the fanbase is top-tier.)

2. Doppo Kunikida

Kunikida is one of my favorite characters in the series for a plethora of reasons, but the most notable are his character, the dedication to his ideals, and an interest in how his character will develop in time.

His ability is not as bombastic as many of the others in the ensemble, but it’s quite useful for his profession and serves it’s purpose well enough.

Kunikida’s character, however, is refreshing to me. Even though he is uptight, strict, and self-motivated to be regimented in his life, I see him as a solid rock, a foundation that doesn’t waver even in the worse of circumstances, and to me that is difficult to not respect. 

In the series, I saw a man who would stick to his ideals no matter what, and at the near end, I realized exactly how stark his ideals are in the world he interacts with everyday. Of course, he’s not completely innocent and he does acknowledge that he may never completely live up to those ideals, but when I look at exactly how hard he tries to, I can’t help but feel inspired to chase my own ideals as well. 

Unfortunately, I also have a sick fascination to see how long it will take for Kunikida to completely break. In the anime and manga, I have seen him at those breaking points or approaching them with events like the little girl pulling the pin on that necklace of grenades or watching a kid he swore to watch dying in Dazai’s arms. 

Hell, both Dazai and Ranpo have warned him that having that headstrongness and ideals will make him a target for the breaking that will occur at some point, and as a pillar of the ADA, this could potentially be disastrous. 

It also doesn’t help that the government unceremoniously chopped his fucking hands off, not only accelerating the start of the eroding of his ideals, but also leaving a dangerous potential for him to become like Nathaniel Hawthorne in the future. 

I desperately want to see his character development and how he will handle this along with any future events in the series.

1. Edogawa Ranpo

Not only will I unabashedly admit that I kin Ranpo I will also say that he is one of my favorite anime characters of all time. His introduction was the only thing I thought about for months and his interactions with the rest of the ensemble always have me coming back for more. 

However, what made me come to love him was the fact that he didn’t have an ability and how he treats this.

He claims to have the ability of Ultra-Deduction, but it’s really just his stark genius and logical reasoning, and it also hit me personally. It screams I am like you. I am normal. This is also how I carried on a great deal of my younger life. It sounds like he is simply trying to fit in in that sense, which breaks my heart, if I’m being honest. 

On the topic of his particular skill set, the entirety of the ADA is built and organized based on what he can do, making him the literal foundation for the organization. 

His personality also makes me feel as if I am not necessarily alone in my struggles. His brutal honesty, his key interests, and the way he approaches people and circumstances is similar to myself to a degree that could be a bit scary. (I have a personal headcanon that he is on the spectrum somewhere, but this is open to debate and interpretation)

It would be a crime to not include his impact on key characters in the series, such as Yosano (before the ADA) and Kunikida (a warning, if I’m being honest). His honesty and his straightforwardness with them in various stages of their character development fueled their progress and more or less turned them into what they are now.

And don’t even get me started on his character development. It’s more like a character reveal, but I love it either way. His interactions and relationships with Yosano, Poe, and Fukuzawa serve as bases for this, but his arc in the manga (which has me begging me for Season 4 all the more) showed me that not only is he as complex as the other characters in the series, but as capable (if not more capable) as them as well. 

If we were to become a bit more light-hearted, his enthusiasm for snack food gives me life.

In summary, Ranpo is brilliant and hats off to Asagiri for doing him this well thus far. I will be patiently waiting for the next time he appears.

Honorable Mentions: 

Miyazawa Kenji (doesn’t deserve to suffer like he does in the manga)

Edgar Allan Poe (relatable to a degree that scares me)

Izumi Kyouka (a tragedy, but an inspiration at the end of it)

Ougai Mori (ruthless, cold, calculating, excellent antagonist)

Michizou Tachihara (kins Reiner Braun)

Mark Twain (solely because of the rp blog)

Sigma (just wants to run his sky casino)

Ichiyo Higuchi (the author says she has an ability, but it hasn’t been revealed yet, leaving potential and a suspense in the back of my mind)

----------

End Notes: Feel free to discuss this with me or whatever. I’d genuinely like to hear your opinions. I feel like this came out nicely and coherent. I may not do things like the other writers in this fanbase, but they somewhat inspired me to do this so kudos to them, I guess.

[hamliet]

Dazai’s Entrance Exam

So I got the first novel from Bungou Stray Dogs’ official translation into English! And I honestly wasn’t expecting much because the anime’s adaptation of it is very much the anime’s weakest two episodes (except for the high!Dazai scenes). But I was completely blown away by the character development, thematic depth, and just overall excellence of the novel. Like, I cried. 

Obviously, it’s different from the anime in that it’s set two years before the manga/anime begins, so Atsushi isn’t there and Dazai is on much shakier ground with the agency. The story is narrated from Kunikida’s POV, and the entire story is basically about trying to get Kunikida to see and understand the consequences of his ideals--especially when it comes to theory vs. practice. 

Kunikida comments numerous times on criminals in a somewhat dehumanizing way (the Hunting Dogs, in the manga’s ongoing arc, are extremes of this, which is why I like how they ultimately challenge his ideals and can’t wait to see where it goes). In the novel, this is especially evident in how he refers to Akutagawa. He rattles off a list of terrible nicknames for Akutagawa, and none of them acknowledge his humanity. It’s clear Kunikida sees Akutagawa as pure evil, but we of course know he isn’t.

However, when Kunikida realizes someone he’s come to care for is a criminal, and this person (same as in the anime, but with faaaaar more complexity, fleshed out motivations, etc.) faces the consequences Kunikida in theory would support... it’s agonizing for him. 

Dazai could have saved this person (it just would have been extremely hard), but he chose to let them die instead. Dazai’s choice is a parallel to the novel’s opening, as Fukuzawa tells Kunikida to kill Dazai if it turns out he is actually a spy/somehow working against the agency. In the end, the antagonist is doing precisely that, and should they survive, the agency will suffer... so Dazai follows the orders Kunikida can’t bring himself to follow. It’s a brilliant challenge to Kunikida’s way of thinking, and the last words of said antagonist are, “Please don’t let your ideals kill you.”

Kunikida’s ideals are great. But they don’t work in terms of practical application. He needs them to guide him, but in practice, there needs to be a form of grace, of allowing for failures, or else he’s at risk of being consumed with resentment and anger and becoming the very antagonist he doesn’t want to be (the kind of antagonist in the novel). Throughout the manga he’s moving towards a looser understanding of these, of choosing people too, and I’m excited to see where his arc goes. 

Anyways, it’s an extremely good, nuanced, complex look at these themes of Bungou Stray Dogs. I’m now really excited for the rest of the novels to be translated. I think my general assumption is that light novels accompanying a manga are nice but generally extraneous; BSD is clearly an exception. 

[bungou-stray-controversy]

Ok I just really really don't like Dazai at all because my morals are just that different and I never rub it in people's faces, but damn am I tired of people trying to "convert" me or downright attacking me because I'm "ignorant towards his improvement". Like, dude, I don't see any improvement you're talking about and that's my opinion, I respect yours, so get over your entitled nose and respect mine. It's not that hard. There, that's all I have to say.

We first see the need to clarify that it’s completely fine to dislike a character but not every dislike has to be backed up by morals and more often than not applying irl morals to fictional characters will leave you disapointed, dissatisfied and disliked. After all, it’s what a lot of antis use to justify straight-up hating on characters, ships etc.

But other than that, we can fully and wholeheartedly agree with you. Dazai made no actual improvement. The only change he did was changing his coat. He still beats up teenagers, slaps kids in the middle of a panic attack, is willing to sacrifice anyone for the sake of some “greater purpose” and constantly tries to kill himself regardless of how much strain that puts on people around him. He’s very much still the same person he was before Oda died. Actually, Oda is his only motivation to do anything differently in the slightest ways. That’s not improvement, that’s a hopeless crush you half-heartedly follow while not caring enough to actually change anything.

With all that said, it is alright to like Dazai. And it is alright to dislike him. So before anyone comes at us for “hating” on Dazai or his fans again, no, we do not. He’s an interesting character. He’s a fairly good character too, though he has terrible mary-sue moments. But he is not a good person. And he will most likely never be. Overall, BSD gives its cast very little development at all. Atsushi still does things mostly out of his selfish desire to prove himself to others, Akutagawa is still helplessly flailing after Dazai, Ranpo refuses to deal with his trauma, Yosano still keeps her bitchy 12yo attitude and this goes on. The current arc promised us some development but as it looks like right now, everything is just getting thrown out of the high casino window.

BSD has a lot of strong suits. It has an awesome idea and a fairly good story. In the character department, however, it meets its shortcomings. Well, nothing is perfect.

[chouetteffraie]

About BSD S3

Alternative title: Kenna talks about stuff literally nobody asked her to <3

So now that s3 is over and I’ve had a few days to breathe, I think I wanna say a thing or two about the season overall. Now, I’m not a meta writer, I’m not a person who can go in over analyzing everything perfectly- quite simply, I don’t have the brainpower to do that for too long. So rather than this being an analysis of everything and an objective evaluation of the quality of the season, this is largely an emotional response where I just talk about my experience with it. I’m not a critic- I don’t think I have that in my blood. I watch to enjoy, then reflect on what I did and didn’t enjoy, taking snippets and twisting them into something that might become deep and meaningful occasionally if it suits my writing. There’s nothing wrong with being a critical analyzer! We need you all in the fandom for all these fabulous metas and such <3 I just don’t think I’m the right gal for the job.

“So, Kenna, what is it you have to say?” Well, in the simplest of terms,

I really liked season 3.

“...wow. Groundbreaking.”

Now, let me explain myself. There are problems with season 3, as there are with most seasons, but I feel, overall, there were enough things that I liked about season 3 to keep the season in my favor.

I think my biggest criticism would have to be with pacing. The pacing  in this season was so off for me and can be described as sporadic at best. From backstories to character introductions to character re-introductions, there was so much that went by in a blur and so much that seemed to go on forever. My biggest complaint probably has to do with (yup, you guessed it) the adaptation of Fifteen.

Let me explain.

First of all, I think the complaints that Bones used Soukoku as ship bait have a sturdy foundation, and I’m not here to dispute that. As a Dazatsu main myself, I’m not gonna complain about loving scenes with your favorite ship in them- I would absolutely die if next season (hopefully there is a next season!) we got a three-episode plot revolving around Dazai and Atsushi. However, I just don’t think it fit in nicely with the rest of the series.

After all, it’s kind of unfortunate that we got 3 episodes of Soukoku’s backstory, and yet our protagonist only got 1/3 of an episode.

Maybe Fifteen would’ve stood better as an OVA, or maybe if it could’ve been shaved down to two episodes. Maybe if BSD had been given three more episodes for genuine content, things would’ve been better. I don’t know how possible any of these things would’ve been, but they’re ideas. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed Fifteen overall. But I remember thinking that it seemed so out of place when I knew the chaotic arc that was coming. 

I’m not an avid manga reader, but I know enough to be able to say that the BSD manga has a lot of content, a lot of nuance, and a lot of personality. The manga is the source material and what got people so invested in the story. If there wasn’t an interest in the manga, would there even have been an anime adaptation? What I’m saying here is that staying true to the manga is a good rule of thumb, and while of course you won’t be able to translate everything into animation, it’s probably best to try and be as similar as possible with a story like BSD.

Manga readers ate up the story of BSD without being interrupted by Fifteen, because as far as I’m aware, Fifteen is fairly new? (Didn’t it come out around Dead Apple time? I’m not entirely sure, but it might’ve been.) And, unlike The Dark Era, the events of Fifteen didn’t have nearly as much of an impact on Dazai (that would later impact our protagonist- after all, how could he mentor Atsu if he never quit the mafia?). Fifteen was more Chuuya-centric in terms of future impact, which brings me to my next point.

Chuuya is a side character. I love him, honestly, and think he’s a great character, but he isn’t our main focus. This seems to be a problem that Bones has a lot: “forgetting” who their protagonist is. 

I can defend The Dark Era because of how it explains Dazai’s connection with the mafia and why he switched sides. Dazai is easier to get away with focusing on because he is a primary character, although not the protagonist, and probably has some of the most influence on our true protagonist out of all the characters we know. Chuuya....doesn’t. At least, not yet. His backstory, while interesting and fun to see, is inconsequential to where our protagonist is at right now in the story. In fact, I’m not even sure if Atsushi and Chuuya have interacted in the anime aside from that standoff in the hospital hallway- and even then, that was an illusion. While Fifteen gave us a glimpse to Dazai’s life in the mafia, it didn’t give us anything we didn’t already know other than how he met Chuuya, and how he met Chuuya didn’t impact his relationship much with him or explain why he hates him so much- they just kind of always did. (what would you call that? Anti-chemistry?) That means it also didn’t really impact the major decisions Dazai had to make to get to where he was when he found Atsushi- which is when he began to matter, because that’s when he started influencing the world of the protagonist who is supposed to drive our experience through the narrative.

Please note, this isn’t a hate on Soukoku, and if you like Fifteen, or thought it fit, or just liked it because it gave you such good SKK content, I’m happy for you! This is just a personal grudge I have with the series.

This is why Fifteen would’ve stood better as an OVA- it doesn’t have anything to do with the protagonist. A core purpose of the protagonist in any story is to make the narrative relevant. The events of a story are connected because they pertain to the protagonist. Let’s take the Hunger Games as an example. The events of the actual game don’t relate at all to the death of the Everdeen father, or the fact that Primrose Everdeen was selected, or the fact that a certain Everdeen was given a pin of a mockingjay. These are all important because they relate to our protagonist, Katniss. Her father dying made her have to step up inthe household and feel responsible for her mother and sister’s safety, which helped prompt her to volunteer as tribute. Her pin later became the symbol of a revolution, but only because it was hers. If our protagonist had been Peeta, Katniss’ backstory with her father and mother and sister wouldn’t matter to us because it wouldn’t be our protagonist’s concern.

So, why, then, did we get 3 episodes of Chuuya’s backstory and 10 minutes (not even) of Atsushi’s? Hell, we got more of Kyouka’s backstory than Atsushi’s, or at least a better buildup to it. We even got more content of Randou, a character they completely screwed up (and also didn’t really affect Atsushi). I know events are tied together and connected, but when trying to fit an arc like Cannibalism into 12 30-minute episodes, you’ve gotta decide what’s important and what’s not.

Bones, I feel, didn’t choose what was most important.

“Alright, Kenna, all you’ve done is complain. I thought you said you liked season 3?”

That’s the thing, though- I did.

I like the time they spent with Lucy and Kyouka’s hostile interactions. I liked the background they gave to certain characters (Gin, Kyouka, Atsu [even though we got so little], Katai [-ish]) plus we got more Fyodor content. Fitzgerald’s episode was really good, too! I’m a newly-fledged, softcore Fitzgerald stan. I think the last three episodes were pretty well put together, and I ADORED the final scene (no, not just for the Dazatsu content- although thank you for the food, Bones uwu).

Now, these are all little things, yeah, but I feel together they make up enough for Fifteen on my end. See, I’ve always thought BSD had pacing issues from season 1. It’s no news to me that they had trouble squeezing all the content in the episodes they were given, to be honest. If I separate Fifteen from the rest of the season, to me, it’s cardinal sin is pacing, and only pacing. The issues of Fifteen are plentiful, but it doesn’t seem fair to me (and for me, it’s more than ok if you disagree) to pile that all on to the rest of the episodes. Yeah, it was disappointing that we didn’t get as much Fyodor time, or Atsu backstory time, or whatever else we wanted. But to me, that’s okay. We still got the point of what’s going on- the city is in trouble, the worst is yet to come, and Atsushi and Akutagawa have a deal now.

Bungo Stray Dogs has always appealed to me because of its characters more than its story, I connected with the people, not the narrative. I still thoroughly enjoy the story, but I’m more interested in how the characters interact in general and how they operate as a team or in stressful situations. For that purpose, Bones provided. At least they did in my book, even if we didn’t get enough of who we wanted to see.

I have hope for next season, if there is one. I have hope that Bones will right their wrongs. I have hopes that they’ll fix their pacing a little bit. The manga has so much content to portray, though, that a certain pacing issue can be forgiven (like the ones I saw in s1 and s2.) And, because I love the characters, I’m willing to hold out for another potential season and see if they can fix it.

If you’re upset, you have every reason to be. But, though I have my complaints, I can’t say I’m too terribly disappointed. Maybe a little, but I still look forward to future content. I hope we get it soon, if at all.

(And, believe it or not, this is the shortened version of all my thoughts. Haha!)