Bsd Dazai - Blog Posts

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but there's a common misconception that's been permeating the fandom, even on the official wiki, that's just...not true.

Dazai met Akutagawa when he became an executive, which happened when he was 17-18. In both The Heartless Cur (the short story written by Asagiri about how Akutagawa and Dazai met) and Beast, which follows the original timeline, albeit with some changes, it flat out states that the interaction was only four and a half years prior to the main story. Which means Akutagawa knew Dazai for six months. He was already either fifteen or sixteen when they met, and they haven't known each other for that long. Not fourteen.

I love how, when the finale of season five aired, the Jailbreak arc shifted from a heartbreaking tragedy to the most unhinged comedy ever.

Too busy for a full analysis, but I'm just gonna drop this here and leave.

(Quote is from Stormbringer, the first time Chuuya uses his corruption.)

I think Dazai's backstory is really cool in how, despite having more information about it than most other characters, majority of his life is just one giant noodle incident.

Yep, that's the line I'm going with as an introduction to this analysis. Just bear with me.

To start off, for those who don't know, the term "noodle incident" originates from the (amazing) comic Calvin and Hobbes. In it, the whole idea is that Calvin did this unspecified thing in school that involved noodles, but it's never confirmed what exactly happened. It's only referenced in passing, and it is clear that it was not good. Applied to general fiction, the term Noodle Incident refers to an event that is often referenced, but never clearly explained, and what is important is the characters' reactions and feelings towards it. The principle idea behind it is that imagining what said incident could be is way more significant and impactful than anything it would actually be if it was said. It's not the event that's important, but the effects and responses to it are. *for more info, I recommend Overly Sarcastic Productions trope talk video about it*

Now, how this plays into Dazai's life is that, while it is extremely evident that he likely has a horrible, tragic backstory, we never really get to see much of it. The earliest we are introduced to him, he is already suicidal, and he has lost most in hope in existence. These feelings are tempered a bit when he first joins the Port Mafia, but they come back all too quickly. And while you could argue that him being in the Mafia is a large contributor to his depression,the main reasons why he seeks escape clearly transpired before he ever met Mori.

Dazai was already trying to commit suicide at fourteen, which is how he met Mori. Something happened earlier in his life, but we don't know what. Asagiri himself says that he left Dazai's core, the reason he wants to die, vague on purpose. We aren't given many details, and honestly, we aren't given much backstory to it either. The two biggest hints that we get is when he is speaking to Odasaku. First in The Day I Picked Up Dazai, and the second from Dazai and the Dark Era.

We have no idea who or what Dazai is referring to. From all that we have seen, all the backstories and light novels we are given, the only people that we know of whom Dazai actually lost were Ango and Odasaku-for Ango, it was that special friendship, and Odasaku, it was his life. And even so, it isn't much of an explanation, because he was obviously suicidal before he met them, as evident from how he speaks to Odasaku, and losing them wasn't a catalyst for Dazai's depression. (As a matter of fact, it was actually the first step towards improvement, but that's a different analysis).

Yet for how much we don't know about Dazai's life, I think it's done in such a way that it doesn't really matter. It's a noodle incident, in that sense. Because it's not about the events that actually transpired, it's about how that affects Dazai and the way we see him. Don't get me wrong, I would love a full, confirmed backstory, but Asagiri doesn't seem to intend to write it, and that makes Dazai's character so beautiful. It's also one of the reasons why the dark era, especially the light novel, is so tragic. Because yes, you can argue that as far as tragic backstories go, losing two friends isn't near the most awful, especially not in this universe (I'm not trying to play the "which character has more trauma" game, but compared to, for example, growing up in an abusive orphanage, it's relatively not as inherently tragic. That doesn't make it any less horrible though). But the point of the backstory isn't just to explain the reasoning why things ended up the way they did, why Dazai left the Mafia, boo hoo his friend died, but Odasaku and Ango represent everything in Dazai's life, everyone from his past we never got to meet and I'm not sure if we're ever going to. They symbolize all the things in his life that mattered to him, everything he never wanted to lose but did. The last scene in the bar, where the three of them meet up for the last time, Ango leaves, the picture with the three of them laughing and smiling, the whole thing is meant to serve as a microcosm for Dazai's life as a whole. That he feels he's always going to lose everything, and that's why he wants to die. We don't get details, we don't know the specific events, but we're left with the emotions that gives us an important glimpse into this character's mind, more than his life, and that's what makes him such an interesting character that's left open to interpretation and analysis. We aren't privy to the tragedy, but the aftereffects of it. And, almost as if to prove the point, Odasaku dies the next day. Right after Dazai says he always loses everyone, further cementing the idea that there's almost a curse surrounding him, a void of loneliness that may never be fulfilled, which is as much as Odasaku tells him when he dies.

Whatever happened in Dazai's life before fourteen was probably something horrible and tragic. Maybe he had a family. Maybe he had other good friends. Perhaps he even believed in the goodness of life and humanity. But what's really cool about the way he's written is that the exact events are not important nor necessary to understanding his character. His life is one big noodle incident, yet because of that, we're able to glean an almost deeper understanding about him, by leaving the details in the dark and exposing only the raw, humane emotions left behind. The most important part about any backstory in fiction isn't about what actually happened, it's about how does this affect the character now? What lasting impact did it leave on them, and how is it evident in the way they interact with the story in the present? This is something that Asagiri nails on the head when it comes to his backstories. And I think the lack of clear information about Dazai's backstory, yet all the information we do end up getting about him, is one of the reasons why Dazai is such an interesting and intriguing character in the series.

Thank you all for you time. You may now return to your procrastination.

Dazai in the dark era be like:

Dazai, proud: My bestie saves orphans and raises them! He gives them lots of love!

Akutagawa: He does?

Dazai: Yes! Unfortunately, I don't though. *proceeds to punch an orphan*

One thing I love about bsd is the fact that you can have multiple pairs of the "hate each other but trust each other" trope, and they all feel different.

Fukuzawa and Mori are exes, Dazai and Chuuya have an on-off again relationship, and Atsushi and Akutagawa are in middle of their enemies to lovers arc.

A ramble/analysis about the significance of the bar in The Day I Picked Up Dazai

Ok, so I just reread the day I picked up Dazai, and read side b for the first time, and man do I have many, many thoughts, but one thing in particular struck me, and that is the bar. More specifically, the reason why they go in the first place and why it is significant. (spoilers for the day i picked up dazai side a, obviously)

The first time the bar is mentioned is when Odasaku and Dazai are having a discussion about death and why Dazai desires it. Oda says that "he is a fool for wanting to die" and that anyone is fool for dying before going to "that place." He doesn't specify what it is though, and Dazai thinks he's making it up at first. The way Odasaku speaks about it, it's as if it's some magic place, a place that only some can see the true value of. This intrigues Dazai, because one important thing about him is the fact that he's always searching. Always looking for something interesting, some reason to keep living, some proof that life isn't the boring place he believes it to be.

The second time this place is brought up is when Odasaku and Dazai are in the cell, and Oda is trying to convince Dazai that he should escape with him. He mentions that the place is nearby, and that they should escape and go. Now, Dazai is truly curious about it, and it works. He says, "how long has it been, I wonder? To have somewhere I want to go...I have a feeling that even if there is nothing at that place, it will be fine as it is." He's excited, and looking forward to the place that Odasaku has been, for lack of a better term, hyping up the entire light novel. Even if it may not be so interesting after all, like Oda said it might not be.

Still, when they arrive at the bar, Dazai acts a little disappointed at first. The place Oda took him to was really just a bar after all. Odasaku even admits that he lied, that where could he take him to that he wouldn't already know, and that he was merely teasing him. Dazai is taken aback at first, but in the end, he finds value in the place. They sit for ages, talking about everything and nothing, playing poker, and drinking. And despite being disappointed in the beginning, it ends up being enough for Dazai.

And now, for the actual point of this ted talk, the reason why this is so significant is because to me, the bar represents Dazai's search. He is always looking for something interesting to keep him alive, but the fact of the matter is, there is nothing. Oda says as much to him when he dies; nothing in this world is going to fill the void of loneliness inside of Dazai. But the fact that he took Dazai to something as simple as a bar, a place he said he was a fool for not going, the place that intrigued Dazai so much signifies that Dazai would only find something in a place as simple as a bar. That for all his searching, the answer might just be playing a game of cards and talking to a friend while having a few drinks. Dazai feels so far removed from human connection, but in truth, that is the one thing that could even attempt to fill the void, even if just a little. He will keep searching, keep looking for some external factor that may allow life to interest him, the thing that he would be foolish for dying before seeing, but the answer might just lie in spending the night in a simple bar with a friend.

There's something so interesting about how the ADA is associated with cats the PM is compared to dogs.

How there's Atsushi, who is quite literally a cat (sorry, tiger). How Fukuzawa, the president of the Agency, is obsessed with cats and caring for them.

While characters in the Mafia are dogs. There's Akutagawa, the Rabid Dog of the port mafia. Chuuya, who's loyalty could be considered dogmatic. Who literally wears a choker, or "dog collar."

And then there's the fact that Odasaku constantly compares Dazai to a cat, especially in The Day I Picked Up Dazai. Like a subtle hint that Dazai doesn't belong with the Mafia. As a matter of fact, he hates dogs. He belongs with the Agency, the ones who are associated with cats.

Dazai really does just like to recruit people into organizations, doesn't he.

Like, what's that? A fifteen year old with a toxic relationship to the group that's supposed to be his friends? Have his friends betray him so he joins the Mafia!

What is it, you say? People are after you because you used to be an assassin? Have him join the Mafia!

You're a depressed orphan living in the slums who wants a reason to live? Why don't you join the freaking Mafia.

And this pattern only continues in the ADA, like:

An orphaned dangerous Weretiger sought after by the government? Join the detective agency!

Said Weretiger finds his own orphan girl who is kind of wanted for manslaughter at the age of fourteen? Help her join the detective agency!

He seriously has a savior complex, and this needs to be acknowledged. Don't even get me started on Sigma-

If I had a nickel every time one of Dazai's partners shot him in the head leading to Dazai's "death" only for it to be an elaborate plot to fool the enemy that could only have been achieved with an insane amount of trust and a little bit of luck tbh-

I'd have two nickels.

Which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice

I find it kind of ironic that the fandom mischaracterizes Dazai in the same ways that he tends to get viewed in the series itself. For some reason, he's either just an eccentric man with a penchant for suicide, nothing more than a silly little detective who happens to also be a murderer, who cares about his friends and is always considerate towards them. or he's a demon, an awful human being with hardly any redeemable qualities and does everything for some ulterior motive, uses everyone as a pawn and cares for no one (except maybe Oda), and will never ever change. I just feel like these extremes are literally how he's viewed by different characters in the series, and I find it interesting how often I see people take one side or the other, and one of the saddest parts about his character in the series itself is that so many people don't truly understand him, and I see it so much in the fandom itself.

What if skk got caught in a bank holdup

A random idea/fanfiction by me.

Inspired by: the shower (truly, it's a magical place)

Because like, imagine, will you, that Dazai goes to the bank on his day off after payday, possibly looking to get some new bandages, and who should he come across but Chuuya, who is there to take out some money from a totally legitimate Port Mafia account. They'd probably bicker for a minute, Dazai would find at least three ways to insult the mafioso, who would then shout back at him, only to have everyone else in the bank shoot them strange looks, so he then resorts to whisper shouting. Until suddenly, the doors burst open, and in rushes five men with guns blazing, their faces obscured by masks. "This is a hold up!" they declare. Three of them usher all the bankgoers to one wall, forcing them to sit down quietly. And of course, if any of them try to call the police, they'd really get it. The other two deal with the clerks, getting them to open the vault, and no one gets hurt.

Meanwhile, Dazai and Chuuya are watching this play out with mild amusement. After one of them sticks a gun in Dazai's face and tells them to move it, they share a shrug and walk to the wall, plopping down criss-cross applesauce. The patrons are shaking. Some of them are crying, some are praying. Dazai folds his arms behind his head and leans back against the wall, suppressing the urge to yawn. Chuuya takes the opportunity to munch on a granola bar and observe the robbery with vague interest.

With his eyes closed, Dazai asks... "so...are you going to stop them, or...?"

"Nah," Chuuya answers between bites. "I haven't eaten much all day, so..." He turns to Dazai. "What about you? Aren't you the detective here?"

"Yeah, but it's my day off now. I don't want to work."

"Yeah, yeah, definitely know the feeling."

"Hey, you two!" shouts one of the thieves watching the hostages. "Be quiet!"

"Sorry." Neither of them sound particularly apologetic. They sit for a few more minutes. Dazai yawns and stretches. Chuuya finishes his granola bar. Nothing changes.

"What's taking them so long?" Chuuya mutters. He's starting to get annoyed. "Some of us have things to do, you know."

"This is actually really pathetic," comments Dazai. "We could have gotten double the money and been halfway back to the base by now, gone before the police even knew there was a threat."

"And we'd never do it like this," agrees the mafioso. "This is too loud, and it's got no class."

"Right? It's like begging for the police to come. And besides, this whole hostage situation is thin as paper. If they really wanted to intimidate people, they should have shot someone by now, prove they're serious."

"Those guns probably aren't even loaded."

"Honestly, this whole set up is awful. Truly amateurish."

"This whole thing would be much smoother if we did it. Maybe we should help them, just so they can get their money and leave the rest of us alone."

"That-"

"Hey!" shouts the same guard again. He points at Dazai, then at Chuuya. "What did I say about talking?! If you don't shut up-"

"No, you're doing it wrong," Dazai informs him.

"I...what?"

"If you really wanted to intimidate us, you should have fired off a warning shot, at the very least. Even if you're too coward to actually shoot a person, at least don't make it so obvious the thing's not even loaded."

Beads of sweat drip down the thief's face. "Huh?"

"And could you tell your friends there to hurry up?" adds Chuuya. "They're going to be caught at this rate. Obviously, the clerks are stalling. They're probably sticking in the lowest bills they have to give the bags some weight. It would be way more efficient to have one guy guarding the clerks and two of you doing it yourself."

"Just figure out the accounts with the most in them and take from there," Dazai suggests, standing up. "You'll get more and faster like that."

Chuuya rises as well. Now, the other two thieves who were supposed to be guarding the hostages come to back up their friend, pointing their guns directly at their heads. Dazai frowns.

"Hold on a second, can I see that? Thanks." He reaches out and grabs the nearest thief's gun, and before he even has a chance to protest, he opens up the magazine and shakes it.

"See? Empty. Would it really have been so hard to even find one bullet to put in there?"

From behind their masks, the burglars begin to panic. The public, now aware they're being held up by nothing, stand up angrily.

"And look!" Chuuya strides over behind the counter, where the clerks are supposed to be filling up bags with money. He takes one out of a male's clerk's hand and dumps it out on the floor. "All 1,000 yen bills. If you had just paid more attention, you could have made off with much more. And, now the police are coming."

Indeed, the sound of wailing sirens gets louder and louder. The thieves glance at each other. With a single nod, they turn on their heels and run.

"Not so fast!" All of the former hostages block the door. The thieves freeze, turning to Dazai fearfully. He shrugs.

"That's what happens when you don't back-up your claims. This is due to your own stupidity."

The public manages to easily restrain the thieves until the police arrive to take them away. As they're being dragged out, Dazai and Chuuya merely watch with their arms folded, shaking their heads and muttering to themselves.

"Disgraceful."

"What a sloppy job."

"Embarrassment to all criminals, really."

"Can't believe I had my time wasted with this crud."

"Hopefully, they'll do better next time."

"Yeah. If you're going to hold up a bank, at least do it well."

After the thieves are taken away, the police ask Dazai and Chuuya about what happened, since everyone says that they're the ones who stopped them. They answer with vague statements that amount to nothing, and leave the bank before they have to get more involved.

Neither of them speak much, each caught up in his own memories from the past. Eventually, Dazai decides to head back to his apartment, though not without giving one good jarb on Chuuya's height. In the end of the day, he supposed he did stop them. Well, as long as it didn't have to count as work-

The next day, both Chuuya and Dazai were required to make a report on the matter.

End.

Look. I'm sure Dazai acts like the most annoying person alive to everyone he works with so they'll push him away and hate him, but he also flat out admitted to Sigma that he just likes doing strange and annoying things to get a rise out of people. It's not that it's a dysfunctional defense mechanism, it's because he has a dysfunctional personality.

Thinking about how Dazai was the first person not to use Chuuya for his power. Thinking about how when they first met, Dazai kept telling Chuuya that he's just a kid. Thinking about how he was the only one who believed all along that Chuuya was a human. Thinking about how he's the one who stops Chuuya's power from corrupting him whole.

Thinking about Chuuya trusting Dazai, even after four years apart. Thinking about him turning to him and asking for the plan, even though they hadn't fought together in years. Thinking about him being willing to sacrifice himself on the sole belief that Dazai was alive, despite all evidence suggesting otherwise. Thinking about-

We as a fandom need to talk more about the fact that Dazai's body has to be covered in scars, right? Like it says in the Dark Era light novel that the reason Dazai has so many bandages is from all his injuries he sustained working in the Mafia, and even if it's been some time now, and the bandages likely provide Dazai some form of traumatic comfort, if he didn't actually need them, wouldn't they have taken them off when he went to prison? I've got no proof of this, but if they took away Fyodor's hat, I doubt they would have let Dazai keep his bandages on because it's part of his a e s t h e t i c. His body is probably riddled in scars that he uses the bandages to hide, but treats it like it's just something he wears for fun because he's Dazai and being vulnerable for once would ruin the image he's got going on

But like actually though.

Drawings are credit @gigizetz from her Monster animatics on yt! Go check them out!! Song is Monster from Epic the Musical.

Ok, so we're all talking about Mori seemed to have nothing better do to than to glue in Chuuya's fangs. His organization has crumbled, they've all been turned into actual vampires, a guy is LITERALLY trying to take over the world, and Mori's over here glueing in the fangs to deliberately mess with Chuuya.

But.

I think Mori may have been onto something here. Imagine, will you, that he DIDN'T glue in the fangs. I imagine the scene might have gone something like this (I can't draw for the life of me, so we're gonna have to write this out, though it'd be a funny comic, if anyone's interested in making it).

Ehem.

Chuuya arrives to kill Dazai. The music is suspenseful, the air is tense. Fyodor is watching the whole interaction so he can witness Dazai's death in glorious HD.

"C'mon, Chuuya," taunts Dazai. "Give me one of your flimsy punches."

Chuuya snarls and lunges forwards. And that's when one of his fangs falls out of his mouth and clatters onto the floor.

The music stops. Crickets chirp in the distance. Chuuya stares at the fang. Dazai stares at the fang. They look up and stare at each other. Then, their gazes slowly turn up to the camera, where Fyodor is sitting, watching the whole thing play out. Belatedly, Chuuya goes, "uhhhaaahhhhhhAHHHHHHHH!!!" and clutches his cheek.

"It's the other side," Dazai informs him under his breath.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!" He switches sides. "My tooth fell out??" He glances back up at the camera, where Fyodor is watching, his expression deadpan. "Know any good, uh, vampire dentists in the area? Aha. Ahahah. Hahahahah-"

Fyodor looks done with life. "I'm not buying it."

"Well. Drat."

Let's be real, this season would have gone VERY differently is this happened. That would have been quite a way to reveal the whole vampire fake out, but I think it's for the better that Mori glued them in, even if his intentions were just to mess with Chuuya and it caused some severe annoyance afterwards.

So we know that Chuuya complained about his fangs getting stuck, but in the newest chapters, it doesn't seem like he has them in anymore.

Which means that the order of events between the finale and chapter 113 (I believe that’s the number) went like this:

First, they walked back inside the prison, with Dazai still holding the antidote. Chuuya says, “don’t you think you oughta take it by now?”

Dazai shrugs. “I’ve got time.”

Chuuya nods. They make their way more into the prison. “Hey, don’t you think you better—"

“It’s fine,” Dazai assures him. Chuuya frowns.

“You aren’t just waiting until it’s too late, are you?”

No response.

“Dazai? Hey, Dazai, answer me—"

“I think I better go now—"

“TAKE THE STUPID ANTIDOTE—“

“No! I don’t wanna HEY WAIT—" Chuuya jumps onto Dazai sending him sprawling to the floor, and they have a long struggle and frankly ridiculous struggle, which involves Chuuya trying to inject the antidote while Dazai fights him. Eventually, Chuuya manages to restrain Dazai's arms with one hand, and shoves the syringe into Dazai's neck with the other. He’s sweating and panting as he throws it away and lets go of Dazai's hands. Bitter at having been defeated due to his lack of strength that tends to happen when you narrowly escaped death more times than you can count within the past half hour, Dazai comments, “you know, with that expression on your face and those fangs, you really DO look like a vampire.” Which reminds Chuuya of his current predicament. He gets off of Dazai and they seek out a bathroom where Chuuya spends a good deal of time in front of the mirror, trying to get the fangs off without hurting his real teeth. He attempts to google it, but complains about the lack of service and good wifi. Dazai reminds him ever so kindly that it’s a prison, idiot. So they trek all the way up to the first floor and Chuuya stands on the roof, above the wreckage and pile of blood, holding his phone up until google loads and provides him with solutions. They found a way, but in order to get the ingredients required, they’re forced to raid the cafeteria, much to Dazai’s delight. All the required ingredients are eventually collected, but Chuuya spent an extra half hour trying and failing to pull Dazai out of the cafeteria as he scoured places including but not limited to: the fridge, the freezer, every cabinet, all the pantries, and the so called “hidden pantry” where all the sweets were. They finally make it back to the bathroom, where after much bickering and pulling and coaxing, Dazai finally manages to yank off the fangs, causing Chuuya to emit a high pitched sound not unlike a girl’s shriek. Finally, they make it back to the room where Sleeping Beauty is, still quite unconscious.

“I just don’t get it,” says Dazai. He crouched down and stares Sigma thoughtfully. “Why hasn’t he woken up?”

Chuuya frowns. “Do you think it might have to do with the stab wound—?"

“Nah, couldn’t be. Not in this series.”

“Oh, right.” Chuuya examines him again. An idea comes to him. He turns to his partner, his expression perhaps a little too gleeful. “May I…?”

Dazai waves a dismissive hand. “Go for it.”

Which is how we arrive to the state of affairs in chapter 113. Dazai’s no longer self destructing or hungry, Chuuya’s fangs are gone, and Sigma will find himself with a SEVERE back pain when he wakes up.

Truly another work of art!

theyre so dramatic is love them

Some soukoku scribbles

Can you guys tell who my brush

i think chuuya nakahara is truly the most human charavter in asagiri shows this purposfully in many mnay ways, ostof the time he is a stark contrast of dazai, bursting with energy and emotion and care. And he is the human light, the sun or the beaty of destruction that dazai finds so comforting, and that dazai teases him so chuuya can make dazai feel morw alive. since chuuya and dazais reuion during the guild arc that dazai hasnt tried to kill himself and thta througjout their shared past there has been a theme of dazai stopping his genuine attepts on his own life, and rather doing them to manipulate people like mori or to feel alive.

.... Sorry felt like yappin

Guys please ask me more questions i havent gotten any... I want someone to ask me what i think ab characters or series... :/

Def... Then he yerns and reminisses...

does anyone else think dazai wakes up in a cold sweat in the middle of the night to cringe about how he acted at 15

Anyone have any ideas for a name? I cant figure one out rn...

I do definitly have to admit the anime has its moments - like in dark era, dead apple and the guild arc. However i dont think the current style of animation properly potrays the theme and moods of most shows. from my pespective, bungo explores mental illness and the lines and burrness of morality. I really would like if the animation potrayed that in its style like Evangelion or lain, but instead its smooth and sharp, a stark differnce to how most of the characters view the world around them.

Idk if im the only one who thinks this, but the Bungo anime wouldve gone so much harder if it was animated in the 90s style of animation, specificly the evangelion style. Or even like the Dadaroma, NANA, or Paradise kiss style of animation. I have a lot of issues with the current anime, and most are animation related...

Idk if im the only one who thinks this, but the Bungo anime wouldve gone so much harder if it was animated in the 90s style of animation, specificly the evangelion style. Or even like the Dadaroma, NANA, or Paradise kiss style of animation. I have a lot of issues with the current anime, and most are animation related...

posting this for those who wanted to see the video version (just realized that you can't reblog with videos??? ehhh