#saw so many parallels and similarities between bsd and all the other animes i love

[akaashism]

in this essay, i will

[no-brain-just-akutagawa]

Why I think Akutagawa will survive based on the 2nd ending ~

(and some other ramblings because I can't stop talking about him)

I'm pretty sure a similar analysis had been done before but I haven't stumbled upon any when I was looking for something that included bsd openings and endings so I decided to write one myself.

What I like about bsd ops and eds is how they show relationships between characters and foreshadow certain events (I could probably go on for hours just talking about them). There was one scene in particular that caught my eye while watching the 2nd ending and it's the one with Dazai and Akutagawa.

More under the cut because this whole thing got longer than I anticipated.

Throughout both s1 ed and s2 ed we're shown the differences between how Dazai interacts with Atsushi and how he treats Akutagawa. We also see a bit of Atsushi and Akutagawa's similarities when it comes to loneliness and wanting to be accepted. Their whole story is a separate subject in its own but the gist is that Dazai discarded Akutagawa and is instead supporting Atsushi (that's how Akutagawa sees it and he isn't really that wrong).

In the 1st ed we see how Dazai's touch is a symbol of his care and acceptance and how Atsushi is smiling when Dazai pets him (I mean Atsushi is partially a cat so I guess it's kinda given he'd like physical affection) because it symbolizes being cared for and that's something he was craving his whole life. In contrast when it comes to Akutagawa Dazai never reaches him disappearing before he can (like how he diasppeared from Akutagawa's life after leaving PM):

After the events of the second season and the development Akutagawa goes through, in the 2nd ending we finally get a scene with Dazai showing his care for - and more imporantly - to Akutagawa. Due to his character it's hard to say how Dazai really feels about people around him as we only get glimpses of his thought process but what Dazai truly thinks is never that imporant to Akutagawa because he's more interested in what Dazai does and says. Even if Dazai thought of Akutagawa as his equal it wouldn't matter unless he said it out loud to Akutagawa.

And that's why their scene during the 2nd ending matters.

We get an analogy to the scene from the 1st ed when Dazai saves Atsushi but here instead of Atsushi we have Akutagawa who is looking quite... well... dead. Even since I saw this scene for the first time I've been wondering if it's a foreshadowing that Akutagawa might get killed or like fatally wounded but not dead yet. And after reading chapter 88 it became even more interesing because of the similiarities between the 2 scenes:

(just gonna quickly say that he looked gorgeous during the whole Kamui fight and I love him so much, end of the intermission)

These 2 scenes are more or less a parallel to each other.

In the first one he's basically confirmed dead and in the other he looks at least dead-ish. This shadow looks a bit like blood and it's hard for me to believe it's concidential. There were many possible ways to kill Akutagawa and the fact he's in the same position in both of this scenes has to be intentional.

I have no idea how much knowledge people who animate bsd have when in comes to future events. Chapter 88 wasn't out when they were doing the 1st and 2nd season so either Asagiri gave them some hints or Asagiri got inspired by the anime. Either way works for me but it's hard to believe it's all a coincidence when these 2 scenes looks so similar.

In the manga Akutagawa was tailing Atsushi because it's what Dazai wanted and we all know how desperate for Dazai's acknowledgement Akutagawa can get. I'm 100% sure that he didn't save Atsushi just because it was Dazai's wish for him to do so but because he genuinely cares about Jinko whether he wants to admit it or not. But that's besides the point. The point is that he is craving what he thinks Atsushi has which is Dazai's care and acceptance.

He doesn't have the same mindset that Atsushi has which a lot of time consists of thinking "I can't do it, maybe I do deserve to die". Throught the whole story Akutagawa has had a surprisingly huge will to live and fight in comparison to Atsushi and some other charaters. I wouldn't necessarly say it's all because of Dazai BUT wanting to see Dazai proud of him one day is certainly a part of what pushes him forward. Even when he's outnumbered or wounded this need to prove himself is enough to motivate him to keep going.

In the 2nd ending we finally see him getting the same treatment as Atushi got in the 1st one. Dazai touches his head and ruffles his hair showing him his care. And even though Akutagawa seemed to be dead, after Dazai touches him he starts to move, to live:

Here Dazai's acknowledgement and care is enough to bring him back and give him stregnth. Last time Akutagawa fought on a ship he nearly got killed and still somehow survived a huge explosion (Higuchi saved his ass, everyone be grateful for our sweetheart). This time he was also talking about defying death (or whatever wording he used) and it was an obvious foreshadowing to him becoming a vampire so why wouldn't this ending be a foreshadowing that he's going to survive a supposed death by getting slashed and bleeding out?

It's also a way to show his vulnerability in this moment because if Dazai is touching him, his ability gets nullyfied and he can't protect himself. It would be fitting if it was Dazai nullifying his vampirism but these two endings are more symbolic than literal so I doubt that it'll happen like that. I personally think it symbolises that Dazai won't let Akutagawa die before it really is his time to go (Akutagawa said himself that he has a lung disease and I believe that's what going to get him one day).

After that we see a small call back to the 1st ending which I personally adore and I'm talking about the blood falling from his eye and splashing like fireworks:

(why have a gif when you can have 3 screenshots in a trench coat)

Apart from it being a symbol of his pain and illness it's also a really visually pleasing scene and one of the most memorable ending moments.

In this one we once again see blood falling from his eye but this time it's turning into a clear tear as it falls:

His blood turing into a tear may symbolize his change. When we first met him he was blood-thirsty and willing to kill the oponent even if it wasn't needed. But as we learn in the manga, after making his deal with Atsushi he stopped killing which is a huge change for someone like him who was always set on killing. I'm pretty sure he struggled with keeping his end of the deal but I believe it changed him in some way to see that there is a different way to live. This tear can be a symbol of that and of him becoming a better person.

Crying is one of the ways human body processes emotions so it can also be a sign of him letting go of the pain he used to feel and healing from his trauma. Akutagawa seems to have issues when accepting other people's help and talking about his own feelings (he has no problem talking about other people and trying to understand them shown by his attitude towards Atsushi) due to him always keeping his distance so it might also mean him opening up to his emotions and other people.

But I digress.

The point is that killing him in the beginning of his redemption arc doesn't make much sense. Akutagawa sacrificing himself for Atsushi is a life-changing moment for them both and a great starting point for more of Akutagawa's development. Similarly with Kyouka her sacrifice was just an exam and the beginning of her new life so she still had to learn how to become better. There certainly are ways for him to come out of the whole vamipirism thing alive that would make sense like Yosano's ability and using the page and I'd be really surprised if he would end up being gone for good after the end of the vampire outbreak. Especially because in bsd no one is really dead unless it's Odasaku, then we just cry.

But in all seriousness killing such an important character in the beginning of their redemption arc by a sacrifice is kind of boring storytelling-wise and considering how the story was working so far it would kneecap the narration surounding soukoku and shin soukoku. It would be a very bleak ending for Akutagawa and bsd seems like a genuinely hopeful story so I see no reason for him to die this early on. Atsushi already had to deal with someone important to him dying so him going through the whole ordeal again doesn't make sense either.

I know that the scene in this ending might as well symbolize Akutagawa accepting his death by finding peace in the fact that Dazai will be proud of him and him finally accomplishing what he wanted this whole time but shush, we're being positive right now.

Okay idk how much sense this analysis really made but I'm desperate for any way to see Aku develop more as a person and for him to be happy and if this ending foreshadows that I'll be overjoyed.

#let-akutagawa-have-some-happiness-in-2022