#as a mafia member. higuchi is VERY BELIEVABLE however

[tulipe-rose]

Sooo. A long Higuchi post, because honestly, I love her.

Higuchi is 19-20 years old, maybe 18, but that's very unlikely, since Tachihara refers to her as older, and he's 19 soo, yeah.

She has been a member of the Mafia for around two to three-ish years. Can't be more than that, since she didn't recognize Dazai during their first meeting. She probably joined a little later, maybe during the time Chūya was officially appointed his position as executive. The chaos would've died down a little by then.

She rose up to the rank of commander in such a short period of time. Don't believe me? That's okay, there's no forcing here, but might I remind you that both Chūya and Dazai joined at 15, one rising up to executive at 17, and the other at around 19-ish years old. (A commander is a step down from executive, whish happens to be Higuchi's rank.) That means it took them no less than 2 (4 years in Chūya's case) years to rise up in the ranks. I leave it up to you to discern whether or not that's a short period of time.

She has an unknown ability, but her equal footing (when it comes to ranking, not general strength. There's no doubt he's superior by a large margin) with Akutagawa indicates that even though it might be dormant/non-combative, her capability doesn't falter because of it.

Mōri definitely didn't apoint her commander out of nothing. He is the most rational man in Yokohama, he rules with fear, and does what's to his benefit, he answers to no one, besides Natsume. So it's either he acknowledged her enough for the role, or there's a hidden benefit to it. He does show some concerns about her fitting into the Mafia, which could mean he's either rethinking his decisions, or genuinely concerned (or some third option I didn't consider).

Which brings us to the thought of how, and why she joined the Mafia. As we can see in the Manga, she has a little sister, probably a high schooler, to provide for. That in of it's self could be her motive to join, but that doesn't justify why she didn't pick up any other job. Who recruited her? That's left to be seen, and I wouldn't be surprised if it was Mōri himself.

Her obsession with Akutagawa doesn't really make sense, and I'm torn between believing that she's a masochist, or has horrendous attachment issues. Akutagawa probably did one nice thing towards her, and even that was probably on accident, making her feelings develop. Another situation where he ends up saving her, and she's hooked. That's my theory however, feel free to share your opinion.

Something that had me raise an eyebrow or two was how she wasn't particularly respected by her colleagues, despite how important hierarchy was to the Mafia apparently. They do respect her a little more eventually, but I suppose they're close enough for that type of casualness (Tachihara calls her 'Big sis')

Akutagawa thanks her that one time (hold on I think I have the panels downloaded).

Yep, there they are. He thanks her here, meaning that there's at least a degree of respect he holds for her despite his usual cruelty towards her. She states that he's the soul reason she didn't leave the Mafia yet, meaning she didn't particularly like her job, but is doing it for him. There's definitely more to it, but that's maybe for another post.

The rest are waiting outside with a knowing look on their faces. They're all well aware of her feelings towards Akutagawa, and it seems like they're happy for her. They know something she doesn't, and I'm dying to know what it is.

I don't think I've spoken about everything, if there's anything I missed please tell me.

[silentaint-a]

theperfectpsychic

undercover missions were far from higuchi’s favorite thing to do. she was a bodyguard - she should be with akutagawa, not sitting here in some con man’s office trying to recruit and get close to shiego. this was humiliating.

it doesn’t show, however. to anyone else, she appears as a calm yet troublesome woman simply looking for answers. hands folded in her lap, she looks across at the gentlemen. 

did people really believe the crap he was saying?

❝ my husband died . . he’s been haunting me ever since, ❞ ever the clever liar, the tears begin, and she grabs a tissue off of his desk to wipe her cheeks with it.  ❝ i just want peace,❞ there’s a crack in her voice.  ❝ do you really think you can help me? i’ll pay anything to just be able to move on. ❞ 

[emikorin]

Who Is Higuchi Ichiyou? (Spoilers if you haven’t fully watched/read Bungou Stray Dogs)

Higuchi Ichiyou, a port mafia member and the one who commands the Black Lizards. She isn’t respected by the mafia, she isn’t useful to the mafia ability wise but why is she here?

Let us begin from the beginning.

Who is the real life Higuchi Ichiyou?

She was born on May 2, 1872 in a nagaya (row house) on the premises of the Tokyo prefectural office (present Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo Prefecture) in Uchisaiwaicho, Ichi shoku, Daini daiku, Tokyo-fu (Tokyo Prefecture). Her real name was Natsu HIGUCHI. Her father was Tamenosuke (Noriyoshi) HIGUCHI and her mother was Ayame, the fifth daughter of the Furuya family; Ichiyo was their second daughter. She had an older sister (Fuji) and two older brothers (Sentaro and Toranosuke), and was followed by a younger sister (Kuni). Making Higuchi Ichiyou the fourth child.

Her father, Noriyoshi, was a peasant in Nakahagiwara Village, Yamanashi County, Kai Province (present Koshu City, formerly Enzan City). Her grandfather seems to have been familiar with creative writings such as haikai (seventeen-syllable verse) and keisho (the most important documents in Confucianism); it is said that Noriyoshi preferred academics to farming and, as his marriage with Ayame was not permitted, they practically eloped to Edo. Noriyoshi began as a servant in the Bansho shirabesho (a government-run Western studies education and research institute) and, by good fortune, became a jikisan (immediate retainer) of the bakufu (Japanese feudal government headed by a shogun) by buying a kabu (a right to become doshin) of doshin (a low-ranked official) in 1867. After the Meiji Restoration, he became a low-level official and acquired the status of shizoku (a family or person of samurai ancestry), but was dismissed in 1876. After that, he made a living by working as a real estate broker and similar things.

As a young child, Ichiyo was raised in a family of moderate means, and she enjoyed reading from the time she was small; she read kusazoshi (illustrated story books) and it is said that she read through "Nanso Hakkenden" (a story of eight samurai and a princess of the Satomi family in the Nanso region) by Bakin KYOKUTEI when she was seven years old. In 1877, she entered Hongo Shogakko (Hongo Elementary School), but could not continue because she was too young, so she enrolled in Yoshikawa Gakko (Yoshikawa School), which had been established privately by Tomikichi YOSHIKAWA. In 1881, Toranosuke, her second older brother, set up a branch family and apprenticed himself to an earthenware painter. The family moved to Okachimachi, Shitaya Ward in the same year, so in November, she transferred to Seikai Gakko, a private school, in Ueno Motokuromoncho. She graduated from the fourth grade of the advanced course at the top of her class, but left the school without advancing to the upper grades. It is said that this was because her mother, Ayame, believed that studies were unnecessary for women.

On the other hand, it is said that her father, Noriyoshi, recognized his daughter's literary talent and let her learn waka from his acquaintance, Shigeo WADA. In 1886, she entered the waka school 'Haginoya,' run by Utako NAKAJIMA, through an introduction by Choan TODA, an acquaintance of her father from the days of the Tokugawa shogunate. In this school, besides waka, she studied classic literature and Japanese calligraphy of the Chikage school; dynastic style literature, such as The Tale of Genji, was the motif of Ichiyo's early works. During her time at Haginoya, Ichiyo met her close friends Natsuko ITO and Tatsuko TANABE and gave lectures as an assistant teacher. At that time, Haginoya was a waka school attended by the wives and daughters of the former regime's privileged classes - such as court nobles, former roju (senior councilor of the Tokugawa shogunate), and former domain lords - and of the Meiji government statesmen and military personnel. Although Ichiyo was shizoku, since her family had been farmers, she was treated as a commoner; she became introverted, and senior pupils from the upper social class called her 'monotsutsumi no kimi' (literally, close-natured person). When the first annual New Year's opening ceremony since Ichiyo had entered the school drew near, the topic of conversation among the well-bred young ladies turned to clothing and festive dress, well beyond the range in which the daughter of a low-class government official could compete. However, she quashed her feelings of inferiority and attended the ceremony wearing old clothes that her parents had borrowed.

Ichiyo's family moved frequently; Ichiyo moved twelve times in her life. In 1888, Sentaro, the first son and head of the family, died; Ichiyo inherited the family and became its head, with her father as guardian. In 1889, Noriyoshi's attempt to establish an association of draying contractors failed, and he died in July of the same year.

Ichiyo's engagement to her fiance, Saburo SHIBUYA, was cancelled. It is said this was due to the fact that, although the Higuchi family was left with a large amount of debt after Noriyoshi's death, Saburo HIGUCHI required a large amount of yuinokin (betrothal [gift] money). At the age of 17, Ichiyo was forced to support her family as its head and, in 1890, she lived in the house of the Nakajima family as a Haginoya apprentice. In September of the same year, she moved to Kikuzaka, Hongo (Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo Prefecture) and, along with her mother and younger sister, was obliged to live a hard life doing needlework and araihari (washing, stretching and drying various parts of kimono). It is said, however, that Ichiyo herself tended to disdain labor, and that the needlework and araihari were conducted by her mother and younger sister.

As Ichiyo's nearsightedness made her bad at detail work, she searched for other ways to earn income. When she learned that Kaho TANABE, a pupil in the grades ahead of her, had obtained a large manuscript fee for her novel "Yabu no Uguisu" (literally, Bush Warbler in a Thicket), Ichiyo made up her mind to write novels. At the age of 20, she wrote 'Kareobana Hitomoto' (Withered Grass). She used her pen name 'Ichiyo' for the first time in an essay written that same year. In order to make a living as a novelist, she also studied under Tosui NAKARAI, who reported on novels for the Asahi Shimbun, frequented a library, and published her first novel 'Yamizakura' (literally, Cherry Blossom in the Dark) in the first issue of the magazine 'Musashino,' presided over by Tosui. Afterwards, Tosui continued to take care of Ichiyo, who lived in dire poverty. Gradually, Ichiyo began to have amorous feelings for Tosui. However, a scandal about their relationship spread (although both were single, the customs of the time did not approve of such associations between a man and a woman without the intent to marry), and so she severed relations with Tosui. As if to emphasize the end of her relationship with Tosui, she published "Umoregi" (literally, Buried Wood), an idealistic novel in the style of Rohan KODA; it was completely different from her previous works, and it became the one that made her career.

Ichiyo became acquainted with Toson SHIMAZAKI and Tokuboku HIRATA, both of whom were well-versed in European literature; having come into contact with naturalistic literature, Ichiyo published multiple works including 'Yuki no Hi' (literally, Snowy Day) in 'Bungakukai.'

Her former fiance, Saburo SAKAMOTO (the Saburo SHIBUYA mentioned above) had become a prosecutor; around this time, he proposed to her, but she refused him. In order to relieve her straightened circumstances, she opened a variety shop which sold cleaning implements and penny candy in Shitaya Ryusenji-cho (present Ryusen 1-chome, Taito Ward), but closed the shop in May 1894 and moved to Maruyama Fukuyama-cho, Hongo Ward (present Nishikata 1-chome). Her experience on this occasion later became the subject of 'Takekurabe,' her representative work. She continued writing. In December, she published 'Otsugomori' (literally, New Year's Eve) in 'Bungakukai' and the next year, in 1895, 'Takekurabe' was published in seven installments, beginning in January.

Between the two works, she published 'Yuku Kumo' (literally, Going Cloud), 'Nigorie,' 'Jusanya' and others; the period from 'Otsugomori' to 'Uramurasaki' (literally, Purple on the Verso) is called her 'miraculous 14 months.'

In 1896, when 'Takekurabe' was published in its entirety in 'Bungei Kurabu,' it won great acclaim from Ogai MORI, Rohan KODA and others; Ogai MORI praised Ichiyo very highly in 'Mezamashigusa,' and many members of 'Bungakukai' began to visit her. In May, she published 'Warekara' (literally, From Myself), and 'Tsuzoku Shokanbun' (literally, Popular Epistle) in "Nichiyo Hyakka Zensho" (literally, The Daily Encyclopedia). Ichiyo had advanced tuberculosis and, when she was diagnosed in August, it was judged hopeless. On November 23, she died at the age of 24 years and 8 months. Ichiyo's life as a novelist lasted only a little over 14 months and in 1897, the year following her death, "Ichiyo Zenshu" (literally, The Complete Collection of Ichiyo's Works), and "Kotei Ichiyo Zenshu" (literally, The Revised Complete Collection of Ichiyo's Works) were published.

Her grave was in the annex temple of Tsukiji Hongan-ji Temple, the Higuchi family's ancestral temple, and was later moved to the Wadabori byosho (mausoleum) of Nishihongan-ji Temple in Izumi, Suginami Ward. Her homyo (posthumous Buddhist name) in Jodo Shinshu sect (the True Pure Land Sect of Buddhism) is Choshoin Shaku Myoyo. Literary materials including handwritten manuscripts and other related materials are kept by the Museum of Modern Japanese Literature and Yamanashi Kenritsu Bungakukan (literally, Yamanashi Prefectural Museum of Literature). Since November 2004, her portrait has been used on the Bank of Japan's five thousand yen note.

Now that we know her real life counterpart lets review her anime/manga self.

As a mafioso, Higuchi proves ruthless and fearsome, not shying away from killing her targets. When confronted by the enemy, she has a distant atmosphere to herself, often strictly no-nonsense and showing little sympathy for them. Quick to act, she seldom tolerates disrespect and detests those who underestimate Port Mafia.

However, Higuchi's personality, as her boss and she herself notes, is rather unfit in the Port Mafia. Beneath her tough exterior, she is easy to upset, hesitant, and quick to question herself. She even contemplated leaving several times, despite the inevitable hardships defection foretold. As a result, her subordinates seldom show her respect, many following her orders out of fear of Akutagawa's wrath. An impulsive spirit also leads her to tend toward drastic measures, consequently going against orders.

Her biggest weakness is her intense, bordering obsessive loyalty to Ryunosuke Akutagawa, whom she obeys almost unconditionally. She often insists on filling in for Akutagawa, worried about his poor health. Unfortunately, her loyalty is met with a frustrated Akutagawa's abusive and harsh treatment, often being called "unnecessary" to him. Nonetheless, Higuchi remains loyal to him. Her instinct to tell Akutagawa everything she knows ends up a key component to luring Akutagawa to the Guild's Moby Dick. However, Higuchi makes up her weaknesses for having a strong resolve, and she refuses to turn away when allies, especially Akutagawa, are in danger.

Thankfully, her determined and honest nature earns her Black Lizard's respect. She proves reliable and incredibly brave, even if her judgment is easily clouded under pressure. Even if questioning her position in the mafia, Higuchi shoulders its burdens and responsibilities to this day, understanding its vital role in Yokohama's safety. She also makes it a point to not be unnecessarily cruel to her opponents, acting strictly professional in Akutagawa and Port Mafia's names.

Her composure can often waver. Sometimes she is cool-headed and intimidating, other times easily unsettled and stressed out. Ultimately, she seems to excel more in covert operations than the frontlines, as a tendency to panic leaves her wide open in battle.

Higuchi however has some...strange relationship with the boss however. And this is mostly with what was already established above that the real life Mori Ougai had praised her work which made her very popular. So far in the anime there are three people who Mori Ougai seems close with;

Fukuzawa Yukichi, Yosano Akiko and Natsume Soseki.

Ogai MORI (February 17, 1862 - July 9, 1922) was a novelist, critic, translator, playwright, surgeon of the Imperial Army and Bureaucrat (Senior Official First Class). He was also Army Surgeon General (equivalent to Lieutenant General), Shoshii (Senior Fourth Rank), Order of Merit Second Class, Ko Third Grade, Doctor of Medical Science and had a doctorate in Literature. He is considered one of the great writers of the post-First World War Period ranked alongside Soseki NATSUME. His real name was Rintaro. He was born in Tsuwano Domain, Iwami Province (present Tsuwano-cho, Shimane Prefecture). He graduated from the University of Tokyo, Faculty of Medicine.

Shiyo Ho was born as the third daughter of Soshichi HO (father) and Tsune (mother) who ran a long-established Japanese confectionery shop 'Surugaya' in Kaino-cho, Sakai City (present-day Kaino-cho, Sakai Ward), Osaka Prefecture. One of her real brothers was Hidetaro HO who later became an electrical engineer. Shiyo entered a school of Sinology (the study of the Chinese classics) at the age of nine and also learned koto (a long Japanese zither with thirteen strings) and shamisen (a three-stringed Japanese banjo). After entering Sakai Girl's School (present-day Osaka Prefectural Senyo Senior High School), she devoured the Japanese classics such as "The Tale of Genji." In addition, she said, under her elder brother's influence, 'by the time I was twelve or thirteen, my greatest pleasure was reading literary magazines "Shigaramisoshi" (and later its successor "Mezamashigusa") and "Bungakukai" as well as novels by Koyo OZAKI, Rohan KODA, and Ichiyo HIGUCHI' ("Myojo" May 1906).

Around the age of twenty she started contributing her poems to magazines while she helped her family business. After participated in the Kansai Young Men's Literary Society, in 1900, she became acquainted with a waka poet Tekkan YOSANO at a poetry reading held at a Japanese-style hotel in Hamaderakoen and contributed her poem to "Myojo," an in-house magazine of Shinshisha (New Poetry Society) founded by Tekkan. In the following year she left her home and moved to Tokyo, and published her first poetry anthology "Midaregami" (Tangled hair) that expressed female sensuality in open fashion with which she established her style as a romantic poet. Later she married Tekkan.

In September 1904, she published a poem "Kimi Shinitamou koto nakare" (Thou Shalt Not Die) in "Myojo." In 1911, she contributed a poem that started with 'Yama no ugoku hi kitaru' (The day comes when a mountain moves) to the first issue of "Seito," the first female literary magazine in Japan. In 1912, Akiko followed Tekkan and moved to Paris, France. Ogai MORI helped her to raise money for going abroad with his wide range of literary works and large circle of contacts, and he also proofread "Shinyaku Genji Monogatari (New Translation of The Tale of Genji)" on behalf of Akiko to which he wrote the preface. On May 5, 1912, the Yomiuri Shimbun started a series of articles entitled 'Atarashii Onna' (New Women) with an article on Akiko's voyage to Paris, and on the following day the newspaper reported her departure (some 500 people including Raicho HIRATSUKA saw her off). The following June issue of the "Chuo koron" magazine ran a feature story on Akiko. On May 19, Akiko arrived in Paris via the Trans-Siberian Railway; during four months up to her leaving to Japan from Marseille, France on September 21, she visited England, Belgium, Germany, Austria, and the Netherlands and so on.

The same like Higuchi Ichiyou, Fukuzawa was praised for his work and put on the Japanese bill. Fukuzawa is respected and is still friends with Mori as evident in season 3 episode 9 where he said after leaving Lucy “I’m going to visit an old friend”.

Despite the many things Fukuzawa witnessed Mori do (which includes mentally abusing Yosano to have her ability of usage for the mafia) Fukuzawa still sees Mori as a friend and that is seen back with how Mori and Fukuzawa fought.

They both went for the more vital points of their body. Making their death quick and painless so that one cannot suffer compared to the other. Even when Pushkin was caught, the two had one brain cell in that moment and both punched the virus ability user.

Why are Fukuzawa, Yosano and Natsume relevant you might ask? Well, let’s address the elephant in the room.

Let’s dissect season 1 episode 11 first (chapter 14 in the manga.)

We begin with how Mori Ougai is introduced, which is through Higuchi. After the failure that is capturing Atsushi and selling them for 4 billion yen/dollars Higuchi reports to Mori about their failure. This scene made me, a fan of the irl Mori Ougai’s work, open my eyes and ears to see how the two interact:

Higuchi: “I’m truly sorry for this.”

Mori: “Maybe he’ll never regain consciousness.”

Higuchi: “No way!”

Mori: “Don’t worry. You two have done you’re best. It’s true that you failed in the assault of the armed detective agency, erred during the capture of the man-tiger and sank the freighter along with our cargo. But you’ve done your best, and that’s all that mattered. Making effort is the most important. Results only come second, isn’t that right?”

Higuchi: “....”

Mori: “Oh, yeah. The trafficking company Akutagawa destroyed during the mission...the Remnants of Karma Transit seems to be recruiting. They’re probably planning to take revenge on Akutagawa.”

Higuchi: “what?”

Mori: “Listen, Higuchi-kun. The mafia is essentially an economic body that uses violence as its currency. It doesn’t matter at what got sunk or who got killed but if that violence is returned to us, all our expenses will become liabilities.”

Higuchi: “How could you call those liabilities? They were the fruits of of Akutagawa-senpai’s efforts up until now!”

Mori: “Indeed. Akutagawa-kun is highly capable. His violence is outstanding even in the mafia. **But what about you?** “

Higuchi: “....”

Mori: “Higuchi-kun. Have you ever wondered whether this job is really suited for you?”

From what we have seen so far, Mori doesn’t seem angry at her actions. In fact, he seems more disappointed but with a hint of worry. Knowing real life mafia bosses, Higuchi would either get fired or tortured for her failures, yet she is here standing without any injuries. This is the most seen in the anime where Higuchi clearly is talking back to Mori, talking back to the king of the underworld.

The next scene is with the Black Lizards.

Tachihara: “This bastard Gin is always put onto sneaky jobs like infiltration and assassinations. Slitting the throats of families and friends on the higher ups order is quite a usual task. If he had meant it, you wouldn’t even have the time to gape.”

Higuchi: “Did the boss say he wanted me dead?”

Hirotsu: “Not yet, but who knows what will happen in the future.”

Higuchi: *cold face* “So you have come here to mock me?”

Hirotsu: “We’re only here to warn you to stay alert. If I were you I would come up with an insurance plan before the hitman starts closing in. The higher ups aren’t the only ones who are after your head. You and Akutagawa are the Guerrilla Squad directly under the boss’ command, giving you the authority to mobilize us in the combat squad, so your technically our superiors. However we don’t obey you out of your authority, but out of fear and respect for Akutagawa’s ability. Higuchi-kun, now that Akutagawa is out of action what power do you posses to make us obey you?”

Throughout the whole entire scene they say that Higuchi, despite her position as their superior, has not much authority over them. The only reason why they follow her is because she is under Mori’s direct order, so she and Akutagawa are second closes to Mori next to the executives.

Yet why is she here if she isn’t that important to the mafia according to the Black Lizards?

In the next page we see that she is against Mori’s order. Higuchi is going against Mori’s orders. This is a giant red flag because she is directly not following Mori’s order; this is enough to get executed under mafia rules yet she isn’t. How? How is she allowed to go through with this?

Let’s look further:

“But the only reason I never actually did it...”

“It’s not easy to break away from the mafia, but it’s not impossible.”

Let’s take the first sentence. She never finished it. She never said the reason why she never left. All we see is her remembering Akutagawa. This could mean one of two things; 1, she is in love with Akutagawa and wants to protect him or 2. She admires him for him using his ability more efficiently compared to her.

You might be asking, how did we go from Akutagawa to Higuchi’s ability? That’s simple.

Let’s remember Tachihara for example. At first we thought he wasn’t an ability user like Gin but it was later on revealed that his ability, Midwinter Memento, allows him to manipulate metal. While it has nothing in common, the name and the ability itself, this can be the same for Hirotsu.

Which means that authors have abilities, and Higuchi Ichiyou isn’t just some author. She is the first ever female author that got so high as being on a yen bill. So her not having an ability is rather suspicious.

Not only that but let’s look at how the novel 55 minutes describes her:

The novel described Akutagawa as an ability user, how would Higuchi not be described as a non-ability user? Because she is an ability user.

⁠Which brings us back to the first take. Many mafioso’s would get in trouble for going against Mori’s word. With Higuchi  it is differently; in season 1 episode 11 you see that Higuchi was talking to Mori on a rather even note, her eyes shined a few times which means that she appreciates the praises but she still went against his word by saying “Akutagawa has done so much to be considered a liability.” She talked back against the boss, that would be considered a punishment in the underground yet Mori kept her. This is also shown in the manga where in the mall, Higuchi talked once again back against him but Mori warned her as if she was a child that wants to know more about her birthday present.

Compare this to how he talks to Hirotsu; a mafioso who is longer in the mafia compared to Mori.

He talked back to him and he got a glare and was questioned “what do you want to say?” In a threatening type of way. Knowing Mori, it isn’t because of the former boss because Mori doesn’t care about him anymore nor is it about Dazai taking his place, that is his main goal.

My theory is that Higuchi’s ability is that big of a liability that she is Mori’s secret weapon.

In season 1 episode 11 she keeps saying “it is difficult to leave the mafia but the reason I stayed is because...”

She never finished her sentence. She never told the full reason why she stayed. In the manga we are shown that she isn’t respected, that subordinates walk over her. Yet even with these facts, Higuchi isn’t fired.

She also says “it is difficult to leave the mafia but it isn’t impossible”

That is a lie because as we have seen with Kyōuka it is impossible. How does Higuchi have such privilege? Because Mori knows she will come back. The reason why in her monologue it showed Akutagawa is because she admires him for being able to control Rashoumon, the same way how Atsushi finds Akutagawa amazing for being able to control Rashoumon.

Mori favors her, and this is shown in a panel in Wan where Higuchi does an impression of Mori when he is with Elise yet instead of being angry at Higuchi, Mori directs his glare to Chuuya and Tachihara. There is also a chapter where Tachihara, Higuchi, Akutagawa and Gin destroyed the Black Lizard hideout but instead of punishing Higuchi (who was the source of the accident) he punished them all.

Let’s look at another thing; how close is Higuchi with Mori?

Season 2 episode 8 where Mori was stabbed by Fyodor. It was brief but we see Higuchi together with the boss. Out of everyone in the mafia; Kouyou, Chuuya, Kajii hell even Akutagawa could  (but he was busy looking for Nathanial) it was the least respected mafioso. Not only that but Higuchi back in season 2 gave information that the boss gave personally to Higuchi to send to Dazai.

This could have also been done by Hirotsu or Gin who know Dazai the longest. But something caught my attention. Higuchi said “I researched your history.” This wouldn’t seem bad was it not that Mori keeps Dazai’s executive position open for him to return, so Dazai is still technically an executive. ONLY EXECUTIVES are allowed to learn the history of the other executives. Gin, Hirotsu, Akutagawa, Kajii, Chuuya and Kouyou know about Dazai because they have an actual history with him but Higuchi is an outsider of this. She is like the other mafioso who aren’t related to Dazai yet she did research on him, which isn’t allowed.

Now this might sound as if Higuchi is special but let’s look at something or more someone who also didn’t look special but actually is special; Tachihara Michizo.

On the surface, Tachihara is an arrogant, impulsive, rash individual, more than willing to solve problems through sheer brute force and his dual guns. A violent temper leads to frequent conflict between him and other mafiosi, namely Gin, whom Tachihara views as creepy and frequently insults, leading to arguments, and Hirotsu, who often shuts Tachihara's temper down by threatening him. Tachihara's self-preservation prompts him to obey Hirotsu in the end, albeit reluctantly. An apparent thirst for battle and arrogance fuels Tachihara's temper. He's often seen with a rather feral smile on his face whenever fighting. He seldom considers the weight of a mission over the rush of eliminating his targets. He shows no hesitation nor remorse in murder, in fact sometimes urging to just eliminate a troublesome person if he finds their baggage more than they're worth.

A prideful man, Tachihara despises being underestimated and belittled. This is a surefire way to get oneself shot.

His rebellious side doesn't negate how he values orders, seeing them as an utmost system. Due to this, he attempts to dissuade Higuchi from saving Akutagawa against Mori's orders, even suggesting an alternate plan that wouldn't disobey these orders. Furthermore, he maintains his composure when dragged into shopping with Elise, and tolerates her putting bows in his hair. Despite guards laughing at him, Tachihara doesn't snap. Despite his rough exterior, Tachihara is capable of thinking rationally, just not in the heat of the moment in the Port Mafia. He can recognize danger quickly and finds himself on edge over how nonchalant Mori, Kōyō, and Chūya's meeting went. Tachihara has a proficient understanding of how to deal with the enemy, alluding to a much more cunning side of his true nature.

Much of Tachihara's details of joining the Port Mafia are unknown, however, it is a ruse. His identity as the fifth Hunting Dog reveals a much more clever, driven man. Unlike Ango Sakaguchi, Tachihara always intended to infiltrate the Port Mafia, using his position in the Hunting Dogs to operate as a spy. His confrontation with Yosano is devoid of any rage, depicting a cold, blunt side as he explains his grudge against her for "killing" his brother. Regardless of who he is working for, Tachihara cares deeply for his comrades. He was first to try to stop Higuchi when she tried to save Akutagawa on her own and has been seen visibly harboring guilt for when he cut down Hirotsu and Gin for the sake of his mission as a spy. He has also been seen caring for Teruko when she showed she was heavily injured from going against a plane head-on. He's also notably patient with those who are spoiled, including letting Teruko sit on her shoulders with little protests of being her "slave" and letting Elise put a bow on his head.

Beneath a lot of Tachihara's rough and punk-like exterior is a strong sense of incompetency and inferiority compared to his elder brother who was praised as being "perfect" while he was deemed by his family as being inferior, even being questioned as to why he didn't die instead of him. These things have driven Tachihara to act out and live a life of delinquency and ruthlessness by affiliating with gang activity, but despite these things, he still couldn't shake off these negative feelings. His insecurity and desperation to escape his brother's shadow was so strong, that Tachihara took on the first "order" that allowed him to become someone "not like his brother or his opposite" and joined the Hunting Dogs and infiltrate the Mafia to get revenge on Yosano for "killing" his brother, even when he knew and acknowledged that all of it was an excuse to appease his own negative feelings.

Many didn’t think much of Tachihara next that he was a commander of the Black Lizards and just someone who is close with Chuuya in Wan, however in the current arc we learn that he is a member of the Hunting Dogs with his ability Midwinter Memento being perfect for to lure Yosano to him, and in his fight with Fukuchi we learn that Mori giving him the order to kill Fukuchi was perfect for him.

Tachihara’s ability is named after his famous poem;

*Neither pursuing nor being pursued,

I stand under a barren tree. I'm watching

my silhouette, now marooned on a spotless snow....

(My pale shadow somberly takes shape.)

I'm listening. Yes! I certainly

am listening to what my shadow sings....

In a plaintively nasal voice it sings tunes of long-gone

summer flowers never to return.

Without responding, "That's a bunting, that's a siskin,

that's a white fir

—that's me...I a siskin, I a fir...," my shadow and I

eye each other as though these statements once were true.

My shadow listens to my heart at song.

Like the hubbub of that old arrowing brook,

it listens to tears at song...on the snow.*

This poem is seen mostly how Tachihara lives in the shadow of his brother, how much he listens to what others have to say because he himself can’t find a reason to do something.

As we already had established, Higuchi Ichiyou is a famous female writer. And the characters based on the authors and their books have an ability.

However there are two (three) categories: Name based abilities and non-name based abilities.

(Three being a non-abilities)

Non-abilities: The Great Old Ones and Ultra-Deduction.

Name based: Beast Beneath The Moonlight, Doppo Poet, All Men Are Equal, Lemon Bomb, The Great Fitzgerald, Thou Shalt Not Die, Gone With The Wind, I Am A Cat, A Feast in Time of Plague, Anne of Abyssal Red, Moby Dick, Time Machine, Yesterday’s Shadow Tag, The Grapes of Wrath etc.

Non-name based abilities: Vita Sexualis, Midwinter Memento, Another, An Inherent Drop, Black Cat in the Rue Morgue, Little Woman, Demon Snow/Golden Demon, Flawless, Futon, Plum Blossom in Snow, Priceless Tears, Undefeated By the Rain, No Longer Human, For The Tainted Sorrow etc.

Higuchi Ichiyou’s famous short story Takekurabe (Growing Pains) could be her ability based on that Mori Ougai had praised her for it, which eventually became they key to her success;

“ * [Higuchi Ichiyō’s] ‘Growing Pains’ was acclaimed as a masterpiece, especially when the entire work was republished in a single issue of the popular magazine Bungei Kurabu in April 1896, Mori Ōgai… lavishly praised its every feature: … (Ōgai): It is not especially remarkable that this author, a member of a literary circle in which the Naturalist school is said to be enjoying a vogue should have chosen to set her story in this place [the Yoshiwara district]. What is remarkable is that the characters who haunt this area are not the brute beasts in human form - the copies of Zola, Ibsen, and the rest - presented by the assiduous imitators of the so-called Naturalist school, but human beings with whom we can laugh and cry together… . At the risk of being mocked as an Ichiyō-idolater, I do not hesitate to accord to her the name of ‘poet.’ It is more difficult to depict a person with individual characteristics than a stereotype, and far more difficult to depict and individual in a milieu than a special person all by himself. This author, who has painted the ‘local coloring’ of Daionji-mae so effectively that one might say it has ceased to exist apart from ‘Growing Pains,’ without leaving any trace of the efforts such portraiture must have cost her, must truly be called a woman of rare ability.* “

(Credit to Donald Keene, Dawn to the West.)

But what could Growing Pains do if it was actually an ability? For most we need to understand what an actual ability needs to have in common.

For this we will take For The Tainted Sorrow and see how this ability is related to gravity?

With literal names based abilities we look at Atsushu. Atsushi has the ability to transform into a white tiger. At first, he doesn't seem to have much control over the transformation, likely due to the fact, or caused by, his unawareness of his state as an Ability user. After becoming an official member of the Agency and under the influence of All Men Are Equal, he gains more control over his transformations - as shown during his second fight with Akutagawa, when he breaks the transformation on his arms to escape.

My theory is that Higuchi’s ability allows her to paralyze her enemies.

Let’s look as too why I think this and use the summary of Takekurabe as an example; The main characters are children living on the edge of Yoshiwara, the only district of Edo that was licensed for prostitution. As they grow up, they find themselves assuming their family professions and losing the freedom they enjoyed as children. Next we have Nigorie translated into English as Troubled Waters and Muddy Water, is a Japanese short story written by Higuchi Ichiyō in 1895. It depicts the fate of a courtesan in the red light district of a nameless town during the Meiji era. Nigorie centers around Oriki, the most popular courtesan at the Kikunoi, a brothel in the red light district of an unspecified town, and a group of people connected to her, during the summer Obon festival. Through her conversations with other prostitutes, and Oriki's accounts in the presence of new customer Yūki Tomonosuke, the reader learns that a previous customer, Genshichi, a futon salesman of moderate affluence, was addicted to Oriki and spent all his money at the brothel. Now that Genshichi has been reduced to the hard labor of a construction worker, forced to move with his wife Ohatsu and his young son Takichi into a smaller flat in a run-down section of town, Oriki rejects seeing him despite his pleas. Tomonosuke repeatedly questions Oriki during his visits. She reminisces about her poor upbringing, which she cites, together with her profession, as the reason for not wanting to marry, although she had contemplated the possibility. She recounts a childhood incident when she was seven years old, sent by her mother to buy rice for supper. On her way back, she slipped on the frozen ground, spilling the rice into the gutter, leaving the family starving for this day. Meanwhile, Ohatsu scolds Genshichi for his ongoing obsession with Oriki and the family's poverty, which she tries to mitigate by doing piecework. When Takichi comes home with a piece of cake, which he received as a gift from Oriki (whom he refers to as "the demon-lady"), Ohatsu angrily throws it away. Genshichi, furious about her ongoing accusations and behaviour, demands that she leaves him. Ohatsu begs him to let her stay, as she has no relatives she can return to, but finally leaves, taking their son with her. At the end of the festivities, the dead bodies of Oriki and Genshichi are found. While it seems obvious that Genshichi committed suicide by seppuku, the cause of Oriki's death stays unclear. The passerbys speculate about her fate; while one assumes a shinjū (double love suicide), another one reasons that the wounds on Oriki's body make a murder after her attempted escape more plausible. It is left to the reader to determine the true circumstance of her death.

From these famous stories we can already determine that Higuchi’s stories are centered around the concept of one-sided attraction. This is something she and Akutagawa have, a one-sided attraction. This is the most in season 3 episode 5 where Higuchi doesn’t seem to find her way of trying to confess that she loves Akutagawa or that she thinks she admires him. And what is there not to admire about Akutagawa? He has an amazing ability, he is reliable in many ways but is just stubborn. So with this in mind, Higuchi’s (if this theory is correct) ability comes in this form; Higuchi’s ability is a mix of a non-name based ability and a name-based ability. The ability of paralyzation has the meaning of that she is paralyzed by fear with job as a mafioso but also her fear of being rejected by Akutagawa and that it is the greatest liability Mori has in order to protect Yokohama-This idea comes more in mind in the manga, Chapter 41, where we briefly see Higuchi’s little sister. This may not mean much to you but Higuchi is the only confirmed character with a little sister who isn’t based on a book (Gin=Ogin and Naomi=Naomi). Which leads me to the reason why she doesn’t use her ability anymore or is restricting herself- and the second is the meaning of Growing Pains ; Growing pains are often described as an ache or throb in the legs — often in the front of the thighs, the calves or behind the knees. Growing pains tend to affect both legs and occur at night, and may even wake a child from sleep. Although these pains are called growing pains, there's no evidence that growth hurts.

There could have been an incident in which Higuchi accidentally used her ability on her little sister which resulted in her little sister being paralyzed. She could have met Mori and knowing Mori he manipulated in keeping her ability a secret and for repayment let her join the mafia. This idea is further proven with how he was with Yosano; after the death of Tachihara’s brother Mori manipulated Yosano into thinking that this is her fault, almost making her join the mafia out of guilt was it not for Ranpo.

6. Maybe Higuchi wasn’t as lucky and thought that what Morti  said was true and joined the mafia out of guilt, which leads me as to why she fell in love with him. The nightingale effect; The Florence Nightingale effect is a trope where a caregiver falls in love with their patient, even if very little communication or contact takes place outside of basic care. Feelings may fade once the patient is no longer in need of care. Higuchi fell in love with Akutagawa not out of admiration but out of care for him. That guilt of not being able to take care of him could be because of her little sister and the fear that Higuchi one day paralyzes Akutagawa, as to why she isn’t using her ability. After all, this isn’t the first time there was a character who hid their ability to do things without it; Fyodor and Tachihara.

And the last thing that might confirm Higuchi’s importance is the way she acted in Wan and the Onsen drama CD. While Wan is merely a comedy it does call out the characters for their flaws and unique personalities, meanwhile the Onsen drama CD is like a filler but adds information about certain characters and their relationship; Higuchi included.

1. ⁠She stalks Akutagawa at first out of fear that other organizations might attack him, but at this point she stalks him with a mix of worry and not being capable of walking up to him.

2. ⁠She is rather open to nudity as shown that she said to Chuuya “it is my job to help Akutagawa even it means being naked” (or something along those lines).

In a certain chapter however where the Port Mafia had to disguise themselves as Mori, Higuchi was up and while she failed to look like Mori because she is very feminine she then used another tactic which is acting like Mori when he is with Elise. For most, Mori would have either glared at them and give them punishment, he glared at Chuuya and Tachihara (who were the closest next to him) instead at Higuchi. Higuchi broke many Port Mafia rules, many times she failed and has unintentionally mocked him yet she is still here.

so what do you guys think? Is this theory plausible?

[nikadoesanart]

BSD Chapter 89.5 cover art analysis

Heads up that I literally scanned the cover art from top to bottom and wrote my analysis as I spotted details (so my analysis will be in that order). I basically analyzed everything I saw except the flowers, as not only are they harder to identify in black and white but also my knowledge on flowers is very much limited. Instead please check out this analysis for some interpretations on the featured flowers. Also I analyzed this without factoring in the translated text on the cover page, as I am just analyzing the art (but also I first did this with either an untranslated or clean copy of the cover page).

In the top half we see Tachihara’s closest friends and allies within the Port Mafia, the Black Lizard, as well as Mori. The top half is also drawn in the “light” side with everyone silhouetted in black. The blade pointing at Gin and Hirotsu is likely a reference to when he stabbed them underground, and in combination with his facial expression we can tell that he still feels guilty for doing so.

Mori is sitting behind Tachihara’s head, depicting how Mori is currently commanding him, as well as his current driving force because orders are what give him a sense of purpose. They’re facing the same direction, so there’s no reason to believe that Tachi has turned his back on the mafia or Mori, despite being undercover for the HD.

The bullets are pointing in the same direction Tachi and the PM members are facing, which shows that they’re all headed in the same direction, especially in terms of goals. The bullets are also organized, likely representing Mori’s method of leadership being logical and organized. Tachihara won’t hurt the mafia because he sees himself more and more as mafia, and not against them.

In addition, because the blade is a small knife or dagger, in addition to the bullets, are likely also referencing Gin and Higuchi’s choice of weapons respectively. I don’t think those are camellias so I don’t know how Hirotsu’s ability is being represented since Falling Camellia has to do with inertia.

The PM are also walking on a downhill slope → things will either become easier or lead to doom (ie. the current vampire outbreak in their territory)

The line (that looks like flooring imo) cutting through the middle is a clear divider.

shoutout to @am0rama for pointing this one out: the use of a diagonal line in composition creates movement, which in this case establishes Tachihara’s duality, but also works as a balance to show how the PM weighs/matters more to him now than the HD do

Looking at where the midpoint of the dividing line is, it’s placed at approximately where the blade is pointing towards (intersection drawn on for reference, yes with a ruler). This intersection is very close to where his heart is, as he can be considered at the “heart” of the conflict in chapter 89.5. If he’s able to convince or defeat Fukuchi, that would be a huge win. Even just getting the information out on Fukuchi being Kamui would be massive progress alone. For more on the positioning of the knife, scroll to the bottom for the post ch 90 addition.

In the lower half, the HD are “walking on the uphill path” from the viewers perspective → should fukuchi’s goals and schemes come to light, that would endanger the HD as a whole with their reputation, in addition to the fact that they’re highly dangerous ability users with body modifications that give them beyond human capabilities as well as risk their bodies literally falling apart without receiving their regular maintenance.

The (slightly less than) half with the Hunting Dogs in it is shown to be in the “dark” with the silhouettes being white

The contrasting use of the background vs silhouette colors for the two halves represents how each group is perceived by Tachihara vs how they are viewed by the public respectively. To the people on a surface level, the Mafia are the bad guys and the military are the protectors of the people (dark vs light). However, because Tachi is an insider he (as well as the likes of the ADA) knows that in this story (both the arc and bsd overall since Mori became in charge), the PM is on the side of the protectors because they, especially Mori, love Yokohama and want to keep it safe whereas the Hunting Dogs, especially Fukuchi, are after the ADA and Fukuchi wants to destroy not just Yokohama, but the whole world. This is also in reference to the effects of the page because Tachihara was the first to break free of the effects of the page and see through to the truth.

Teruko and Fukuchi are shown behind Tachihara. Tachi is already clearly going against Fukuchi and it’s fairly established at this point that Teruko would be the last of the HD to go against him. Basically, Tachihara has turned his back on Fukuchi and Teruko at the very least, as he basically betrays them this chapter by proclaiming his alliance being with the mafia.

Jouno and Tecchou however are in front of him. The direction in which Tecchou is facing seems to be unclear, if not at the viewer, so he is likely debating in which “direction” he should head (the same as Tachihara or against him). Jouno is looking at Tachihara and Tecchou (or in other words, the opposite direction of Tachihara’s goals and where he intends to go), however he seems to be thinking about/questioning his position/stance in this situation. Both Tecchou and Jouno are the most likely ones to help Tachihara, as Tecchou has already promised the cafe owner the agency’s safety and right to a fair trial and Jouno has heard via Tachi and Fukuchi’s heartbeats that they were lying during the recent meeting and has likely caught on to their true intentions with said heartbeats.

Objects shown in the art

One of the 4 bullets on the bottom half is angled slightly differently from the one directly above it, and another bullet is facing another direction entirely (towards the PM bullets in fact). The stray bullet very likely representing Tachi straying from the HD and claiming himself as mafia. The one right next to it and the one slightly angled away may represent possible future allies for Tachihara (possibly Tecchou and Jouno).

The handcuffs could represent how Tachihara’s body mods are one of the things tying him down to the HD, as without those monthly updates he’ll quite literally fall apart and there’s no guarantee that even with Mori’s skills and connections that Tachihara would be able to get the proper maintenance done without the HD → could Yosano do it with her ability?

Also all of the objects in this cover art, aside from the flowers, are made of metal, meaning that Tachihara can use and manipulate all of them. He can turn the tide in this “war” by convincing others to become his allies and then use their abilities and assistance to beat Fukuchi.

Post Ch 90 addition: the dagger/knife was most likely not Gin’s, as the handle on that one is more simple/doesn’t have curved details like this one. This is also the blade that Tachihara had hidden and tried to use in ch 90, similar to how it’s concealed within the flowers in the cover art. Also, Tachihara quite literally put his heart on the line because, as I saw some people fearing, the knife was indeed meant to be used on himself as a countermeasure against Bram.

[its-jijii]

i’m scared of tanizaki junichirou

welcome to me theorizing and questioning the tanizaki siblings cause they honestly kinda scare me. everything im talking about has already been animated in s3 but warning for spoilers if u haven’t seen it yet.

hi okay well i’ll start off with the eyes. harukawa has explained this so i’m sure most people know of it, but if you don’t, eyes = danger/morality. characters with darker eyes are more dangerous or “evil”, and characters with light eyes are more innocent. i personally think something is off with naomi’s eyes. also if you wanna skip reading about eyes go ahead

in comparison to mafia members or ex-mafia members, naomi doesn’t stand out that much. it’s true that her pupil isn’t large and dark, like kyouka or kenji, and her eyes don’t have any kind of shading or rings.

however, if you were to only look at ADA members with more narrowed eyes, naomi’s starts to stand out. her iris has thicker lining and touches the bottom of her eye (ranpos also do but hes squinting 24/7). her pupil is bigger than others, too. without harukawa’s stated stylistic choices, her eyes being like this wouldn’t have much significance. 

buuut i wouldn’t be talking about it if it were normal. considering naomi’s role, her eyes are uncomfortably dark. she’s supposedly a student and part time office worker. fukuzawa worked as a government assassin in the past. kunikida isn’t evil, but he is physically capable and dangerous. even her brother has lighter eyes. why are naomi’s eyes darker, indicative of evil or danger, than that of other dangerous ADA members? she has no ability from our knowledge.

for a nonviolent, non-combative character, naomi’s eyes pretty dark. i can’t help but think she is hiding something. 

beyond naomi’s unusually dark eyes, there’s the subject matter of the sibling’s relationship. not the incest part. something is clearly off between them- their willingness to do anything for each other is what is off-putting. naomi jumping in front of her brother to save him? not unusual. tanizaki willing to commit murder for his sister’s sake? woah there, hold on a sec

there is normally a line you would draw in what you would do for your sibling(s). for someone who is supposedly on the good side, that’s an extreme measure to take. and unfortunately it isn’t just tanizaki threatening to hurt people who hurt naomi- he has literally attempted to kill people to protect her or get revenge. 

first there was him choking higuchi, where if akutagawa hadn’t interrupted him, he probably would’ve killed her. secondly, when rescuing naomi and haruno from the guild, he intentionally used his ability to attempt to kill the guild members by getting them hit by a truck.

i’m led to believe that this love and dedication between them is mutual. naomi is protective of her brother and frequently follows him around. if she had any combative skills or ability, she would likely be using them to protect tanizaki. assuming this is the case, i wonder what caused their relationship to escalate to this point. for both of them to be so close that they would commit murder, throw away all morals and self preservation- i can’t see a normal sibling relationship getting to that point. technically they’re not that normal but you get the point.

aside from their actions proving their dedication to each other, there’s what they’ve said about the relationship. particularly, what tanizaki said about what naomi means to him during his conflict with the guild.

sorry for low quality screenshots. they’re from chapter 22

well, here we go. for starters, eyes again- tanizaki normally has pretty light eyes. however, when he speaks seriously about naomi in these panels, his eyes are always considerably darker. he is more dangerous, and as he said, willing to throw away all morals.

then there’s the god thing. he says that he can’t compare his love or willingness for naomi with anything. the example he uses is that “nobody would compare god with anything, right?” the way this is phrased strongly suggests that to him, naomi is akin to a god. highly revered, dutifully loved and willing to do anything, and that she can’t be compared to anything. she can’t be compared to other people, or concepts, or anything- to him, naomi is godlike and her importance is unquestionable.

lastly, there’s him saying that he would gladly reduce the world to ashes for naomi. at this point, there’s little doubt in the reader’s mind that he means this. he is very, very serious in what he would do for naomi. this kind of obsession and worship must have stemmed from somewhere or something. something must have happened for tanizaki in particular to act this way. but alas asagiri hasn’t given me jack shit so i have no idea what

tanizaki is scary beyond his loyalty to his sister, though. his ability, and what he said in chapter three. he doesn’t have a flashy or amazing ability, and it isn’t used in combat. this is true. of course there are other creative ways tanizaki has utilized his ability, but it is limited. in another post i discussed ability classifications in bsd. light snow falls under the non-combative category.

tanizaki’s ability itself cannot hurt people. his ability can affect himself, others, and his surroundings, but making illusions can’t hurt people. so, given this fact and the fact that he said that he is non-combative, i find his actions strange. other ADA members have either training in combat (kuni, fuku) or their ability  gives them a strength boost (atsu, kenji, kyouka, etc).

he hasn’t shown any knowledge of martial arts, and his ability is one of the few that can’t injure other people. so,,,, how did this man stand up to the three black lizard commanders on his own? he nearly successfully killed mori. he nearly killed higuchi. and though he physically didn’t do much, he did incapacitate two formidable guild members.

it’s true that most of these involved using his ability to disguise himself or his surroundings. however, he seems very, very adept at using his ability in these unconventional ways. maybe he’s just creative and good at thinking up tactics. buuut given that most of these instances involve him attempting murder, i have to wonder how he is so used to using his ability to assassinate or trick others. for a non-combative person, he seems preetttty violent

bonus that in most of these scenes, his eyes are very dark. sometimes they revolve around protecting naomi, and sometimes they revolve around infiltrating and assassinating the boss of the port mafia.

in conclusion i’m scared of tanizaki junichirou. naomi is suspicious and lowkey shady af, but i have not seen her act as drastically and terrifyingly as tanizaki has. thanks for coming to my ted talk i’ve been writing this for like three hours and now its four am. bye thanks for reading, i hope you enjoyed

[avoresmith]

au where anyone other than atsushi is the main character, go

Kyouka

Kyouka is the most obvious option here, as her character arc literally follows Atsushi’s beat by beat and does it better because she gets to be seen having actual flaws and conflict while Atsushi’s point in life is just to Be Very Good. 

She’s an orphan who was beat down badly by the universe and needs to make peace with her Gift and how it’s uncontrolled presence in her life has played a huge part in all of the painful garbage she’s had to deal with. She has to learn to not just value her own life (Atsushi) but learn to believe she is capable of using the same abilities she used to kill to help people and that there is value to that (Dazai). She has a connection to Akutagawa, a better one than Atsushi, who just thinks that guy is a dangerous asshole, as Akutagawa fucked her up by trying to 'help’ her the same way Dazai 'helped’ him (which echoes the fact that Dazai fucked up Akutagawa by trying to teach Akutagawa the way he was taught by Mori). This creates a way more dynamic and interesting victims vs their abusers and cycle of violence story that they were TRYING to do with Atsushi and his abuser that falls completely flat, on account of how that guy wasn’t actually a character and we are just told we’re supposed to sympathize with him because ‘life is complicated’ instead of actually shown the ways in which life is fucking complicated. 

This would also allow for a narrative of victims vs their abusers where ACTUALLY HAVE, A VICTIM, CHALLENGING THEIR ABUSER AND DEMANDING THEY DO BETTER instead of what we currently have which is 1) Dazai flees Mori and hates him (legit) 2) Akutagawa seeks Dazai’s acknowledgement forever (no?? buddy) 3) Atsushi cries when his abuser died trying to maybe be nice to him for once finally =‘( (ohmygod).

Also, while Dazai and Atsushi mean... something?? to each other, it’s practically only relevant in Atsushi’s arc as something to yell at Akutagawa about, and while we can Assume Dazai Has Feelings we basically never see Dazai impacted by Atsushi. However, if it was Dazai who stops Kyouka from killing herself and takes her out of the mafia we have Dazai directly engaging with his perspective on suicide, and saving someone from the mafia in a way he was never saved, and this leads into him Also Engaging With All Of That, which then could be a continuing theme within their relationship.

(And I didn’t Go In This Direction because my central argument is that Kyouka already does everything Atsushi is doing if better and if given more focus could dramatically improve the manga, but also her relationship with Kouyou could also be given more prominence, and then holy shit, we’d have two important ladies instead of just one!)

In this AU Atsushi honestly doesn’t even need to exist. Kyouka could make friends with Kenji instead, and they could have adorable hyjinks where Kenji teaches her how to be polite to people and then they both get way too extra if politeness fails. 

(MORE UNDER THE CUT)

Akutagawa

This would probably have to be a darker manga, or Akutagawa would have to be less garbage, but as one of the only characters with multiple interesting relationships he is kind of a natural point to focus around. He has Gin, Higuchi, Kyouka, (thREE WOMEN) and Dazai as far as relationships that already important, and Chuuya and Mori and Kouyou are all characters that could be explored more if the manga was more mafia focused. While the mafia aren’t actually villains anyway, this change would make them more sympathetic, but Akutagawa would still be a really interesting MC, and this would fix the fact that Atsushi is only interesting around Akutagawa. 

Unlike Atsushi, Akutagawa has clear wants, motivations, and character progression, so Atsushi makes a lot more sense as Akutagawa’s rival character than the reverse. Boy with garbage life collides into the boy his master replaced him with, only to constantly seethe with anger that this asshole was so fucking lucky. Eventually discovers that his rival’s life actually wasn’t that easy but still can’t comprehend why his rival doesn’t appreciate what he has enough, or why this prick is worth more to his master than he was. Cue a compelling dynamic of Akutagawa improving himself relentlessly while not fully understanding what path he is on, but desperate to get out of the trashfire of his life. He thinks this means earning Dazai’s approval but in fact it means learning he doesn’t need to be a terrible human being to survive.

This would make Dazai far LESS sympathetic, but Dazai sucks so that is only fair.

Dazai

Okay, I won’t lie, Dazai would a SUPER CHALLENGING perspective character for a manga. What makes Dazai’s writing so amazing is how deftly he handles the unreliable narrator, which is hard to do when we don’t actually see the world via the MC’s perspective. And while I am happy to rag on BSD all the live long day, I do think one if it’s strengths is that it picked up on what an interesting character Dazai-types would be viewed exclusively from the outside, and has managed to portray that sort of peculiar contradiction of personality traits quite well. 

HOWEVER, despite being the most popular character, we never really get to see Dazai having a character arc. We know he has improved, we know he has wants and is actually probably working very hard to get his life in order, but we only know any of that from the end of the light novel to the start of the manga. We don’t actually get to see Dazai having conflict, confronting his fears, making hard choices, and growing as a person. 

However, while we never really see it in the manga, given what we know about Dazai’s history, we can probably assume that the choices Dazai makes to help Atsushi is something that actually impacts Dazai quite a bit. The last time he put himself in this position the result was Akutagawa; a challenge which Dazai completely failed on many levels, even if the result was technically a very loyal and capable mafioso and thus something Mori would have slated as a win. Dazai engaging with what it means to teach a human without himself knowing how to be a good human, and probably in the process also learning about ‘goodness’ via someone like Atsushi who is naturally inclined toward the heroic, would actually give Atsushi an interesting place the narrative. 

This would make Dazai waaaaaay more sympathetic, as we would also presumably see him struggling to adapt to ADA life, see his masks slip more often, and more signs of the fact that for real these last two years of being around decent human beings from 9 to 5 is probably the first time in his life he’s dealt with such people. We’d also get to see that he’s probably still depressed, drunk, and suicidal, but may be able to chart the ways he gradually becomes less so and what prompts those improvements. 

Kenji

Kenji is also a nice boy who wants to talk it out but then will beat the shit out of you if that attempt fails. What if instead of being a 2D one time gag character he actually had a motivation and a character arc to engage with? He could more or less follow the same story beats Atsushi sets up, just done better and with less redundancy. Kenji would make an interesting foil for Akutagawa since by all appearances his life wasn’t garbage, and his ceaseless tone deaf optimism in the face of Akutagawa’s ceaseless tone deaf fury would be, if nothing else, pretty fucking entertaining. 

Kunikida

wOW ANOTHER HEROIC CHARACTER WHO USES VIOLENCE TO RESOLVE CONFLICT. IT’S LIKE THERE ARE A BUNCH OF THESE. What if Kunikida being Dazai’s partner was at all narratively relevant and they had a dynamic that went deeper than Dazai aggravating Kunikida for the lulz and Kunikida being willing to trust Dazai when the chips are down.

Since Kunikida is slated to be the next leader of the ADA he makes a potentially compelling choice as a protagonist, as it would be an easy way to involve all of the (MANY) under appreciated ADA characters, by having their future boss learn what it means to actually work with and appreciate the backgrounds of his various future underlings. It wouldn’t need to be slated specifically as ‘Kunikida Is The Heir’ but given that it’s a shounen manga it could be effortlessly set up that way, and unlike Atsushi, Kunikida has a LOT of obvious flaws. He is naive, inflexible, emotionally vulnerable, distrustful, impatient, judgmental, and gullible. He also has CLEAR WANTS (Idealism) seeing him struggling for something fundementally unattainable and the ways he learns to update his ideal of idealism, in part by overcoming his individual flaws and in part by realizing that while idealism might be worth seeking it cannot be achieved. He would have a lot to learn from every member of the team, and in doing so could give them more importance to the story.

Yosano

you waNNA KNOW WHO IS GREAT AND DEEPLY UNDER APPRECIATED?? YOSANO. IT’S YOSANO. AU where actually Yosano is the main character. If you need a more compelling argument than that IDK what to say to you.

Tanizaki

What if Tankizaki had a narrative purpose other than gag and deus ex ability.

Mishima

AU where Mishima Yukio is in the manga, he’s an ex-government worker who was fired for being a bit too radical but he deeply respects and is super gay for Fukuzawa’s aesthetic and agrees to join the ADA. Rather than being Dazai’s protege he fancies himself Dazai’s rival and is intent to expose what garbage he is but the joke is on him because everyone knows that including Dazai. 

None the less, Mishima also is a more callous and aloof person who wears a friendly mask and via picking at Dazai he picks at himself. The more fixated he gets on exposing Dazai, the more he has to confront the fact that the world is more complicated than he wants it to be and it frightens him to examine the degree to which he doesn’t feel he actually belongs among society and thus tries very hard to construct a place for himself in it with his radical behavior and exacting standards, whereas Dazai accepts that he just should go in the trash. 

Dazai, in response, really doesn’t like being picked at effectively. Everyone else within the ADA accepts the masks he wears without question, never actually confronting his suicidal ideation or talking to him about where he comes from, even once they know about it. Mishima, in his relentless pursuit of being able to classify and deconstruct Dazai to overcome him, does just this, and frankly it sucks a lot for Dazai because Mishima would be the first person to A) learn the grueling details of his past and B) understand how fucked up that is for someone like Dazai who is only hiding his sensitivity and C) still look him in the eye and tell him to get his shit together. Mishima becomes the first person since Odasaku who actually understands Dazai but this time it is the worst because Mishima is mean. 

Dazai counters by ruining Mishima’s life in the most extraordinarily petty ways as frequently as possible.

Atsushi

ALTERNATIVELY. Atsushi actually is a good protagonist.

HERE IS AN EXERCISE, WHAT DO EACH OF THESE SHOUNEN HEROES WANT AND HOW DO WE KNOW?

Edward Elric: wants the philosopher’s stone, will do basically anything for it, we find this out in chapter 1.

Gon Freaks: Wants to find his dad, chapter 1

Luffy: Wants to find his dad, chapter 1

Allen Walker: wants to save everyone from akuma because dad feels, chapter, idk, like 3

Naruto: Wants the acknowledgement of his village, works tirelessly for it. We find this out in like chapter 1. (yeah I know naruto is bad don’t @ me but look the MC had a clear motivation)

(AV have you read any shounen manga since 2001-- nO)

Atsushi: Wants... uh. To not starve??? This need is met in chapter 1. Wants to... be.. a good employee...? Wants to beat Akutagawa because... he’s bad....??? Wants to... make Dazai proud...?

It’s not impossible to write a story with a MC who isn’t clearly motivated, but it’s a fuckload harder to make it compelling and you prrrroobably need to have some other kind of clear focus to replace the fact that your MC does not. IE if you are specially exploring the story of an unmotivated hero, you frame his actions around the fact that he is really just doing things by route and how this separates him from the people around him who actually have priorities in their life. 

Or, if you want to be like ‘Atsushi’s motivation is that he cares and wants to help!’ LOOK: If they are sO HEROIC that they just nEED TO BE THE HERO ALL THE TIME (Allen Walker) either because they lack self worth (Allen Walker) or are so empathetic that they can’t help but try to save everyone (Allen Walker), you narratively frame the story around them so that it highlights this as both a strength and a weakness of their character. The inability to save everyone vs feeling like your life only has value if you can save everyone is deeply fucked up and should haunt your MC.

The manga starts to slightly course correct Atsushi after waaay too many chapters, which is why he starts having an actually interesting dynamic with Akutagawa. But now he wants to ‘overcome his abuser’, and though this itself is extremely unclear as to what it means. I suspect it means ‘continue to do the exact same shit he’s being doing until he believes in himself’ whichhhhh is boring. It could work if the framing is consistent and Atsushi begins to have actual conflict with his own behavior and the way he treats his life as disposable and his suffering as unimportant. 

He could also use some flaws, which, again, we only see signs off later in the game with his Akutagawa relationship. Atsushi can be forgiven for not realizing that Dazai was horrible to Akutagawa, since neither Dazai nor Akutagawa will ever explain that, but he is still pretty shitty to Akutagawa deliberately! And it’s nice seeing him be a little prick.

If everything that is happening now with Atsushi had happened from the beginning, you know how you are supposed to start a shounen manga with the protagonist actually doing anything interesting or important, the manga would be much less bad. If Atsushi had more than like 1.5 flaws and a .75 motivation now, the manga would also be a lot better.

I don’t actually like this idea as much as all of my other ones, but if he MUST be the MC, what if he was actually good at it at all.