"[Pre-10th Anniversary Celebration Project] / "Bungo Stray Dogs" Will Celebrate Its 10th Anniversary

"Atsushi is a cinnamon roll ray of sunshine."

WRONG.

Atsushi is a little sass who would do anything he needs to in order to survive. He saved dazai (when he intended to rob him )and then was upset he wouldn't thank him.

He shoved over the trash can in the second episode and basically told dazai to khs.

He had knowledge of the future, a future where four million people were going to die, and deliberately used that knowledge just to mess with Dazai because he could.

He will call you out on your flaws and judge you for them. Sure he's nice and a people pleaser a lot of the time, but inside, he's a little judgy sass and we love him all the more for it.

Oh and don't even get me started on Dazai. What he did would make way more sense coming straight from the Mafia, letting everyone kill each other. It doesn't feel like something Dazai would have done already being with the Agency for two years, and he's never killed anyone in present (he tried with Fyodor but...yeah. Also it's fyodor it's fair). And then him talking to Kunikida about the dangers of his ideals...it's all things that would make sense happening after he recently met Kunikida, not someone who's been in this organization for two years now.

Having the events of Dazai's entrance exam take place before the start of the series rather than during it really makes Kunikida's character make so much more sense. Specifically why, at the beginning of the series, he was really hesitant to save Atsushi, or have Atsushi save Kyouka. It's not out of rudeness or apathy. He won't let himself care, because he tried before. He tried to bring up a kid that had a bad life, and it only ended in failure. The events of the Azure Messenger arc really shape Kunikida's character into being someone who wishes he was a hero, but isn't. That he can't save everyone. So when Dazai saves Atsushi, at first, Kunikida doesn't want to grow close or allow himself to care because he feels that this too is only going to end in failure. Hence what he tells Atsushi about he and Kyouka both drowning if there isn't enough room on the boat (the metaphor admittedly makes more sense when he said it). It just adds so much in respect to his character if it happened before the events of the series as opposed to during it, because then it just makes Kunikida out to be super uncaring. But he's not. He just doesn't want to get his hopes up until he can truly accept the fact that this time, it might end better.

Ok ok I'm going to scream. I was rewatching a scene from the third episode, right after Atsushi tries to shoot Akutagawa, and then Akutagawa says, "blah blah blah, unfortunately for you, I keep my promises" and then proceeds to cut off his leg, as one does.

AND IT'S THE FACT THAT AKUTAGAWA KEEPS HIS PROMISES THAT'S THE REASON ATSUSHI IS ALIVE AFTER THE FIGHT WITH FUKUCHI HE INTRODUCED HIMSELF AS SOMEONE WHO KEEPS HIS PROMISES AND THAT ENDED UP SAVING ATSUSHI'S LIFE AND ANDLFIDSNLFNA—

Like I said: a lil sass.

I would say that bsd gets so many people into classic literature but to be fair I think it attracts the type of people who would get into it anyway and just needed an excuse.

I would like to remind everyone that this takes place after the Guild arc, meaning that Kunikida knows by now that Dazai was a Mafia executive. And that doesn't bother him in the slightest.

Chuuya (mostly) being a law-abiding citizen despite the convenience of his ability and his motorcycle until the situation calls for it The idea that at any time an emergency strikes wherever they are at any given time, Chuuya will just start scaling buildings himself or with his motorcycle so he's not inconvenienced by traffic and red lights while the ability-less are stuck waiting in traffic and forced to watch Chuuya blitzing by on the buildings Chuuya waiting in traffic when an emergency strikes and he floats himself and his bike out of traffic to take a shortcut and everyone just. watches. He's enjoying the breeze on his face as he's riding the buildings, shouting 'Yeah' the entire time

I've read the Flowers of Buffoonery, and can confirm that yes, his entire character is literally the book, a lot more than No Longer Human. The narrator flat-out admitting that he's lying with you, describing "the flowers of buffoonery" in sort of a coping mechanism, interrupting himself to be self-deprecating on his own writing while keeping up the whole light atmosphere despite it being a book about suicide...it's literally bsd Dazai and criminally under talked about in the fandom.

Dazai’s Ability might be named after No Longer Human, but his entire character is based off The Flowers of Buffoonery

It’s in the way the book is a comedy despite being about suicide.

In the way the main character (Yozo Oba) and his friends are constantly joking around despite Yozo being a sanatorium for a failed double suicide with a beautiful woman.

In the way the author is constantly cutting in with funny commentary and lying to the audience at almost every step.

In the way I’m lulled into a false sense of everything being alright, into believing Yozo is actually okay, despite knowing that there’s something wrong.

There’s even a story about crabs.

If you want to understand BSD Dazai, read The Flowers of Buffoonery. It’s very insightful.

tbh i think that scene is less about atsushi “learning the truth abt dazai” and much more about him finally being able to acknowledge how much of himself he sees in akutagawa without the mental block of his warped perception of dazai. and even then i don’t see this seriously impacting atsushi’s relationship with dazai like this is about his relationship with aku