#if the second chuuya was inspired by the fight with lovecraft it's funny how dazai remembers him without blood and stuff

[no-brain-just-akutagawa]

Guys, I stumbled upon a full version of this cover and saying I'm hysterical doesn't cut it like I was so right about certain things and so wrong about others like wow. I don't think my additions warrant another post, so I'll just put the rest of my thoughts as a reblog. under this cut. But alright without the further ado, part 2!

Let's begin with me stating it's either very ironic or very much on purpose, but Ango getting cut off from Oda and Dazai because the whole picture doesn't fit on the cover is both tragic and hilarious. Them being torn apart by a force they don't have control over is what happened in canon with Mimic. It was their last happy moment together so it being taken away by not fitting onto the cover is symbolism at its funniest.

The second picture I immediately noticed was Chuuya in the top left corner. Once again he is seen smiling, this time more widely, but still with his typical smirk, and I think it's interesting how Chuuya is the only one besides Oda and Kunikida to have two solo pictures of himself and he's smiling in both of them. These pictures show how og Dazai remembers these people/how he sees them, so he sees him as confident, and has happy memories with him. Let's just say it was a bold decision to do this to me on Valentine's Day. Also I think it's no coincidence that all of the people og Dazai was close to in the PM are put together in this corner.

A picture I find special is below and it's a picture of Beast ADA from that one illustration. It's really cute, and it shows that Beast Dazai cares about this ADA as well. It's not the only picture from Beast universe like I previously thought, but it's still one of my favourites, because of the mood.

Right below it we have a Kunikida solo photo and at first I was wondering if it's actually him, because I don't recall a scene like that, but the glasses fit, the hairstyle fits, so I don't see better options. Maybe it's a throwback to Dazai's entrance exam? He seems a bit younger here an it was an important moment in og Dazai's life for sure, so it would fit. If I ever figure this scene out, I'll put an edit here.

Edit: @electrick-indigo found put that it's actually Ranpo from chapter 32! It fits perfectly and it's even flipped like many other photographs. Thank you for letting me know!! So with Ranpo having a solo shot, it's only Kyouka and Tanizaki (and Fukuzawa but he's their boss so it's a different thing) who don't have a solo shot, but I'm sure it has more to do with the lack of space on the cover than anything. But wow it's so cool that now we more or less caught them all. Thanks again!

In the bottom left corner behind Akutagawa, we can see the orphanage director, and this one was the most confusing to me, because og Dazai didn't seem to have any personal connection to him. However, someone else who's important to him did, and that's Atsushi. So I think it's a callback to Dazai and Atsushi's conversation about the director and Atsushi's feelings towards him, which was a very emotional and important moment for their relationship.

On the other side of the cover, there's a solo Kenji photo. The weird thing about is that it's Beast Kenji not og Kenji. Why is that I have no idea. It's probably just a stylistic choice. I think in Kenji and Yosano's (because she's indeed here) case, their single shots are taken from their first appearences in the manga.

Above him we have Atsushi and Kyouka from when they went sightseeing. It's heart-warming that og Dazai thinks this moment was important. I know that he cares about Kyouka, because he helped her leave the Port Mafia, but still seeing her here is so wholesome. I wish she got a solo photo, but I guess not everyone can get one. Still cool, that she's present.

Then we have a solo photo of Yosano, and I started laughing when I saw it just because previously I was all like where's my girl?? and now she's here having her spotlight. But her being cut from the cover again is so funny. She's really unlucky in this department.

Lastly we have Oda and it's probably the moment he was dying in Dazai's arms. It could be his mental breakdown after seeing his orphans killed, but it looks way more like the scene when he talks to Dazai before ripping Dazai's bandages off, and considering that this exact moment was what made og Dazai leave the Port Mafia, it makes sense that it's crucial for Beast Dazai as well. I said it before, but Beast as a whole is centered around the idea what would happen if Oda lived, so his death definitely fits the cover. And if that's the case then it's makes sense we see it from the first point of view like the og Dazai did. There is also another small picture behind it, but I cannot think who it can be connected to. It shows someone who wears a long coat, but so many people in bsd do that, there's no way for me to know who it is.

In conclusion this cover is beautiful and even better once we get to see the whole picture. I'm so glad I stumbled upon the full version by accident, because it's amazing as well. A perfect final cover for the Beast manga.

Beast cover details I noticed

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Truly tragic just like the story itself.