#bsd 106.5

[shadowmoonarts]

Wan was really living in the future with episode 10, huh?

[bsdtual]

Sigzai nation won so much today it's not even fair /j

[originalaccountname]

POTENTIAL SPOILERS AT THE END OF THIS ASK FOR THE NEW CHAPTER IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN IT YET

Okay, so like, how far can Dazai’s nullification ability extend? I know it’s through touch, and that for the most part if he touches the ability user/object affected by an ability that can nullify it. Though that’s not always the case (like how he can be affected by Gogol’s warps because there’s technically nothing to touch though I suspect Gogol wouldn’t be able to touch him - or how he has to touch what Kunikida makes not Kunikida himself to nullify his ability and can’t nullify the victims of Q’s curse).

But I’ve seen debate on how his ability affects things through other things. Because I’ve seen people say touching his clothes (which touch him) also nullifies abilities but that he needs to touch people skin to skin (not through their clothes) to nullify those types of abilities. And it mostly doesn’t necessarily seem to work through cloth or whatever else he may be touching (that an ability user may or may not be touching) but then I recall that part of the way they beat Rimbaud in the LN — if I recall correctly — was by having Chuuya wrapped in cloth that Dazai touched in order to nullify the effects of Rimbaud’s ability through it.

So I’m kinda confused.

(Mostly this was brought up by the debates over whether Chuuya’s gravity could affect the elevator Dazai’s in since he can’t really avoid touching it which would nullify if. Though if it doesn’t necessarily transfer through what he touches, I don’t see why Chuuya couldn’t just grab the elevator and control the gravity of his own body to slow it down or stop it.)

To be transparent I had to scrap the first version of this answer because while looking up arguments to say how Dazai's ability does affect objects he directly touches, I found some new things and now the answer to that is a big I don't know, maybe not???

EXHIBIT A

In Fifteen, Dazai touches a long cloth wrapped around Chuuya to nullify Rimbaud's attacks. I thought it was because he was making the cloth immune to abilities like himself, but after discussing it with @videogamelover99, I changed my mind. Remember that part about how being in and out of Rimbaud's subspace is akin to two characters from different novels trying to interact, which is impossible? The new interpretation is that Dazai, being immune to abilities, was outside of Rimbaud's subspace, while everything else was inside that subspace. By grabbing the cloth, he forced it to exit the subspace to join his reality outside the subspace, which made it so Rimbaud's attacks couldn't touch the cloth anymore and couldn't reach Chuuya.

EXHIBIT B

Also in Fifteen, Dazai went out of his way to grab Chuuya's neck when Hirotsu and him first fought Chuuya to nullify his ability (direct contact). Meanwhile, Hirotsu's hand was on his shoulder/chest, and he fully intended to use his ability on Chuuya while Dazai was holding him. It doesn't seem like Dazai touching Chuuya would have protected him from Hirotsu's ability (no transfer).

EXHIBIT C

The new stuff I hadn't noticed! Taking you all the way back to chapters 9-10-11, when Dazai is in the mafia dungeon. So far, Dazai's bandages were consistently drawn going high up on his neck, well above his Adam's apple.

In the dungeon, Akutagawa uses Rashoumon to attack him and "attempts" to cut his throat

and afterwards, his bandages come loose, exposing his Adam's apple

His neck is unharmed, because no ability can touch him, however his BANDAGES, which touch his skin directly, were cut and damaged by Rashoumon. Which would mean that 1. his ability does NOT transfer to his own clothes and 2. touching his clothes does NOT nullify an ability.

EXHIBIT D

I cannot find an instance of Dazai nullifying someone's ability and not either touching them directly (Atsushi's face/neck, Chuuya's neck/arm/face, Ranpo's hair, unnamed blond guy's face...) or touching their ability manifestation (Q's doll, Kunikida's things, Rashoumon...). Steinbeck's situation, I would like to mention, is rather ambiguous in the manga and could easily be skin on skin contact. If you have a counter example (NOT from the anime), please share it!

CONCLUSION

It seems like Dazai's ability works in very simple terms: no ability can touch him. That means if he touches the source of an ability (a person or a manifestation), that ability gets nullified, and no ability can affect him. It only works through direct contact with him (hair/skin) and does not transfer through material/surfaces/people.

So the elevator? Probably fine actually. If he's not affecting the bandages and the new Rimbaud interpretation is right, his ability can't affect random objects, so in theory it wouldn't prevent Chuuya from manipulating its gravity, so long as Dazai isn't touching him directly.

(there's also the very real chance Asagiri changed the lore along the years, but until further notice I'll assume everything still works the same way)

[lovesick-psychopath]

It's useless. I have no choice but to drown to death.

[lesbiankordian]

Parallels between Bungou Stray Dogs and Divine Comedy

I believe that in the current chapters Asagiri is purposely sneaking in parallels to Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy. This post will cover the similarities and possible references between bsd's current arc and that book. At first I thought the Meursault prison corresponds to Hell, but now I believe it's actually Purgatory.

Introduction

Similarities

Final thoughts

Divine Comedy (in which the author - Dante - made himself the main character) talks about one's path to breaking free from sin and their growth as a person. It's divided into three parts: Hell, Purgatory and Paradise. During the first two parts, Dante's guide is Virgil (Beatrice comes at the end of Purgatory). In Hell they're going downwards, to the lower circles; in Purgatory they're going upwards, to the higher terraces.

The difference between those two places is that in Hell the souls are suffering endless tortures for their sins, meanwhile in Purgatory they're atoning for them and will eventually leave that place. Depending on what we think is more similar to what's happening in the Meursault prison, we could either interpret it as Hell or Purgatory.

As I said, I believe that it's Purgatory, as the characters are going up, starting from the lowest floor, and that journey helps them (Sigma and Dazai) to grow as a person.

When it comes to Fyodor, I'm not so sure. His goal is to get rid of the abilities, which he compares to a sin. This point acts more as an argument for the Meursault prison, or even his arc overall, to be Hell (not that it's like Hell for him, but more like that's how he thinks of the current events other characters are going through), as his idea of making the ability users free of the the sin is killing them and that's nothing like Purgatory. One could argue tho, that it is similar to the latter, because he wants to release the people from the sin, his idea how to do it and methods are just different.

His character and ability are based on Crime and Punishment and that's literally what Dante's Hell is - endless punishment for one's sins. Moreover, Fyodor sees himself as the God's subordinate and Divine Comedy talks about the souls' sufferings because of their wrongdoings to God. It also talks about Dante's path to getting closer to God (metaphorically and literally), and Fyodor thinks of himself as someone between God and the people.

This analysis won't focus on him, but I wanted to point out the (important) religious themes in both of the stories.

What's also interesting is that Dazai and Fyodor (as the most dangerous ability users) had their cells located on the lowest level - similarly to Hell, where the worst people, traitors, were at the lowest ring. Although Dazai is a traitor to the PM, I don't think he parallels those from Dante's work, as they were meant to symbolize that betrayal is bad, but Asagiri shows that what Dazai did was good for him. They correspond to them in their "lack" of humanity and various commited crimes.

Now more of the similarities!

1. Briareus

Purgatory, Canto XII; bsd chapter 98

The prison officer's nickname is "Hundred ability Briareus". In Greek mythology Briareus is one of the Hundred-Handers, who helped Zeus and the Olympians to overthrow the Titans.

Quick comparison to bsd: while bsd! Briareus gets killed by a person who's "working" for a prisoner, og Briareus eventually becomes a guard of those he was fighting against.

Briareus is also a character in Divine Comedy. He has two appearances: in Hell he's a giant inhabitating the Ninth Circle; in the first terrace of Purgatory he's one of the giants whose sin was pride. I'll focus on the latter, as it's more similar to the scene from chapter 98.

Dante's Briareus is a sympol of pride and bsd!Briareus says how powerful he is. Moreover, they're both more or less carved into the ground / wall (Dante's Briareus as a form of penance, bsd!Briareus by Chuuya's ability) of the first terrace / floor.

That would mean the Meursault prison is our Purgatory.

(more under the cut)

That scene also reminds me of the beginning of the Fifteen light novel, where Chuuya is really confident in his ability and makes fun of PM for being weak - interesting how he's the one to meet and kill Briareus (in Divine Comedy the meetings help Dante to become free of the sins). Also, the PM member from Fifteen is rather scared of Chuuya and shows him no respect, as opposed to the prison officer.

2. Flames and separation

In Canto XXVII, so almost at the end of Purgatory, Dante has to go through the flames in order to go to Paradise. Virgil can't come with him, as he's not Christian. Instead, he encourages Dante and reminds him of his free will.

In chapter 106.5 Sigma and Dazai also are in a situation involving flames, and even tho none of them actually go through them, they split up - Dazai doesn't leave the lift. Just like Dante and Virgil.

That, and the fact that a big part of Sigma's character is about being used (so not having free will) makes me believe they're paralleling Dante, making Dazai Virgil, their guide through the prison.

Sigma is in the process of finding themselves - similarly to Dante, who with the help of Virgil learns truths about love, good and bad, etc. This heavily reminds me of the conversation from chapter 105.5 about why Dazai chose them and his relationship with ADA.

Here's a comparison of their conversations:

After Dante goes through the flames and leaves Virgil, he sees the march of the Church, and Sigma may find Fyodor in the next chapters. Moreover, Beatrice says the Church is divided and sinful. The people are going into the direction of the tree of knowledge of good and evil (the tree that Eve and Adam got their apple from). Fyodor's view on the world really fits that description, take dead apple and the manifestation of his ability as an example.

3. Water

In Canto XXXI (where Beatrice is the guide) Dante goes through the waters of the river Lethe, which makes him forget his past sins. In XXXIII (the last part of Purgatory) Dante dips in Eone and becomes fully purified.

That obviously reminds me of Fyodor and Chuuya, and then Sigma and Dazai, drowning.

Chuuya - he's currently a vampire (who, because of that, might not remember his past for now - Lethe?). Both the transition to a vampire and being dipped in water have metaphorical meanings involving changing as a person. That situation, along with Dazai's words, could have helped him gain consciousness, at least for a second (you know the whole "his eyes were back to normal" thing), and "cleanse" him from the vampirism. Moreover, in his speech Dazai talked about their relationship, and the one who was by Dante's side when he went through Lethe was Beatrice, his lover. She also talked about love (Canto XXX) and Dazai's farewell was really emotional and more authentic than what he usually says. (Of course I'm not saying they're lovers, just pointing out the similarities)

Sigma - before drowning in Meursault, there was a different panel that showed them being in water. Fyodor talked there about Sigma's loneliness in this world - is Sigma's amnesia similar to Dante going through Lethe? (Or: before coming into Purgatory, Dante had to be washed, because he had to leave his worldly life behind. I think that fact corresponds to Sigma's life even more). Then we got the recent chapters where Dazai saves Sigma. I didn't find many "cleansing" themes in that scene, except for that panel, which reminds me of baptism (it cleanses the person from sins and is done with water):

What we can also get from these similarities is that Dazai doesn't necessarily have to correspond to Virgil, but also Beatrice, another guide.

4. Dreams

Throughout his journey, Dante has dreams that help him understand things better in one way or another. In one of them he sees Beatrice, who I already compared to Dazai. Atsushi "hallucinated" as well, in chapter 105. In that vision he sees Dazai who makes / motivates him to move. Atsushi's much like Dante as well - they both are on a journey to become a better version of themselves, but also idealise their mentors.

5. Ango

Just like the spirit, Ango is helping Dazai and Sigma to go through the prison (upwards). Dazai also calls him an 'angel'.

Purgatory, Canto XVII; bsd chapter 101

6. Mykola

The game Fyodor, Dazai and Sigma are playing was made by Mykola. One of the most famous works of the real Mykola Hohol is Dead souls, which some believe that he wanted it to be the Russian Divine Comedy. The book was meant to be a trilogy, but only one volume (that was meant to correspond to Dante's Hell) was created. I even found a reference to it, in which Chichikov (the main character) is compared to Dante:

That point acts more as an argument for the game to be Hell, not Purgatory, but the relatedness to Divine Comedy is there. Or maybe it's more that Mykola wants the game to be like Hell, not Purgatory - either for Fyodor or Dazai, it's supposed to end in death. The other one's experience would be like Purgatory, tho, as he'd successfully leave the prison.

Or maybe, it's his journey that he wants to be like Chichikov and Dante's (since he wants to become free). Either way, that person is supposed to go through Purgatory later.

Also, does it mean the game is going to end before it was supposed to? If it hasn't already.

edit: more similarities in the reblogs!!

To sum up, I think one character doesn't have to correspond to just one person from Divine Comedy - and vice versa. Dazai is Virgil, but at the same time Beatrice, another guide, and also has some parts of Dante - he grows and goes through the Purgatory.

We don't have only one Dante - both Sigma and Atsushi share his traits and both go through their own paths to knowing themselves better (with the help of Dazai, too).

Bram and Aya's relationship is the one where, in my opinion, the levels of danteness and virgilness are most equal. Aya is Bram's guide, literally caries him on her back, but also shows him modern technology. Bram also helps Aya and guards her. Not to mention, they're at the highest part of the airport now, which means they have gone upwards.

I argued the Meursault prison is Purgatory, but I also found some similarities to Hell. It can be that it shares both of their traits, maybe depending on a character and what's happening to them.

The question is: is Asagiri writing this arc with so many similarities to Divine Comedy on accident or on purpose? Because if it was just the themes and archetypes that were alike, I wouldn't ask this question, but some of the things I listed are too resembling of Dante's work for me, especially Briareus and what happened in the lift. Not to mention real Hohol's connection to Divine Comedy.

If you have thoughts on this subject, please share! I've spent so much time thinking about this, I don't know anymore if I've gaslighted myself into thinking Asagiri must be doing it on purpose or not (but at the same time!! the similarities!!!). Yes, Dante is way older than every bsd author, but 1) we also have Shakespeare and 2) I believe it's a reference to Divine Comedy as a book, not that he'll be a new character (it'd be so cool tho). But even if it's not Asagiri's conscious doing, the similarities are still very interesting and I enjoyed looking for them.

[dazais-guardian-angel]

Dazai truly has become Oda in every way imaginable now. :’ ) the final words he gives to Sigma are the exact same words Oda gives to Dazai in the original scene Asagiri wrote for the end of the Dark Era stage play, 後は頼んだよ, “I will leave the rest to you.”

And I really love the progression of the way his eyes look in this chapter, and how Sigma is allowed to have this moment of questioning and rebelling against all the faith Dazai had naturally been leading him to place in him up to this point, which is what I hoped would happen. He’s been confused ever since Dazai first chose him, and everything he’s ever known about how everyone sees/treats him turned upside down by Dazai’s words and actions, and just when he’s finally started to feel like he’s found some hope and lowered his guard, Dazai pulls him back underwater, instantly reinforcing all of Sigma’s trust issues and reinforcing that he should never believe in anyone, because (he thinks) everyone lives to manipulate other people. Dazai’s dark eyes here reinforce that, too, and the other panels around this point where they look white and hollow and demonic, all like Fyodor’s. He appears like an evil, looming force pulling him back under, trying to kill him, when Sigma is so close to the freedom of the air he desperately wants (aka free from pain, which is what he’s been seeking his whole life).

But then Dazai makes this face, and the first one I posted above, and Sigma understands, even without words, that Dazai doesn’t have evil intent: on the contrary, he actually is bound and determined to save his life -- and the light in his eyes comes out through this determination and kindness, arguably the most light we’ve ever seen his eyes have in the entire manga (in the “I leave the rest to you” panel too). The “No” could be Dazai wordlessly telling him to not leave the water, but my first assumption was that it was Sigma telling himself no, stopping his own train of thought about Dazai being the same as Fyodor and someone he shouldn’t have trusted -- he soon realizes why Dazai stopped him, and that he’s still going to try to save him, that he wasn’t wrong about him, and it’s all because Dazai’s earnest expressions get through to him.

And it’s just so heartwarming to see how far Dazai has come. :’ ) He tried so hard to save Sigma (doing the most physical action we’ve ever seen him do, really), did his best to be reassuring and comforting to him afterwards, and then reaffirmed his promise to ensure he escaped Meursault alive, his final words to Sigma echoing Oda’s and his last action being to save an orphan, just like Oda did in his last moments. Obviously Dazai isn’t actually going to die, he’ll be saved somehow, but I do think as of right now he really does think this is the end for him, and that he didn’t foresee the elevator dropping -- he was examining the wires a few chapters ago because he thought he might need to know how to open the doors in case Fyodor pulled an uno reverse, hence why he looks more annoyed than shocked when the water starts, but here, when the drop collision sequence is initiated, he looks genuinely shook in comparison. There’d be no reason for him to give the thumbs up if he knew more danger was on the way, either; that’d just be cruel. No, I don’t think he saw this coming, and it’s important that that turns out to be the case: it’s important that he spent what he believes to have been his last moments saving someone like Oda wanted for him, and doing what Oda would have done in the same situation. That doesn’t mean that it’s okay that Dazai throws his life away so easily, and cares so little for his own safety; he still has a long way to go in that regard. But it’s still so beautiful to see how much he’s changed, and how much he’s truly begun to embody Oda and his legacy; the fact that he messed up and miscalculated, because Dazai isn’t infallible, but in turn didn’t hesitate to use his last moments to save Sigma. Oda would be so proud for everything he did here. :’ ) 💖

There are a lot of options for how Dazai will be saved, and by who, but personally I hope (and I kind of expect) that Sigma chooses to not give up on him and ultimately plays a role in saving his life, to return the favor and repay him for his kindness. Not only would it be a beautiful way to initiate Sigma’s ADA entrance exam as people have said, but it would bring the Dazai > Atsushi > Sigma chain full circle: Dazai saved Atsushi at the start of the series, allowing him to (spiritually) save Sigma at sky casino thanks to the growth fostered in him by Dazai, and now finally, Sigma could potentially save Dazai thanks to Atsushi kickstarting his own growth (and Dazai continuing it). Fyodor is overly cocky right now and so tunnel-visioned on killing Dazai, it’s possible that he has no idea that Sigma managed to escape the elevator and is now a wild card; even if Sigma doesn’t go as far as killing Fyodor himself (which I don’t want, tbh; that’s endgame stuff arcs down the line and imo Nikolai and Dazai should be the ones involved with that), he could throw a wrench in the jailbreak duel, and help Dazai and Chuuya get out alive. It would be poetic, and only fitting, for Fyodor to underestimate and be outdone by the kind of person Dazai told him is the strongest in chapter 77 -- a self-proclaimed “ordinary man” -- who could only have the strength to take such action thanks to the chain of kindness that Oda originally started. 💖

[littleholmes]

poor sigma is literally going to be so traumatized by the end of this

[vivalaplxto]

New chapter was crazy bro they even did mouth to mouth

[purrfectlycontent]

i did a double take when i saw this panel

[vitoruwii]

Okay yall…. I don’t exactly ship sigzai but WHAT EXACTLY HAPPENED HERE

I think Dazai exchanged some oxygen with sigma, because sigma was literally almost drowning and out of nowhere he gained enough strength to open a whole heavy door??

It’s not clear why Dazai had his eyes widened, and why sigma calmed down so suddenly, but thats my theory!!

[aaaaaaaaraaaaaraaa]

I dont know how much longer I can handle a character dying every month ngl besties

[sh1nsoukoku]

SIGZAI SHIPPERS RISE UP ‼️

[originalaccountname]

"Chuuya will save Dazai" this "Chuuya will catch the elevator" that. What if he's really just still stuck as a vampire. What if he's just a helpless witness. What then.

[smellypire]

Bro said "bitch! It hurts" 😭 the way it said power of friendship too helpp 💀

[shirakumuluscloud]

Ok but what if now that Sigma is on his own, Dostoevsky doesn't pay attention to him/ignores him bc a big fault of his is that he underestimates people. He doesn't think Sigma will be a threat but Sigma will prove him wrong by figuring out Fyodor's ability or winning against Fyodor somehow and Fyodor ignoring/underestimating him blows up in his face. Dazai told Sigma that it's up to him this chapter (I think, translation isn't out yet)

Sigma saying he's not superhuman (like Dazai is in their exchange) and him not being superhuman being brought up by Teruko (and images of Dazai, Fyodor, and Chuuya appearing when she says that) but Dazai saying there are no superhumans and Fyodor underestimating ppl but Dazai doesn't and -

[doubleskk]