#Anti-Dazai Series

[anti-dazai-blog]

30-31- Kunikida and Chuuya should start a Dazai-specific group therapy (and other complaints)

Welcome back to the Anti-Dazai Series!!

Please forgive the month-long unplanned hiatus, I’ve been having a very eventful life lately. But the Anti-Dazai Series isn’t dead, it’s just taking longer to create than I originally thought it would. 

Then again, I say that same line every time I post. 

Regardless, I’m here and I have some stuff to say about Dazai. So moving on to what you all came here for:

——————————

After the Guild nearly destroyed Yokohama, the agency is working their hardest to get things back in order. Dazai, as per usual, is not helping. 

Kunikida asks him to do his actual job for once. As expected, Dazai refuses and deflects. It’s then revealed that Dazai was involved in arranging a secret meeting with the boss of the Port Mafia. Kunikida is surprised by this, and asks Dazai why he of all people would be involved in arranging such a thing. Dazai reveals in the most offhanded way possible that he used to work for the Port Mafia, and that Kunikida is the last in the agency to be made aware of that fact.

Now, why does Dazai do this? There are a number of potential reasons, and I’m not satisfied that I’ve reached the right one. Revealing something like this accomplishes a few things; it increases Kunikida’s stress, it makes him feel excluded from the rest of the agency, it enforces the idea that Dazai is “mysterious” and there are many things he doesn’t know about him, it enforces the idea that Kunikida “isn’t as perceptive” as the rest of the agency (in quotation marks to stop people from reading it as a true statement in and of itself), it enforces the idea that Dazai’s “more comfortable telling personal information to the rest of the agency than Kunikida” (in quotation marks for the same reason), and lastly, it’s a subtle way of introducing the idea that Dazai talks to people casually during their breaks or off hours, and Kunikida doesn’t take breaks, so he never would get around to having these casual conversations.

Note that all of those potential reasons are specifically directed towards Kunikida (meaning they could be potential take-aways Dazai wants Kunikida to have from this exchange), and none are true general statements. 

Regardless, the one that feels most accurate to the rest of Dazai’s portrayal is his insistence on portraying himself as “mysterious”. This specific way of going about is clearly ideal, given the above list of potential take-aways and how while Dazai may have intended this exchange to have the outcome of making him appear more mysterious, Kunikida’s take-away could have been anything else on that list (or a secret bonus item I didn’t think of). 

Hopefully Kunikida didn’t overthink this two minute exchange as much as I did. However, I’m obligated to include that (for comedic purposes) Kunikida does pass out from stress at the end of this conversation.

———

The conclusion of the Agency and Mafia’s meeting results in a refusal to agree to an alliance or ceasefire, due to such an agreement being a prisoner’s dilemma. If one side chooses to follow the agreement while the other chooses to break it, only the dishonest side will benefit, and there are no third parties to hold them accountable. 

However, Mori has his own plan; to do the agency a favor in advance, and have them pay him back later. As he’s aware that Dazai will be walking straight into a Guild ambush later that night on his quest to retrieve Q, he decides to send Chuuya to ensure the success of this retrieval mission. 

And here’s where this analysis post becomes a speedrun of every minorly rude thing Dazai might have done—

1—I’m not even gonna get into what was going on with him bombing Chuuya’s car four years prior to this. Did Chuuya genuinely not know it was Dazai? It would make a surprising amount of sense if he didn’t know, since bombing a car doesn’t fit Dazai’s M.O. at all, but I can get into that another time.

2—Instead of just outright insulting Chuuya’s fashion sense, he pretends to compliment him and then takes it back, which is slightly ruder and more hurtful than a direct insult. (was he checking for Chuuya’s reaction to a supposed compliment? Based on how Chuuya reacted, we can assume this wasn’t a standard Way of Messing With Him that Dazai used to do in Mafia days. Was he just testing something new?)

3—Not only did he steal Chuuya’s knife, but he asked Chuuya if he could borrow it AFTER stealing it, to cause him the extra stress of looking for it just to see it’s not there. (Most likely he was checking if Chuuya would agree to lend it to him or not, and on the possibility Chuuya refused, he’d have it anyway. Regardless, that moment of panic when you think you’ve lost something you need was Not Worth It just to check that.)

And on the topic of that knife, let’s talk about what he does with it next. He puts it to Q’s throat and asks Chuuya if he’s going to stop him. Although he doesn’t end up going through with this threat, he did put a knife to the throat of an unconscious child just to, as per usual, test someone’s reaction to something. I do not need to explain how putting a knife to an unconscious child’s throat is not “just messing around.”

As he removes Q from John’s roots, he once again explains that Q needs to be alive to essentially “keep him in business.” So long as Q’s alive, he’ll be needed as a nullifier. 

I’ve mentioned this repeatedly and I’ll mention it again, every single time it comes up: Dazai has this habit of emphasizing his usefulness as a nullifier in front of people who rely on his nullification. Here, he refers to himself as “the ultimate safety device.” It’s no coincidence that so far the characters he most frequently brings this up in front of are Atsushi and Chuuya, both of whom are reliant on his ability to keep theirs in check. Dazai reinforces the idea that he is necessary, and just as the mafia needs to keep him alive because of Q, they equally need to keep him alive because of Chuuya.

4—Using Kunikida’s Q-induced PTSD hallucinations for his own personal entertainment is just. incredibly messed up. It’s one of those trademark Dazai Things that made me start this blog. It’s one of those things that’s entirely played off as funny but becomes disturbing when you think about it for more than a second. Someone is having a panic attack in front of you and you laugh at it and film them? Yeah no what the hell. And then brag about filming them afterwards. Look I know I’m fixating on one single line in the manga that Studio Bones didn’t consider significant enough to adapt. But look this guy is deeply messed up. Can we just acknowledge that for a second. Please.

5—Back to the actual petty complaints: After Chuuya was grabbed by Lovecraft, Dazai walks over and steps on the back of Chuuya’s head/ Chuuya’s hat. This is anywhere ranging from Kinda Rude to Could Be Sued (ha it rhymes) depending on how injured Chuuya got from Lovecraft tossing him around.

[Now, I’ll be counting the following insults as petty, but for most insults between Chuuya and Dazai I won’t be counting them as anything at all. I consider the standard back and forth that Chuuya and Dazai have going on to be immensely non-hostile, as in none of those insults have any real meaning, nor do either of them interpret any deeper meaning behind it. However, any isolated insult will be judged in and of itself.]

6—Dazai says “I hope your hat seizes your consciousness and kills you.”

In general, this would count as a petty insult. However, with the added context of Stormbringer, this falls into the same category as point 4 on this list of Petty Dazai Complaints. Played off as a joke, but is actually horrifying if you think about it for more than five seconds. HOWEVER, let’s keep in mind that this chapter was written long before Asagiri wrote Stormbringer, and he most likely wasn’t aware of the added lore he’d give Chuuya’s hat. So with that in mind, I won’t hold Dazai accountable for something that Asagiri wouldn’t know about. 

7—Pretending to be fatally injured just for the fun of watching Chuuya panic, immediately after Lovecraft morphed into his final form and had Chuuya semi-panicking already. I don’t know how to explain that that’s not the Fun Little Prank the anime makes it out to be.

And that’s it for my Petty Little Complaints, because now we’re up to Corruption.

I will be pointing out here that Dazai’s request for Chuuya to use Corruption immediately follows his Fun Little Prank of getting “fatally wounded”, which immediately followed Lovecraft revealing his true form. Keeping that in mind, it seems as though rather than subduing Chuuya’s stress after Lovecraft showed his true form, Dazai increased the stress instead. The anime really doesn’t do this scene justice, so if you’ve only seen it there I’d recommend reading this part of the manga. Lovecraft is massive. Lovecraft is horrifying. There’s no way anyone could make a rational, life or death decision when faced with something like him. 

The decision of whether or not to use corruption is not something that should be taken lightly. Yet Dazai decides to make things harder for Chuuya by convincing him that he’s about to die from fatal wounds, and after revealing it’s “just a prank”, choosing to speficially say “we should just give up and die” rather than saying “we may need to consider using corruption” or something along those lines. He puts the idea of death, both his and Chuuya’s, in front of them before pushing Chuuya to destroy himself for the sake of the mission. 

All in all, not a fan of the way Dazai presented this supposed choice to him.

{the usual addendum goes here that Dazai is often the audience’s source of exposition. Here as well, his specific way of presenting and talking about Corruption was more to inform the audience about how dangerous Corruption is, how it’s a final resort, and how Chuuya can die from using it. He talks about it in the manner he does because he needs to for the audience’s sake, so I’ll acknowledge that the whole time he’s saying “it’s so dangerous, you’ll die if I don’t stop you,” it’s directed more to the audience than Chuuya}

Now I’ve already gone on a rant about how Dazai leaving Chuuya alone, vulnerable, and unconscious in the middle of the forest at night is pretty messed up. That was actually the first post I’ve ever made about Dazai. So I won’t be repeating all that here. Rather, I’ll be linking the post here and pretending that that counts. If I don’t get this posted now I won’t be able to post it for another week, so I’ll be ending it abruptly here.

So. That’s that for this week’s entry of the Anti-Dazai Series!! Join us next time when Dazai does something else that I take issue with, as I always do, because that’s my job here on the Anti-Dazai Blog!! Thanks for reading, and enjoy the rest of your day!

[edettethegreat]

if you would make any other series besides the anti-dazai series, what series would it be?

I do have that pro-dazai series that I wanna get started on—I do plan on getting to it eventually—

[bsdtakanenohana]

If you hate Dazai so much. Stop. Fucking. Posting about him.

[moraymiso]

one bsd opinion you will absolutely defend with your LIFE?

mmm i have SO many but i feel like talking abt this one atm. it kinda turned into more of a pet peeve rant as i went along, dw, i will share plenty of die-hard takes for whoever u are anon…

strap in, this is a longer one 😭

i’ve seen this especially on reddit— skk antis getting their panties in a twist every time dazai is jokingly called gay, or when anything about the skk ship is mentioned. it happens EVERYWHERE for sure, but it’s… crazy over on reddit.

and you’re totally allowed to be annoyed when that’s all people boil him down to, you’re totally allowed to dislike mischaracterization, you’re totally allowed to hate a ship! but GODDD it specifically grinds my gears when people aren’t even giving worthwhile critiques and instead just try to insist “dazai is straight!”. there’s actually a very highly upvoted post on reddit compiling “evidence” of dazai being straight. it’s definitely not a well-meaning post, it’s absurd, and i wish i was kidding ;; i’ve seen SO many people go “he likes women, cuz this this and this! he’s straight!”

like…. y’all. addressing the elephant in the room: BISEXUAL PEOPLE EXIST?? i’m not even bi and it pisses me off that people seem to just ignore that there’s more on the table than just gay and straight. OBVIOUSLY dazai likes women. nobody is denying this?? why are you losing your marbles over there buddy?

BUT ON TOP OF THAT, it is heavily implied in his own works that the irl osamu dazai was bisexual, primarily describing his experience having a crush on a boy his age when he was teenager. obviously these characters in BSD are not 1 to 1 copies, but it feels massively disrespectful to the real author (who lived at a time where being open about his orientation was downright DANGEROUS) to immediately and vehemently insist that dazai is straight because he likes women.

personally, i believe dazai is meant to be coded or insinuated as bisexual in the series due to a number of reasons i’ll probably get into on a later date (not rlly related to ships btw!)— not everyone agrees, and that’s fine! you’re totally allowed to think he’s straight, dislike his ships, dislike when people oversimplify him etc, but it just drives me crazy when people get MEAN about it and go to insane lengths to try and have some weird gotcha moment every time someone mentions a ship or makes a joke.

tldr: chill out with ships and headcanons guys, please, it is never that deep. when we call dazai gay, or call bsd a gay series, we are not being serious. and i love bi dazai!!

remember: neither of these things are confirmed. you’re headcanoning that he’s straight as much as we’re headcanoning that he’s bisexual.

[obsidianstrawberrymilk]

Random bsd theories

Finished 113 and uh. Uh

The member of the Agency who's gonna get transferred to the PM will probably be Tanizaki, or Yosano. I know there was that whole deal Mori and Fukuzawa made but there's no reason for Mori to keep it, and Yosano being forced to work with the man who caused her trauma would be a very interesting arc. That said it's also been noted multiple times Tanizaki would make a good assassin and Asagiri flat out said he's the member of the ADA closest to evil, sooo-

Gin Akutagawa is going to get Rashoumon if Akutagawa is actually dead. I don't know if he is even after the vampirism but I think he should be, because it would finally give some stakes to this series bc no one has died before and it would make Fyodor as a threat matter. Anyway I think it would make sense if Gin were to get it, especially considering with Tachihara's current unknown state that's another reason to get her more involved with the plot.

Fyodor's not actually dead. There's no way he's been built up over the past 2/3 arcs to die like THAT.

Aya has an ability. What it is, I'm not sure, I know her irl author's most famous work is Nagareru, which I have not read, so maybe something to do with that?

Also, Higuchi is going to become important soon. Asagiri has confirmed she has an ability - I'm betting we're going to find out what it is soon. Especially if Akutagawa is actually dead, which again I think he is because otherwise all the buildup was wasted, I think she's gonna get an arc of her own soon.

Dazai is going to be forced to develop and it won't be pretty. I've seen notes that he's kinda regressing back into his 'Demon Prodigy mindset' from the healthier one he developed with the ADA in the earlier arcs, before Mori released Q, in order to protect himself and the ADA from threats like Fyodor - so he's been more willing to sacrifice people or colder with his plans. In order to get out of that spiral something is going to need to snap him out of it.

Oh speaking of that - Dazai is either the son or grandson of the Old Boss of the Port Mafia from before Mori took over. Explains why he was implied to have known the old boss, and why his ability is basically an anti-ability, if he was constantly around someone so unstable and had to protect himself.

The Order of the Clocktower are going to become new antagonists with Agatha Christie also playing a role. We already know she exists in the BSD verse and the potential for a character based on her as a villain is insane. I'm also thinking she could potentially be the actual 5th member of the Decay of Angels, considering Sigma has existed for all of 3 years and spent a lot of that time actively being human trafficked, yet the organization was clearly prominent for years before that.

[youroriginalsublimecupcakestuff]

After the battle with the decay of angel, chuuya burn out.

In order to help the mafia recuperate from the heavy loss that they suffered he had to take too many mission and work even harder than before, he end up so tired that his ability go out of control to the point that Mori have to order him to take a sick leave.

He remind him than he did an excellent acting job back at meursault that could even fool fyodor moreover it was a while that he though to put Mori corp in the entertainment industry ( with their first project being an odasaku man TV serie, chuuya-kun would be the perfect choice to voice him , he could already see the profit).

Chuuya still love fighting and still see the mafia as his family but he agree ( After being convinced by mori and all the others executive + hirotsu) that it's for best for him to take a break.

He agree for two reason : like that he could still be usefull to the port mafia even if he would be officially temporary retired but would still help if needed and it would honor Lippmann.

And it work well too well if you ask Mori in a rare what have i done moment when elise became a big fan , he quickly became really popular his merchandise sell like hot cakes .

The port mafia is really supportive of their favorite executive new carrer choice, but curiously the special merch commissioned by his fandom keep on mysteriously getting stolen.

The government decide to not do anything against it , after all it's better than him doing criminal activity ( and they all willfully ignore when they spot his merch ( tsujimura and ango being amongst those who possess his merch).

As for the agency, it drive dazai crazy but his secretly the president of the fan club ( and have stolen many merch) , Kenji and Naomi are fan ( even if he don't hold a candle to her dear brother to naomi) and Atsushi have a collection of his photos who feature akutagawa ryuunosuke in civilian clothes ( dazai reaction when he see them was : " Et tu , atsushi-kun ?").

Paparazzi and regular peoples keep taking photos of him with chuuya it got to the points when the akutagawa siblings and chuuya had to do a photo shoot and when pointed out that he look like the guy in the wanted poster, Yokohama citizen just shrug.

As for his collection in atsushi humble opinion , it's worth it to show it to akutagawa if he make this flustered face even if he had to lost a limb for that ( he's competiting with higuchi on who buy his photos and merchandise but sometimes gin beat them both, both siblings have acquired a fan club ( katai, tachihara, Verlaine and hirotsu being among the one who buy gin merch ( with all of them except katai also being part of chuuya fan club).

Dazai is both chuuya number one anti fan and his most ardent fanboy he's also on the opinions that no one should insult chuuya but him and the terror of all of chuuya's fan club, he's also a big fan of odasaku man ( like in wan) but pranked mori big time for what he see of profitting of odasaku even in death .

As for his fan club a bored fyodor who faked his death is amongst them , him and Nikolaï make watch party when they watch his movie together.

[simping-overload]

♡ ʙʟᴏɢ ʀᴜʟᴇꜱ + ʀᴇQᴜᴇꜱᴛ ɪɴꜰᴏ ♤

request are: CLOSED

commissions are: OPENED

characters that i write for

shows/movies

fate series: cu, gilgamesh, diarmuid, archer(shirou emiya), etc

bungo no stray dogs: yukichi fukuzawa, atsushi nakajima, doppo kunikida, isamu dazai, ranpo edogawa, chūya nakahara, ryūnosuke akutagawa, fyodor dostoevsky, etc

dungeon meshi: laios, chilchuck, marcelle, senshi, kabaru,

bnha: shouta aizawa, keigo takami, mirio togata, mirai sasaki, snipe, taishiro toyomitsu, tamaki amajiki, rumi usagiyama, etc

jujutsu kaisen:

trigun stampede: vash the stampede, nicholas d. wolfwood, knives millions

lego monkie kid: mk, macaque, sun wukong, red son, mayor, tang, huntsmen, syntax

blood of zeus: heron, ares, apollo, hermes,

spiderverse: miguel o'hara, peter b. parker, the spot/jonathan ohnn, spider noir

hazbin hotel: valentino, vox, husk, alastor

helluva boss: blitzø, stoles, asmodeus, frizz, stricker,

transformers prime: optimus prime, ratchet, bulkhead, bumblebee, wheeljack, megatron, starscream, knockout, breakdown, dreadwing, skyquake, predaking, soundwave, shockwave

transformers animated: optimus prime, ratchet, bulkhead, bumblebee, blurr, blitzwing, megatron, shockwave,

transformers bayverse: optimus prime, bumblebee, ironside, cross hair, drift, megatron, shockwave, soundwave,

games

modern warfare: john price, john "soap" mactavish, simon "ghost" riley, kyle "gaz" garrick, phillip graves, nikolai

destiny 2: cayde-6, banshee-44, osiris & saint-14, drifter, missraks, spider, varkis, shaxx, saladin, zavala

genshin impact: diluc, kaeya, kazuha, al haitham, kaveh, cyno, tighnari, zhongli, xiao, albedo, ayato, childe, itto, thoma, gorou, capitano, perrio, dottore

honkai: star rail: sampo, gepard, welt, dan heng, jing yuan, blade, kafka, himeko, natasha

undertale: grillby, gaster, sans, papyrus, ink, error, nightmare

undertale aus: underfell, underswap, swapfell, horrortale, outertale, mobtale, mafiafell

obey me: lucifer, satan, beelzebub, mammon, diavolo, barbatos, siemon

DNI if:

you're racist, homophoic, xenophobic, transphobic, misogynistic, misandrist, islamophobic, anti-semtic, are a pedophile/map/support pedophila/loli con enjoyers, pro-shippers. | under 13 yrs old | female or fem readers

i will write:

headcanons & fics

gn & male reader

fluff, angst, nsfw(COMMISSION ONLY)

tropes and aus

character × character

character x reader

non human reader and characters

omegaverse

polyamory

yan & darker stuff on @luvccm

i will not write

incest/pedophila

cheating

female reader

self harn/suicide

scat

[osarina]

wow tumblr is really anti civilian!dazai, it does NOT want this series posted

[renadactyl]

Introduction!

Hello! You can call me Ren or William and I go by he/they/it pronouns. I’m quite new to Tumblr so I do apologize for any mistakes I may make along the way while I get to know this social media. I’m a multi-fandom fanfiction author, and I’m always open to certain requests! Here’s some more about me so you know what fandoms I write for and what I will and won’t write:

Fandoms I’ll Write For

ANIME:

Moriarty the Patriot (favorite fandom)

Jujutsu Kaisen (fourth favorite fandom)

Neon Genesis Evangelion (fifth favorite fandom)

Bungou Stray Dogs

Spy x Family

Attack on Titan

Death Note

Haikyuu!

LIVE ACTION TV SHOWS/MOVIES:

BBC Sherlock (third favorite fandom)

Fleabag

The X Files

Game of Thrones

The Artful Dodger

VIDEO GAMES:

Genshin Impact

The Arcana (second favorite fandom) (still in the middle of playing all the routes, but I’m already obsessed)

BOOKS/BOOK SERIES:

Sherlock Holmes (series of short stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

MUSICALS:

Les Miserables

Sweeney Todd

Hamilton

Moulin Rouge

Cabaret

Be More Chill

“Will and Won’t”s

Will do angst, fluff, comfort, smut, whatever you can imagine. I’m willing to write incredibly graphic and intense works, but when it comes to smut, nothing too kinky. And please, although it shouldn’t even have to be said, do not request smut for characters under the age of eighteen (I won’t do aged up versions of minor characters either).

Will do almost any ship, but there are some ships I won’t write for, specifically abusive ships and ships including incest or ships with large age gaps. Other than that, I’m pretty open for even some of the most wildest ships. There’s also a few characters I may refuse to write certain types of fanfiction for because of personal reasons such as them being a triggering character for me (such as Asuka from NGE), me despising their character because they’re a disgusting person (such as Mori from BSD), and etcetera.

Will do character x reader works, polyamory “x reader” works, and other various forms of that genre. I’m fine with pretty much anything.

Will do works featuring mental disorders including depression, anxiety, autism, ADHD, etcetera. I’m very open to whatever and whatever headcanons you may want me to include!

Basic DNI/WON’TS including: racism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, pedophilia, sexism, anti-abortion… along those lines.

For more info on me, here are some little facts!

I have diagnosed autism, depression, and anxiety. I have undiagnosed ADHD.

I’m omni-pansexual and arospike.

I identify as a demiboy

I like to analyze characters a lot, resulting in plenty of essays on some of the characters from my favorite fandoms (especially BSD). If you ever want to request an analysis, that’s totally welcome too!

My top eight kins are William James Moriarty, Satoru Gojo, Julian Devorak, (BBC) Sherlock Holmes, Kaeya, Ranpo Edogawa, Fleabag, and Osamu Dazai.

My current top five favorite ships are Sherliam (from MTP), Kawoshin (from NGE), Satosugu (from JJK), Johnlock (from BBC Sherlock), and Asrian (from The Arcana).

I am unhealthily obsessed right now with The Arcana’s Asra.

[tricoloured-cat]

what better way to procrastinate than to write random stuff

reviewing the works that the abilities were based on

Part 1: Armed Detective Agency

I just realized that I've finally read all the works attributed to the abilities of the author's BSD counterparts, at least for the ADA. I plan to do this for all organizations in the BSD universe so I can direct my reading and actually finish something HAHA

DISCLAIMER: I am not an expert on literature, let alone Japanese literature, and my short reviews are solely my opinion as a casual reader. These are all for fun so please don't take these so seriously!

Nakajima Atsushi Ability: Beast Beneath the Moonlight Original Work: Moon Over the Mountain

This short story has the vibes of a folktale but with existential dread sprinkled throughout. The prose is calm but the agony still reverberates. I liked this more than I though I would, perhaps because of how clean it felt. Honestly this would be one of the OG works I'd recommend to a BSD fan who wants to try classic Japanese literature.

Dazai Osamu Ability/Original Work: No Longer Human

This is probably the one novel/work most BSD fans would pick up first - and for a good reason. The themes are pretty universal albeit heavy, the tone of the narrator throughout the entire novel is gripping, the translation by Donald Keene is very readable, and it's just in the most general sense a summary of Dazai-sensei's own life. The last point must be taken with a grain of salt, however, as he's a master liar - something you'll find out if you dig more into his life and other works. If you'd like to see depression in book form, this is for you.

Kunikida Doppo Ability: Doppo Poet Original Work: Doppo Collection (probably)

Here's a case of "I can't really find the original work so I'll be reviewing something else instead"

Reviewing: Those Unforgettable People

I chose to talk about this one since it's the one found in the Penguin Anthology. It's an interesting mix of forms: technically, it's a short story. However, the elements of poetry and even of the essay are present - mostly the latter, tbh. Of course the whole "ideal" thing is such a Kunikida-sensei thing that it appears it almost every story he wrote, yet somehow in this one you'll have to squint a little bit more to see it. The point of this story-essay-poem thing is at the very end (the first half is quite dragging imo) is what gives it a little oomph, but honestly I much prefer his other works (specifically Old Gen and Death).

Tanizaki Jun'ichirou Ability/Original Work: Sasameyuki

You like a slow burn? You like pain? Familial drama? Maybe you'll like this. Maybe you won't. It's a mammoth of a book that feels like a series of extremely detailed telenovela episodes - not that it's necessarily a bad thing. I enjoyed it despite the length because the way it ends, although hardly strong at all, ties the themes and messages of the novel cleanly into a single scene.

Miyazawa Kenji Ability/Original Work: Be Not Defeated by the Rain

It's a poem every Japanese elementary student would know. The message and style is so simple yet beautiful (I read Sulz's translation). It's joyful and so sunny... until I read the background on it. I cried over his work. Again. (Night on the Galactic Railroad PLS) Man I just love this author so much. But I'm not really a poem person to begin with, so take this review with a grain of salt HAHA

Yosano Akiko Ability/Original Work: Thou Shalt Not Die

The only complete translation I could find is written in painfully archaic English, so I won't comment on the style HAHA. But I do think the original was just as pointed in its words and message; its anti-war sentiments and middle finger to the Japanese emperor and military (at the time) so characteristically Yosano-sensei. It's sad she'd support WW2 later on - come on sensei WHY

Personally, however, I prefer her shorter poems, specifically the ones from River of Stars. But I'm not really a poem person to begin with, so take this review with a grain of salt HAHA

Izumi Kyouka Ability: Demon Snow Original Work: Demon Pond

It's been a while since I've read a play, and perhaps that's why I had a hard time getting through the first half - either that or it was quite lackluster as most of the actual story happens in the second half. Its influences from folktales and traditional Japanese theater (i.e. kabuki and noh) are very apparent - I wish I could have seen it instead of read it because of that. I think this is the first work of Kyouka's that I actually liked (I've read some of his short stories and one of his other plays) so I'll definitely recommend this one if you want to start with this author. There's also a movie adaptation of it that I haven't watched yet (but I do plan to). I think it could be much better than just reading it as is because of the visuals and mood setting, but a review on that soon. Maybe.

Fukuzawa Yukichi Ability: All Men Are Created Equal Original Work: An Encouragement of Learning (Sec. 1-2)

I couldn't be bothered to read the whole thing, but the essence of the ability only comes from the first two sections (which I'll be reviewing).

It's an essay that imo serves as a good introduction to Fukuzawa's philosophy. His views and arguments are built primarily on morality with logic acting mostly as a way to expound on his points. It's interesting, nothing really new for a contemporary reader, but at least it gives a nice background on the changing environment during the early years of Meiji-era Japan. Of course there are personal biases here (specifically the one with China - one of the greatest criticisms against Fukuzawa, even though he was supposedly progressive for his time) but imo that reflects some views of many Japanese at the time - not that they're right, of course.

But what about our special non-gifted boi?

I guess let's look at what one of the episodes was based on instead lol

Edogawa Ranpo Episode: The Murder on D. Street (S01E05) Original Work: The Case on D. Hill

I will tell you now: they have almost NO similarities whatsoever. Doesn't mean it's bad tho...

Okay ngl I was pretty disappointed HAHA. It's the same type of disappointment I had with Poe's Murders on the Rue Morgue (which was ironically referenced in the story) but it at least had some sense to it. I blame myself for not seeing it coming tho, given that this story is very typical of Edogawa-sensei. If you do plan to read it, however, be warned that there are implicit (?) themes that may be uncomfortable for some readers (this warning applies to most of Edogawa-sensei's work not made specifically for children HAHA).

[bluemooniegif]

besides bungo stray dogs, can u rcm me some manga having thought-provoking theme like that

ABSOLUTELY I CAN!! here are some manga, book and movie recs for you, cause I couldn't help myself :>

MANGA RECS:

1: The Case Study of Vanitas (Vanitas no Carte)

I knowww it's a cliche that BSD fans must also enjoy VNC, but it's genuinely just AHH so good!! it currently sits at 62.5 chapters (10 volumes & 9 uncollected chapters) and it has a 2-season anime adaptation. it's the second manga series by Jun Mochizuki, who's also well-known for her series Pandora Hearts, and is still ongoing.

set in 19th-century France, our story begins with Noe, a young vampire, who's excitedly travelling to Paris for the first time. in his travels, he encounters the strange and enigmatic Vanitas, a human who somehow possesses the power of the Vampire of the Blue Moon- a feared being shunned by the rest of the vampire world.

we learn from the very beginning that Noe is recounting this story to us, and that he kills Vanitas with his own hands- but why? how? nobody knows, but we're bound to find out!

2. Attack on Titan

I doubt anyone was expecting me to mention this one, because it has quite a reputation for being gore-filled and action-packed, but when I say this literally changed my life I'm really not kidding (I wouldn't have this blog or be into anime at all if not for AOT!). it's a completed story, with a four-season anime (including 3 OVA episodes) and 139 manga chapters (in the main storyline; there are multiple spin-offs and 2 bonus mangas/light novels).

many years ago, the final remnants of humanity were forced to flee into a city surrounded by three giant walls. these walls are the only things keeping humanity from perishing at the hand of the titans, giant humanoid figures who hunt and eat them. but a young boy, Eren, wants nothing more than to see the world beyond the wall- until a titan taller than their walls breaks into the city, throwing humanity (and Eren's life) into disarray.

though it's true that a large chunk of this animanga is action, the lore is incredible. I can't say too much without spoiling, but the thought-provoking aspects aren't talked about nearly as much as I think they should be. once you've finished watching or reading, I highly recommend you watch this video, which is one of my favourite video essays of all time!

BOOK RECS:

1. Slaughterhouse Five

this is one of my favourite books of all time, and it's only 177 pages, so it's a super quick read! not only is it severely anti-war, but it's deeply though-provoking. I think about it every day. I quote it regularly. I'd recommend it to anyone and everyone, especially now, with everything happening in the world.

I honestly don't have words for how much I love it, so here's the synopsis on Goodreads:

Prisoner of war, optometrist, time-traveller - these are the life roles of Billy Pilgrim, hero of this miraculously moving, bitter and funny story of innocence faced with apocalypse. Slaughterhouse 5 is one of the world's great anti-war books. Centring on the infamous fire-bombing of Dresden in the Second World War, Billy Pilgrim's odyssey through time reflects the journey of our own fractured lives as we search for meaning in what we are afraid to know.

2. No Longer Human

there are so many editions of this, and I would recommend all of them- this is my other favourite book of all time, by the way. I may be barking up the wrong tree when I tell a BSD fan to read Dazai, one of the most accessible and relatable Japanese authors for a Western audience, but hey, I've got to remind you just in case you haven't given it a shot.

No Longer Human follows the life of Yozo Oba, a boy born into a big rich family, who constantly feels at-odds with the world around him. it's an exploration of mental illness, social isolation, self-expression, and compassion. I actually have an entire youtube video talking about it and how BSD-Dazai reflects Yozo as much as irl-Dazai, and it's my pride and joy so please go watch it!

MOVIE RECS:

Okay, I only have one rec for you, but this movie haunts me (in the best way possible):

Forgotten (기억의 밤)

I really need more people to watch this actually because holy shit it was amazing and nobody talks about it!! WATCH IT!!! PLEASE!!!!

Jinseok watches his brother get kidnapped right before his eyes, and it powerless to do anything. 19 days later, he returns, and... something is different about him. Jinseok is determined to uncover the mystery surrounding his kidnapping.

the twists in this are actually insane. I can't tell you anything aside from the synopsis without spoiling major plot points. if you only take one recommendation I bed you to take this one.

okay that's all bye!!

[cursedvibes]

Happy holiday.... What do you think that made Yuuji is so likeable as a character? I've only been in the JJK fandom for a year, and I've seen a lot of other JJK characters' stan. But one thing in common, they all love Yuuji and mostly will include him in their top 5 fav JJK charas (including me :D)...

Also, extra kudos cause your blog is anti-gojo. Most of my moots love him and can't stop talking about him. I already tell them that I don't really like him (actually I hate him), they're okay but still so into him. So I'm so happy when I found your blog.

What do you think that made gojo so famous? Is it the pretty face and bad personality (I'm still confused until now)....? I dislike gojo kinda like I dislike dazai from BSD. They're both called "The one who stole the spotlight from the protagonist" (by my animanga group)....

Happy holidays to you to, hope you had a good time

I think it's pretty hard not to like Yuuji. Even if you aren't that interested in his character, due to his friendly personality and plenty of cute moments it's hard to hate him. I think this Pure Sunshine Boy interpretation (that I don't entirely agree with) is the main reason fans are drawn to him. The suffering he has to endure and how he continues to grow from it is quite fascinating to witness as well. What I personally like about him is also how he has a darker side to him, that pure hatred he has reserved for Sukuna and Mahito, but which we also saw when he beat up bullies as a middle schooler. He's not just sunshine and rainbows, he has a quite serious and lonely side to him he often hides from others and that is the reason he used to not have many friends until recently. Fits with his morbid obsession with death and how he is prepared to die and wants to die to pay for everything he's done despite being so young.

Looking at fan interpretations of him, I'm not sure that's why he's in the top 3 of the popularity polls, but it's what I like about him. The main criticism I see of him is that people think he's too weak to be the main character of a shonen series and isn't the centre of attention enough, but I think that's pretty stupid and thankfully it's only a (loud) minority of people who think that. I'm glad he deviates from the shonen formula there.

Now for Gojo, I first have to say that I wouldn't consider myself "anti-Gojo". I often think he's annoying and recent developments in the manga led to me complaining about him a lot, but I don't actually hate him, not the way I do with Geto, Yuuta or at times Choso. His fans can get on my nerves a lot and I think he was written very badly after being released from the Prison Realm, but usually I don't care about him. I like his high school self actually, before he got so overpowered, his faults were more interesting there.

I think the majority of his popularity is because he's a pretty white-haired anime guy with cool powers and part of a popular yaoi couple, i.e. you got some dramatic feels mixed in there as well. That seems to be the gist of what I see online as reasoning for why people like him and what made him famous when the anime started airing. There are deeper reasons too (best ask a Gojo fan for those), but his looks, iconic blindfold design and relationship with Geto seem to be the main things people are drawn to. Things like that are often what's most important in making a character popular.

[ikiyou]

BSD Rewatch Ep1

The tone of BSD has changed significantly from the outset, where Atsushi was under a curse to turn into a mindless man-eating beast in the moonlight, to one where he has control, and that beast is simply another part of him.

When Atsushi claims the beast is following him, he simply sees it in the mirror - a classic tool from horror stories. He's never seen it with his own two eyes, it's always only been a reflection of what's inside him. When he hears the townspeople clamoring about the tiger, he's not a man, he IS the tiger at that time, even as he looks in the mirror, he's already transformed. His brain doesn't hold memories of the actual tiger incidents, but they're still in there. The tiger is looking in the mirror, and he is seeing his true human self in that mirror. His brain had rejected the idea that he is the tiger and instead replaced the memory with the idea that he as a man was running from it.

Imagine what BSD could be if it was told from the premise of a horror story, if they kept that tone?

I originally started watching it for the promise of a supernatural tiger. XDD

Also, because of the format of the ending song, I thought Atsushi and Akutagawa were the same person, and I kept waiting for this alternate personality to be revealed. One with white hair and a black stripe, one with black hair and white stripes. One hero, one anti-hero.

Imagine what BSD would be like if that was true? XD

*

And the bit where Dazai says, "I have no such taste in men?" That's because in a typical anime when one character faceplants onto another, it's indicative of the main relationship of the series. This is simply the story saying, "This is not that kind of story," by making a joke out of the trope LOL (And then it turns around with Dead Apple ROTFLLL)

[ifucknglovebsd]

Current theory for where BSD is going based upon the most recent manga chapter

Spoilers below

Okay so, we don’t have many options for who is going to fight with Fukuchi. For starters our possibilities are lessened by the fact some fighters who could get rid of his ability (Dazai) are not in the area, most of our typical fighters with abilities based on combat (Kunikida, Atsushi etc) are a bit busy at the moment dealing with different things and those with actual combat prowess are down (Fukuzawa, though I hope he’s still alive, more on that later)

So here are our options:

Lucy is able to get into the fight and drags Fukuchi’s ass into Anne’s room. Wham, bam thank you mam, manga over. I have my doubts that she will handle it all on her own like that as it seems a bit anti-climactic for a series that has been practically building up to this fight since Fukuchi has been revealed to be the villain. There is a chance she will come into play with the fight but I don’t think she will handle it on her own like that. There is also the possibility that she could find a way to get the page and keep it safe in her dimension which is an actual possibility.

Then there is the chance that Fukuzawa somehow survived and finds a way to get the page at the very least away from Fukuchi for a bit but considering the state he seemed in it’s not very likely that he would be able to get up and win a fight or even be able to hold himself up for long. Again, not very likely though this does hold some merit to at least Fukuzawa surviving as I believe this would hold more weight to Fukuchi’s actions since he wanted Fukuzawa to see that what he was doing was hopeless (also I just don’t want Fukudad to be dead)

There is also the possibility h that Atsushi will be able to break Akutagawa out of his vampirism and then we have one final sskk fight to end the whole series on that but by the time he is able to break Akutagawa out of it it may already be too late but this seems like the second most likely possibility. So far ever big arc of the story has ended with them so I believe it would be fitting to have the whole story end the same way it always did.

Then we come to my personal thoughts about what is going to happen next.

Tecchou is really the only one that would be willing and able to fight against Fukuchi.

He is the only one who seems like he would be able to recover in time to defeat Fukuchi before any damage can be done by the page (I mean, dude took a fucking grenade to the face and was fine like a week later, I think he’ll be good even after fighting Kenji and taking that much damage) and it has its own symbolism we’ve already seen play out before where the government is tearing itself apart on two sides. It’s the symbolism that I believe would hit the most out of all the fights and would be even better than if SSKK fought him and won. Atsushi is someone who has needed help before so I don’t doubt even now he would need someone to at least hold Fukuchi back for a bit. Plus there is the main idea of this story being that the government is rather bad at dealing with certain events that it has to delve into darkness every once in a while but that there is still that glimmer of real justice and human compassion found within it that will fight until the end to ensure a happy ending for all.

Then there’s also the possibility that Tecchou found Jouno (vampired up), learns that Fukuchi did this and just looses it, more than he did on Kenji. I think this would also be fitting as Tecchou is insanely loyal (from what we see) to the Hunting Dogs so to see him turn against the very thing he holds so much faith in because it failed to protect his (boyfriend) partner who was also a member of that same organization. But his urge to provide real justice overrides his loyalty to his commander and is enough for him to possibly quit service of the government and believe more in the ADA’s innocence.

Tecchou is also insanely strong for a Hunting Dog, possibly even the strongest and his ability actually could hold up rather well against Fukuchi with his ability to change the direction and size of his blade he could possibly catch Fukuchi off guard at some point and land a fatal blow. He could even get some assistance from the other surviving ADA members (Yosano could continuously heal him, Kenji could provide combat support, Kyouka could do the same, if Ranpo recovers he could provide battle tactics etc) but I truly think he is the only one who can do this, at least primarily on his own.

Okay yeah, maybe I do just want to see Tecchou fuck someone up but there is also a bit of a possibility!

[autistic-katara]

ALL RIGHT! ANON FANDOM HOT TAKES!

eddie munson sucks

this one is utterly incoherent but bear with me - IF byler hadn't been planned from the start, el and mike's relationship would've worked IF hopper hadn't taken el in. hopper majorly fucked up a lot of her personal growth and her ability to function around people.

hopper should've died

the bungou stray dogs fandom is great actually

the kpop fandom is disturbing but fascinating and i want to study it

i have this insane respect for the marauders fandom cause like they built it from the ground up and if they changed the names and a little bit of the magic system it could be it's own series

yeah idk what this is sorry

THANKS FOR THE LONG ASK AAAHHH (accidentally made the reply super long srry lmao)

honestly i just dont give a shit abt him. like in a vacuum i like his character, yk he was kinda a pretty big asshole to my boy lucas and he sells drugs (idrc abt that one tho) but at the same time idk i do enjoy the idea of eddie being queer nd clocking will and/or mike nd trying to make them feel comfortable talking to him (even if that could be done just as well if not better with robin who is yk canonically queer and a way better character but idk) but all that is ignoring how fucking annoying his fans are like jesus christ why is he this fucking popular like half the fics in this godforsaken fandom r st€ddie (and look i am a shameless will-ship-smthn-based-off-of-one-small-momenter of the highest degree but i genuinely do not understand the hype for them like they literally looked at eachother twice and had eddie tell steve to get back with his ex how in the fuck is that romantic???) and yeah just he is insanely overrated in the worst possible way and the fact that this isnt even the worst case of this in this fandom just proves how much b*lly and his fans suck and yeah i did not expect to go on a huge rant abt this srry TwT

kinda agree kinda disagree. i do think it wouldve been possible for mlvn to work but i wouldnt say hopper taking el in is the problem i think ud kinda just have to rewrite alotta their interactions with some small things in the beginning but with a completely different dynamic in the later seasons (sidenote: honest to god if theyd just written hopper a bit better i would fucking love him as el’s dad like i love the found family trope and i do think they go well together but with the way he acts in s3 + the way their fight that culminates in el’s meltdown and him breaking the tv in s2 just yeah they rlly could’ve been done better)

no comment i dont rlly care (i dont hate that he survived but if he stayed dead i also wouldnt hate it)

yeah honestly while it has its problems ive been in waaaayyyyy worse fandoms and i do actually kinda like the vibe here (even if it has some of the dumbest shipping discourse i’ve seen. not the worst but the dumbest. usually surrounding my boy dazai which just bro that man is a whore ship him with whoever and no its not a proship to ship him with an 18yo bcz they have a kinda mentor/student relationship and no shipping him at 18 with a 24yo also isnt a proship bcz someone decided he was 16 or smthn which if u actually do the maths he was very much 18 and look i’m not a dazatsu shipper and odazai isnt my favourite dazai ship nor am i saying both ships r entirely unproblematic but dude this is why i dont wanna label myself an anti bcz u guys say shit like this anyways sorry that was a super long side tangent it will probably happen again)

again no comment, i know jack shit abt kpop

uhhh i hate everything related to hp so again no comment

again srry this turned out so long 😭

[dxzaiis]

BSD SERIES ANNOUNCMENT !!

bsd!shattered au : What if the pm and ada were not just associations, but full-fledged kingdoms at war? Which one will prevail and swallow the other whole.

Citadel (pm):

Dazai: The illegitimate child of Mori, Mori took him off the streets as he deemed him "useful" has no intent to treat him as a prince or even a possible heir. Mori is abusive towards him. Dazai eventually was finished with the abuse and managed to launch a rebellion.

Mori: The king. Corrupt with odd ideals, no one knows what he is planning. The past queen died, and now he believes her spirit resides in a doll of her younger self. Informants have reported him doing strange rituals involving the doll. Insane.

Chuuya: no bio yet.

Akutagawa: Slave. Attempted to flee the empire with Gin, did not make it. Dazai took him in as a guard dog without Mori knowing. Has a magic bound chain which forces him to obey orders. Treated poorly.

Kyu: Spy. Also helps torture caught assassins or other people working against them. No one knows how he came about, or his origins.

Ichiyou: Countess. Supervises Akutagawa in case he tries to act out. Accompanies him to also stabilize his mana collar.

Kouyou: Marquess. Has henchman and provides a lot of military power for the kingdom.

Elise: ??? / A doll. No one knows where it went after Mori's death.

Odasaku: Commoner. Greatly aided Dazai in the uprising. Was bestowed a Baron rank by Dazai.

Astric (ada):

Fukuzawa: The king. He is a Kindred spirit to his people so he is naturally well-liked. Significantly weaker since the use of slaves is banned...

Atsushi: A commoner. A newcomer to the elite military circle. Still in training. Has strong abilities but still needs to learn how to use them...

Kyouka: Atsushi took her off the streets, not involved in the military force, Atsushi provides for her.

Kunikida: Viscount. Strong expectations placed on him from a young age.

Ranpo: Informant/Investigator, defuses schemes. Baron.

Yosano: Treats injured people on missions. Marquess.

Kenji: Helps train military forces. Commoner.

Gin: Managed to make it past the borders and into the Astric empire. Worries about her brothers safety but was freed from her slave title. Quickly recruited by Fukuzawa.

Anti-royalty association (doa):

Fyodor: Fyodor is the mastermind. Is a Duke in the Citadel kingdom and the secret base resides there. Tries to keep what happens under wraps from Dazai. Basically this is a cult:/

Nikolai: Basically helps Fyodor or wtv. Commoner.

Sigma: Basically....exploited office worker. Forced to clean up the messes caused by the other two.