#brain vs brawn

[clementines-writing-corner]

As promised from yesterday the Bungo Stray Dogs character analysis! 

Again, this is part of a larger project I’m working on so please excuse any disjointedness - I’ve tried to rework it enough that it can stand on its own here. ᕱ__ᕱ 

Something to know about me is that I’m someone who loves a good, well utilized trope. When I’m writing, when I’m reading… tropes are tropes for a reason. When done well, they work. And, when one likes to analyse media as much as I do, they are really fun to discover and think about.

As most anime/manga do, Bungo Stray Dogs (created and written by Kafka Asagiri) utilizes tropes a lot. Though, throughout my long hours of thinking about the show and analysing it for my own personal enjoyment, I’ve noticed that Asagiri likes to use tropes in really interesting ways– ones that are a lot more subtle than some anime fans are used to. 

(Of course, there are still the tropes that hit you smack in the face: the Tanizaki siblings have a “brother/sister complex” if I’ve ever seen one and Lucy is absolutely a tsundere, no one can change mind). 

The trope that I was thinking about the other day is perhaps one of these more subtly used tropes that I think adds a lot of interesting parallels to the development and relationships of 4 characters in the show. The quartet I am referring to, of course, is Soukoku (Dazai and Chuuya) and Shin Soukoku (Atsushi and Akutagawa) and the trope I was thinking about is the Brains vs Brawn trope. 

It's no secret to even the casual Bungo enjoyer that Asagiri loves the genius trope. There are many examples of characters (Ranpo, Dostoevsky, Dazai, Mori) exhibiting an overwhelming amount of intellect and little to no physical strength– or at least little to no physical strength that’s obvious. However, Soukoku and Shin Soukoku both present lovely examples of Brain vs Brawn pairings where one character embodies the brain and the other the brawn, albeit in very different ways. I think examining these ways can tell us a lot about their individual characters and the way that they each work/function as partners.

In regards to Soukoku, Chuuya is very clearly the powerhouse of the two with his massively powerful gravity manipulation ability and even more so because of his corrupted form. Plus, he’s also just ridiculously good at martial arts and carries a lot of strength in his objectively small (lol ᕱ__<) body to begin with. 

Dazai on the other hand not only has an ability that can completely nullify the abilities of others around him (including strong ones like Chuuya’s), but he also is absurdly intelligent. He holds his own against other powerful ability users in battle without breaking a sweat because he is just that smart. The only time he ever seems to struggle is when he is faced with others who share his massive intelligence and capabilities for manipulating others (Dostoevsky and Mori). 

Though they seem to hate each other, Dazai and Chuuya make the perfect team as Soukoku– Dazai comes up with the master plan and Chuuya grants the strength to carry it out. They trust each other 100% in their respective roles and that’s what makes them so effective.

But in real life, people typically aren’t so black and white. Most carry aspects of both Brains and Brawn in tandem and wouldn’t consider themselves one or the other. That is where Shin Soukoku comes in.

Everything in Akutagawa wants to be the brawn. He is absolutely obsessed with strength – especially strength in battle, and he indeed is really strong. But his strength really comes from his analytical mind and how he uses his ability in creative and unique ways. I mean come on! Who would think that a simple clothing possession/manipulation power could be used like that? 

Atsushi on the other hand always is trying to think things through, asking himself constantly “what would Dazai do?” Yet, his ability is extremely strong– so strong in fact that he is a little afraid of it– and we see that he works the best when he is enacting someone else's (Dazai’s or Ranpo’s or Akutagawa’s ) plans as well as relying on his instincts, not his intellect, to guide him.

Both the Shin Soukoku boys show characteristics of brains and brawn, and they most strongly exhibit the opposite of what they personally want. Yet, Atsushi and Akutagawa still manage to balance each other out, constantly pushing each other to be better. Akutagawa smacks (oftentimes literally) some sense into Atsushi when he is overthinking his ability and even encourages his strength. And Atsushi challenges Akutagawa’s methods of rushing in first and asking questions later, making him take a second and use his intelligence to come up with a plan that Atsushi is willing to follow. 

The way that Asagiri utilized the Brains vs Brawn trope to show the characterization and relationships/partnerships between Soukoku and Shin Soukoku is such good writing and so endlessly fascinating to me. This is exactly what I mean when I say that tropes used well just work. Another reason why Bungo is up there as one of my top favorite anime for sure! ᕱ__ᕱ 

[happyqueenandgrumpydork]

2 weeks until Christmas

[akanemnon]

Meanwhile with the bicker brigade...

FIRST - PREVIOUS - NEXT

MASTERPOST (for the full series / FAQ / reference sheets)

[s0fter-sin]

one of my favourite aspects of supernatural that you very rarely see in paranormal shows is that sam and dean are already versed in the world they live in. there’s no sudden discovery of ghosts and demons and now they have to learn about them along with the audience; they are born into it and already know all about it. it allows the audience to follow their personal story instead of also trying to figure out this new world and its rules

the first season is full of knowledge we never see them learn; “w*ndigoes are in the minnesota woods or- or northern michigan. i’ve never even heard of one this far west.” […] “great. well then this [his gun] is useless.” (1x02), “you don’t break a curse. you get the hell out of its way.” (1x08), d: “it’s a god. a pagan god, anyway.” […] “the annual cycle of its killings? and the fact that the victims are always a man and a woman. like some kind of fertility right.” […] s: “the last meal. given to sacrificial victims. d: “yeah, i’m thinking a ritual sacrifice to appease some pagan god.” (1x11)

almost every episode in the first season is a monster they’ve faced before that they then explain to the audience in a way that should feel patronising; like it’s the same speech given over and over again but instead, the audience almost feels included in the knowledge. it’s stated with such an innate confidence and comfort in said knowledge that it feels like we already knew it too; “spirits and demons don't have to unlock doors. if they want inside, they just go through the walls.” […] “the claws, the speed that it moves; could be a skinwalker, maybe a black dog.” (1x02), “it's biblical numerology. you know noah's ark, it rained for forty days. the number means death.” (1x04), “no no no, not the reaper, a reaper. there's reaper lore in pretty much every culture on earth, it goes by 100 different names.” […] “you said it yourself that the clock stopped, right? reapers stop time. and you can only see 'em when they're coming at you which is why i could see it and you couldn't.” (1x12)

they already know and, at least in the first season, already have what they need to kill whatever they’re hunting; already know to salt and burn bones for spirits, fire for a w*ndigo, exorcisms for demons, a silver bullet to the heart for shapeshifters. there’s only three times in the entire first season that they run into something new to them; 1x14 when sam gets his first vision that leads him to another psychic, 1x16 when dean calls caleb for help on the sigil he put together and he tells him about daevas, and 1x20 when they find out vampires are real- and they only don’t know that bc john thought they were hunted to extinction and not worth mentioning

(there’s also technically two half instances if you count one of them knowing something the other doesn’t - sam figuring out the tulpa in 1x17 and dean already knowing about the shtriga in 1x18 - but those still rely on sam and dean having prior knowledge)

even when they’re uncertain about facing something, it’s not bc they don’t know what it is; it’s precisely bc they know what it is and acknowledge that it’ll be a difficult hunt (“i don't know, man. this isn't our normal gig. i mean, demons, they don't want anything, just death and destruction for its own sake. this is big. and i wish dad was here.” 1x04)

so much of the tension in paranormal shows typically comes from the main character(s) not knowing what is happening to them/the people around them and having to find out how to resolve it. supernatural is unique in that it operates more like a police procedural. the tension comes from solving the clues and identifying patterns to figure out who (what) the killer is and intercepting before they can take another victim

it’s such a different tone to go for when compared to other shows that came both before, during, and after its run. it sets sam and dean on even footing with each other since they both have the same knowledge going in, and it puts them in a place of authority usually reserved for an outside character

the shows i compare spn to most is charmed, buffy and teen wolf; every main character in those shows are brought into the paranormal world knowing nothing, putting them on the same level as the audience, and they have their mc interact with others already knowledgeable about that world in order to overcome their problem/monster of the week. the audience organically learns about this new world as the characters learn about it. it’s a sound writing strategy that prevents “as we already know”-style exposition but something that complicates it is if your world building isn’t unique or intriguing enough, this slow introduction can become boring

we’ve seen shows like these before; sitting through the same tropes of characters learning to use their powers, struggling with no longer feeling normal/relating to the regular world around them, and not knowing how much they can trust the people already involved in this new world gets repetitive. all three shows eventually reach the same level of comfort with their new world that spn starts with but if the characters aren’t enough to draw you in, you can end up dropping it before they reach that point (and often, before the overarching plot can really kick in and evolve the show beyond the villain of the week format)

it’s the superhero origin movie in tv format; dragged out and overplayed. dropping the audience into an established world of course comes with its own problems but you also have the benefit of pre-existing established character dynamics that let the audience slot in like they’ve always been there instead of just getting to know all the characters while the characters also get to know each other

sam and dean already knowing about the supernatural lets the audience immediately get to the core of the story; the conflict between sam and dean, the search for their father, and the mystery of what killed their mother

[heyo-77]

in the 30 years ford was stranded outside his home dimension, the stans were forced to take up what the other was naturally inclined towards. ford had to survive: he had to learn how to fight, how to punch; he had to learn to be good at it (stanley was a natural). stanley had to get his brother back: he had to learn how to reopen an interdimensional portal, how to Science; he had to learn to be good at it (ford was a natural).

[vertigoartgore]

2017's Superman Vol.4 #26 cover by cover artist Lee Weeks.

[wowieeitsisa]

Hello can you go into more detail about the mitsi lives and is encouraging victim to do the vengeance. I crave more details.

Hey Anon! I’m going to be EXTREMELY honest, since these doddles are practically from last year and I haven’t touched AvA/AvM much since then, not much has been done :’)

I still have lots of sticks to redesign and adjust to canon things are just unfinished like that

But I do have something to offer!

Everything that happens in AvA 11 before the explosion happens, the only difference is that: Mitsi is hit by The Attack but regardless, is saved by Agent with severe injuries

Since the CEO of Rocket Corp is currently unable to continue activities because of what they’ve been through, Victim steps up to fill their role. She makes a bunch of stupid decisions driven by her very emotional and unstable mind that leads to company going private and the community built around it depart.

Once Mitsi recovers enough to be allowed to rest at home (or peharps, back to work activity), he is the one to truly try and investigate around The Chosen One. He has to take care of his community…. He would HATE if something like that event happened again

The Showdown happens (not exactly a happy day with that burst of energy, trauma sucks, investigations persist further). And ohh we have footage of a cursor with no one else but The Chosen One. The most horrible event of their lives is connected with Victim roots, SOMETHING has to be done (she has felt in her own skin something akin of Victim’s suffering, this cannot go any longer…)

Mitsi is weak, her mind though? Comes up with the most brilliant plans that Victim will do anything to make reality ;)

[fyodior]

can someone explain my type to me bc i sure as hell don’t know what it is

[flyboytracy]

[smbhax]

From "The Vanishing Brain!" in Strange Tales #42, January 1956. Pencils & inks by Doug Wildey.

Info from @grandcomicsdatabase

[dcbinges]

Action Comics #23 (1940) by Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster

[happyqueenandgrumpydork]

I hate heat

[slenderfirebolt]

Not just nonbinary, anti-binary. Im against all forms of dichotomies in general, things seem to never work. Also a bit anti-categorical in general but thats a discussion for another day

[question-why-not]

Yeah, the only way he’s beating her is if he successfully lures her into a trap. Which is (at least in UTRH) very much his style in general, note.

"Red Hood vs. Batgirl who's winning the fight" There is no fight. Have you forgotten who we're talking about here

[cirie-won-thirty-four]

Karin is starting to piss me clean off! Why are you mad that people are playing the game?? ‘Straightforward plan’ at final 10????? Please bffr