#bsd analysis

[calmlb]

Higuchi’s Unrevealed Ability

my theory on what it could be…

i think that Higuchi’s ability will be called “Takekurabe” (Growing Up/Child’s Play) after her most famous work, and i believe it might have something to do with reincarnation. here’s why…

in this official art she is featured with red spider lilies, which are symbolic of death, but are also thought of as a bridge between heaven & earth…a reminder of the “cyclical nature of life & death”

Takekurabe also explores themes such as how life is fleeting. & also abt being forced into a role that you didn’t want, or wouldn’t have chosen for yourself

(plus potential foreshadowing: in this official art, Higuchi is surrounded by pinwheels— which symbolize childhood, but also the cycle of life, & the buddhist teaching of reincarnation)

back to reincarnation…

after being told that Akutagawa may never wake up, she reached out to him & a glow appeared around her hand— like she was activating an ability— before pulling away bc she remembered that he didn’t want her (or anyone’s) help

but this means that she’s able to give help in this sort of situation

additionally, the fact that she almost always appears in official arts w Akutagawa indicates that she will probably use her ability on him at some point, which makes sense considering his terminal condition

(note the pulse in the background, his bright eyes, & her white suit)

because we have yet to see her use her ability, i’m assuming that she can only use it once, so she’d be giving up her life for Akutagawa’s (a life for a life— his reincarnation)

this would imitate irl Higuchi’s unfortunately short life— with her having died at only 25 years old. it also makes sense to give her such a powerful ability since irl Higuchi is such an important figure in japanese history— japan’s first professional woman writer of modern literature

now for a less likely, but fun theory…

i wonder if Higuchi’s sister has anything to do with her ability (in bsd she’s unnamed, but her irl sister’s name was Kuniko so that’s what we’ll call her)

according to Higuchi’s bungo episode, despite her literary genius, irl Higuchi was practically useless without her sister

Kuniko was the one who made what Higuchi did possible & kept things functional behind the scenes

so i think it’d be super interesting (& a cool irl reference) if Kuniko was involved in some way with Higuchi’s ability (i also just want to see more of her bc this sister duo is so cute :’))

bonus: when i watched this anime adaptation of Takekurabe, this was the ending scene & i wonder if it was harukawa’s inspiration for this official art 🥹

white lilies represent purity, & since they were off by the side of the road, they might have represented the character’s fleeting purity. white lilies are also used at funerals to represent a soul’s return to purity & its journey to the afterlife… which circles back to the reincarnation theme 👀

[dancing-dawn]

@lost--dimension i come to help! (heh, get it)

• aku and atsu are the only ones who can truly understand each other; not the agency, not the mafia, not even their born and found families - only them. they've been poking around in each other's soul since the very beginning, and that's why,

● they get so emotionally charged in every single interaction they have. under the guise of "hate" and "envy" lies a deep-rooted need to connect with one another, to understand

● they are perfect mirrors to each other and by seeing the parts they hate most in themselves, they slowly grow out of them and see the real value of their strengths. talk about healthy relationship dynamics. a very simple example of that is:

● aku is the only one who (possibly subconsciously) managed to help atsu overcome his fixation on the past and start taking action for the now and the future - both by straight out telling him and showing him, and

● atsu is the only one who saw the good in aku, hence the 6-month promise. because he knew he just needed to be forced not to kill in order to shift his perspective on the world and discover his true calling - not to destoy, but to protect

● don't even get me started on aku's final thoughts before his presumed (also final, pls god) death being how atsushi changed him, showed him the light, the meaning, and then, AND THEN...

● they are literally inseparable. in life and death. in any time and all dimensions. no matter how far and how impossible it seems, they always call out to each other. and the other listens. and comes. to help and to save and to protect what they both hold so dear. each other. just the two of them.

why sskk are canon To Me:

• the unique way they reassure each other. "just the two of us?" "do we need any more?" = akutagawa's way of telling atsushi he remembers him, he's not alone, and they will win this.

• based on that, they often communicate with very few words. "akutagawa?" "yeah". a knowing glance that speaks for itself. if this alone isn't proof that they're soulmates, i got a ton more don't worry.

• "the thing beyond power created when your souls intertwine" said by beast dazai. i don't think we as a society talk about that line enough. they're literally destined to meet in every universe.

• they have both begged/demanded the other to be returned to them. atsushi pleaded with akutagawa in a classic "look at me this isn't you" fashion. akutagawa, bleeding profusely from his side and minutes from death, yelled at a fourth dimensional god and demanded it to bring atsushi back to him. do! not! separate!

• didn't mention the elephant in the room until now. they both fucking died for each other. using the same words, with the same soft smile. akutagawa knew he wouldn't make it out, and atsushi had no idea if he would survive being struck. "consider us even". "atsushi doesn't care about akutagawa" takes found dead in a ditch

• clearest yin and yang symbolism i've personally ever seen in a pairing. it's about as subtle as a brick thrown through a window. their character designs reflect this and are made to compliment each other.

• asagiri saying "the person atsushi needs by his side the most might surprisingly be someone like akutagawa" keeps me up at night

• their little date in beast. they were allowed to be happy for five minutes. it shows that without circumstances placing them on opposite sides, they would instantly get along

• the look on atsushi's face when he learns that akutagawa kept his promise. the look on atsushi's face when he realized that akutagawa fought through fucking vampiric mind control to keep his promise.

• the entire vampire bite scene was so sensual for no reason in the manga. there was no need for ANY of that, but it was put there anyway, and as far as we know it has no relevance to the plot. they're just gay

• "you'll save him. you know the reason yourself, don't you?" god ok.

• atsushi tearing through the fucking fabric of spacetime, tapping into the ability to reverse time-- all to save akutagawa from death. all of this after he was told to feel strongly and let that guide him.

• there is more but i can't possibly list it all

[olivetreedraws]

I think a key difference in the problems that Chuuya and Dazai both have is that, while both have self worth issues, Chuuya looks back to stuff and loves his past self. If he had to interact with kid, 14 or Stormbringer him, he'd probably be very kind to them.

Dazai, on the other hand, would hate any past self of his. Drop kicking them might be his 'going easy on them' compromise. His self-worth issues aren't about who he has become, but who he thinks he's always been and has been trying to change without ever realizing the progress he makes.

[starlightshadowsworld]

You have such an interesting analysis for Kunikida (e.g what people get wrong about him, his traits, what he believes in and does).

I wonder if you have any for the other characters in the Bungou Stray Dogs cast?

Awh thank you ☺️ I’m glad you like it.

I sure do and if there’s one character I think about more then Kunikida it is Atsushi.

And when it comes to Atsushi I often see this sentiment that frames him as being this sweet and innocent guy who’s completely unaware of how the world works.

That he’s so pure of heart and light, the kind of person who wouldn’t know what a swear word is and is completely and reliant on other people.

It’s a sentiment you see a lot with characters that are characterised as kind people.

But for Atsushi in particular I find it so much worse because he is who he is because he’s known suffering.

Atsushi has had it beaten into him from the moment he was born that this is how the world works. That the weak make way for the strong. That he will always be useless and will never amount to anything.

And he saw that reality and rejected it.

As Dazai says you were raised in hell but that hell cultivated a strong will within you. Atsushi is kind and caring but that comes from the fact he’s only know hardship and would never wish that on anyone else.

I don’t think people realise how easily Atsushi could’ve become as cruel and vindictive as the Headmaster. How it is such a surprise to people in the story that Atsushi is as good as he is after all he’s been through.

He can’t not help a person in need because he sees himself in them and thinks, I wanted someone to save me then so I’ll save them now.

The thing about Atsushi is that he wants to be good so badly but he just doesn’t believe that he is. He wants to have the power to show others that he can do more than hurt people.

But he doesn’t believe that he can.

Atsushi’s self esteem is what holds him back. He needs people to validate him, to tell him that he’s doing a good job and guide him. Not because he’s not capable in fact Atsushi has shown on multiple occasions how capable he is

Its just that he doesn’t believe he is.

It’s why Akutagawa’s words on the Moby Dick meant so much to him because he’s telling Atsushi you are capable. That what others have said about you does not match who you are today.

Speaking of Akutagawa, I think people find it a lot easier to grasp that had circumstances been different for him that Akutagawa could’ve been in Atsushi’s position.

But because of how people view Atsushi as this perfect innocent good guy, they struggle to realise that this sentiment goes both ways. If circumstances were different Atsushi could’ve ended up as someone much like Akutagawa.

Like that’s literally the point of Bsd Beast and it’s why Shin Soukoku works so well because these two are mirrors of each other.

Atsushi is a layered character as is quite grey as everyone in Bungou Stray Dogs is. He is not completely in the light, nor is he one lost in the darkness. Much like his ability Atsushi is a light that shines in the dark that guides people who are lost.

Atsushi is kind and he is a good person and he’s also the same person who tried to rob Dazai upon meeting him.

He wanted to save Lucy and he also threatened to trap her in a hell of her own making if she didn’t free his friends.

He understands Akutagawa more then either would like to admit because they’ve tried to kill each other on more then one occasion.

Atsushi will always do what he believes is the right thing to do. Whether that’s saving the world or calling someone an idiot.

And I love that about him.

[eggsbenedict8]

He grabs his clothes when he's nervous/scared I'm gonna sob

[jounossloverr]

TALKING ABOUT DAZAI AND CHUUYAS RELATIONSHIP

Bsd manga spoilers + Stormbringer + Dead Apple + Dazai, Chuuya Age 15

Asagiri confirmed yesterday that after Dazai left the Port Mafia, Chuuya thought he died after not being able to find him.

I saw people saying that Chuuya didn't care about it, after he thought Dazai died. The fandom has been saying since years that Chuuya doesn't care about Dazai.

TRANSLATED BY HUAWYN ON TWITTER!! :

"Since he hadn't found Dazai, who was working as a detective in Yokohama, he probably thought Dazai was already dead. After all, Dazai always wanted to die, so Chuuya didn't expect much."

The truth is, Dazai and Chuuya dislike eachother, but they have a very strong bond and care about eachother in a different way. People can have complex feelings to eachother and care about the person.

They have know eachother since 7 years, they literally saw eachother grow up as adults. In the Port Mafia they were partners and even got their own partner name "Double Black / Soukoku", which shows what a great team they are. You also can see that through the manga chapters.

In the prison arc, Dazai immediately knew Chuuya was not a vampire. They could even communicate with each other without talking with their mouths. They created a plan in secret immediately. This is how good they understand each other.

How can someone look at them and say "Oh yeah, Chuuya didn't give a hell, when he thought Dazai died." Chuuya doesn't care about Dazai." Dazai doesn't care about Chuuya."

Obviously, they care about eachother, they just won't show it so completely well. I think you can even see 15!Dazai having fun with 15!Chuuya. And when they met again.

Maybe people say, "He only acted like that because the mission was on the line." Yes, it was, but you can't act like he didn't have a worried face. He genuinely thought Dazai was heavily injured. And he was super mad at Dazai when he was only joking and maybe slightly embarrassed after letting that side out of him.

In the Guild arc, when they fought against Lovecraft, Dazai got thrown into a tree, and Chuuya, who supposedly "doesn't give a shit about Dazai," looked like this.

In the same arc, Chuuya stated he celebrated with a Petrus 1889 after Dazai left. I'm actually surprised how many people believe that he genuinely was happy, maybe because the Anime ruined this scene and many Anime watchers saw it like that.

In the manga, his face expressing does NOT seemed pleased. He is looking down, no happiness seen anywhere. Chuuya felt betrayed when Dazai just vanished from the Port Mafia without a word to anyone. They were close to eachother, I think more than anyone in the Port Mafia.

In Dead Apple, you see Chuuya risking his life for Dazai to save him, when there was a possibility Dazai was already dead, but he trusted his gut.

Imagine seeing a person who you trust your life with, suddenly vanishing without a word, and not appearing for 4 years. Chuuya thought Dazai was dead and then he suddenly was found in the ADA.

Chuuya also seemed angry when Dazai was in that basement and seeing Chuuya for the first time in 4 years again.

Reminder that this was 2-3 years ago before Dazai left. Chuuya lost his Sheep friends, the Flags, the detective, and Adam. They all were close to him, even more than Dazai at that time. After that, Dazai was the closest person to Chuuya.

Lastly, I want to address Chuuya's old friends, his deceased ones, and the Sheep ones.

And then Dazai vanished, leaving Chuuya alone, just like his friends.

[formiito]

this yap i'm going on may be incomprehensible to anyone but me but i feel like that search for meaning is a natural state. as in, despite dazai 'rationally' believing in his nihilistic state, the fact that he goes against it time to time is more a proof of the human condition to look for meaning intrinsically despite consciously knowing it is not there. and this existence is fundamentally distressing because it introduces a cognitive dissonance that is hard to justify.

dazai's starting point is that inherently, all of his actions are meaningless. logically, the next step would be to simply end a pointless existence like that. but despite his suicidal nature, i don't think it's entirely about wanting to die. it's about having a justified reason to live.

i see him more as an absurdist than a nihilist. 'meaninglessness' isn't his conclusion, it's the starting point around which his philosophy develops. this leaves his character arc more open ended.

seeing dazai through the lens of an absurd hero often makes most sense to me. someone who lives through life while keeping it's meaninglessness at the forefront of their mind, and yet living anyway. for dazai, there is rebellion against meaninglessness, but it is passive in nature and self contradicting. being alive in itself is rebellion and i don't think that's simply an ADA! dazai thing either. i think the rebellion was there even within the PM, but the ADA gives more opportunity. in that sense, it also widens the gap of dissonance.

when existence feels like a contradiction, a glitch, it's natural to question it.

chart below i feel like is relevant. reminder that a person can ping pong between any of these states and even go several stages back in it.

tldr: i think dazai is an absurd hero in progress. it would take a lot of time to reach that level, but the framework could be there.

Hi very weird question out of nowhere but do you think dazai would be a nihilist?

yes and bare with me for a second cause this is gonna be so ranty 😭

I’d actually argue that dazai’s entire character is constructed around a form of nihilism that borders on crippling. his actions, language, and affect consistently reflect a worldview in which meaning is not merely absent but fundamentally inaccessible. I don’t think his nihilism manifests as an intellectual stance so much as a psychological condition—less a philosophy than an ambient state of being. I don’t think dazai’s nihilism is chosen.

in canon he exhibits a constant disaffection toward life, relationships, and moral structure—traits that obviously echo the existential nihilist position that life lacks inherent purpose, value, or order. unlike an active nihilist though, he does not engage in deconstruction or rebellion; his detachment seems more internalized.

what makes dazai’s arc within the armed detective agency so interesting to me is the constant flip flop between this ingrained nihilism and his visible effort toward a different mindset. dazai does not believe in meaning, but he behaves as if meaning were possible. that dissonance is not necessarily healing though. it reads as a kind of pragmatic performance to me, a conscious mimicry of human investment by someone who remains, at his core, alienated from it. I imagine this probably feeds into his whole feeling inhuman narrative he has about himself too.

I like that his arc doesn’t actually feel like him moving away from nihilism but rather just how it feels to live within it when it’s not your conscious choice—to choose action, compassion, or even mentorship in the absence of belief.

I think it’s very neat. he's a such an interesting character who you could spend all day trying to figure out and still never come to a concrete conclusion.

[unicornpopcorn14]

So we all know by now that Dazai is comfortable enough around Chuuya to show nervousness/worry.

Enough times for Chuuya to pick up on that pattern. The pattern, may I remind you, that doesn't have evident correlation to either nervousness or worry to most people. One that can even be interpreted as misplaced given the situation.

Which means that Dazai has done this in front of Chuuya so often, that Chuuya at first was hella confused, before he finally made a connection between when and why it happens. And still remembered that connection after four years of separation. Which gets us to my point:

What if this isn't the only emotion Dazai displays weirdly?

What if he has multiple unconventional patterns he displays for sadness, frustration, content, or disgust? The times he really feels them, and they become too strong for him to just deal with normally? What if these are the only times he's actually being genuine with his emotions?

And Chuuya is the only one who is familiar with them all?

Dazai would be jumping rope and Chuuya would be like, "quit sulking, let's get icecream"

Dazai hanging upside down on the couch and Chuuya going, "It's okay, mackerel. You can cry."

Dazai actually crying, full on heart-wrenching sobs, and Chuuya unironically going, "What, good news?"

It's just... comforting, for one person in Dazai's life to read him like a book. Everyone else would look at him like he's crazy, displaying wrong emotions/behaviors at the wrong time, but Chuuya knows that it's just how he processes feeling properly, and thus he's the only one Dazai can count on to put things into context and understand, which makes him display them even more openly.

Because Chuuya never shamed him for his quirks, as much as Dazai never did his.

[mayoi-inu]

This is getting interesting :)

So the two blades are named after Ueda's ability.

雨月物語　Ugetsu monogatari, Tales of rain (雨) and moon (月)

But also one of them manipulates space time and the other, the one for the moon, manipulates life force.

The moon is related to Atsushi's ability beast under the moon. His ability is regeneration.

And the rain is related to Akutagawa's ability! Have you read Rashoumon? Rain and cloth.

Ahahhhhahahahaha

[originalaccountname]

Fascinated with the contrast between the (obviously) iconic Corruption Chuuya laugh and the fact that, for almost all of its use time, Chuuya remains neutral to focused/determined during Corruption:

there are actually only 2 panels where he's laughing, notably only after he's defeated his foe, before Dazai steps in:

If you watch the Dead Apple Corruption scene, Chuuya never laughs maniacally, remaining focused the entire time (as his objectives were "defeat the dragon" and "find Dazai" instead of destroying everything around).

On the other side, in Storm Bringer, we see Verlaine laugh while under Brutalization, in the middle of the action when he's already started decimating his enemies (with little resistance). His laugh is described as inhuman and compared to various powerful sounds of destruction.

Still in SB, Chuuya, for his part, smiles his wicked grins when the battle is at its peak with the sharing of blows, but otherwise is only described as howling and yelling (much like he was doing in Dead Apple).

I cannot argue how iconic the mad-with-power laughter of Corruption is, but I find it very interesting how we, the fandom as a whole, have fixated on such a small part of it to the point of assuming the laughter is a constant presence.

[sorcerersandskillusers]

How BSD flips power fantasy on its head

One of my favourite things about BSD and it's power system is that "stronger" characters are often much worse off than weaker ones.

Abilities aren't some power fantasy that makes their users lives better, in fact those with the strongest abilities tend to suffer the most because of them.

This is a rule baked into the ability power system, we are given a set of "rules" for ability users in the untold origins but the one that sticks out to me most is this:

Skills do not always make the possessor happy.

Think of the bsd characters with the most powerful abilities and how they have affected their lives.

Chuuya: Probably the strongest combat ability user alive right now, but his ability led him to be manipulated and used first by the sheep, then by the mafia. In stormbringer we see how badly Chuuya wishes he had no ability, that he was just a regular kid like the Sheep.

Yosano: Her ability is insanely strong; she is probably one of the most useful ability users on the planet and is a big part of how the ADA can stand a chance against much larger groups. But her ability was exploited, and she was forced into a horrific position where the lives of those near her became cheap.

Q: Incredibly dangerous ability which led to them being imprisoned for years by the Mafia and then put through horrible torture by the Guild.

Fukuchi ability made him the ultimate soldier, which meant he not only had to watch al his comrades die around him, but he was also used as to commit unspeakable evils for the sate of the state which eventually drove him to form the Decay of Angels.

Akutagawa: His skill is incredibly strong, able to cut through anything physical even space itself, but that power lead to him being conditioned by Dazai into a living weapon who had no value unless he killed and whose worth was tied to his usefulness to the mafia.

Lucy, Kyouka, Sigma, Atsushi, Mushitaro… and tons more characters were all exploited for their abilities, either through force or manipulation.

And it’s not just abilities, there is also a running theme of the smartest characters in the series suffering debilitating loneliness because of their inability to connect with other people. Characters like Dazai, Ranpo and Shibusawa are all shown at one point or another to be unable to relate to other people making them feel alone.

Dazai concluded that the problem was in him and that there was no point in continuing to live. Ranpo nearly fell into believing that the whole world hated him and if Fukuzawa had not saved him he might have ended up similar to Fyodor.

Shibusawa decided that normal humans were inferior to him and became obsessed with finding something that could surpass his own mind.

We don’t know what is going on with Fyodor but I’m 100% sure it is far from healthy.

Overall I just find it really interesting that unlike a lot of series where being powerful is normally just better, bsd tackles the isolation that comes with being different and makes being a powerful ability user seem like a nightmare. But thats why the main focus of the series isn't in indavidual power, but in the power gained from support and trust in others.

[moraymiso]

the strangest thing to me about the BSD fandom is the fact that the vast majority of people in it are dazai fans, while also consistently assuming the absolute worst of him, disregarding the circumstances around his actions and giving him no grace or consideration of his situation whatsoever.

there's no doubt dazai is a bad person in many ways. he did plenty of unjustifiable, inexcusable things. he's pathologically manipulative with a totally skewed moral compass, most of which was undoubtedly brought on by his upbringing in the mafia. but at the same time, i see such a huge number of people taking that and somehow ending up with - and vehemently defending - this idea that he's a remorseless, indifferent, innately cruel person by nature?

are we forgetting this is the same dazai who was forced to false-witness a murder at fourteen years old? the same dazai who already wracked up numerous suicide attempts barely out of his pre-teens?the same dazai who was referred to by everyone around him as a 'demon' at fifteen years old? the same dazai consistently described as having grief-filled, empty expressions and detached, vacant reactions to practically everything when he was so young? the same dazai that oda described as "a child crying in the dark, alone, left to fend for himself with a hole in his heart as large as the world itself"?

that dazai is an indifferent, heartless, innately psychopathic person? really? i'm not convinced.

[justcallmesakira]

I love how the bsd fandom was celebrating chuuyas birthday being happy, joyful, a bit of angsty JUST yesterday and then fyodor just comes to ruin the party like that one auntie that no one of the family likes.

[starlightshadowsworld]

It suddenly makes sense to me why Asagiri made Atsushi’s ability capable of reversion rather than regeneration.

Regeneration is to make a new thing while reversion is to return something to its original state.

For Atsushi that means that his ability is able to reverse whatever damage he’s taken to the point it’s like it never happened.

And I never really got why that distinction was made until chapter 124.

Because you know what else does that? Time travel.

Like Atsushi rewinding time in order to reverse whatever damage Akutagawa had taken.

To the point it was as if Akutagwa was never hurt at all because he wasn’t.

And thats why Atsushi knew he could do it because he’s been doing it the whole time.

He could traverse the space because as we learn in Bsd Beast all these other worlds are created by the Book. And Atsushi was the only one in there connected to the Book he was the one exception to it.

It’s why he knew intuitively that he could roam free within it.

The tiger knew it and so did he, he just needed someone to guide him to an answer he had always known.

[kenjismissingwrist]

EVERYONE YOU NEED TO HELP ME OUT HERE IM ACTUALLY FREAKING OUT AND AM NOT OKAY

IN THIS IMAGE

WHAT IS THE IMAGE IN THAT TOP LEFT HAND CORNER

THIS ONE

WHERE IS IT FROM

BC I FEEL LIKE ITS PARALLELING TO THIS

HOLY SHIT HOLD SHIT HOLY SHIT

I CANT RN

THEY LOOK SO SIMILAR

[thedarkdisgrace]

Isn’t it interesting the two people closest to Chuuya when he joined the mafia cover opposite eyes?

Edit: I’m gonna post an short kind of analysis on this soon.

Edit 2: posted the analysis