#I love Asagiri and Harukawa don’t come for me

[pebblul]

I feel like Asagiri lost his Bungo Stray Sanity a long time ago and Harukawa just puts up with it

Someone get these two a nice bed and some therapy

[jounosparticles]

new chapter (kicks feet and dies)

I can't deal with it. bram death makes me sad but I get it. bram was already tired of the world and such so it makes sense he would fade away and be fine with it. I hope he's with his family happy and peaceful its fine everything is fine

anyway I LOVE AMENOGOZEN!!!! ITS SO COOL harukawa did such an amazing job illustrating the sheer scale of the god. tanizaki in it's eye, the silhouette of her with the city in it OUVGHHH ITS SO COOL

AND THEN WITH HER SPEAKING AND AND she's like "I am the beginning and the end. life and death. everything and nothing." THIS IS SO COOL!!!

if amenogozen has haters I'm finding them /j

ANYWAY kunikida.... rip. I hope you come back in the end please please 🙏 this cannot be the end

ALSO someone had mentioned that maybe the reason teruko left her uniform n kunikida left his book is because it's the things most important to them and oiuyggh. I will die

AAAAAA I WAS LOOKING FORWARD TO UR INSIGHT!!!

absolutely agreed on bram. it’s a sad death but at least he’s being reunited with his family after so long. i think it gives him the peace he deserves. i’ll miss him a lot though

amenogozen is super cool!! the concept of being nothing and everything is so bizarre that it’s hard to comprehend. i truly don’t know where asagiri will go from here in following arcs because this is so much. i have no clue how they’ll defeat amenogozen.

kunikida HAS to come back i’m so scared. i doubt junichiro will die i bet he’s gonna use his ability or something. im sure it’ll help somehow

AND TBE LAST POINT OUGGHHHH. that’s so sad. oh man if kunikida truly is dead they’ll definitely keep his book in the office oh im so sick. oh my

[morievna]

A bit of annoucement

Hello,

Something different this time 😅

I got into BSD over summer, trying to catch up with all content. Frankly, I tend to stay away from shounen genre as usually these stories bore me after some time – action feels repetitive, some disappointing character choices and so on. But since BSD was always in my orbit as series with ‘other Ugetsu’ xD I decided to give a chance and oh my…….. it is really good.

Ofc it would be better it was more queer, but I guess intense male friendships are part of shounen xD Totally not written like romantic relationship xD

And for real they have such similar looks and vibe XD

And since I have a lot of thoughts, probably I will start writing down when I will have some free time.

I know you follow me for Given content so I am not sure if I should put it here or create something new account… if you have any suggestion feel free to write to me^^ or you can simply like this post if you don’t mind me writing here.

If you want to know where I stand when it comes to bsd – here are some my opinions^^ - also some spoilers here !!

Fav characters: Dazai, Chuuya, Akutagawa, Fyodor *plays Anti-hero in background*

Characters that grown on me: Atsushi, Fitzgerald, Yosano, Kyouka, Ranpo

Characters that I like just because xD: Poe, Mori, Tecchou, Gogol, Rimbaud, Verlaine, Adam

Character I wanted to like but nah:/ : Kunikida (because his character arc builds up but leads nowhere - it is frustrating to me too much)

Character that I am neutral on: Oda (imo he is good character, but it was very predictable to me what will happen to him and kids - it was hard for me to get invested)

Characters I dislike: Tanizaki (like literary I can’t find anything interesting about him xD), Shibusawa (imo he was meant to be cool villain but felt too much typical in the end)

Character interactions I want more: 

Chuuya&Akutagawa (I was happy for changes in DA stage play even though Chuuya was a bit too mean xD)

Kyouka&Lucy (they have lots in common and could be good friends),

Chuuya&Verlaine (SB needs follow-up)

Gin&Higuchi (imo more female friendship would turn out good for the story)

Kouyou&Chuuya (imo it is weird how mentorship was teased, but we got nothing substantial)

Fyodor&Sigma (I want more creator/creation dynamic as it is always fun and that betrayed Sigma’s look- oh boi)

Chuuya&Dazai (I simply want Chuuya to punch Dazai for that attempted drowning xD)

Fav arc:

Stormbringer (perfection, I loved everything)

The Perfect Murder And Murderer – I love deduction time xD and how it is like breather between more action-packed arcs. Ranpo-Poe duo is just so much fun^^  Mushitarou’s story was great and I loved his theatrical antics. I liked how Ranpo was developed in this arc – the consequences from feeling guilty from mistakes in Cannibalism

I also love all parts where ADA and PM has to cooperate xD so much goodness. Shin Sokokou and Sokoku are really heart of story, Fukuzawa-Mori and Yosano-Black Lizards were highlights too

Most disliked arc:

Azure Messenger in anime (it was so bad on every level xD I didn’t read LN version and I don’t feel like it honestly xD)

Dazai’s demise in Beast (I was so angry when I read it *throwing-book-kind-of-angry* Honestly I like better that from spoilers movie version sounds more ambiguous on that)

What I like about writing:

Compelling characters – really Asagiri and Harukawa have knack for creating interesting characters

Symbolism – you know it is my jam xD Especially I love ying-yang relationship between ADA and PM – it is soo cool how there is basically light side but with bit of darkness (represented by dark past and trauma) and dark side with such selfless motive like protecting peace in city and comrades xD I like how story makes them cooperate together and this being shown as ‘the way’ and how characters are getting karma back at them when trying to antagonize/distrust each other xD it is really cool that there is no simple PM = evil and ADA = good guys, but more complexity is going on.

Message – imo story has heart in right place. I like how characters have agency and can be who they want - not defined by their dark past, but the will to be better person. I also liked theme of humanity in SB and how it was handled that origin matters less and the most important are ppl in which eyes someone is human.

My issue with writing:

more spotlight on female characters pretty please *siigh* honestly I just want more all of them

when strong competent character is conveniently disappearing from main action XD I mean I understand that is for plot reason, but it is so often and weird sometimes – imo it would be better to just make short notice that Chuuya/Kyouka/etc is just somewhere else doing something

Theories time (I wonder if I will got something right😄):

Chuuya tearing down Meursault completely, alliance with Fyodor on his free will (imo it would be more interesting this way, but opposite is rather more possible)

Fyodor’s ability will be opposite to Dazai (something like ability control like Rogue from X-men) and his backstory will be parallel to Chuuya/Verlaine (because paralells are fun xD)

Fukuzawa will die this arc (maybe Mori too if story will go for soulmate vibe xD)

PM taking over Bram’s skill and staying as vampires, Bram living normal life

Redemption + Atonement arc for DoA (yep, all of them – actually imo it would be neat if Fukuchi founded theatre as irl – art for healing~~)

I hope loose threads will have follow up – Steinback and Fitzgerald confrontation, Mitchell and Hawthorne reunion, healing arc for Q, Verlaine in PM, Tachihara and Yosano’s arc lack proper conclusion too…

[madraleen]

Bungo Stray Dogs - Kafka Asagiri/Sango Harukawa Vol. 13: I have enough to say to make a post just for a single volume apparently - A Commentary (*anime spoilers and manga spoilers up to ch.114)

-@cover: AND I REPEAT! FYODOR, IF VILLAIN WHY SO PRETTY! also dazai-chan looks extra pretty princess, i approve. atsushi lowkey looks like he's about to fuck shit up, which i also approve. and aku-kun i approve in general.

-the colored page always takes me by surprise, it's so pretty

-OH LOOK, A DAZAI OUTLINE AMONG THE MEMBERS OF THE AGENCY! REMEMBER WHEN THAT WAS A THING?! WHEN DAZAI WAS PICTURED AMONG THE AGENCY? HA?!

-also, another thing on manga vs anime: because the timeline is so streamlined, so far the character appearances have been pretty even. there's not too much or too little of anyone, it feels just right. i wonder if that'll still stand for the s4-s5 arcs and their many side-plots. of course this feels different when you're reading month to month, i assume you start screaming in exasperation at some point over who you see and who you don’t, but in the volumes it works great

-atsushi, angry, uncomfortable: "let me go , dazai-san!" akutagawa, docile, obedient: "senpai asks, senpai gets."

-it's funny, 'cause an injured dazai technically wouldn't be able to do much if atsushi or akutagawa threw fists with him right now, yet he's holding them by the scruff like stray cats.

-oh that's such a different vibe, i feel like! dazai's "could you not go running wild? you'll open up my stomach wound," in the anime it was played as a funny moment to restrain the kids, whereas here it feels like dazai is actually serious in the comedy of the panel

-dazai: "could you not go running wild?" atsushi: *presses himself against dazai's side and by extension his wound* BUT WHY IS AKUTAGAWA-" oh atsushi i love you

-there's a certain way that harukawa-sensei draws mouths that you can practically hear the obnoxiousness of the characters' tone, especially with ranpo and dazai

-*mutters something about dazai's hands*

-dude, the panel composition is beautiful idk. very dynamic

-"it's no wonder dazai-san chose to abandon you and disappear!" omfg atsushi. also yes bitch, slay, but omfg you ruthless little man-tiger.

-atsushi ain't having anyone's shit. everyone around him is deranged, foe and ally alike, and he's gonna react via expression or call them out for it, i love that about him. he's such a rich character, because yes he's been abused and he's traumatized and has low self-esteem, no self-worth and so on, but goddamn he ain't gonna stand there and take all this insanity

-"hellhound" akutagawa, dogs, mafia dogs, agency cats, i'm still on that.

-"what are you, a lawn mower!? dazai-san left you because all you think about is chopping up the enemy!" AHAHAHA ATSUSHI PLEASE!

-"I'LL TURN YOU INTO A TIGER-SKIN RUG" - AKU-KUN, PLEASE! atsushi and aku-kun have upped their bickering game, good for them

-like in the anime, aku-kun isn't coughing anymore so i'll just go ahead and assume his lung disease has flare-ups that come and go (or is affected by certain environments, eg the sea)

-babe. atsushi. my love. not only dazai-san trusts you, but EVEN AKU-KUN ACKNOWLEDGES AND SAYS OUT LOUD THAT DAZAI-SAN "PUTS A LOT OF TRUST IN YOU"! that's like almost too much trust in layman's terms

-"bamboo shoots come from bamboo, so mushrooms come from mush" oh god, that's something *i* would say

-oh actual rat members, great, thank you.

-akutagawa went from "wha-!?" to "how do i steer that thing" in a heartbeat when riding on atsushi, i love him. they're hilarious, bsd is so entertaining

-i imagine the creative conundrum, "how exactly do we position akutagawa so that he can ride on atshushi's back"

-ATSUSHI'S AND AKU-KUN'S COLOR PATTERNS ARE SO COMPLEMENTARY I CANNOT

-dude seriously though, the panel composition. it's beautiful.

-i mean, the kids are big-braining it. they're not five-braining it like the geniuses, but they're big-braining it alright

-lol, dazai-san is so shocked that the climber's not dostoyevsky that his eye veins popped out, good good

-"far crueler than my own mentor," akutagawa's "own mentor" being dazai? then yes, orphanage director is far crueler.

-lemme make an interlude here, 'cause i'm still on my dazai and the nurse bullshit. i just keep thinking that if you don't interpret it as another "actually, dazai didn't do that" moment in the long line of "dazai didn't do to that woman what you think he did" gags, and you actually interpret it as dazai fucked/sexually pleasured the nurse in order to get his phone and continue with business, it's one of the subtly darkest, saddest moments, because he probably learned that in the mafia, and he employs that tactic while physically in pain, to a literal stranger, and then goes on with business completely unbothered because he doesn't give a fuck about the nurse, his physical discomfort or his own body in general, and only used himself as a tool so that he can continue operations, STILL uses himself as a tool even though no one wants that of him now (not like this), and that's just so sad and fucked up.

-"most people are unaware that the tiger's claws can tear through skills themselves" aku-kun is pleased that he knows this

-no seriously,  mori-san is so much prettier in the manga. like wth, sometimes he's serving looks

-your master cut out the parts of your brain that feel unhappiness?! WTF IS FYODOR'S SKILL

-ahaha, dazai contacted francis, later atsushi contacts francis... like senpai like kouhai

-interesting. dazai yells "don't touch him" FIRST, and then fyodor kills the man, so it could very well be that he only does it to mislead dazai that touch is necessary for his skill, to play right into his false(?) guess.

-well yeah, dazai is conflicted because he doesn't know fyodor's skill, therefore lacks very important information, ACTUALLY miscalculated fyodor's moves until the very end (as did ranpo), and fyodor just let himself get arrested without any real fuss, which is sus. dazai's at a major disadvantage information-wise and he knows this ain't over (it's never over. it's never ever ever over, never ev-). but it's sweet that it's atsushi that notices this in a scene where it's just the two of them. idk, the fact that it's atsushi and that he doesn't really dwell on it, just reinforces how human dazai is in atsushi's eyes. to everyone else, it'd be a "!" moment. atsushi just notices it, as a fact.

-it feels like in dazai's eyes, atsushi is at his core all that is good and pure and righteous and shiny. the oda vibe in its purest form, never wavering, never tarnished.

-LOUISA IS ONLY 18?!

-"WHO GIVES A CRAP ABOUT YOUR INNER DRAMA!?" AHAHA RANPO-SAN <3 if that ain't the essence of bsd, i don't know what is.

-this ain't no rivalry, dear poe, you're just ranpo-kun's bitch. it's alright, we understand

-this "the conjurer" that they refer to fyodor as is the anime's "majin"? demon fyodor?

-i forget, DO we know the real reason fyodor let them capture him? we know why fukuchi wanted him imprisoned, but fyodor himself?

-ahahaha kunikida makes glasses with his skill and dazai knows and can nullify them? AHAHAHAHAAH that's cute

[gold-pavilion]

hey hey hey, red!!!

i don’t know if you’ve done something like this before, but if you haven’t, would you mind listing a couple of examples of what we (“we” being non-japanese speakers such as myself) could write to thank asagiri and harukawa for new chapters?

i’ve seen a couple of posts on here recently about people commenting some rude stuff under asagiri’s newest tweets, but i don’t think anyone‘s mentioned any polite ways to respond (regarding expected japanese social etiquette and language).

i suppose stuff like, “thank you for the new chapter!” or “thank you for your hard work!” is pretty good english-wise, but do you have any advice on how to say that sort of stuff in japanese?

thanks!!!!

(p.s. thank you so so so much for your past work on the bsd manga!!! glad to see you’re sticking around in the fandom too, your posts are always super interesting!!)

THIS IS ABSOLUTELY PRECIOUS.

You’re a very thoughtful person, Anon-kun. I’ll be more than happy to help. I haven’t looked much into the rude comments he receives cause I know I’ll just explode, but in contrast, this idea is wonderful and I certainly hope it becomes something many people do! So here’s a lil list of what I’ve come up with:

Kind Japanese Phrases and Comments to Leave our Fav Author

ありがとうございます！ = Thank you very much!

章ありがとうございます！ = Thank you for the chapter!

今月の章ありがとうございます！ = Thank you for this month’s chapter!

全てをありがとうございます！ = Thank you for everything!

すごい！・すごいでした！ = Amazing! / That was amazing!

かっこいい！・かっこいいでした！ = Cool! / That was cool!

わくわくする！・わくわくさせました！ = Exciting! / That made me so excited!

お疲れ様でした！ = Thanks for your hard work!

... and perhaps these special ones?

朝霧先生の話が大好きです！ = I love your story, Asagiri-sensei!

文豪ストレイドッグスが大好きです！ = I love Bungou Stray Dogs!

Mix and match! And most of all, don’t doubt the power of a single “thank you” or a single heart emoji. Even if there’s many people using the same, simple phrases, the important thing is that he’ll know he has that many supporters. So be it brief words or love emojis, the feeling will get through.

And thanks a ton for the kind words to me too!!

[its-jijii]

i’m scared of tanizaki junichirou

welcome to me theorizing and questioning the tanizaki siblings cause they honestly kinda scare me. everything im talking about has already been animated in s3 but warning for spoilers if u haven’t seen it yet.

hi okay well i’ll start off with the eyes. harukawa has explained this so i’m sure most people know of it, but if you don’t, eyes = danger/morality. characters with darker eyes are more dangerous or “evil”, and characters with light eyes are more innocent. i personally think something is off with naomi’s eyes. also if you wanna skip reading about eyes go ahead

in comparison to mafia members or ex-mafia members, naomi doesn’t stand out that much. it’s true that her pupil isn’t large and dark, like kyouka or kenji, and her eyes don’t have any kind of shading or rings.

however, if you were to only look at ADA members with more narrowed eyes, naomi’s starts to stand out. her iris has thicker lining and touches the bottom of her eye (ranpos also do but hes squinting 24/7). her pupil is bigger than others, too. without harukawa’s stated stylistic choices, her eyes being like this wouldn’t have much significance. 

buuut i wouldn’t be talking about it if it were normal. considering naomi’s role, her eyes are uncomfortably dark. she’s supposedly a student and part time office worker. fukuzawa worked as a government assassin in the past. kunikida isn’t evil, but he is physically capable and dangerous. even her brother has lighter eyes. why are naomi’s eyes darker, indicative of evil or danger, than that of other dangerous ADA members? she has no ability from our knowledge.

for a nonviolent, non-combative character, naomi’s eyes pretty dark. i can’t help but think she is hiding something. 

beyond naomi’s unusually dark eyes, there’s the subject matter of the sibling’s relationship. not the incest part. something is clearly off between them- their willingness to do anything for each other is what is off-putting. naomi jumping in front of her brother to save him? not unusual. tanizaki willing to commit murder for his sister’s sake? woah there, hold on a sec

there is normally a line you would draw in what you would do for your sibling(s). for someone who is supposedly on the good side, that’s an extreme measure to take. and unfortunately it isn’t just tanizaki threatening to hurt people who hurt naomi- he has literally attempted to kill people to protect her or get revenge. 

first there was him choking higuchi, where if akutagawa hadn’t interrupted him, he probably would’ve killed her. secondly, when rescuing naomi and haruno from the guild, he intentionally used his ability to attempt to kill the guild members by getting them hit by a truck.

i’m led to believe that this love and dedication between them is mutual. naomi is protective of her brother and frequently follows him around. if she had any combative skills or ability, she would likely be using them to protect tanizaki. assuming this is the case, i wonder what caused their relationship to escalate to this point. for both of them to be so close that they would commit murder, throw away all morals and self preservation- i can’t see a normal sibling relationship getting to that point. technically they’re not that normal but you get the point.

aside from their actions proving their dedication to each other, there’s what they’ve said about the relationship. particularly, what tanizaki said about what naomi means to him during his conflict with the guild.

sorry for low quality screenshots. they’re from chapter 22

well, here we go. for starters, eyes again- tanizaki normally has pretty light eyes. however, when he speaks seriously about naomi in these panels, his eyes are always considerably darker. he is more dangerous, and as he said, willing to throw away all morals.

then there’s the god thing. he says that he can’t compare his love or willingness for naomi with anything. the example he uses is that “nobody would compare god with anything, right?” the way this is phrased strongly suggests that to him, naomi is akin to a god. highly revered, dutifully loved and willing to do anything, and that she can’t be compared to anything. she can’t be compared to other people, or concepts, or anything- to him, naomi is godlike and her importance is unquestionable.

lastly, there’s him saying that he would gladly reduce the world to ashes for naomi. at this point, there’s little doubt in the reader’s mind that he means this. he is very, very serious in what he would do for naomi. this kind of obsession and worship must have stemmed from somewhere or something. something must have happened for tanizaki in particular to act this way. but alas asagiri hasn’t given me jack shit so i have no idea what

tanizaki is scary beyond his loyalty to his sister, though. his ability, and what he said in chapter three. he doesn’t have a flashy or amazing ability, and it isn’t used in combat. this is true. of course there are other creative ways tanizaki has utilized his ability, but it is limited. in another post i discussed ability classifications in bsd. light snow falls under the non-combative category.

tanizaki’s ability itself cannot hurt people. his ability can affect himself, others, and his surroundings, but making illusions can’t hurt people. so, given this fact and the fact that he said that he is non-combative, i find his actions strange. other ADA members have either training in combat (kuni, fuku) or their ability  gives them a strength boost (atsu, kenji, kyouka, etc).

he hasn’t shown any knowledge of martial arts, and his ability is one of the few that can’t injure other people. so,,,, how did this man stand up to the three black lizard commanders on his own? he nearly successfully killed mori. he nearly killed higuchi. and though he physically didn’t do much, he did incapacitate two formidable guild members.

it’s true that most of these involved using his ability to disguise himself or his surroundings. however, he seems very, very adept at using his ability in these unconventional ways. maybe he’s just creative and good at thinking up tactics. buuut given that most of these instances involve him attempting murder, i have to wonder how he is so used to using his ability to assassinate or trick others. for a non-combative person, he seems preetttty violent

bonus that in most of these scenes, his eyes are very dark. sometimes they revolve around protecting naomi, and sometimes they revolve around infiltrating and assassinating the boss of the port mafia.

in conclusion i’m scared of tanizaki junichirou. naomi is suspicious and lowkey shady af, but i have not seen her act as drastically and terrifyingly as tanizaki has. thanks for coming to my ted talk i’ve been writing this for like three hours and now its four am. bye thanks for reading, i hope you enjoyed

[nohr-and-thirst]

What are you thoughts of Dazai’s flaws as a character and how his actions affect others around him.

{Trigger warning because I talk about personal life experiences and suicidal thoughts plus one action.}  I personally see his flaws as a way to express what the real meaning of being a human is. Personally speaking, the fandom normally sees him as a “meme-y” character, a comic relief. People do not take into account that he is more than that. He suffers from depression, has a twisted view on life, and really is trying to better himself. As someone who has been through almost all the things he went through, his flaws make him relatable to people like me. We strive to get better, but we are often scared that we can not. A personal thing I have with depression is, I don’t wish for my depression to go away for one reason. I know my depression will be with me forever. It is the one thing I can count on that won’t abandon me. I do not talk about on this blog, or really to anyone, but my biggest fear is abandonment. I have had a lot of people in my life leave me, use me for what I have to offer, and then just leave me to suffer on my own. I always had to suffer through suicidal thoughts and actions. I have the notebook where the first time I thought about ending was when I was seven, and then a few days later I wrote how I jumped into a lake hoping it would work. His flaws are something I can relate to, personally speaking, especially his flaw that he closes himself from people. After an event that happened to me four years ago, I was personally scared to have anyone become close to me again. When you look at Osamu’s character sheet from when he was in the mafia to now at the agency, you see improvement. He was so underweight and now he is at a decent weight. I relate to that, I tried everything and anything I knew to just feel something. Because the one thing depression does to someone is making them feel like a walking corpse. You do not feel anything, and I wanted to feel something. His flaws and seeing him grow just pushed me to try when I was at the lowest point in my life. I wish I had better people, better doctors, just everything better when I was starting to be like this at the age of seven. I live now knowing some scars won’t heal, I know they won’t because they are still there. Yet, seeing a character, that has been through almost everything I went through, makes me feel like I can get better. His flaws are something that we have to admit he has but has improved on. I love him for that, a character that for once a series had a character I can relate to. I felt some hope spark in me because I thought after I got to the guild arc in the manga, that I would just kick the bucket. Yet, because I read the light novels, and because I got so invested into the series, I am here. Loving Osamu for me was a way of learning to like myself. I wanted to get better and show those who hurt me that I grew from them. They did harm, but I can take what they did and learn from it. His flaws are important, they helped me, and I am sure they helped many more. A character, and really a series, that talks about serious issues don’t come along often. The whole entire cast of Bungou Stray Dogs, all the characters, helped me out so much. I may be impulsive still, I still have relapses, but I have better people in my life now. People that want me to grow, people that want me to publish my novel, people that wish to see me prove those that called me awful things wrong. Before this blog, I had another blog that had a good following, but when I vented no one really said anything unless they were a new follower because everyone knew how I was. Osamu Dazai as a character did so much to me when I felt alone and hopeless. I still have a long way to go, I can get better, but such a character that has flaws shows that improvement can happen. I started to get into the series in 2015, now it is 2019 and look at where I am now. I never thought I would see myself where I am in my life. With someone that wants me to get better, having people want me to get better, have people that are positive around me. Osamu Dazai and his flaws are what makes him human, and helped me and many others. I really have to thank Asagiri for writing this series, and I also have to give a huge thanks to Harukawa for being there to help Asagiri with such amazing art. Bungou Stray Dogs means so much to me, I really have to give them a huge thank you for helping me and are still helping me grow and get better. 

[blackandwhitemusician]

Can you write the questions of the anon ask from below for Fyodor too? I would love to know what you think about him :3

I’m sorry for being forgetful, do you mean the one with “how I met them”, “why I fell in love with them”, and “what I wish for them at the end of the series”?

If I’m wrong, please direct me to the correct questions :) but meanwhile, since I have some spare time and I love being a bit extra™ sometimes, here are my responses for the above questions! Please do enjoy some personal feelings that you may or may not have asked for! :D

How I met them: by the Heaven-sent storytelling and writing of Asagiri-sensei and Harukawa-sensei. No joke, his first panels were rather unsettling to look at. “You mean that L-like, finger-biting, weak-looking kid is the leader of the cunning Rats In The House Of The Dead?” (And who on earth designed their logo?!) And like in Dazai’s case, I got fascinated by Fyodor the character in almost the same way I was drawn to Dostoyevsky the author. It’s really intriguing how Asagiri-sensei decided to build his character this way (prime example: the cello?!), and I can’t wait to have more details revealed about him!

Why I fell in love/got obsessed with them: I love how impenetrable he is! He is truly someone who can’t be manipulated or betrayed, because he doesn’t seem to value anything too much: neither desire nor hatred, neither loyalty nor cunning. He seems to only do what he thinks needs to be done. Clearly, he has an objective in mind, but I’m dying to know how he feels about the whole crusade thing. Surely one doesn’t just jump straight to “let’s destroy what is wrong about the world” overnight. He has made up his mind that this world is wrong, and he wants to bring it to what it should be. How did he come to decide that this world is wrong? That’s what I’m dying to know lol. And the hat. Dude. One doesn’t simply ignore that hat.

My greatest wish for them: I honestly don’t know what I want for him, since he doesn’t seem to be in need of salvation or companionship. A normal, quiet life wouldn’t suit him either. I just hope if his path leads him straight to hell, he’ll go there smiling, lol.

[recentanimenews]

Cooking With Anime: Candy Apples Inspired by Bungo Stray Dogs: Dead Apple

Bungo Stray Dogs: Dead Apple is out on Crunchyroll, and you know WHAT???? Yiou have GOT to watch it. If you aren't familiar with the series, Bungo Stray Dogs is an anime adaptation of a manga written by Kafka Asagiri and illustrated by Sango Harukawa. It centers on individuals with special powers who use their abilities to pursue various interests, focusing primarily on the members of the Armed Detective Agency and their daily lives. What I love about this series is that the main characters are named after major Japanese literary authors or the characters in their works, and their special powers are named after those same authors' famous works. For an literature nerd like me, it's the perfect crossroads between my two interests. 

  The movie picks up after the 88-day-long "Dragon's Head Dispute," which involved a great deal of bloodshed and tragedy for the Armed Detective Agency. Dazai, one of my favorite characters, is forced to come to terms with great loss, though he and the rest of the Armed Detective Agency still resume their relatively peaceful lives. However, mystery abounds when mass suicides occur, and the team is hired to capture a man suspected of involvement in the case. Madness and mayhem transpire (as they usually do) and essentially, you've got to see it for yourself to find out what happens. 

  While the film is great, what really drew me in were the promo materials:

    I thought the above poster was really gorgeous and detailed, but when I stumbled across this image of Dazai, I was intrigued...

    ...because his apple kind of looked like a CANDY APPLE, and all of a sudden I was struck with the need to make a delicious snack to eat while I watched the movie. So, I decided to make a candy apple! The process is fairly simple--you combine sugar, water, corn syrup, and food dye together, heat it up, and dip in your apples--but becomes a lot more satisfying and fun when you stab your apples in the end, just like Dazai here. Sadly, I didn't have a cool silver knife, but I assure you, even the most basic and boring of knives looks a hundred times cooler after you use it to stab something with. 

  UH. Wait.

  Apples. Use your knife to stab the apples. Seriously, I do not endorse injury to any living thing--we don't need another case for the Armed Detective Agency to investigate. But we do need a tasty snack to eat with the film, so just stick with candy apples. 

  Watch the video below to see the full process.

      Ingredients for the Candy Apples

-4 apples

-2 cups sugar

-3/4 cup water

-1/2 cup light corn syrup

-About 2 tsp red food dye

-Skewers to use for dipping

    To Make the Candy Apples

  1. Wash and thoroughly dry your apples. Place skewers in the top, right near the stem. Place aside on a silicone mat to await dipping.

  2. In a saucepan, add water, sugar, and corn syrup. Attach a candy thermometer, and turn heat on to high. Brush sides of the pan down with water, so that any sugar crystals on the side of the pot get washed back down. You don't need to stir, but you can do so gently, so long as no sugar crystals get lodged on the side of the pot--this will prevent the mixture from melting down fully, and will make the sugar re-crystallize, which you don't want. 

  3. When the temperature reaches around 300 F, remove from the heat and stir in the food dye. The mixture will continue to cook, and the temperature may even increase. Be very careful--the sugar will be extremely hot. Once dye is incorporated, swirl apples one by one in the mixture, working quickly. Set aside on silicone mat to cool and harden. 

  4. Enjoy by cutting into slices! 

    I hope you enjoyed this post! Check in next week for another recipe, and to check out more anime food recipes, visit my blog. If you have any questions or comments, leave them below! I recently got a Twitter, so you can follow me at @yumpenguinsnack if you would like, and DEFINITELY feel free to send me food requests! My Tumblr is yumpenguinsnacks.tumblr.com. Find me on Youtube for more video tutorials! Enjoy the food, and if you decide to recreate this dish, show me pics! :D

  In case you missed it, check out our last dish: Hot Tub Tamago from Kakuriyo-Bed and Breakfast for Spirits-. What other famous anime dishes would you like to see Emily make on COOKING WITH ANIME?

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com