sawadasora

[sawadasora]

Fermat's Cuisine is an Intergenerational Trauma Narrative

When @troubled-mind pitched Fermat's Cuisine to me, I knew I'd be watching it soon, and I went in expecting it to be a kind of classic high stakes restaurant drama with a twist, about a math prodigy slash newbie chef learning the ropes from an intense mentor, figuring out how to translate his special skill and function as part of a well-oiled cooperative team, and taking the restaurant world by storm.

And it was that, partly (until it wasn't). But the core narrative in this drama is not really about food or math or a classic success through adversity arc at all. Instead, it's about the intergenerational trauma passed down through a lineage of abusive haute cuisine chefs, the deep psychological damage they do to each other, and the way our protagonist and his mentor ultimately come together to break the cycle. Obviously, because I am me, this revelation was a goddamn delight and a very welcome surprise. I'm going to dig in on how this theme defined the narrative, so spoilers ahead, folks!

There are many dramas that touch on how extremely high stress restaurant environments are as workplaces and how rampant abuse can get in kitchens. It's quite a common theme explored in most stories about professional chefs. But this drama didn't simply nod to these elements or include them as an added tension point, it doubled down on them and built in an additional layer by centering its story on a lineage of chefs (Shibuya->Kai->Gaku) who explicitly took their protégés into their homes as parent figures.

Shibuya found Kai when he was an unhoused and orphaned child and raised him, bringing him home to live with him and providing him with shelter and material support and a chosen career path. And then he proceeded to mentor him in such an emotionally abusive way that it's kind of a miracle Kai still had any humanity left in him by the time he found Gaku and began to repeat the cycle. Shibuya taught Kai that his entire worth as a human being was dependent on his ability to cook, not just well, but at a level that few in the world can ever hope to achieve. He raised him to strive to "surpass God" with his food and to feel worthless if he couldn't continually top himself. And he raised him to think there was only glory in this achievement if he did it alone, without relying on bonds with other people to support him.

This is deeply fucked up stuff, and it predictably fucked Kai up, especially once he developed an illness that impacted his ability to taste, and therefore, his ability to cook. He found Gaku and repeated the patterns he learned in his childhood to try to quickly mold him into the same kind of chef he feared he could no longer be, and then abandoned him alone with all the same impossible expectations he was raised with, turning him quickly from a sweet kid with a genuine love for learning how to master his job into an abusive tyrant in his own right. Gaku was just a kid, however, no matter how talented, and he couldn't sustain these responsibilities Kai put on him, so it all came crashing down rather quickly, pushing Gaku to go in search of his wayward mentor and pulling them back together in their shared failure. And ultimately, they decided that their only option left was to try working together to achieve their dream in defiance of Shibuya's teachings.

Which led to one of the best scenes in the drama and the one that clinched this story for me, when after cooking a meal for him together, Gaku directly confronted Shibuya on Kai's behalf and demanded that he acknowledge Kai in the way he deserves, giving Kai the catharsis he has been desperately needing for years. Did Shibuya suddenly change his perspective and apologize for his wrongs? Of course not. But the drama showed us how wrong he was by bringing Gaku and Kai together, with the support of their colleagues, to defy his teachings and make beautiful food together their way. And Shibuya was forced to relinquish his hold on Kai, finally giving him the approval he was so desperate for and releasing him from his expectations. Kai broke the cycle with Gaku's help, and thus began to heal. And in helping Kai, Gaku saved himself, as well.

Now, can I claim the execution of this arc in the show was perfect? No, I definitely cannot. This drama is extremely watchable, has a great cast, and was built around a fantastic main idea, but it also has some pretty significant flaws in how it all came together. There were serious pacing problems in this story--some character information was withheld for too long, some narrative beats were rushed to the point that they barely landed, and some character turns were simply not well grounded enough to feel believable. I have a whole reef of notes about how to rearrange the story elements to make it all work on a higher level. But the core of this story is solid and the ending rings true, despite some bumps on the journey to get there.

I highly recommend y'all check this drama out for something a little different and very refreshing. And hey, it's not often that Japan puts their content on major western streaming services and gives us all easy access to enjoy their work, so we should encourage the practice.

[sawadasora]

Năm mới

Từ bỏ fyx cũng lâu rùi

Lại thêm 1 lần nữa tự mình nhúng chân vào, chưa tởn =)))

Chỉ muốn ghi là mình đang đu Rikuyusei =)))

HCM

09/01/2024

[sawadasora]

Hira: 🥰👉👈😍❤️ Kiyoi: 😳😠👊🔪💀

Hagiwara Riku as HIRA & Yagi Yusei as KIYOI 美しい彼 シーズン2 (2023) dir. Sakai Mai

[sawadasora]

wiggly arms & annoying work partners | just dazai things ✨

tawada hideya really said:

he’s a beany balloon man pass it on

[sawadasora]

Nỗi sầu BSD ;-;

Mình chỉ muốn nói....

Mình thật sự hy vọng Soukoku và Shin Soukoku bình an

Một lần nữa kề vai tác chiến với nhau

Mình đã khá đau lòng kể từ sau vụ của Akutagawa, lúc đó mình chỉ mong có cách nào thật nhanh đưa Aku trở về. Nhưng sau đó dồn thêm cú sốc của Chuuya, thì càng tăng hy vọng ở mình hơn.

Thật sự hiện tại mình khá mù quáng trong mối quan hệ của SKK và SSKK. Với mình mà nói mình khó chịu đựng được khi họ quá thân thiết với nhân vật khác, tình trạng này không khác ngày xưa khi mình cố mà phủ nhận LXC với JGY chỉ là anh em bạn bè. =)))))

Ship OTP khổ thật đấy, mình biết chứ nhưng mình lại không chống lại việc u mê. =))))

Thời gian gần đây nhiều con thuyền mới lên ngôi do những khung truyện hơi mờ ám, mà cái đó mình có thể giả điên chứ đang đọc bản dịch thấy con edit nó chèn 1 câu vào ứa hết cả gan. =)))))

Xin đó Asagiri-sensei QAQ Sớm này cho Aku và Chuuya quay về đi ạaaaa

Trời má :(((

4/4/2023

[sawadasora]

Soukoku: Lack of honorifics

Also this isn't relatively a ship post if you don't want it to be, take this as you will<3

So like this may be an extremely stupid observation from my end but did anyone else realize that Chuuya and Dazai don't use honorifics when they mention/adress each other?

As we know, the use of Japanese honorifics reflects respect, they are also appropriate in informal interactions.

Correct me if im wrong, but I found out that using no honorific at all (called yobisute) is also an honorific — it's a "null honorific", which means that the speaker is addressing to whom he is speaking with in an intimate and familiar manner that is usually restricted to family, spouses, or one's closest friends.

We have seen both Chuuya and Dazai use honorifics for other people before (I am too lazy to ss manga pannels as proof please spare me) , so why don't they use honorifics with each other?

There are two ways we can take this:

They don't use honorifics as a way to mess with each other, both Dazai and Chuuya have a dynamic which consists on annoying one another, so this may be a subtle way to piss each other off.

Both Chuuya and Dazai obviously have known each other for many years and don't feel the need to use honorifics on each other since they know each other too well.

Because im very lazy to go through all the chapters, here are just some pannels in which they adress one another:

Keep in mind there is never an instance in the manga where they use ANY type of honorific on each other whilst they literally use honorifics with everyone else.

I have a feeling that Asagiri did this on purpose. Asagiri making Chuuya and Dazai adress each other in this manner was probably intentional.

While they don't use these honorifics on one another, on the outside it looks as if they don't respect one another but I firmly believe that it is quite the opposite, Dazai is "Dazai" to Chuuya, likewise Chuuya is "Chuuya" to Dazai. It doesn't mean they lack respect for one another, it just shows how they both know each other too well, I think they also don't use them to get a subtle rise out of each other, but I think deep down its a way to show us that the bond they share didn't change much, even after Dazai left the PM, their bond and trust is still there.

Do you guys think there is a different reason for them to not refer each other with honorifics? I would love to know your own opinions on this!

In conclusion: I love these two so much

Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed!

[sawadasora]

Corruption & Trust

Stormbringer and bsd spoilers in general ahead so read at your own risk!!

So in this post I will be listing all the times Chuuya used corruption and all the times Dazai was there to stop it. I will also go into depth as to why Chuuya trusts Dazai when it comes to having to use corruption and I will also emphazise on Dazai's care and how he takes corruption seriously.

1. First time using corruption: Stormbringer

Chuuya and Dazai's age: 16 yrs old

"Isn't it an unpleasant sight, Chuuya."

It was a young boy. This young boy casually caught hold of Chuuya's arm and lifted it up. With this movement, the gravitational field which had occured around them disappered immediatly. As well as Chuuya’s agony.

"Y...You..."

"You can't even die gracefully can you?" the young boy said in a raspy voice as he heaved Chuuya on his shoulders. He set off to walk.

Alright so this was the first time Chuuya's corruption was ever activated, after Dazai nullifies it and carries Chuuya on his back, he drops him off outside the bar were Chuuya's friends lay dead. He took him there instead of taking him directly to the port mafia quarters.

Why did he do that exactly? If Dazai doesn't care for Chuuya, then why did he give Chuuya the opportunity to pay farewell to his dying friends?

It's actually sort of funny because I don't really think Dazai really realizes or accepts that he feels a certain connection with Chuuya and therefore looks after him.

2. Second time using Corruption: Stormbringer

Chuuya and Dazai's age: 16 yrs old (obviously, its still the same light novel lol)

After losing his strength, Chuuya drifted in the air for a few seconds, then lost the black wings on his back and slowly fell.

Dazai caught his body.

From the spot where Dazai touched, the nulification skill was activated.

The self-contradictory skill that supports the energy of the singular point receded, and the output of the singular point decreased. Eventually, it converged and the "gate" closed. The red imprints disappeared from Chuya's whole body. Eventually, the gravitational field disappeared and the complete silence was restored.

“Good job, Chuuya." Dazai chuckled, looking at Chuuya he was holding in his arms. "I forgot to bring my ink pen, so I'll spare you from having your face scribbled."

As much as it looks like this is from a fanfiction, I can assure you that it's an actual passage from stormbringer.

I can't really say much except the fact that Dazai is being extremely soft here.

And this was the conversation Dazai and Chuuya shared beforehand:

"There is one problem." Dazai cut off his sentence hesitantly. "It has nothing to do with the sucess rate of the plan. It is a matter we have to overcome in the end but... It may require some time to decide."

"What's with you?" Chuuya raised his eyebrows at Dazai. "Stop dramatizing it. Just hurry up and say it."

"I said earlier about this control spell to open the 'gate' that is used to reset the command inside Chuuya, right?" Dazai spoke with a strangely restrained voice. "If we use that, the logs of the command formula that were written in the past will be erased. That means...even if the memory erasure was used on Chuuya in the past, the traces of that will be erased as well."

"What?"

"I told you before right? the memory erasure command. The only way we can confirm if Chuuya is human or not is to check the history to see if the memory erasure command was ever used. It means..." Dazai looked at Chuuya with eyes that he had never looked at him before. Those eyes were serious. "If we use that control spell, the method to confirm if Chuuya is an artificial personality created by a string of code, or just a normal human being, will be lost. For good."

The time had stopped.

Chuuya opened his eyes and looked towards Dazai but his eyes were not seeing anything. The wind blew between the two of them. Even so, Chuuya did not blink.

"Verlaine became like that because he was tormented by the curse that he was not human. That only is enough of a big problem. The matter of being human or not." Dazai looked at his pocket watch, gave it a glance and continued. "I can delay the time until the plan starts for about two minutes. I will send an order for my men to wait... You can think about it alone for a while. Cuz I guess its hard for you to collect your thoughts with me around."

Having said so, Dazai turned away and walked down the stairs, leaving Chuuya alone.

Dazai fixated in his pocket watch. Two more minutes. Too short for a life decision. But he couldn't afford more than that.

Inside Dazai's head, he was planning a procedure to swith to an alternative plan in case Chuuya refused, at a tremendous speed.

After this exchange, Chuuya does decide on using corruption. I have talked about this section on a previous post of mine, and I just love it so much. For starters, I think this conversation that these two shared is very important to their characters.

For Chuuya, it shows us how undeniably selfless he is. He would rather save the people of Yokahama instead of finding out something that meant a lot to him. He sacrificed his own desires to save the people he cares about.

For Dazai its a completely different story, in this exchange Dazai was able to openly express genuine concern for his partner. He also understands the gravity of the decision Chuuya has to take and therefore leaves the decision up to him.

Third time using corruption: Dragon's Head Conflict

Chuuya and Dazai' s age: 16 yrs old

During this one, Chuuya demands to know where his friends are, and Shibusawa says all six of them killed themselves after being caught. Enraged, Chuuya activates Corruption which ultimatley ended the 88 day conflict.

There isn't much to say about Dazai and Chuuya here since there isn't really an aftermath on this occasion but I bealive this picture is enough.

Before reading the DA manga, I genuienly thought that the only time Chuuya ever rested on Dazai's lap was when they were 22 but this proved me wrong.

I mean this is a minimal thing to point out but if Dazai disregarded Chuuya he would've just left him there, right? But instead he remained with Chuuya and allowed him to rest on his lap, in the picture you can also see he is putting Chuuya's hat back on. It's such a simple gesture but it shows us how caring Dazai can be when it comes to Chuuya using corruption.

Fourth time using corruption: Lovecraft Battle, Double Black reunion

Chuuya and Dazai's age: 22 yrs old

This is personally one of my favorite times in which Chuuya uses corruption. The fact that these two had not been working together for 4 years yet they still managed to not only accomplish their mission, but mantain their trust for one another.

I find what Chuuya says here extremely ironic because if anything, the choice has always been up to him. Dazai always uses corruption as a last-resort trick and its always Chuuya who makes the final decision of using it or not, even in a life or death situation Dazai won't take it upon himself to force Chuuya to make the decision if they will be using it or not, and hes always willing to come up with an alternative plan in case Chuuya refuses. (an example of this is when Chuuya used corruption for the 2nd time in SB).

I think the reason as to why Dazai takes corruption extremely seriously is because during stormbringer he was the first person to even see Chuuya use corruption and also the person who understood how corruption will always be sort of like a burden to Chuuya, since it was thanks to corruption that his "am I human?" question stayed unanswered.

He knows how it feels to struggle with your own humanity and he doesn't want for Chuuya (who he literally sees as human), to hold that inner conflict with himself because of corruption.

Anyways, Chuuya decides to go through corruption trusting that Dazai will be there to nullify it.

And of course, Dazai does nullify it.

And after Dazai nullifies corruption, we get this very touching moment between both of them.

This is the first time Chuuya openly admits to trusting Dazai, although it was always evident that he trusts him, I just love how open he is being here.

Also the light punch he gives to Dazai's chest is such a sweet gesture, I see it as a silent way for Chuuya to say "I trust you because after all this time I still see you as my partner."

Dazai's smile in that small pannel is one of the most genuine expression we have gotten out of him. What he says is also a very sweet, I love that he calls him partner. The fact that these two are literally in rival organizations yet Dazai still calls him partner, it shows us that even after all these years he still can't help but see him the same way as he has always done.

Actually in Japanese he calls him "Aibou" and from my understanding, when you use the term Aibou it's for someone who you consider yourself to be close with. It means "partner" like in english but it holds a deeper meaning. If Dazai used the word "nakama" it would have been a very diffrent story since it means partner as well but it isn't used for someone you share a significant connection with. Asagiri's play with words here says a lot.

Fifth time using corruption: Dead Apple

Chuuya and Dazai's age: 22yrs old.

Of course I have to talk about one of the most iconic moments in the history of Soukoku.

Chuuya uses corruption to save Dazai, even if Ango says that he's dead for sure. Something I find very intresting here though is that Chuuya screams for Dazai while he is on corruption, he is obviously not supposed to be self concious about the whole situation, while on Corruption clearly he is not supposed to be in sane state of mind, as we all here know, Chuuya loses control and does not have the track of reality while under his own ability but this time, while using corruption, the one and only thing that was on his mind was "Dazai."

It wasn't only Chuuya who entrusted his life to Dazai, Dazai too entrusted his life in Chuuya's hands. When Dazai came up with this plan, he was more than certain that Chuuya was going to save him. And I think a tumblr blog pointed this out but when Chuuya uses curroption, he cannot control his strength, but when he had to punch Dazai he did it lightly, which is strange considering he was using curroption and it would've made a lot more sence if Dazai ended up decapitated due to being punched by a literal god. Dazai had to have faith in the fact that Chuuya will somehow be able to control corruption, even if its just a little bit.

Afterwards when Chuuya manages to rescue Dazai, Dazai gently touches his cheek to nullify corruption and greets him with, "You used Corruption believing in me? I am so touched I could cry." Chuuya groans, and replies that yes he did, that he believed in his disgusting vitality and craftiness.

When they both fall to the ground, Dazai forces Chuuya to rest in his lap because he didn't want to have to protect him from this situation since the fog is still up and Chuuya himself is all worn out and wouldn't be able to fight. But heres the thing, both Chuuya and Dazai's abilities can't be seperated by the fog. I mean Dazai's ability is nulification so it basically cancels out, and Chuuya hosts a literal god inside him so it isn't really an ability if you know what I mean.

So in reality, Dazai just wanted Chuuya to rest. Dazai could've literally just left Chuuya in the fog if he was only using him for his goals, but he was genuienly appreciating Chuuya's trust in him. The way Dazai's hand is resting on Chuuya's hair is a nice gesture too, he is greatful for him and he is moved that someone trusts him, it is shown throughout the Fifthteen and SB light novel that no one trusted Dazai and how most were afraid to even approach him. And in the ADA, everyone is somewhat warry around him (excluding Atsushi ofc). But Chuuya literally puts his life on the line trusting that Dazai will always be there to save him. He trusts him greatly and Dazai knows that, and I think its pretty clear to us that he would never want to break that trust.

The fact that Chuuya trusts Dazai even after he left the Port Mafia without an explanation or goodbye shows us how strong their bond is. Chuuya most likely trusts Dazai because deep down he knows that he isn't using Chuuya's ability out of his own selifshness, a part of him is aware that Dazai uses corruption as a last resort but he just doesn't want to admit it, and I feel like he also trusts him subconciously because of how gentle Dazai is after Chuuya uses corruption.

I really hope we get to see more of these "corruption moments" because in all honesty, these moments are the ones that bring out the most vulenrability for both characters. The moment corruption is used, we see the inmeasurable amount of trust and care these two have for each other that they won't show in other situations. During these times it always shines a very open and bittersweet light on their bond and I love it so much.

[sawadasora]

Newsflash: Chuuya cares for Dazai

This can be sort of counted as a part two of my analysis talking about Dazai's care for Chuuya. In this post I will be focusing on Chuuya's feelings and care towards Dazai, hope you enjoy! :)

Chuuya Nakahara is a very expressive character, therefore, it is logical to believe that his feelings towards Dazai are easy to grasp, which is true. But just because we can understand Chuuya's feelings easier does not make them any less complex.

This is going to sound much harsher than I intend it to but Chuuya's hatred towards Dazai is defiently more genuine and prominent than Dazai's "hatred" towards Chuuya. Fellow Soukoku shipper reading this, I know this hurts but bare with me!

Dazai's "hatred" for Chuuya is truly not as strong. Don't get me wrong, there are some aspects that Chuuya has that Dazai finds annoying, but he doesn't truly hate him. Chuuya is one of the first people that Dazai ever actually started to harvest genuine care for. Chuuya was also one of the reasons Dazai wanted to continue living in Fiftheen, not to mention how Chuuya was basically Dazai's drive to continue living and fighting in Stormbringer. I think that Dazai's reasoning to "hate" Chuuya is because of the sole reason that Chuuya was indirectly making Dazai bring out aspects of himself that he has never shown or even knew he had before. I believe that another reason Dazai could "hate" Chuuya is because of how loyal he is to the pm, which could be seen as ironic considering the fact that Chuuya's loyalty was exactly what drew Dazai in back when they were 15.

As much as I hate to admit it, Chuuya does "hate" Dazai. He even resents the idea of being associated with Dazai. The reason for this is simple: he hates what Dazai Osamu represents. Everyone in the port mafia saw Dazai as inhuman, even Dazai himself doesn't see himself as human, and Chuuya desperately wants to be seen as human. So he proyects his own anger and fear of not being human onto Dazai. Another reason Chuuya could hate Dazai is because of how Dazai, a biological human— rejects his own humanity. Something that Chuuya craves so bad.

The reason as to why I say that Chuuya's hate can be considered stronger than Dazai's is because both of these characters strive for one thing: Humanity.

Dazai sees Chuuya as a human. During Stormbringer he doesn't even doubts Chuuya's humanity even after Chuuya's sketchy background and orgins. Dazai even likes to drop small hints to Chuuya that he is human.

This pannel represents their view for each other very well. Dazai says "im human too, you know?" he says the word "too", emphazasing on the fact that he is also calling Chuuya human. And what is Chuuya's response to that? "Nobody would believe that shit." So... Is Chuuya talking about himself or about Dazai here? I would say both, on one side this can be seen as Chuuya insulting Dazai. But if we look at the bigger picture and also Dazai's choice of words, Chuuya is actually saying that its hard to believe that he himself is human. But at the end of the day, he is just proyecting his insecurities and anger towards Dazai like he always does, but this time it was an insult that hurts both of them.

Chuuya "hated" Dazai. Back when both of them were in the pm, Chuuya acted like he didn't give two shits about Dazai. During the times we've seen these two when they were in the pm, Dazai's care for Chuuya was 10x more evident than Chuuya's care for Dazai. Chuuya's behavior towards Dazai is much more crude and vulgar, but that does not mean that Chuuya doesn't care for Dazai, infact Chuuya cares a whole lot for him. Back then, Chuuya did not want to accept it. He did not want to accept that he cared for the person who he wanted to see as "inhuman" so badly.

Even though Chuuya "hated" him when they were in the pm, he felt close to Dazai, he felt so close to him to the point he truly trusts him with corruption and with battle strategies.

Chuuya defiently held a lot of care for Dazai in the pm but he never took the time to think or even realize his care. I would like to say that Chuuya's care was instincitve. Chuuya never hesitates to save Dazai, there was never an ulterior motive to save him, he just dives in without a question.

My favorite example to show when it comes to Chuuya's instinctive care will always be in stormbringer, code 4:

"So that's how it is..." Dazai said as he stared back at the black lump with a stern expression on his face.

Cracks appeared on the ground. Something that looked like the head of a reptile pooked out of the lump.

"Watch out!" Chuuya jumped to the side by manipulating gravity and grabbed Dazai, rolling over to the woods.

Chuuya did not even think twice of pulling Dazai away from harm. Chuuya didn't hesitate at all. The reason for that is simple, he cares. He just doesn't want to accept it nor acknowledge it.

Another perfect example of Chuuya's care when they were back in the pm is the whole microscope situation in the dragon head conflict. Its quite funny how a minute before realizing Dazai's plan, Chuuya told Mori how Dazai is better off dead, but the moment he realize that there was a chance to get Dazai and his own friends out of Shibusawa's mess, he did not overthink it at all and quickly goes over to help Dazai.

So my point is Chuuya was so focused on his own self-proyecting towards Dazai to even realize he cares for him. But that all changes the night Dazai leaves the pm.

The next think I will be discussing about is something that I have talked about on my last previous posts, so if you want a more detailed explanation about this you can go read them. (for some reason I can't link my own posts but they aren't hard to find!)

But anyways, Chuuya has lost so many significant people in his life, he's either been betrayed by them or they die. Dazai has been such a constant person in Chuuya's life and I believe that Chuuya didn't really acknowledge that, maybe he did realize in some sort of subconcious level, hence why he always is instinctively protective over Dazai when he's in real danger.

It was actually Dazai's departure when it hit Chuuya that he indeed does care for Dazai. It was the moment when he realized how wierd it feels to have that one person who stuck with you since you first entered the pm to suddendly disappear.

I think everyone in this fandom can agree that Chuuya was hurt by Dazai leaving without any explanation, even Asagiri confirmed this in the afterwards of stormbringer by saying that Chuuya's feelings towards Dazai leaving the pm haven't been fully revealed yet, and I think its pretty evident by Chuuya's expression when he mentions Dazai's departure, he wasn't happy about it at all.

It was Dazai's departure that wierdly enough strenghtened Soukoku's bond from Chuuya's end. Sure, Chuuya holds a lot of grudge and resentment towards Dazai for leaving, but Dazai has also been the only person in his life who was able to leave and come back, and not only just "come back" but both of them also managed to mantain the same partnership and bond they've shared for years.

When they see each other in the basement, Chuuya chooses to let him go. He could've restrained him to give Dazai a harder time, especially if we consider the fact that Dazai literally "betrayed" the pm– betraying Chuuya to an extension. But Chuuya lets him go, because he doesn't want him to actually die.

Chuuya could've also shown a way stronger resolve when it came to fighting Dazai in the basement, but he doesn't. He lets Dazai "harass" him back. He even goes as far as to humilate himself to make Dazai laugh.

There was literally no reason whatsoever for Chuuya to do this. It was just a sublte bonding moment between the two.

In the lovecraft battle, Chuuya was being so open about his trust for Dazai. These two always have this "actions speaks louder than words" thing going on but I think that Dazai really needed that reassurence, Dazai needed that reassurence that Chuuya still trusts him even after leaving him, he needed that reassurence that Chuuya trusts him.

Back when both were in the pm days, Chuuya would've never said this outloud. Ever. But now that he actually realized how important Dazai is to him so he can't help but say it out loud, to show that vulnerable side of him. Even when he believes that theres a posibility Dazai doesn't care back.

I literally love this "light punch to the chest" gesture, its so subtle yet so sweet. Showing us how although they both are in opossing sides now, they will always find a way to keep their partnership and bond. This little punch screams "I still see you as a partner and that's not changing you idiot" and I love that so much.

And then of course, we can talk about Dead Apple and how much trust Chuuya puts into Dazai and his strategies. We even have Chuuya admiting to trusting his vitality and craftiness. Chuuya trusts Dazai so much to the point he used corruption with the faith that Dazai will nullify it, even when everyone deemed Dazai dead.

These two truly treasure each other and especially their feelings towards each other. It's so intimate, it's so familiar and it's so bittersweet.

[sawadasora]

How are all my soukoku fans who read the latest bsd chapter doing?

Not to sound dramatic but these 3 pages were hard for me to digest... In a good way and in a bad way.

First of all, lets take into account what Dazai is saying here because honestly it was very shooking to see Dazai saying something so vulnerable about his relationship with Chuuya.

Dazai admits his connection with Chuuya, he admits how their hearts have reached out to each other multiple times.

Lets process this for a second... Dazai is actually being verbally honest and vulnerable over Chuuya....

I would also love to mention the irony of Dazai literally remenicing on emotional moments he shared with Chuuya before saying that there wasn't any of those moments to begin with... He was mentally contradicting himself here.

Personally, I found the moments Dazai was looking back on really interesting:

When Dazai tells Chuuya that if he uses corruption he will never be able to find out if hes truly human and Dazai telling Chuuya that he doesn't have to use corruption if he doesn't want to. (stormbringer LN)

When Chuuya and Dazai held hands which was basically the start of their partnership. (fifthteen LN and anime)

When Chuuya lets Dazai go when he was restrained in the basement, it was also the first time Chuuya and Dazai had seen each other for the first time in years. (bsd manga)

When Chuuya saves Dazai with corruption. (Dead apple movie, manga and LN)

Dazai telling Chuuya that they have to use corruption to defeat lovecraft. (bsd manga)

Dazai nullifying corruption after defeating lovecraft. (bsd manga)

So all the moments mentioned above are instances when these two connected with far more than just words. Like Dazai himself said, their hearts reached out to each other.

Lets also take note of Dazai's facial expressions. Dazai looks genuienly upset over this, look at his frown and slight pause right after saying goodbye to Chuuya.

Look at his eyes right after he thinks of those moments when their connection went further than just a petty rivalry.

Then theres Dazai's facial expression in that last pannel, that smile is probably the fakest smile i've ever seen adorn on Dazai's face. Its just.... So obviously exaggerated.

Dazai is not taking pleasure in doing this to Chuuya. Towards the end its really clear that this is some sort of act to cover up his emotions since he just revealed a very vulnerable part of him.

For the people thinking that Dazai is genuienly meaning and trying to get Chuuya killed here surely underestimate how strong their bond and partnership is.

I firmly believe that Dazai definetly has a plan or some sort of idea to get Chuuya out of this mess. (take note of Chuuya's face in the first picture and look at his eyes and teeth, he doesn't look like a vampire anymore.)

Maybe...just maybe... Dazai is apologizing to Chuuya because the redhead will have no choice but to use corruption to get out of this. But thats just a small theory from my end.

I may struggle fully trusting Dazai, but I do trust his bond with Chuuya. I know he would never leave Chuuya to die like that, not after everything they've gone through together.

I wonder if my dear friend @ryuuaka713 has any thoughts regarding this, they always have some of the best soukoku takes! :D

[sawadasora]

People who think Dazai is going to actually kill Chuuya not only underestimate Soukoku, but also underestimate Fydoor a lot.

Do y'all really think that Fydoor ONLY choose Chuuya as his asset because of his strenght? Because if you think thats the case, you are wrong.

Fydoor choose Chuuya because he is smart enough to detect the emotional impact our redhead has on Dazai.

Just look at Dazai's words when he realizes Fydoor is using Chuuya. He even calls him a bastard for this.

Because this "despicable card" is not just for Fydoor to have physcial power over him, but also to mentally and emotionally toll with Dazai.

Fydoor knows that Dazai will prioritize Chuuya over escaping the prision. Lets not forget that Dazai has prioritized Chuuya over a mission mulitple times.

A clear example of this is in Stormbringer:

Inside Dazai's head, he was planning a procedure to swith to an alternative plan in case Chuuya refused, at a tremendous speed.

Yes...while the whole world was in mortal danger Dazai still took his time to prioritize his partners wellbeing whille trying to come up with another plan that wouldn't affect Chuuya.

Also I just know that if Chuuya wasn't that much of an important person to Dazai, the brunnete would've exploited Chuuya's powers long ago just to get a mission over with.

But he doesn't exploit him. Not only because Dazai cares. But also because they are both equals to one another.

With all this being said, Fydoor is using Chuuya as a possible distraction for Dazai.

Now that Chuuya is a vampire, its likely that Dazai wants to find a way to change him back to normal so that he will no longer be in Fydoor's clutches. (It would also be benificial to Dazai since Chuuya will be on his side if he does turn back to normal.)

With that being said, I think its highly likely that Dazai's current plan is to turn Chuuya back into a human.

Dazai didn't just trap Chuuya and Fydoor there to drown them. He trapped them there to trigger something in Chuuya and make him human again.

And I think its working! Look at Chuuya's eyes in the first pannel and Chuuya's eyes on the second one.

I can't be the only one who is able to spot the difference here. Chuuya's face looks significantly human in the 2nd picture.

Dazai doesn't genuienly want to kill Chuuya. I think that Dazai most likely knew that keeping him confined in that place while triggering Chuuya's emotions with memories of his friendship would make him turn back to normal.

And the only way Chuuya can get out of that confined area is by using corruption. And we all know how both Dazai and Chuuya feel about using corruption so I think thats why Dazai is very apolagetic about all this.

Take note of Dazai's choice of words here: "Its unfortunate that it had to come to this" isn't that a wierd way of wording a goodbye to a friend? I think if Dazai was being genuiene over Chuuya dying then he would say that its a shame that it had to end that way.

But it won't. It won't end. Atleast not yet. Dazai is just sorry that Chuuya is trapped in a situation where he has no choice but to use corruption.

All in all, this whole situation will change their dynamic a lot. Especially now that Dazai was more verbally vulnerable about his dynamic with Chuuya than he has ever been throughout the story.

I cannot wait for the next chapter to see what will happen! Lets keep trusting soukokus partnership and know that these two will get through this one.

[sawadasora]

Shin Soukoku: The new generation of Double Black

This is my 3rd Bungou Stray Dogs post in a row, the brainrot is strong in this one.

This isn't necessairly a ship post, it's just dedicated to their dynamic in general! Take this as you wish<3

WARNING: MAJOR BSD MANGA SPOILERS (chapters 83-88) DON'T READ FURTHER IF YOU HAVEN'T GOTTEN THERE YET!!

In this post I will be talking about Shin Soukoku because I personally feel that people don't talk about these two enough.

As we all here know, Atsushi and Akutagawa's relationship is one of the most important ones in the series, mirroring Chuuya and Dazai's relationship.

One could argue that although Soukoku and Shin Soukoku are supposed to be parallels, these two dynamics are very different from each other.

I believe that something that ssk lacks is trust. Atsushi does not trust Akutagawa, even when they are teaming up together Atsushi can't help but feel wary around him.

It's the complete opposite of Soukoku since both Dazai and Chuuya have a partnership that is based on pure trust where both of them are capable of leaving each other's life on the other's hand without a second thought.

Trust is very important in a partnership since there will be times were one of them will have to take life-risking choices while having confidence that their partner will save them.

Fukuchi even points out that if Atsushi and Akutagawa had more trust in each other, he would've been defeated.

In the following pannel, Atsushi is reflecting on Fukuchi's words and you can see how he still struggles when it comes to being able to fully trust Akutagawa, which is understanable considering the latter has tried to kill him countless of times.

It is clear that they have a long way to go to be able to perfectly mold into the 2nd "Double Black". One important step towards growth is for them to start trusting one another.

But just because these two lack trust in each other doesn't mean their dynamic hasn't improved.

These manga pannels show us two things:

Atsushi is having a relazation about Akutagawa as a person, he isn't as bad as he paints him up to be. It literally helps Atsushi get a clearer picture of him since Atsushi has always had a very clouded view of Akutagawa.

Akutagawa kept his word and actually took in what Atsushi had said about not killing people. Atsushi's words impacted Akutagawa and affected him in its own positive way.

To give context behind this pannel: Fukuchi was intending to pin both Atsushi and Akutagawa against each other, more specifically, he wanted Akutagawa to get rid of Atsushi.

Akutagawa put up an act, he started acting as if he was going to kill Atsushi when in reality that wasn't his intention at all.

Akutagawa keeps up with his act, he knows that Atsushi won't be able to "fight" him unless he is fuled by something, and in this case it was by compassion. Atsushi's compassion.

The moment Akutagawa mentioned his lung condition and how he wants to fullfill his goal of killing/defeating Atsushi therefore making Dazai proud before dying, Atsushi did not hesitate to stand up and put up a fight.

Obviously, Atsushi was not aware that Akutagawa didn't want to truly kill him and that it was just a part of his plan.

There are major things to unpack here:

Akutagawa has vowed countless of times that he was going to kill Atsushi, and now that he literally had the perfect opportunity to do so, he deviced a plan to do quite the opposite.

Atsushi was willing to comply with Aku's wishes due to the fact that he has come to an understanding of Akutagawa as a person.

Akutagawa knew exactly what to say to fuel Atsushi into "fighting" him.

They both have come to a mutual understanding. That is a significant step for their dynamic to become stronger.

Unlike Chuuya and Dazai, these two lack balance.

When it comes to Soukoku, Dazai is the one who comes up with the plans while Chuuya is more of a fighter.

(That doesn't mean Chuuya doesn't contribute with the plans but its obvious his talent is focused on combat, same could be said for Dazai, he is a pretty good fighter but his talent is centered around strategies.)

Now I believe that Shin Soukoku shares Chuuya's strenght and combat abilities. Both Atsushi and Akutagawa have been able to defeat their enemies by merging their abilities together.

But when it comes to creating strategies... They aren't the best...

Of course it's going to be difficult for them to even be at the same intellect level as Dazai's, so I don't blame them for struggling.

It has been shown that Akutagawa has the skills to become a good strategist, his overbearing emotions are what eventually holds him back.

That's exactly what Atsushi is there for though. If Atsushi was able to influence Akutagawa into making him stop killing people for 6 months, Atsushi will most likely be able to guide Akutagawa into keeping his emotions in cheek during missions.

Sigh...

Dazai, you intelligent bastard.

Of course Akutagawa saved Atsushi.

He cares for him after all.

Atsushi, if only you knew how much meaning Akutagawa's sacrifice truly holds...

I really hope that Akutagawa will be able to survive this one since in my personal opinion there is still a lot of development and progress left for not only Akutagawa's character, but also for his dynamic with Atsushi.

This won't be the end of their dynamic.

Thank you for reading, I am incredibly thankful<3

[sawadasora]

Newsflash: Dazai cares for Chuuya

Before reading any further, I will be talking about stormbringer, so spoilers ahead!! Translation credits go out to: @popopretty on tumblr, make sure to give this kind human some love and appreciation<3

Also if you want to read the first few chapters of stormbringer: @buraihatranslations is currently translating it, give them much love and appreciation as well, they deserve it!!

Honestly, I have been so obsessed with Soukoku lately and I think the reason behind this is because when it comes to Soukoku, their feelings for each other are not as easy to grasp as love or hate, it is much more profound than that. There is care, hurt, trust, resentment, companionship, bitterness, and consideration...And ironically enough, thats just the tip of the iceberg.

If we break down their individual feelings towards each other, it will be easier to understand their bond.

On Chuuya's end, his feelings are much more clear due to his expressive personality. He wears his emotions on his sleeves, he can try and hide what he feels towards Dazai but his true feelings tend to unravel easily.

He sometimes tries to mask his feelings towards Dazai by throwing insults, but his facial expressions are enough to contradict what he is saying.

Chuuya's feelings towards Dazai can be easier to comprehend. He obviously feels this certain betrayal due to the fact Dazai left the Port Mafia. Not to mention, he and Dazai have always had a rivalry relationship.

In the Soukoku wiki page, it is stated that Chuuya is aware of Dazai not experiencing a proper childhood, therefore allows him to act as childish as he can and lets him tease him relentlessly. I don't know how reliable this source is, but either way I think its worthy enough to add.

In the Dragon head conflict when Dazai was out of sight, Chuuya told Mori to forget about Dazai. That was until Hirotsu mentioned a microscope, Chuuya quickly realizes it was code language because he remembered a previous conversation where Dazai says he needs a microscope to be able to see Chuuya properly.

The moment he figured out it was a tracker, Chuuya did not hesitate to jump in and rescue Dazai. But here is the catch: No one but Chuuya knew about the microscope, if Chuuya really didn't care for Dazai he wouldn't have mentioned the microscope and kept all this under wraps, leaving Dazai in a mess.

Chuuya trusts Dazai with his life. He never hesitates to leave his life on Dazai's hands when it has to come to it. Chuuya and Dazai have known each other for years, for Chuuya to be able to trust Dazai that much is because Dazai also cares for him too, right?

The answer here is yes, Dazai cares for Chuuya. In a superficial level, it doesn't seem like Dazai truly cares, but I can assure you that he does care for him. Weather you like to think of his care in a platonic or romantic manner, the care Dazai has for Chuuya is undeniable and extremely significant for Dazai's character.

I think that stormbringer establishes this idea even further. There is one specific moment in this light novel that shows his genuine concern towards Chuuya's well being:

"There is one problem." Dazai cut off his sentence hesitantly. "It has nothing to do with the sucess rate of the plan. It is a matter we have to overcome in the end but... It may require some time to decide."

"What's with you?" Chuuya raised his eyebrows at Dazai. "Stop dramatizing it. Just hurry up and say it."

"I said earlier about this control spell to open the 'gate' that is used to reset the command inside Chuuya, right?" Dazai spoke with a strangely restrained voice. "If we use that, the logs of the command formula that were written in the past will be erased. That means...even if the memory erasure was used on Chuuya in the past, the traces of that will be erased as well."

"What?"

"I told you before right, the memory erasure command. The only way we can confirm if Chuuya is human or not is to check the history to see if the memory erasure command was ever used. It means..." Dazai looked at Chuuya with eyes that he had never looked at him before. Those eyes were serious. "If we use that control spell, the method to confirm if Chuuya is an artificial personality created by a string of code, or just a normal human being, will be lost. For good."

The time had stopped.

Chuuya opened his eyes and looked towards Dazai but his eyes were not seeing anything. The wind blew between the two of them. Even so, Chuuya did not blink.

"Verlaine became like that because he was tormented by the curse that he was not human. That only is enough of a big problem. The matter of being human or not." Dazai looked at his pocket watch, gave it a glance and continued. "I can delay the time until the plan starts for about two minutes. I will send an order for my men to wait... You can think about it alone for a while. Cuz I guess its hard for you to collect your thoughts with me around."

Having said so, Dazai turned away and walked down the stairs, leaving Chuuya alone.

Dazai fixated in his pocket watch. Two more minutes. Too short for a life decision. But he couldn't afford more than that.

Inside Dazai's head, he was planning a procedure to swith to an alternative plan in case Chuuya refused, at a tremendous speed.

This section in stormbringer is personally one of my favorites, this is a very rare moment between both of them, but especially for Dazai. Like I stated earlier Chuuya wears his emotions on his sleeves, therefore even if he tries to mask his care with insults, its still painfully noticable that he genuienly looks after Dazai. Chuuya also sometimes show a vulnerable side of himself to Dazai, especially after using corruption.

Dazai on the other hand is extremely unreadable. Its hard to understand his true intentions and if he really cares for people or only sees them as a pawn. In this moment though, Dazai was being painfully genuine. Dazai literally prioritized Chuuya over the mission. He was already thinking of coming up with an alternative plan just in case Chuuya refused, obviously the sucess rate of the alternative plan would be lesser than the actual plan Dazai had in mind, he choose Chuuya's wellbeing over a mission.

In this section, Dazai wasn't throwing jokes or witty remarks, he was being serious. Because Dazai knows how desperately Chuuya wants to be human. He knows how important being human is to Chuuya.

Dazai wasn't manipulating Chuuya by giving him the chance to decide, we can see that Dazai was literally showing a lot of hesitation when mentioning this to him, we also get to see what Dazai was thinking, and we can tell he wasn't thinking about manipulative his movements in any way. All of this wasn't coming out of manipulation, it was coming out of pure care.

After six steps, Dazai reached the stair. He stepped on the stair and started walking down. Three steps down the stair, he heard a *clang*, a cool sound of metal echoing behind him. It sounded like the metal was kicked by the sole of someones shoes. The moment Dazai realized what the sound was, Dazai turned around in surprise.

There was already no one at the top.

Dazai was dazed for a moment, then he loosened his lips and laughed.

"Trying to act cool, huh?" Dazai smiled, both annoyed and relieved. Then he turned on his radio and sent out his order. "Chuuya has sallied, everyone get ready for battle."

I personally love this part so much, relief washed over Dazai the moment he noticed that Chuuya was going to go through with the first plan, which proves my point that he wasn't manipulating him and how Dazai was under a lot of stress because he wasn't sure if the alternative plan would be as effective as his original one.

Yet he still was willing to go through the alternative plan if Chuuya refused, because Dazai values him and regards his wellbeing.

Dazai was being surprisingly gentle in this section, he was being honest. There was no ulterior motive behind his actions here, just a boy looking after his partner.

"So i'm going to send an order to my men to prepare for action... Is that okay?"

"Of course it's okay." Chuuya turned to Dazai. "Why are you asking me such a thing?"

Dazai didn't answer right away.

That was an unusual expression. It's like he was trying to say something, but he had to arrange the words in his head to decide where he should start. An expression he rarely shows.

This was right before Dazai drops the bomb to Chuuya about the memory erasure command. He was even asking for Chuuya's opinion on sending his men to get ready, this was the first time Dazai ever showed actual concern without masking it with witty remarks. You can tell that Chuuya isn't used to this.

And when you think about it, when Dazai and Chuuya have missions together, Dazai always uses corruption as a last resort and he always allows Chuuya to make the decision if they will be using it or not.

I personally belive that the main reason Chuuya trusts Dazai with using corruption is because The Sheep used to exploit his powers too much, but Dazai leaves the decision to use corruption up to Chuuya. Dazai understands the physical and mental toll corruption takes on Chuuya and therefore leaves the choice up to him.

Theres another section in stormbringer that I really enjoy, it doesn't necessairly show solicitude but I still think this should still be taken into consideration:

"You seem pretty confident that Chuuya is human, don't you?"

"I am," Dazai laughed with a sigh. "There is no way a man-made code could create such a personality that I detest so much."

Throughout the whole story, Dazai is more than determined that Chuuya is human. The main reason Dazai finds Chuuya so intresting is because of how frighteningly human Chuuya can be, because of the fact that he always wears his emotions on his sleeves, something Dazai rarely does himself. Thats personally a nice sentiment from Dazai's end, even when Chuuya struggles completely when it comes to believing in his own humanity, Dazai still can't help but see him as a human being.

Also I am aware that Dazai literally said he detests Chuuya here but he also sighed and laughed while stating this, showing us that he isn't being serious about hating him.

And its not only in stormbringer were he shows his concern towards Chuuya. In fact, in this following manga pannel Dazai is telling Chuuya that if he is willing to listen him, he will stage his own escape so that Chuuya doesn't get punnished.

Honestly, if Dazai didn't care enough for Chuuya, he wouldn't have mentioned this to him. Chuuya didn't care enough to realize that he literally unwillingly freed Dazai which would get the pm mad at him, so the fact that Dazai is literally helping him out is no doubt out of care for him. If Dazai didn't have any regard for Chuuya he would've not staged his escape or mentioned anything to Chuuya, eventually incriminating him.

There are many misconceptions when it comes to Dazai's feelings towards Chuuya, people think that he doesn't care for him due to the fact that he left the Port Mafia, leaving Chuuya behind. But heres the thing: Dazai's intentions had nothing to do with Chuuya. He left the organization for his own good, he left it to fullfill Oda's wish.

"If Dazai cared for Chuuya then why didn't he take Chuuya with him?" the reason is simple, he knows how much the PM means to Chuuya. In stormbringer it is shown that Chuuya feels as if his humanity is attached to the people he is loyal to, in this case its the port mafia. Verlaine wanted to get rid of the pm because he believed that the pm is what kept Chuuya's humanity, eventually making Chuuya believe that he is only human if he stays loyal to the pm. Dazai knows this. Thats exactly why he didn't take Chuuya with him or even explains to Chuuya why he left, he knows it would be selfish to basically rip Chuuya's sense of humanity apart.

I have a feeling that if Dazai told Chuuya about the real reason he left the Port Mafia, Chuuya will not only feel conflicted about being in the pm, but he would also have an inner conflict with himself as a human.

People also think Dazai may not really care for him because of the fact that after the fight against Lovecraft he actualy deserted him, maybe that part was truly just supposed to be seen as simple humor, but either way I want to talk about it. Chuuya's only request to Dazai was to take him back to base safe, so why did Dazai leave Chuuya behind?

I mean he has carried Chuuya back to saftey before with no problem, for example in stormbringer when Chuuya uses corruption for the first time Dazai carries him back to the billiards bar and not to the mafia’s base so that he could say goodbye to his passing friends.

The reson behind this is because Mori needs to know that unlike Dazai, Chuuya is absolutely loyal to him. Leaving Chuuya the way he did will make Mori believe that these two really are at each others throats and that Dazai is insignificant to Chuuya. Making it seem that for Chuuya, the mafia comes first before anything else.

Therefore Dazai established Chuuya's saftey within the mafia since not only does Mori want these two to be hostile with each other, he doesn't want Chuuya to eventually turn against him if he truly found out more about Dazai's true reason of departure. Then again, this isn't canon but it is a logical assumption.

Not to mention that although Dazai did leave him behind, he folded Chuuya's coat and hat before taking his leave. There is also an an extra chapter where Ozaki Kouyou was talking with Chuuya but when he left he forgot his coat, which made Kouyou came across the coat; where she noticed a badge sewed inside saying "Name: Hatrack", she smiled fondly thinking to herself that some things just never change, in this case, Dazai and Chuuya's bond.

Dazai literally took his time to sew this into his coat just to tease him, it was a simple gesture but it shows us how their dynamic will never change. No matter what these two go through, they will always share a bond that consists on teasing, trust and underlying care.

All of this actually makes that theory of Dazai planting a bomb under Chuuya's car for the sole reason that the PM doesn't find Chuuya as an acomplice who aided Dazai on his escape much more feasable.

For Dazai to just plant a bomb under Chuuya's car with no motive makes no sense because if Dazai's true intentions were to simply mess with Chuuya, he would've most likely made it clear at that time. Dazai always has an underlying motive behind his actions, and in this case it is very likely that he did that for Chuuya's sake.

Don't get me wrong, I am aware that the bomb incident could've just been a comedic moment and I shouldn't look too much into it, but there is still a posibility, right?

These two hold so much trust and care for one another, yet they also hold a lot of bitterness and resentment. In the end the good aspects of their dynamic outweighs the bad.

Either you see these two in a platonic or romantic way, you can't tell me that their bond isn't significant.

Thank you so much for reading!! I wanted to talk about this for a while because I feel like people misinterpret Dazai's feelings towards Chuuya a lot so I hope this clears up things a bit<3

[sawadasora]

[bsd 15 manga spoilers] Here we are!!! bsd 15 manga chapter 5 fully translated!!

This chapter was so fun i love these two so much, also, thank you all for the encouragement!!! <333

Here are the links (i almost forgot them help)

[sawadasora]

As the whole fandom is getting crazy over Season 4 and BEAST's new movie trailer, I feel the need to top it with this beautiful new art from Harukawa35-sensei for the 5th anniversary event!

Scanned from the bonus notebook for people who purchase the event's goods.

PLEASE DON'T REUPLOAD IT ANYWHERE OUT OF TUMBLR.

[sawadasora]

Bungou Strays Dogs gets animation movie and stage play adaptation

Manga and anime licence “Bungou Strays Dogs” will receive a movie featuring a new story. The manga series is drawn by Kafka Asagiri and Harukawa35 since 2012. The anime, made by popular studio Bones, aired in two 12-episodes arcs, respectively in spring and fall seasons of 2016. The …

Read more on aramajapan.com

[sawadasora]

“Given my lack of experience, if my books were taken away from me, I would be utterly devastated. That’s how much I depend on what’s written in books. I’ll read one book and be completely wild about it - I’ll trust it, I’ll assimilate it, I’ll sympathize with it, I’ll try to make it a part of my life. Then, I’ll read another book and instantly, I’ll switch over to that one.”

—  Dazai Osamu, Schoolgirl

“He read the novel over and over again in the dim glow of the lamp. And even when the book wasn’t open before him, he was imagining scenes from it…Imagining? His imaginings were even realer than reality to him… but he had gone on endlessly laughing and crying over books. Each was a kind of transformation for him… . [He] thus quite naturally learned everything he knew from books - or at least there was nothing he knew that didn’t owe something to books.”

— Akutagawa Ryūnosuke, “Daidoji Shinsuke: The Early Years”

“I think we ought to read only the kind of books that wound or stab us. If the book we’re reading doesn’t wake us up with a blow to the head, what are we reading for? So that it will make us happy, as you write? Good Lord, we would be happy precisely if we had no books, and the kind of books that make us happy are the kind we could write ourselves if we had to. But we need books that affect us like a disaster, that grieve us deeply, like the death of someone we loved more than ourselves, like being banished into forests far from everyone, like a suicide. A book must be the axe for the frozen sea within us. That is my belief.”

— Franz Kafka

[sawadasora]

「My favorite scene of 「Dazai, Chuya, Fifteen」was when that scene from Vol. 8 of the comic is reproduced, I felt deeply emotional when I drew it」

A Harukawa35 interview Spoon.2Di vol.49

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