#and now he's...just some generic manipulative bastard trope that could blend in with all the others

[lnkedmyheart]

Dazai's queerness exists only in the source material and not in the anime. In the anime it is clear that there are attempts to up the heavy more in your face fanservice moments, regardless of the partner, be it Chuuya or Sigma or whomever the studio decides to pair him with for the season. However, the anime actively excludes scenes that actually suggest or imply any attraction he may have had to the men in his life. From the complete erasure of Dazai's fascination with and behaviour towards Chuuya the anime takes away any actual moment that might suggest anything. The sterilization of their bond is so egregious that even their canon dynamic is non existent in the anime. The complete masacre of the entrance exam arc ruins his entire dynamic with Kunikida. A lot of his remarks and descriptions that suggest any queerness in him are entirely extracted from the story and tossed aside. Not only does this make him come across as inhuman and completely changes his personality and motivation, it also takes away a huge part of what makes him tick. Dazai in the manga and the light novels and mayoi is actively seeking something to keep living for and finds it in silly little things, he keeps forcing himself forward one day at a time and is self sacrificing and feels far too much. He understands the human mind and adores it and respects it while denying hinself the same affection, only gently nudging the people into directions of their own choosing instead of outright manipulating them unless absolutely necesarry. This is what makes him different from Fyodor and Fyodor doesnt understand that. The anime on the other hand makes Dazai this charming, manipulative, fake, unfeeling guy who actively uses people like puppets making him strikingly similar to Fyodor. The only reason you know he isnt like Fyodor is because the man says so himself. The text of the show itself is showing you the exact opposite because it has slowly stripped away all of Dazai's humanity to push him as the prettyboy asshole fanservice Chad who flirts with men causr it will bring in views while showing not an ounce of the affection and care he felt towards 2 of the 3 prominant male figures still living in his life. The random bits tossed in of Atsushi believing Dazai is inherently good come across as naive instead of perceptive because we dont see Dazai being human to those around him, Dazai's claim about his motivation setting him apart from Fyodor feels like bland exposition dumps to push the plot forward and to hammer home that Dazai is the good guy because there is nothing to actually help you differentiate him from Fyodor in the anime.

In the manga you can tell something about Dazai is very off during meursault, from his obvious distress when he confirmed Chuuya was the intruder, him being overly giddy and faking his entire persona for all of the 10 minutes he has known Sigma with only maybe 1 complete minute of his genuine desire to protect someone slipping past his facade. Even Dazai's extremely consistent tendency to avoid touching people skin on skin and prefering to pinch their hair or clothes unless absolutely necesarry got tossed out the window for the dance scene, when Dazai hasn't once touched Sigma's skin directly in the manga.

And the knowlegde of his dynamic with Chuuya and Dazai's behaviour towards him in the light novels, manga and mayoi tell you something is off about the drowning and that Fyodor is wrong about their bond. The anime strips away all his connections to Chuuya and makes it feel less off because the bond doesnt actually exist there outside of the dialogues to smack you over the head with.

Anime Dazai is a man that everyone wants you to believe is a good guy but he really isnt. He is an asshole only doing good things cause he made a promise to a dead friend.

Manga Dazai IS a good man who has been trying to make up for his past and refuses to believe himself capable of redemption. To him Oda's words are a guidepost, not a decree that he is forced to follow. You SEE his humanity and goodness in his actions and you see he always had the potential to care and feel even at his darkest and lowest.

Going back to the comment about his queerness, just like how the anime is forcing you to see Dazai as a good guy by telling you that he is a good guy, the anime has stripped off all his affection and remarks that suggest he is queer and now any scene that is actually important between skk is reduced to needless fanservice because they dont have that bond from the light novels that explain why Dazai is so tender with Chuuya post corruption. And by extension by the removal of all of Dazai's most genuine moments with the men in his life he is reduced to a typical fanservice character.