#what do they think is dazai's reasoning for blaming ango

[monstersqueen]

i love that so far the reasons i've found why Odasaku's Death Is Totally Ango's Fault are :

his betrayal had a severe emotional impact that lead odasaku to choose death

if he had been with dazai when dazai tried to prevent odasaku to go fight mimic odasaku would have listened

if ango had been honest and they had worked together they could have saved him

i think the closest to a real reason i've found that is not just 'he lied to us :((' is that ango potentially reported gide's power to mori, and that's what made mori decide to use odasaku to destroy mimic

[starlightshadowsworld]

Bsd except Dazai was never part of the Port Mafia.

But he keeps somehow getting involved with them. To the point a lot of the Port Mafia think he is.

Like Dazai was just going for a walk through Suribachi city, because he was bored.

Next thing you know, he and Chuuya are facing down the dead Port Mafia Boss.

Chuuya joins the Port Mafia, Dazai isn't even part of it. And they still end up becoming Double Black.

Because their both chaos magnets and keep running into each other during various crisis's.

Mori keeps trying to recruit Dazai and he refuses every time.

There's an executive spot open for him, but no one realises that it hasn't been taken.

There's a whole ass legend about the Demon Prodigy of the Port Mafia. That he's so sinister and evil no one knows what he looks like.

Meanwhile Dazai's just some broke artist that works at some cafe.

He found the Akutugawa siblings starving on one of his walks and invited them into the cafe.

Where he teased em for putting way too much sugar in their tea and they've been close ever since.

They both still end up join the Port Mafia and visit often.

Dazai's given Akutugawa some pointers on his ability.

And because of that, Akutugawa works hard to make him proud. He considers Dazai his first mentor and respects the hell out of him.

This story is interpreted very differently by the Port Mafia. Who see Akutugawa's rage and violence. And assume his mentors to blame.

And not... Him being 16 and incredibly emo.

His actual mentor in the Port Mafia is Chuuya.

But people rarely see them together and assume it's the mysterious Demon Prodigy. A man so dead inside he probably beats up his subordinate and is endlessly cruel.

Cut to Dazai at the cafe, lighting up and bouncing over as soon as the Akutugawa siblings show up at the cafe.

Mori's not exactly helping to stop the rumours.

Dazai still befriends Oda and Ango, they're regulars and they frequent Bar Lupin together. And Mori still uses them against him.

Odasaku dies and Dazai joins the Agency. To make the most out of his life, and to personally spite Mori forevermore.

Dazai meets Atsushi, gets him some food and is just like welp another stray.

Reasons that with Atsushi's lack on control with his ability, and desperate need of a job. Helps him land one at the Agency.

There's like 3 minutes of Akutugawa and Atsushi having a stare off before they just sit, drink tea together and have a nice conversation.

Though they have to put up appearances in battle of course. Since their technically enemies but only at work.

Dazai's "secret" comes out and he spends a good long hour screaming profanities into a pillow before explaining himself.

The layout of the Port Mafia being one Dazai knows, it's because he's been kidnapped that many times and has made fun of the structure.

Mori took that as constructive criticism and made the changes.

Dazai just really hates Mori.

He makes it very clear to everyone at the Agency that everything he knows about Mori and the Port Mafia inner workings is entirely against his will.

But man it took a lot of convincing.

Like yes I might have Port Mafia connections, some personal ones. I might also resemble the vague description of the "Demon Prodigy."

And sure there's an executive spot quite literally with my name on it. And yeah I know Mori, unfortunately better than most people.

But I am not a member of the Port Mafia and I never have been.

... See this is why I kept my past a secret.

Yosano is just like, no yeah that checks out he would do that.

And Ranpo is just laughing his ass off and says Dazai's telling the truth and there is peace... For now.

[sinfulpunishment]

✎ᝰ┆… And To Letting Go

─❏ Warnings: none

─❏ Characters: Oda Sakunosuke, mentioned Ango Sakaguchi

─❏ Synopsis: Read by a man standing in front of his friend’s grave in the rain.

─❏ A/N: part two of the oda goodbye letters

﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌

Dearest Ango,

I am well aware that last we spoke it was not on… the best of terms, but I am also aware that there must be a reason for your actions. I don’t believe I blame you, nor am I really upset with you.

Besides, you should be focused on other matters and not any guilt you may feel for what you’ve done. For example, you should be getting more rest instead of staying up so late to do work, maybe then you wouldn’t have to rely on coffee so much. At this point though, I know your coffee order, but it’s very simple: two shots of espresso, and sometimes a biscotti alongside it. Though, I know you prefer the coffee I make over any other coffee shop nearby. It’s strange, I wouldn’t say that my coffee is any better than someone who dedicated their life to it, but if you really like it that much then I’ll always make you a pot.

I am sorry things aren’t going to be able to go back to how they used to be. I know it’s hard, our time together meant a lot to you, even now I can tell it’s hard for you to let go. Sometimes I also catch myself daydreaming of a time in which we all are free men, and we can lead normal lives together, as friends. I know you like antiques, right? I wish I could have gone antiquing with you then. I also wish we all could have gone somewhere like the beach together, or maybe even the aquarium.

But we can’t. Things are different now, and soon I won’t be with you two anymore.

I only hope that you continue to do what’s right, you are a rather kind person deep down, I know that. I hope you’re able to hold onto a copy of that photo of us, just for yourself, that way you can at least have a picture to capture that small period of time. I still want you to be able to let go though, you’ll have to, you cannot get stuck in the past and what could have been. By the time you read this, what’s done will have been done and there will be no turning back.

Just promise me this much: that you’ll take care of yourself and Dazai, for me.

For you, treat yourself well and take care of yourself, learn how to make your own espresso or find a coffee shop you really like. Try getting more rest too, and remember not to let your work completely control your life.

As for Dazai, just keep an eye on him. I do not know what path he will walk down, if he will stay in the Port Mafia or leave to find a better life; Of course, I hope he chooses the latter.

I know you could help him get out of any serious trouble, he doesn’t always make the safest decisions. But, he’s smart. He may not always seem to make the “best choices”, but things always seem to work out for him, he always plans ahead. Even if he doesn’t like you, not that I think that he absolutely hates you, he is still bound to you by the bond we all formed.

If you ever visit my resting place, don’t bring yellow flowers, Dazai hates yellow and we both know he’ll visit me too. Maybe bring a bottle of Scotch and two shot glasses, open a bottle for me and save me a glass.

Oh, before I forget, you did know of my dream to be a novelist, right? To sit at a desk, with a window overlooking the sea so I can hear the waves crash to the shore with a certain rhythm to it that you have to spend years around to even understand—I’m getting ahead of myself.

I wanted to leave that novel to you, Ango. I trust that you can write well, and you would know what I would have liked to read. It’s just that this is very important to me. Of course, you don’t have to. Make sure to leave me a copy if you do though, maybe even come and read it to me if you have time, I know you’re a busy man.

I know things are different between us, but I still wish nothing for the best for you, my friend. Don’t forget to visit our usual spot every now and then, greet the bartender for me, won’t you?

This is goodbye now, write for me.

To the stray dogs, and to letting go.

— Oda Sakunosuke

to an overworked friend.

[chuuyanakaahara]

my pet peeve with the bsd fandom is when they misrepresent skk's relationship. dazai wasnt wrong for leaving the mafia, but chuuya isnt wrong for having complicated feelings on the subject. it feels like it all circles back to people thinking chuuya cant live without dazai, then others going to the EXACT OPPOSITE of that and going chuuya hates dazai completely, and then victim-blaming dazai for leaving a toxic enviorment.

they do!

dazai wasn't wrong for leaving the mafia. it wasn't giving him a reason to live, the people he'd trusted as friends left him in one way or another, and it was time for him to go. chuuya found his place in the mafia. chuuya has lost family upon family and i think it would tear him apart to leave the mafia / leave another family, fucked up as it may be.

i think chuuya knew that dazai needed to leave - knew that he would, even! - but still felt abandoned because knowing something and experiencing something are entirely different things. and even then, chuuya did what he always did: move on. because chuuya needs to move on, it's what he always does. with the sheep, with the flags, with adam, with verlaine, with dazai.

and frankly? i think dazai wasn't thinking about chuuya at all when he made the decision to leave the mafia. there's a reason that double black wasn't mentioned much or at all during dark era, because it wasn't about soukoku, it was about dazai and oda and ango. dazai left for oda because of oda's dying wish.

if your best friend dies in your arms after your other best friend betrays you, and you find this could've somehow, maybe, futilely been avoided, do you think of the partner that you've been frenemies with for years? or do you think of your best friend and their dying wish? do you think through your grief and reason that your partner is going to feel hurt by this or do you drown in it? because dazai drowned in it.

[tender-rosiey]

Hi! I hope you're doing fine and taking care of yourself. If it's okay with you, can you do relationship headcanons with Port Mafia! Dazai? Thank you!

❥ PM!Dazai Dating Headcanons

ᴀ/ɴ: why does notes make me think that I wrote a lot but this damn app is like haha no; anyways I hope you enjoyed this, dear 💘

Let’s bear in mind that Dazai was more closed off in the Port Mafia

So it will take furthermore time to even get on his trusted side of people

And he will deny the fact that he got feelings for you after you two trust each other

So you will just have to lure him to accepting it

Kind actions with no ulterior motives and just be there to support him

Now when you guys get together

As I said before he might take 6 to 8 months to wholeheartedly open up his heart to you

We can’t blame him tho, man has went through a lot :(

He will gradually start increasing how clingy he is but to a healthy extent

Like at the beginning it might be more of hand holding and an arm around your waist

He would like to show people that you are his and that you are taken

And it reminds him that he isn’t alone anymore and that he has you by his side

But as I was saying it will slowly get to him demanding hugs every 20 minutes because he likes hugging you

It gives him a welcoming warmth

Ayo everyone your girl’s love language is physical affection

I don’t think he would like when you go on missions and stuff

What if something happens to you?

What then?

Does he have to endure the loss of another person?

Does he want something to trick him to thinking that he is the reason everyone around him is suffering?

No, and he won’t take the risk of losing you when he has an option not to

He does prefer that even if you go on a mission that he is with you

As you can probably guess it’s that so he can make sure nothing happens out of plan

Now that we got the sad stuff out of the way

Let’s move onto fluffy things ;)

I think he would give you kisses at the most random times and even inappropriate times

In the middle of a meeting?

Kiss

You are cooking?

Kiss

You are arguing with someone?

Kiss

When Chuuya joins he teases him mercilessly and proudly comes to tell you the story of his “accomplishment” everyday right after said incident

“Y/N I dropped a bucket of sardine and sewer water on Chuuya! :D”

*obnoxious angry gremlin noises from said chihuahua*

Sometimes you might find Dazai staring at you blankly

But DONT misunderstand that

It’s just him thinking about the fact if he deserves you or not if he is allowed to actually enjoy life :(

Which brings me to the part that I think Dazai would want reassurance and comfort yes

But without making it obvious

Like a “you are strong and I am here for you”

Not a “you are vulnerable so I am supporting you” type of comfort

He doesn’t like vulnerability and/or showing a weakness

So just hug him and whisper sweet nothings to him

It will slowly convince him and that he indeed does deserve to be happy

And there is a value to life even if it’s as simple as making memories

And that now his memories can finally be happy and full of light rather than the darkness and emptiness he has been feeling for a time now

Moving on

He would love when you and Odasaku talk together

It makes him happy or rather the more I am trying to find is content that two of his most trusted people are getting along

You sometimes gang up on ango, all the three of you together

And at the times you are not with them in Bar Lupin then when he gets home he will tell you all about what happened

“Me and Odasaku had just came from a mission and then hugged Ango and he was screaming because we were dirty <3”

I think Dazai would love cuddling both in PM and the ADA

Most preferably when you are laying on top of him and he just has his arms around you

Another one is saved for the moments he feels particularly bothered and vulnerable

It’s when he is facing you but slides down a bit that his face is facing your chest so he can bury himself in it

Probably because he doesn’t want you to see him when he is weak, but not for the reason of not trusting you

Rather that he just wants to give you his best him

Dazai deals with jealousy—the same way he does now

Someone hitting on you?

Cheerfully approaches the person and slides his arm around your waist then pulls you close

“Hello there, what buisness might you have with my lover?”

and proceeds to shake hands with the other person

Almost crushing it as a warning ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

That’s exactly why people should take the hint

TAKE YOUR HANDS OFF MY HIPS BEFORE I PUNCH YOU IN THE LIPS STOP YOUR STARING AT MY—

The good times of these songs

Now back to the sad stuff cause I am not sparing you today in the name of making this longer

When he witnesses Odasaku’s death and Ango’s betrayal is a day when he would just like to rant about everything

He doesn’t normally show too much feelings and he probably needed to vent, after all his two most trusted friends are gone

Then he would like to be held by you for the rest of the day

A silent reminder that you are here to stay

He also won’t hesitate in asking you to leave the Port Mafia with him

And will be happy and joyful if you do accept but if it’s the latter..

Then we will save this for another time

AHAHAHAHA

BYE BYE

LOVE YOU ALL

“What did my lovers do to you so you can leave them on a cliffhanger?”

I am feeling evil today

༼ つ ◕◡◕ ༽つ

copyright © 2020 tender-rosiey

do not copy or plagiarize or you will be reported

[along-came-atsushi]

Parallels between 55 Minutes and Dead Apple

While reading 55 Minutes a while ago, I realized that its story and Dead Apple had some interesting parallels or shared the same ideas.

Looking at certain scenes in the Dead Apple novel, some parallels became even more apparent. Sometimes, even the same or similar words were used.

I don’t think there is a deeper meaning behind this honestly, but I find it interesting to point out nonetheless.

  [Side Note: 55 Minutes was released in 2016, while the novel for the Dead Apple movie was released in 2018. 55 Minutes was written by Asagiri Kafka, while he only collaborated with others for the story of Dead Apple. The novel itself was written by Hiro Iwahata.]

Beware: Major spoilers for 55 Minutes and Dead Apple!

  1.  Weapon or abilities described as red heat or red sphere

55 Minutes: The main threat is a weapon called “The Shell” that upon activating, covers Standard Island and Yokohama in a red heat wave, vaporizing all life:

The sky was dyed red. […] Red. Everything was red—the ocean, the island, even Yokohama at the other end of the horizon.

.

“That’s the Shell.” The terrorist briskly walked over to Atsushi. “The crimson celestial sphere of annihilation.”

.

The crimson dome burned like a small star that had fallen upon the earth with an extraordinary amount of heat locked inside. The fiery enclosure rapidly imploded. The heat rushing towards its core.

  Dead Apple: Abilities collected by Shibusawa are described as red crystals. Upon merging two abilities together by Dazai, they turn into a red apple/sphere:

The two lights melted into one and spun until they formed a single sphere. They had produced a single apple—a juicy, poisoned apple red as blood. […]

The apple swelled as it absorbed numerous crystals until the red light became hotter than the surface of hell.

.

A hellish red light radiated as a violent wind gusted from the giant sphere.

  -> After this Shibusawa gets “killed” by Fyodor, turns into a dragon and releases a red fog that is about to cover the whole earth and turn it into the so-called dead apple.

   2. Allusion to Odasaku and Ango

55 Minutes: It’s been revealed that the Colonel who wanted to activate The Shell was the former mentor of Gide, the leader of Mimic. By activating The Shell, he wanted to state an example and for the truth about Mimic to be revealed. He blames himself for not being able to stop his former subordinates back then. Dazai remembers the Mimic Incident and with it, of course, the painful memories of Odasaku and Ango:

“You won’t find anything,” Dazai suddenly said while turning his gaze out the window. “The Division made sure to completely cover it up. You won’t find any records of their [Mimic] deaths, nor will you even find a single photo accidentally taken of them […]. The Division is good at jobs like that, after all.” […]

But Dazai didn’t say a word as he stared at a point in the sky with an elbow resting on the table. It was as if his eyes weren’t focused on the scenery outside, but were watching vivid memories playing back in his mind.

“I feel bad for the colonel, but there’s no reason to dig up the past and disclose to the public what happened to them,” Dazai revealed in a flat voice. “They died satisfied. Now is their time to rest.”

  -> Even though Ango and Odasaku aren’t directly mentioned, it’s still clear from the context and Dazai’s reaction.

  Dead Apple: Dazai visits the Bar Lupin, the former usual meeting point of him and his two friends:

He was in his usual spot—the seat next to Odasaku’s—and he was talking to the empty space next to him as if Odasaku were still here.

“What’ll we toast to today?”

“You’re not gonna wait for Ango to get here?”

Dazai could practically hear his friend’s voice.

.

That used to be routine, but now it was all in the past—never to return.

“…Ango isn’t coming,” Dazai replied to Odasaku’s casual remark from years ago. So many things had changed since then. Odasaku was no longer by his side, and Ango didn’t come to this pub anymore. Dazai sat at the counter alone. He was waiting for no one.

  -> Apparently these memories are still so vivid to Dazai that he can play them like a movie in his head, as it is described in both scenes.

   3. Ability/Ability User that is able to absorb other abilities

55 Minutes: Verne’s ability “The Mysterious Island” is revealed to absorb every ability from all the people who have died there. After his own ability took over Verne and transformed into its own lifeform, Gab is still able to do the same:

It was an extremely rare skill. Its range extended across the island he claimed as his domain, and it absorbed all the skills of the people who died there.

.

Well’s skill wouldn’t allow the same person to return to the past more than once, but if Verne used his skill to keep stealing hers, he would always be using the skill for the first time.

  Dead Apple: Shibusawa collects user’s abilities, once they die in a fight against them, which is similar to absorbing abilities, even though the technique is a little bit different:

“Each one of these is a skill, huh?” Dazai muttered coldly as he looked at the wall. “That’s a huge collection you got yourself.”

.

The apple appeared in Dazai’s hand and gently rose to the ceiling before stopping. It birthed a skill—an extremely powerful one at that—the ability to absorb.

.

In other words, Shibusawa was finally able to obtain Dazai’s skill through killing him.

   4. Dazai gets stabbed from behind by the main antagonist

55 Minutes: Dazai gets stabbed by Gab:

Dazai froze as if the rest of his sentence had been plucked clean off. And the tip of a blade was now sticking out of his chest. […] Dazai tried to turn around, but whoever was behind him pushed the knife deeper inside him and twisted it. […] With his arm stuck out, he turned slightly to the side before folding and crumpling to the ground.

  Dead Apple: Dazai gets stabbed by Shibusawa:

Right as Dazai reached for the massive photosphere […] something struck him in the back. […] His eyes opened wide. He could feel a burning pin shoot through his chest. [...]

Standing behind him was Tatsuhiko Shibusawa, […] In his hand was a knife that glowed dully as it pierced Dazai’s back. […] Dazai then collapsed.

   5. Dazai as an obstacle for the main antagonist

55 Minutes: Gab needs to kill Dazai, so that he can’t nullify him with his skill:

Gab’s natural enemy—Dazai—worked at the detective agency. Dazai nullified all skills he touched. […] However, if Dazai was to touch flesh, he [Gab] would cease to exist. […]

For Gab, the threat of Dazai’s skill was equivalent to having a knife shoved into his throat. There was only one way to remove the threat—kill Dazai so that his skill wouldn’t activate.

  Dead Apple: Shibusawa kills Dazai not only to obtain his ability, but also because Dazai had been nullifying his fog:

“There is no next move. I already found the skill I was searching for.” Shibusawa lightly gestured to him with an open hand. “Yours.”

Shibusawa’s eyes gleefully lit up as he gazed down at Dazai on the floor. “From the very start. You were the only one I was after.”

.

Shibusawa’s fog had the power to separate skills from their owners. Up until now, Dazai’s skill had been nullifying its effect, but it stopped working the moment he died.

   6. Dazai sharing or revealing something about himself to Atsushi

55 Minutes: Dazai says why he wants to kill himself:

“Dazai,” Atsushi said from behind him, “why do you want to kill yourself?” Dazai turned around and looked at Atsushi. It was his usual smile − a cheerful smirk that made him impossible to read. Dazai slightly opened his eyes as if to say, “Oh yeah. I guess I haven’t told you yet.” He grinned and answered:

“Because I        .”

What did Dazai say that day? The more I try to remember, the further these distant memories sink into the glow of the evening sun.

  -> It’s unknown why Atsushi can’t remember Dazai’s answer. Maybe it was too shocking, maybe he simply just didn’t hear it properly. Maybe this whole conversation never happened and it was just a fever dream. For now, it is up to interpretation.

  Dead Apple: Dazai talks about Odasaku and admits he had killed during his mafia time:

“So…” Atsushi spoke up as Dazai idly daydreamed. “Was this someone you used to be in love with, or…?” […]

“…He was a friend of mine,” Dazai added quietly. […] “He’s the reason I quit the Port Mafia and joined the agency. I’d probably still be killing people for the mafia if it wasn’t for him.”

Atsushi was baffled. He had no idea whether that was true. What did Dazai mean by that? Curious, Atsushi turned around to face Dazai, but all he could see was his back.

  -> In both scenes it’s described as Atsushi standing behind Dazai or seeing his back, which could empathize that he can’t see through Dazai or be sure about his true feelings (and in addition every other character in-universe as well as the reader). Furthermore it could also symbolize that Dazai hides his true feelings. This is accompanied by an illustration in the novel. But there is also a scene in the manga where Atsushi thinks about the ADA members with Dazai’s back turned to him:

   7. Akutagawa as a guidance or motivator for Atsushi

55 Minutes: Atsushi and Akutagawa are both restrained by Gab’s ability and can’t move. Akutagawa already tried to break free, but his ability is physically too thin to cut through Gab’s.

Akutagawa then “kills” Atsushi in order to awaken his tiger power, since the latter doubts himself of being capable enough. Later he assists and assures Atsushi in defeating Gab:

“Tch. Akutagawa clicked his tongue. “Then it appears your fists are the only things that will work.”

He was right. Atsushi’s tiger fists would be big enough to land a blow. But as long as his arms were stuck… […] Atsushi used all the muscle he had to break free, but he still couldn’t pull his body out. He didn’t even budge.

.

“Do you understand that? There are things I can do that you cannot.” The wind howled. Akutagawa’s dark blade pierced Atsushi’s throat.

.

A tiger roared. Atsushi responded. […] His body went through an unworldly transformation. He had to move forward. If he didn’t understand, then he had to find out why. […]

“Good,” said a voice. “Now hurry. Do not waste my time, Man-Tiger.

.

But out of nowhere, a black fabric appeared underneath, stretching from the surface. It became a platform for him [Atsushi] to stand on and support his weight. Quietly looking up at Atsushi from the surface was Akutagawa. His gaze quietly said, “Finish it. Bring him peace.”

  Dead Apple: Akutagawa withholds information to Atsushi on purpose, about why he isn’t able to regain his ability despite having defeated it:

“You fool,” spewed Akutagawa. “Have you seriously not figured it out yet?!” […]

“Akutagawa!” Atsushi screamed in spite of himself. “What’s that supposed to mean?! Answer me!”

But Akutagawa didn’t look back. He simply disappeared into the fog as he headed toward the fortress.

Why…? Why…?! Why am I the only one who doesn’t get it?!

  -> Although it’s noteworthy that Kyouka does the same, with high probability for the same reasons (Atsushi having to figure it out by himself).

   8. Atsushi is forced to kill a dangerous, unnatural existence

This is very interesting in the way it’s been build up in both cases. First the antagonist is described as an existence that is not natural (1), then their motive gets explained (2), Atsushi shows up, saying why their actions are wrong or what he’s about to do (3), and then the deaths of the antagonists are described as some form of salvation (4):

55 Minutes:

(1) The island’s skill rid itself of Verne’s personality and robbed him of his flesh. That was when the living skill Gab was born.

.

(2) What made him different from Verne was his reason. The guardian of the island, Verne, wanted to save everyone. Gab, on the other hand, didn’t care whether people died.

.

(3) “But you can’t separate humans and their skills. The reason you want friends is nothing more than a reminder from when you once where human. […]”

.

(4) Right as his fist was about to connect…

------I owe ya one.

…he heard the young man’s [Verne] voice.

  -> The last stage (4) gets even more underlined with Akutagawa assuring Atsushi by saying “Bring him peace”, as cited above.

  Dead Apple:

(1) Tatsuhiko Shibusawa had been reborn as a skill-like life-form—a divine being that wielded the power of the dragon.

.

(2) But his wish was still the same. He wanted to drive Atsushi into a corner so he could experience even more pain and torture than he did six years ago. This was a natural conclusion for Shibusawa to reach, for he believed that life was at its strongest and most beautiful when it was being pushed over the edge.

.

(3) “Here to kill me again, Atsushi Nakajima?” asked Shibusawa. […]

“I’m just sending something back to where it belongs,” he replied.

.

(4) “…I understand everything now. I know why you’re here, why you appeared before me, and what his words truly meant. You are the angel who will save me…” 

  -> Even before turning into a dragon beast, Shibusawa was already an undead being, and thus an unnatural existence.

   9. Abilities are described as sentient beings or something that can turn against the user

55 Minutes: Gab separated himself from Verne and took over his body:

While traveling into the past, the skill got stronger, transformed, and eventually grew to have a will of its own.

.

However, Gab’s consciousness was less stable compared with humans.

  Dead Apple: Ability users have their abilities taken away and are forced to fight against them to get them back:

It was Kunikida’s skill, The Matchless Poet. […] He had a good idea how his skill was going to attack, seeing as it was part of him once. He also knew that, unlike his notebook, the phantom’s notebook had the word Compromise written on the cover. A copy of himself that didn’t follow ideals but made compromises was an abomination to Kunikida.

   Lastly, there is also the topic of Dazai set as a motivator for Atsushi and Akutagawa and their bickering about what is right or wrong in regards to him. But since that happens often between them, I didn’t include it here.

[misslovasstuff]

Ango is such a great character. Even though his first motives were selfish, at the time being he is by his friend’s side, by Dazai’s side.

Contrary to belief that Dazai uses Ango for his own benefit, I believe that that is not true. Ango already knows what he is doing, going against the law and ‘putting dirt on his hands’. So he’s technically not being used or manipulated. 

Maybe it’s regret or some kind of feeling that he owns Dazai something.

I find it so beautiful what Ango says here:

“Four years ago... So that Dazai-kun could live outside the mafia. I erased his past crimes.”

Ango was the one who proposed to Oda and Dazai back then; if there comes a day when they’re all free men...

He understood that Dazai needed to start his life over and probably knew the reason why. He may feel in debt to both Dazai and Odaksaku, that’s why he has helped him from the start. ‘That’s what Odasaku would wanted’ may be a often thought of his.

The friendship between them may not be as close as it once was, but the fact that Dazai hasn’t killed Ango despite all the remorse he felt and is still going through, makes me wonder why.

I really want to go with the most obvious reason that Ango’s a great help to him and that he too owns him from erasing his past crimes. But also, Ango is what’s left from Dazai’s past with Odasaku. I wonder, when he sees him, does he feel hatred or sadness?

Atsushi’s startled face says it all. No one expects a government agent helping out a criminal. The fact that Ango went through that, and still is supporting Dazai, makes me realize that he truly cares for him. I mean, the guy didn’t even get mad when Dazai messed up with his car that caused him those heavy injures.  

To be honest, how Dazai feels about Ango is unsure. I believe that to him, Ango’s still a traitor and that he still hasn’t forgiven him for what he’s done.

Ango on the other hand, is like carrying out Odasaku’s legacy, enabling Dazai to stay in the world of light, watching him from afar and lending a helping hand.

The difference is, Ango wants to see Dazai as a friend again, whilst Dazai appears stoic and pretty headstrong. They both keep a certain distance from each other for different reasons. 

In the dark era, Dazai didn’t suspect Ango at first. You’d say that it would have been easy for him to deduce the whole thing and save Odasaku, if he first accepted the possibility of Ango being a double agent.

But he trusted him, and both him and Odasaku tried a different approach to the case. We all know where that lead to.

I think that hurt Dazai a lot. Like A LOT. He had two people with whom he really felt happy and not alone, one of them became a traitor and the other died.

At the bar, once Ango’s figured out, Dazai claims that he wouldn’t let him get out of the bar alive.

However, he takes a pause and for whatever reason, he lets Ango live by telling him to leave as fast as he can before he changes his mind.

To this day, I am proud of Dazai in that moment. Although young and betrayed, a person in his position would have acted otherwise. But friendship means a lot to Dazai and clearly Ango meant a lot to him. I should note that Dazai wasn’t surprised or shocked, he claims that it always goes this way for him, losing what he cherishes the most. I think that this feeling plays a role on letting Ango go, putting the blame more on his fate and way of being rather than in Ango. But that’s just in a split second, and Oda hasn’t died then yet.

After Oda’s death, Dazai’s devastated but he pushes himself forward in order to keep the promise he made to his friend.

I think that Ango appreaciates Dazai’s change of heart and is happy for him. 

It’s not easy for one to go agaisnt one’s morals. And yet, Ango passed that line for Dazai.

His silence in the end of the panel, is painful. To me at least. Deep down, Ango wants to be forgiven and to be with Dazai the way they once were. Separately, they remember and cherish Odasaku but together, they keep him memory alive.

If they got together as they used to, it would be another feeling than being all alone in that bar when all three used to go. Maybe, the pain of losing Odasaku would hurt Dazai less if Ango didn’t turn up to be a traitor, if he was there for him emotionally.

Dazai endured all the pain alone and that’s terrifying. 

Dazai’s past is a burden to him. A heavy one. He may regret a lot of things, and the worst part is that he blames himself for it.

It remains to be seen whether Ango and Dazai will become close again, although I have a feeling that Ango’s going to die like Oda did, and then Dazai will forgive him.

This is just me blabbering but thank you for reading this far <3

If you happen to have a rather accurate analysis, please don’t hesitate to tag me in it.

[sword-dad-fukuzawa]

A Note on Dazai’s Character Song

So, I was looking at the English translation of Dazai’s song “Goodbye to an Attempt on Eternity”, and, like, analysis time. This might help if you’re struggling with characterizing Dazai, as I do. Warnings for Dazai-typical mentions of depression and suicide.

As I walk in this fleeting world, the town that has thrown away yesterday changes its face. If that is so, then why do I keep breathing in this unchanging feeling?

So, a common theme throughout this song seems to be the meaninglessness of time. To Dazai, each day seems to go on, one after another--an endless series of tomorrows, none of which matter much to him. And yet he also recognizes that the nature of the world is to be fleeting, because everything changes and nothing stays the same. This bit is him struggling to reconcile the knowledge that everything changes with the fact that his own feelings don’t change. 

I reach out repeatedly. Once again, I chase my "wish" that slips through.

He keeps trying, he says. He’s always chasing something, but it always slips away from him. This bit echoes his line to Ango in Dark Era, where he says that he inevitably loses everything that matters to him.

As I roam this never-ending today, I wait impatiently for the dawn that exists somewhere. If I can't even grasp the meaning of life, then I'll say to this worthless night, good bye.

Okay, here comes a metaphor. For Dazai, existence feels like it’s always unchanging night time. It’s dark, it’s hopeless, and it’s lonely. He feels like he’s always waiting for things to get better because he knows, logically, that things should. But it doesn’t. He’s wondering what the point of sticking around is if he can’t achieve the one thing he’s searching for--the meaning of life. This is a common thread in Dazai’s character. He’s looking for a reason to keep living, a goal that somewhat parallels Atsushi’s goal to find a reason he is worthy of life.

But even though I think so... I'm still here.

And then, Dazai tries to reconcile another contraction. He hasn’t found a reason to live yet, hasn’t found the meaning of life. He thinks it’s probably better to give up. And even though he recognizes that giving up might be what he wants the most, he’s still alive. He’s still waking up every morning. Why?

I wish for a magnificent and bright end, but the curtain hasn't dropped yet. Honestly, it's alright, isn't it? I'm sick of this repeating melancholy inside my head. It's just inevitable that I wish for the end.

Here, he justifies his suicidal tendencies. He wants to die beautifully, but he hasn’t. He’s just so sick of how each day drags into each other and his own feelings don’t change, while everything around him is in a constant state of flux. Why is he the one left unchanging? 

But Dazai also asks a question. He asks if it’s alright that he wants to die. It’s a strange moment of vulnerability to put in between his own confident justifications, but it reveals that Dazai’s not as sure of himself as he appears. He wants someone to validate him, tell him he’s right, because the alternative is needing to come to terms with the fact that suicide isn’t a choice he should make. 

The tainted past, too, begone!

I’m inclined to believe that this line is a reference to Chuuya. Looking at the Japanese, the word “tainted” isn’t exactly the same as the way Chuuya’s ability is spelled, but the word choice alone seems deliberate and the spelling is similar. Dazai sees Chuuya has part of his past, a past he’s been trying to run away from. 

This part is odd because it’s an imperative. It’s the only command in the entire song. 

So, then, Dazai’s past is something he hates. He hates the person he was and the things he did, and wants whatever ghosts that haunt him to leave him alone. 

I want to tell everyone it is I, I that have failed.

This line reminded me really strongly of No Longer Human. This is Dazai taking responsibility, at least his own head. For what, though, it’s left unclear.  And it’s implied that whatever happened, he wasn’t blamed. It’s another strange line of vulnerability that really just says Dazai’s not as confident as he looks. He makes mistakes. He makes really big mistakes. And despite how it would appear, he recognizes that he made them.

My only question is, which mistake is he referencing?

Because honestly, I’m pretty sure he’s saying he just fails in general. Fails at being human, at being like the rest, at saving people. My most important takeaway from this line was that Dazai feels he is a failure.

Isn't there anyone to take my hand and cease existing together? I hold the feeling that an attempt isn't enough. Days darkening in the setting sun are endless. In a world like that, I found you.

The first two lines are a reference to his desire for a double suicide, one that isn’t just an attempt. One that succeeds. The third line, then, calls back to the previous metaphor about an endless, unchanging night. If you check the Japanese itself, “the setting sun” is a namedrop of the real Dazai’s book by the same name. It’s not the only book this song name drops.

What’s really interesting is the sudden direct address. In this terrible, unchanging world Dazai finds himself in, he meets someone. Who?

Suddenly, that hand pulls and stops the cuff of my reckless heart. I want to try living like this a little bit more. It's not like me to think so.

(My God, that first line is kind of gorgeous.) Whoever it is, they slow him down, stop him from racing towards suicide. They make him suddenly want to live. And Dazai even acknowledges that this isn’t normal for him. I’m inclined to believe he’s talking about Atsushi. It’s not Chuuya, as Chuuya is part of that past he wants to let go of. And Dead Apple demonstrates that Atsushi is really, suprisingly good at seeing Dazai for who he is, under the layers of clowning and misdirection.

As I roam this never-ending today, I wait impatiently for the dawn that exists somewhere. Even though I still haven't grasped the meaning of life, For now I say to eternity, good bye. Maybe, I can enjoy this fleeting world.

The first two lines repeat the ones from the beginning. But the slant of this stanza is distinctly hopeful, rather than full of despair like the stanza from the beginning. He says that even though he hasn’t found a reason to live, in spite of his hopelessness, he’s going to hold off from ending for now. He says goodbye to eternity. Eternity, in this context could either reference the eternity of death or the eternity of his own mind. Maybe, he says, he can enjoy the ephemeral nature of the world rather than remain mired in his own brain. 

This last part name drops another book of IRL Dazai’s. Before he killed himself, he wrote part of a novel titled “Goodbye”. Not sayonara, but the English word, and the Japanese lyrics match up. 

The story, however, was never finished. 

[dereksmcgrath]

In order to talk about this episode, we have to talk about how manga publishing and anime production does (and does not) work.

And before we can get into this episode, and its originating storyline that comes not only from the My Hero Academia manga but also its spinoff Vigilantes, I have to talk about three things:

The challenges of adapting more than one manga series.

An imaginary Vigilantes co-production (an “Imagine If,” to steal a phrase from a writer better than I) between Studio BONES and Studio Trigger.

But first, another franchise Studio BONES adapted the same year as MHA: Bungo Stray Dogs.

(Bear with me–this is all going somewhere.)

“More of a Hero Than Anyone,” My Hero Academia Episode 107 (Season 5, Episode 19)

An adaptation of Chapters 253, 254, and 255 of the manga, by Kohei Horikoshi, inspired by My Hero Academia: Vigilantes, Chapters 59 to 65 by Hideyuki Furuhashi and Betten Court. All translated by Caleb Cook with lettering by John Hunt and available from Viz.

My Hero Academia is available to stream on Crunchyroll and Funimation.

Spoilers up to the My Hero Academia Chapter 324, Vigilantes Chapter 108, and the film World Heroes’ Mission.

There are also spoilers for Bungo Stray Dogs and Gurren Lagann.

Created by writer Kakfa Asagiri and illustrator Sango Harukawa, with additional spinoffs illustrated by Kanai Neko, Ganjii, Oyoyo, and Shiwasu Hoshikawa, Bungo Stray Dogs is about a world where characters, who happen to have the names of real-life authors of Japanese and other literature, also happen to have superpowers based on the titles of works by those same famous authors. For example, Herman Melville can summon the giant battle fortress Moby-Dick, Nikolai Gogol can transport items through his overcoat, and Motojiro Kajii has the ability “Lemonade,” which prevents him from being harmed by bombs shaped like lemons.

(…Bungo Stray Dogs is weird. The first anime doesn’t even have dogs in it.)

Studio BONES premiered an animated adaptation of Bungo Stray Dogs in 2016, the same year the studio premiered the MHA anime. What makes Bungo unique compared to some other anime is that each season adapted from not only the manga but one of the franchise’s light novels as well. While some of the light novels take place concurrent to the manga, most take place in the past–which made Season 1 awkward, re-setting some events from the Azure Messenger Arc in the present and hampering some characterization for what was supposed to be the very first meeting of the characters Osamu Dazai and Doppo Kunikida.

The next light novels adapted for the Bungo anime all take place in the past, with Season 2 giving what I think is the best of the adaptations, The Dark Age, as we learn more about Dazai’s time with the Port Mafia and his relationship with fellow mafioso Sakunosuke Oda. This arc set a high standard that I don’t think the next light novel adaptations have reached, as it not only fleshes out the characters and builds the world, but it also has two important accomplishments. First, on its own, you could watch the entire four-episode arc as its own movie. While some details will gain more significance if you watched the first season, and will become more important as you watch the rest of the series or read the manga and light novels, by itself, The Dark Age is a thrilling narrative of intrigue, deception, betrayal, and heartache. Second, thematically, The Dark Age ties in very well to the rest of Season 2. Some of it is cheap shorthand: the Lupin Bar matchstick container becomes a visual indicator for Dazai helping Atsushi Nakajima save an ally when Dazai couldn’t. But even as cheap as that may seem, it enhances the overall season, giving Dazai more to do in a story where he is otherwise on the sidelines and playing everyone like chess pieces. Plus, you kind of needed to see The Dark Age to understand who Ango Sakaguchi is in Season 2 and why Dazai hates him.

Season 3 gave me high hopes for where the next light novel adaptation could go. This season focuses on a third party attempting to destroy Dazai and Atsushi’s organization, the Armed Detective Agency, along with the Port Mafia. When Agency founder Yukichi Fukuzawa is poisoned, we see the usually lighthearted and arrogant Ranpo Edogawa become momentarily silent and devastated by Fukuzawa’s hospital bed. I blame myself for reading theories online that this moment would lead the season to do a flashback arc to one of the light novels, one that shows the origins of the Agency, how Fukuzawa first met young Ranpo, and explains what that cat was doing all throughout The Dark Age and Season 3.

Instead, as soon as I started Season 3 and saw the premiere was beginning with a lengthy adaptation of a light novel centered around Dazai and his former Mafia teammate Chuuya Nakahara, my heart sank. Nothing about that story thematically tied into the overall season as well as would Ranpo and Fukuzawa’s light novel, a story that reveals how much Ranpo has lost in his life and why he clings onto Fukuzawa for approval and why the dissolution of the Agency would not only deprive him of family and friends but also the very meaning to his existence. That is a heavy story to tell, one that would make the audience better appreciate the lengths the Agency goes to for Fukuzawa. By comparison, there is next to nothing about Chuuya’s back story that accomplishes the same. If anything, all that light novel adaptation tells us is that Dazai and Chuuya’s partnership mirrors that of Atsushi and the Mafioso Ryunosuke Akutagawa–and that detail was already established well enough in Season 2, so we’re just retreading the same old material.

Adapting Chuuya’s story is like explaining Aizawa’s back story: as I’ll explain in the moment, all you really learn in either case is why Chuuya hates Dazai and why Aizawa is a lone wolf–and it’s the reasons you already see in the present day, Chuuya hates Dazai because he’s annoying, and Aizawa has always been a loner, end of discussion. The choice to give these two characters the spotlight doesn’t really do anything new for the audience. I’ll say more about Aizawa later, but for now, I’ll say, nothing against Chuuya as a character, but the decision to adapt his light novel seemed very much like a marketing strategy by manga/light novel publisher Kadokawa and Studio BONES: Dazai and Chuuya’s relationship is popular with fans, there’s a lot of back story to mine, and the light novel that gave us this anime adaptation already set up a sequel that itself could serve as a Season 4 adaptation or even a feature film.

(Honestly, that Chuuya sequel novel in Bungo is more entertaining: there’s a cyborg named Adam Frankenstein. Re-read that sentence: a cyborg named Adam Frankenstein, who treats Chuuya like a little kid, offering him candy because he read that young people like candy and the serotonin from sugar can help with dealing with times of stress. Chuuya’s babysitter is Frankenstein: it’s so absurd that it just works.)

So, why am I talking about Bungo Stray Dogs instead of the other anime Studio BONES makes, My Hero Academia? Because I’m seeing a set of mistakes and Band-Aids repeat themselves all over again.

I profess ignorance about how the anime industry works: there are better people than I who can speak to it. As far as I can gather, just by looking at the evidence in that industry, and the evidence of just about any industry, the goal is to make money. I don’t think the goal to make an anime is necessarily to get people to watch it, especially now that streaming makes the cost of entry very low or even free if you wait long enough for Crunchyroll and Funimation to put it up with commercials. I don’t think it’s to get you to buy the manga: even if you get hooked like I am to read ahead to see what happens next, why read something you just watched? Instead, I think the goal is to buy merchandise, like how musical groups have switched from record deals to selling individual songs online and getting merch sold at concerts (pre-COVID). The conundrum for the anime and manga industries are not dissimilar from those in comic book publishing in the United States: DC and Marvel can have all the crossover events in the comics that they want, but those don’t always get someone who to read a new series just because Spider-Man or Wolverine pop up in it. I have not looked at sales for Vigilantes, so I don’t know whether Aizawa, Midnight, and All Might popping up in there boosts its sales. Rather, the comics are testing grounds for what works. Marvel uses its comics to test what can work in films and streaming, where money now is, while maybe Vigilantes was testing the Oboro story to see if there was something there to put into the anime. Sure enough, the fan art out there for Oboro has increased since the episode, merchandise can’t be far behind.

But let’s move on to actually looking at the episode itself. “More of a Hero Than Anyone” centers on Aizawa and Present Mic being brought to the prison Tartarus to interrogate captured League of Villains member Kurogiri. As I have complained for most of this season, BONES has made confusing choices regarding which chapters of the MHA manga it is adapting first: this story comes from manga chapters that were the last before the big Pro Heroes vs Paranormal Liberation Front Arc, and we haven’t even gotten to the Meta Liberation Army Arc yet. True, this episode ends in a way to set all of that up, showing us Shigaraki getting his power boost, but it has been a befuddling choice of what to adapt first. Making matters more confusing is that, while this episode introduces Aizawa and Present Mic’s classmate Shirakumo, someone alluded to during Shinso’s arc this season, that story doesn’t really originate in the main manga: it started in an MHA spinoff.

The manga My Hero Academia: Vigilantes is to My Hero Academia like the Bungo Stray Dogs light novels are to its main manga: it is largely a prequel that fills in back story for major characters and some worldbuilding details while telling its own story with its own protagonist and plot. Chapters 59 to 65 are the first major departure for the series, as it shifts from the usual protagonist to a plot about Aizawa, showing his time as a UA student and setting up why he ended up returning to UA as a teacher.

The first time I read Aizawa’s arc in Vigilantes, I hated it: it is a cynical attempt at giving us an origin story to explain how Aizawa got to be the way he is–without actually showing us anything we could not have figured out ourselves. It tries to set up this idea that, if Shirakumo had not died, Aizawa would not have been the lone wolf.

That idea butts up against two details. First, we already see Aizawa keeps up the lone wolf appearance anyway in the present, so imagining an alternative timeline doesn’t make sense, especially when, in its own flashback arc, Aizawa was already a lone wolf–that was his entire dynamic with Mic, Skirakumo, even Midnight, so it’s less that Shirakumo’s death made him this way when he was always this way. Hell, this was a gag in the supplementary material of the manga that got adapted into the anime, when Mic had to come up with a Pro Hero name for Aizawa because he was that checked out–and, again, that was before Shirakumo died.

Second, we know Aizawa’s lone wolf persona is just that, a front he puts up that belies his pragmatic willingness to work with others. Just because he is annoyed by the antics of friends like mic and Skirakumo, just because he bristles at Midnight trying to rope him into teaching at UA throughout most of Vigilantes, and just because he is overly serious when dealing with his students or with newbie heroes like Vigilantes’s protagonist the Crawler, none of that ignores that, despite everything, Aizawa, maybe more than anyone else, fulfills the collaborative spirit of Pro Hero work that other characters do not.

Aizawa’s strengths as a teacher center around his understanding that people have to work together. That detail fails when remembering he is still the one who is not properly reprimanding Bakugo to stop being a bullying, violent dick to Izuku. (Seriously, this episode is yet another moment of him being awful: how many times in the anime alone has he kicked the shit out of Izuku for no reason, as if any reason would justify it?) But otherwise, Aizawa understands how to work with others, and that has set him apart for so long from other prominent Pro Heroes. All Might doesn’t really collaborate–he’s been trying to hold up the peace of the world on his own. Endeavor may run an agency with sidekicks that enhance his abilities, but as seen in the Endeavor Agency Arc he would rather rush ahead to save the day on his own, in this pathetic desire to catch up to All Might. Aizawa, though, knows his limitations and is willing to work with anyone else to help him achieve his goals, something we have seen him learn to embrace more and more, whether hanging back to be the face in front of the camera to distract the League while the other Heroes rescue Bakugo, or when he accepted Izuku joining on the Shie Hassaikai mission. And you can pick up on all of this from just reading the main manga–so why bother reading Vigilantes if all it’s going to tell you is,”Aizawa’s friend died and that’s why he’s sad”? Even little details get lost in the shuffle: while I should appreciate Aizawa bringing up the cat Oboro rescued, that’s such a big part of the Vigilantes plot that it feels like a nod to the story rather than getting fully into it. (Trivia: That cat, Sushi, is adopted by Midnight. Enjoy feeling awful that Sushi may have passed away by now or is going to be without an owner when Midnight dies.)

I had thought I could put that frustration with that Vigilantes arc behind me. Then the main manga revealed Shirakumo’s corpse was used to create Kurogiri–and I rage quitted. Okay, that’s exaggerating: I didn’t stop reading the manga, but I did take a long pause in keeping up on it, seeing as the next arc got to be so bloody and depressing that, on top of enough real-world concerns, that wasn’t the kind of escapist reading I was looking for. I needed some time to sit back and process how annoying this revelation was. That means, for all of Vigilantes, this detail, that Kurogiri was Shirakumo all along, was just waiting to be revealed. To again repeat the SpongeBob meme I used last week, this series used me for plot contrivances.

(Vigilantes also seems like one long troll. After the main manga shows the Hood Nomu used to be an underground fighter, he gets a backstory in Vigilantes. And Vigilantes give you the last bit of Midnight you’re going to get before she’s killed off–which, now that I think about it, makes her exclusion from this episode even worse: she was friends with Shirakumo, too, so bring her into this episode before we fridge her!)

It doesn’t help how ignorant I feel for not realizing this sooner: Skirakumo’s name and abilities are the white-and-black opposite of Kurogiri’s. The cover to a collected volume of Vigilantes made that all the clearer. But if that’s the case, why wasn’t this hinted at when Aizawa and Kurogiri first encountered each other way back in the USJ Arc? I know it’s a lot to expect the audience to track throughout the series, and I appreciate the story trying to explain that away by Aizawa asking the same question I have, before someone tells him that maybe Kurogiri’s reprogramming made Oboro’s personality disappear. But Horikoshi’s creation of Shirakumo seems more like a late addition rather than something always there since the earliest chapters. And that’s fine–it’s just disappointing compared to other comics creators like Oda who sets stuff up years in advance before payoff in One Piece. And it’s more disappointing it didn’t come up in the anime adaptation: I would have hoped, if Horikoshi had that idea so early, he would have told BONES so they could throw in a hint early in that fight. I don’t know, maybe Aizawa has a flashback to the last words Shirakumo told him and that motivates him to use his Quirk one last time to save Tsuyu and Izuku, or maybe Kurogiri pauses before Aizawa just long enough that you think that’s a weird choice, then upon rewatch now you realize, “Oh, shit, Kurogiri was remembering his classmate and trying to process that information!”

It doesn’t help that the Shirakumo story doesn’t feel like something Studio BONES should handle. Granted, that story is from Vigilantes, not the main manga, so I anticipated BONES would not adapt it here–even as I held out hope for an OVA or, as I hinted earlier, something akin to Bungo Stray Dogs: start the season with this three- to four-episode adaptation of Aizawa’s back story to introduce this season. I’ll say more about why placing that story at the beginning of the season in a moment, but there was another reason why I didn’t think this was a Studio BONES story: it always felt like a story suited for Trigger, the studio behind Kill La Kill, Little Witch Academia, and more, built by people from Gainax of Evangelion and Gurren Lagann fame.

The Shirakumo arc in the Vigilantes manga felt like a visual love letter by Shueisha to Trigger saying, “Please adapt this!” Betten Court’s illustrations for Vigilantes emphasize diagonals, even when adapting MHA characters originally designed by Horikoshi, as well as facial expressions with sharp lines rather than curves, all visually reminiscent of some Trigger and even Gainax anime. Characters’ facial expressions look more like Panty and Stocking than Studio BONES. Aizawa’s final fight in the arc is against a stories-tall behemoth with laser powers that, if not visually, then narratively invokes similar fights in Gurren Lagann, Gridman, and Evangelion. Speaking of Gurren Lagann, in this arc Midnight is sporting Kamina’s shades, and Skirakumo’s last words to Aizawa come through an intercom, after he supposedly died, similar to Kamina’s death. Also, Midnight is running around in a nudist beach outfit from Kill La Kill–so, yeah, the Trigger allusions are that in your face, in all senses of that phrase. Again, I’m not saying I personally would like Trigger to adapt MHA: it’d be different, they are not the first studio I would go with or one whose output I would like, given a lot I don’t like about their output, but when you look at the manga-based evidence, going in that direction makes sense.

I don’t know what plans Shueisha, Toho, and BONES had for this episode, but the style of it already feels so different and off-kilter anyway, due to Aizawa’s nostalgia, that I can’t help but think that someone at some point did have an idea to go with a different studio to animate it, or at least a different approach. I appreciate how much they changed Chapter 254’s opening, re-staging Oboro’s agency talk to be outdoors instead of a walk-and-talk scene as in the manga. Even if I can’t quite say the street walking and outdoor sitting under a bright sky is indicative of Trigger exactly–if anything, the fixation on centering the scenes Wes Anderson-style (the hallway walking in Tartarus, Aizawa and Mic and Oboro hanging out under the blue sky) looks more like something out of Shaft or BONES’s Bungo Stray Dogs–that difference tells me there was something more ambitious in mind than what we ultimately got. It’s the same when we get Kurogiri’s point of view as Aizawa and Present Mic get through to Oboro.

Imagine how gutsy it would be to start Season 5 with an entire Oboro flashback arc. Imagine moving forward in time to this moment of Aizawa and Present Mic interviewing Kurogiri, disorienting the audience asking why we’re skipping the Classes 1A and 1B fights, the League of Villains vs the Meta Liberation Army Arc, and the Endeavor Agency Arc, to show this moment that was supposed to come later. Imagine how gutsy it would be to start with Aizawa and Present Mic learning all of this at Tartarus, setting up the finale for this season, the Pro Heroes versus the Paranormal Liberation Front–then not actually showing that fight start until next season. Why do all of that? Because, if you’re going to delay the LOV vs MLA Arc for that long, you might as well start your season assuring the audience that, no, we have not forgotten the Villains, they will be relevant this season–because, since Aizawa and Present Mic’s high school years, they have been the Big Bads all along and were toying with these two for so long. Imagine how gutsy all of that would be.

Instead, all of that is reduced to just one episode. It’s all so cliche. Aizawa points out, towards the beginning, that this power of friendship trope won’t work–then it does work, negating the entire point of calling it cliche. (Well, it does work, for now: given often we’re told rather than shown how All For One is a chessmaster, it wouldn’t surprise me if he let Kurogiri spill the beans like this knowing it would help him break out of prison later when the Pro Heroes foolishly take on the PLF all at once with little back up plan.) If we had had the full story of Oboro, like did readers of Vigilantes, the slow revelation that Nomus are hardly puppets but, more than that, are reanimated Frankenstein’s monsters capable of agency and personalities, would make this hurt more. We would have seen Oboro, we would have been as horrified as Aizawa and Mic are to learn he was resurrected–but, instead, it is already upon our first meeting with Oboro that suddenly we learn he is also Kurogiri, and it’s just too fast.

How disappointing, but sadly realistic.

It feels like BONES has made a lot of safe choices this season, and while that helps sustain the studio during the unpredictable times of COVID and does what works already for MHA, it doesn’t feel very adventurous. It makes me wonder whether BONES should have put in that time improving Season 5 than trying to make another MHA film. I have not seen World Heroes’ Mission, and while I’ll reserve my review of it until I see it, and will limit as many spoilers as I can, based on just the plot summary I have read, I fail to see how putting in the budget on that film makes sense in terms of narratives, even as I understand how it makes sense in terms of increasing an audience and getting box office sales (in a pre-COVID model, of course).

But speaking of COVID, yeah, I do see why World Heroes’ Mission is necessary right now: it is a globe-trekking film, from what I read it includes beautiful scenery as characters travel vast distances–it is a film needed right now when many of us are still social distancing and still staying at home in the hope that our contributions limit the spread of this deadly virus. (Get vaccinated, mask up, stay at home when possible, and stop being a jerk, people.) Still, I can’t say I’m not disappointed that, with a season whose animation has depended a lot on flashbacks, even if that makes sense given how much ground to cover and how far along the story has come over more than 100 episodes, it is disappointing to not get something more stylistically out-there.

I’m also not saying it’s realistic that Trigger would ever animate this arc. I don’t even necessarily want them to: I find most of their productions to be so light on story while heavy on themes, message, and the animation that, while I appreciate people getting into how visually stunning the artwork is, I find the story so empty that I just can’t get into it. And I’m not expecting Shueisha, Toho, or Studio BONES to cut some kind of deal with Trigger to give them the rights to adapt part or all of Vigilantes: Trigger is animating Star Wars stuff next, that’s a wider market than My Hero Academia (regardless how many Star Wars references Horikoshi puts into his series).

I know I’m being very critical of the production choices behind the episode. Granted, the recap to the last episode was needless–and seems like it’s just there to remind us that we’re somehow supposed to see Aizawa, Mic, and Oboro as analogous to Izuku, Bakugo, and Todoroki–which does not work at all. And somehow BONES made the unfunny All Might part from the manga even longer and even less funny: we already got comedic relief off Iida to accent how much a contrast there is to the Aizawa stuff, and that has a more personal connection as he is Aizawa’s student, while All Might’s Dad Joke is as painful a pun as it looked to be for the students.

Otherwise, I thought the episode was good, just not meeting expectations I set that are not fair. Present Mic’s extended pause, then the long pause before Aizawa has to hold back from crying, when realizing Kurogiri’s concern for Shigaraki means he is indeed Oboro, is more powerful than it was in the manga. Aizawa letting loose the tears at the end while claiming he has dry eyes is very much Roy Mustang complaining about the rain. I do think the ambition for the storyboarding hints at something bigger they had planned, and largely the animation and tension, especially trying to reach Oboro, did work. Wrapping up this episode showing that Kurogiri was just the start of an experiment that would lead to Shigaraki’s transformation only creates a more foreboding tone.

Furthermore, the voice direction and acting in the English dub was very good. Ever since David Trosko replaced Sonny Strait as Present Mic, he has upheld all that works in the character, and while I feared that kind of loud acting would disrupt any pathos for this episode, it worked incredibly well, putting up so much bluster that shows how powerless he feels facing this madness and how this is as heartwrenching for him as it is for Aizawa. I especially appreciate, in the English dub, how much Oboro sounds like Izuku: while the series has never made Aizawa see a bit of Oboro in Izuku, that casting lends a new way of interpreting why Aizawa sticks with that masochist after everything he lost when Oboro died.

(You know that if things had worked out differently, Vic Mignogna would’ve ended up cast as Oboro, given his roles already as the dead friend of the hard-ass teacher in Naruto, and the presumed dead Sabo in One Piece, and his dynamic acting against Kurogiri’s Chuck Huber in other productions).

So that takes care of all the stuff about Aizawa: what about his students? I don’t just mean the class he failed–which, no, that detail doesn’t really work for me, that Aizawa failed a class as we were told upon his initial introduction, and now we reveal it was an empty threat since, while that is on their record, it was to reset matters with his class, not so they would take him seriously but so that they would value their lives. That’s not how that works. I don’t pretend that students, myself included, took our education so seriously that a failing grade or a career setup felt awful–but not the same kind of life-threatening that is literally dying. A poor mark on your report card does not typically result in that kind of same mortal fear, and I hate this story for trying to compare the two, especially when it positions teachers like us to have a fatal power we don’t have: we’re not the Grim Reaper, this isn’t Soul Eater, this is real freaking life. I can’t imagine any good teacher wanting that kind of power to think they are the difference between life and death. We don’t want our students to think these are mortal matters–especially right now, in this context, where I don’t think it’s at all appropriate to re-start in-person teaching and learning (without masks and without social distancing or remote learning opportunities) at a time when not enough of us are vaccinated and the threat of COVID remains too dangerous even when vaccinated. This takes me out of the story. Granted, it’s not the rest of this story is somehow like real life: this is a school where Nezu somehow has a ton of money, so applying real-world matters to a work of fiction is foolish. The only bar this story needs to clear is believability, and it’s not unbelievable that Nezu made that money and overlooked Aizawa’s behavior.

(It’s also why I wish Midnight was in this episode: she recruited Aizawa to UA as a teacher–it would be fascinating to hear her say she chose him for these reasons, that she knew the school needed a hard-ass like him.)

But like I said, I don’t just mean the class he failed: I mean his current students. Re-reading Chapter 253, I now understand why Iida doesn’t pop up in the third film: if he had his new desire to loosen up, then it would make a lot less sense seeing as he just came off a mission to save the world like Ochaco and his classmates did.

And that again leads to a paragraph of me repeating that I don’t give Ochaco enough attention. I promise, I will say more about where her character stands in this series at some point, if not when talking about Chapter 324 tomorrow. But even as this story keeps insisting she is important, it feels like it’s hanging her up like that All Might toy from Izuku. I appreciate putting in the budget to animate her dive-and-hide on Izuku’s gift, something not as obvious or visually impressive in the manga–but we couldn’t have put that budget into doing something more creative with the Aizawa story? Building her characterization around Izuku, at this point in the anime, remains frustrating–until the manga gives that a good payoff and seems to be sticking the landing on it. That’s one of the challenges of reviewing the manga as it goes on, and why reviewing the anime is in some ways easier: I can see where the pieces fit in and what is being set up. It doesn’t change that it’s annoying right now in this moment, but it fits in the overall scheme of her and Izuku’s story. But When it comes to how Toga is going to tie into this, I’m less convinced, but we’ll get to that in the next few episodes and in tomorrow’s manga review.

Oh, and Bakugo remains the worst. I’m so grateful he is tolerable in the manga right now, because the fact that he was getting away with this nonsense up to Chapter 253 is an indictment against teachers like Aizawa and All Might.

I apologize for how much this post seemed like a long college lecture (a college instructor leturing–shocking), or a Rachel Maddow monologue–only far less repetitive than Maddow’s condescending “I’m going to repeat the same point five times and treat you like you haven’t been paying attention”–and far less financially profitable. This is basically a joke I told a friend after posting last week’s review:

“Show me you’re an academic without telling me you’re an academic.”

“I wrote nine pages reviewing an episode without actually reviewing the episode."

[linklethehistorian]

Randou and the Sins of Season 3's Fifteen Adaption (Part 33/???)

Bones' Biggest Changes & Greatest Failures — The Tragedy of Arthur Rimbaud (12/?)

As should be a surprise to absolutely no one at this point, one of these fairly telling but forgotten subtleties in their dealings, of course, relates specifically to the bandaged brunet’s own heartless brand of entertainment and curiosity, as we observe a cold-blooded Dazai watching with amusement in his eyes and smile as Arthur clearly struggles with terrible PTSD — the likes of which Asagiri makes sure to stress that very few people, if anyone at all, has ever seen before — over merely beginning to try to recall the night he first saw Arahabaki, before the hellish teen laughs at his distress and pressures him with great delight to go into it in even more careful detail.

Of course, knowing this fandom as I do, I expect many people to try to defend Dazai by saying that this has nothing to do with him enjoying Randou’s terror half so much as it has to do with him showing signs of beginning to suspect the raven-haired man as the culprit and thus treating him accordingly, wanting to catch him in his lies, but I will remind each and every one of you who might be considering using this excuse that that is nowhere even near the truth, canonically; even Dazai himself later says, very plainly, that the only thing which made him realize the associate executive had any involvement in the scheme was one single mistake — namely, Rimbaud mentioning that he could look upon the ocean from Suribachi City — and the conversation had between them here long preceded that testimony.

Certainly, the boy may also have wanted to learn more purely because of his skeptical attitude towards Arahabaki’s existence, but even if that is probably the case, my point nevertheless stands and remains unequivocally true, for there still would be no reason for him to act as he did about it — showing absolutely no sympathy nor concern for a superior whom he has never seen quite so frightened in all of the years that he has likely known him, nor making any attempt to soften his tone or approach, and even going so far as to laugh at him for it — unless he didn’t care and was getting satisfaction out of watching the poor man suffer, just as he does later on in this same, true version of the tale, as well.

That having been said, even if it may benefit them not to have the same nuance in this part for the anime that there was in the novel, I do want to make it known that despite any bad blood there may be between myself and Studio Bones over the more intentional, major mutilations they’ve caused elsewhere in this adaption, I actually do not entirely blame them for what happened in regards to this one interaction.

Though the saying “a picture paints a thousand words” may be very true in many respects, it would also be quite ignorant of anyone to fail to acknowledge that there are still some intricacies of a written story which simply cannot be conveyed the same through a largely visual medium alone, even with the aid of audible character dialogue; now, that is not to say that it is utterly impossible to have achieved this or other similar lost details in an anime adaptation at all, because there is definitely a worthwhile conversation to be had, I think, on the fact that despite having the ultimate excuse for including a third-party narration where necessary due to Ango’s involvement at the end as the incident reporter, they still unwisely chose to make this the sole light novel-based mini-arc where they didn’t include one of any kind, but at least within the style of story-telling they used and the time constraints they were given, there was no way for them to easily recreate this moment and have it come out right.

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[hamliet]

(1) Do you think Dazai wants revenge against Mori for Odasaku’s death? Since Dazai had been trying to leave his life in the Port Mafia behind as part of his mission to honor Odasaku’s last words, I was at first under the impression that he was actively trying to forget his past with Mori. Plus, Dazai always seemed to be preoccupied with handling city-wide threats such as the Guild and Fyodor.

(2) However, his “reunion” with Ango during the Guild arc suggests that Dazai has a bit of a vengeful side. Now I’m wondering if Dazai is planning to dispose of Mori in the future. Dazai is pragmatic, so he may even be in the process of deciding who would replace Mori as the head of the Port Mafia, if he hasn’t chosen someone already.--BSD Chat Anon

I don’t, but I do think it might matter later!

The reason Dazai projects his hate onto Ango is because it’s easy. Ango isn’t there most of the time, and Dazai, while close to him, was not influenced so much by him as he was by Odasaku and Mori. Odasaku and Mori foil each other in their influences on Dazai’s life: Mori amplifies Dazai’s worst instincts while Odasaku challenges them. 

I think Dazai avoids blaming Mori because to look at Mori means to look at himself in a way that he is not currently comfortable doing. To look at Mori means to see himself in how he treated Akutagawa (which was abusive--and what Mori did to Dazai is abuse as well. It does not have to be physically violent to be abusive, and taking advantage of a suicidal 14-year old who is not physically capable of making adult decisions is abuse. I’m really uncomfortable with the idea that because Mori treated Dazai decently on the surface it wasn’t abuse. It was). It means to face the things about himself--the things he’s done and the things done to him--that he doesn’t want to face. 

Dazai needs to see that he is weak. He was a vulnerable fourteen-year-old that, for all his precociousness, was preyed on. Despite his isolation from humanity, he is very human, and he was a child. Dazai also needs to see that he perpetuated his own weaknesses onto others (Akutagawa) and attempt to reconcile with that/Akutagawa, which can only happen once Dazai accepts certain things about himself. Such revelations would lead back to Mori as well. But he’s just not ready to do that just yet. 

[monstersqueen]

Points on : But Is Odasaku's Death Ango's Fault ?

"Well, Ango couldn't have known !" Are you kidding me. Sure, part of it (mori intending to use mimic to get the permit from the super abilities division) he didn't, but ango 100% knew that should gide and odasaku meet, it would end up in a death match. of course he knew odasaku was in danger; and, as a triple agent, he knew better than anyone that all three organizations, mafia, mimic, government, would want odasaku to fight gide. regardless oçf the risk and the cost to odasaku.

so he tried to stop it - or at least to warn odasaku not to fight gide, though i suspect that prior to been discovered by mimic he tried to keep them away from places where they could meet odasaku

mori invited mimic in the country, and send ango to infiltrate them. i really, really doubt that he used ango's inside position in mimic to invite them - reminder, the endgame of his scheme is for the abilities division to give him the permit. inviting mimic in is the opening move. he knows ango is a government spy. if he uses ango to invite mimic in, he basically shows his hand to the division. so i think it's more likely he invited mimic, then he sent ango to infiltrate them

that IS how it's presented in the break up scene ! "once mimic came into play the division choose to have ango infiltrate them as a spy for the mafia" - mimic came into yokohama (at mori's invitation), and THEN ango infiltrated them

weirdly, odasaku finds evidence that ango had the opportunity to get into contact with mimic when he went on a trip outside the country. which could be when mori invited mimic in via ango, except it makes no damn sense for mori to do that

so, it makes no sense for dazai to blame ango for odasaku's death (which, actually, i don't think he ever explicitly said, but i find it implied strongly enough to believe), unless he's using it as a front for his actual reason to be angry at ango, which is his own heartbreak at ango's betrayal.

BUT ! if he wanted to, he COULD find reasons why odasaku's death is ango's fault.

odasaku was incredibly hurt by ango's betrayal, and that caused him to be susceptible to despair after the kids' death; his death is ango's fault because ango's betrayal made him want to die

odasaku listened to them and would have stopped if they both had told him to wait, but ango wasn't here because he had betrayed them, and it's ango's fault for not being there to convince odasaku to stop with dazai.

and those are incredibly fun reasons to translate, because what they actually say is :

ango's betrayal made dazai want to die (more actively than usual)

odasaku died because he didn't listen to dazai (resentment towards odasaku that dazai would not allow himself to feel), because dazai was not enough for him (time for self-worth issues!)

anyway ango didn't betray them by causing odasaku's death, ango's betrayal caused odasaku's death indirectly, because he broke their heart.

and it's way easier for dazai to blame ango for the whole of it since it allows him to displace the 'ango's betrayal broke my heart' into 'ango's betrayal caused odasaku's death' and the 'odasaku died because i was not enough for him' into 'odasaku would not have died if ango had been there instead of been a traitor'

anyway those last points are just re-hash of posts i made before, i just wanted to address : - of fucking course ango knew; and - i don't think ango was involved in inviting mimic in yokohama?

[pyrten]

DAZAI OSAMU : QUICK CHARACTER STUDY

(At 3 AM in the morning and that's why it's messy, all over the place and generally, shit.)

Majority of the characters in BSD are morally grey, Dazai included. I'm unable to categorise characters into good or evil, which is what makes BSD really nice to watch.  

Majority of the instances, whenever I have an opinion on someone like Dazai, it's mainly based on their actions. I'll make an exception for his case because I believe he speaks the truth sometimes. 

It's seriously difficult to believe what someone like him says. His weapon is his intellect and his tongue. He could say this and do that instead. Obviously he isn't good at combat, but he could say something and have you on the hook.

He's cunning, sly and in general: a liar (sometimes). As for psychological manipulation… well, it's not something to be looked down upon since it's in our everyday lives.

DARK ERA

He has a more serious aura and was far more suicidal compared to ADA Dazai. He barely flinched when a bullet grazed his cheek. 

I won't even sugarcoat the fact that Dazai is an asshole. 

The way he treated Akutagawa is wrong. The training may have made him resilient, but his mental health isn't in an okay shape. In the end, he even upped and left him without an explanation (although, I think Akutagawa has an idea of why he left).  

Remember when he fired at the GSS captain? If I didn't count wrong, it was 13 shots (my dude over here desecrating a corpse). 

(I couldn't find the GIF of him shooting the corpse, so this is as close as I can get)

He does poke fun at Chuuya, and you can perhaps say that he does some good (but we've only seen a single good deed so far…).

He recognized that Chuuya was being manipulated by the Sheep and in his own way gave him a push. There was the part* when Shirase was talking and it zoomed in on Dazai, who had a wary, analyzing look on him. 

It's clear that the Sheep is quite dependent on him. They believe that Chuuya will be there to save them whenever they fuck up (ex. crossing the river to steal booze, when they know it's near the PM HQ, in result, getting a few of their members captured). They came looking for him to put it simply, beat up and save their comrades, which points towards the fact that they are using him for his ability. 

Shirase also said:

"People who hold more cards than others have a responsibility. Fulfill your responsibility as the one with the trump card called an ability."*

Which again, further points towards the fact that they are using him for his ability and somewhat guilt tripping him. 

Dazai later adds his own input.

"Amusing. You guys are truly amusing. He's by far the strongest among you, but he's like a sheep being stared down by wolves." 

Called out. 

It then changes to show Chuuya's face. Honestly he looks on guard, and I think he knows what they're trying to do, but it's a can of worms he would rather not open, y' know?  

Dazai then later says once more when Shirase is trying to convince Chuuya to kick the PM's ass.

"Give it a rest. He has the freedom to choose how he uses his ability. Even a child would understand that. There's no argument." 

And as a final attempt to convince Chuuya, he pulls the old guilt trip card, which Dazai and Chuuya ignore. 

"Don't forget, Chuuya! The Sheep who took you in when you had no identity and nowhere to go! 

When all of this is happening, Dazai knew Chuuya was being manipulated, and he also watered the seed of doubt with his actions, and in the end the Sheep turned their backs on Chuuya, which led to Chuuya joining the Port Mafia. 

I can say this was a small good deed, pulling Chuuya out, but the choice was Chuuya's and he just gave a push. 

ARMED DETECTIVE AGENCY

Dazai isn't a naturally kind and virtuous person, but he's trying, for Oda (oh boy).

The way he handled Kyoka's situation wasn't all rainbows and confetti. 

I have a feeling he's trying to look at the bigger picture, to save people (perhaps because he blames himself for Oda's death, but I'll set that aside temporarily due to the time), but his methods aren't... nice. Atsushi has gotten hurt multiple times, Akutagawa too. In some ways, I suppose I can understand some things are unavoidable, but still. 

Compared to how he treated Akutagawa, he's far better with Atsushi. He's treating him the way Oda treated him. 

Atsushi has a completely different mindset compared to Akutagawa. He's a selfless person, he fights injustice. If Dazai tried to treat him the way he treated Akutagawa, I can confirm that isn't gonna turn out good. 

Besides, he's trying to become a better person. That, and he owes Akutagawa an apology.

From this part onwards, these are all flash thoughts that I wrote quickly because I'm falling asleep by the minute.

FLASH THOUGHT #1 :

Now that's over with… I don't particularly have anything to add on. So I'm going to move onto… uh, how do I word this, facade?

I said above that his weapon is his intellect. It's clear that whatever he has on can be fake, or real. Y'know that goofy, playful Dazai we all know. 

He's probably able to control his every movement and actions. Like, I cannot imagine Dazai doing something ACCIDENTALLY. Imagine that, someone who can control his own heartbeat, doing something accidentally (unintentionally, he never meant to do it, yeah that would be surprising).

But then again he's human… despite being a strategic and tactical genius… so yes, him doing something on accident would be interesting to watch.

Now if he miscalculated or like mistaken, uh, like that time, with the hiker, BSD Season 3. Then, yes that's understandable. 

FLASH THOUGHT #2:

Mk… facade and accidents are covered… uh… I'll talk about the power he had when he was 14, Dark Era Dazai.

… He had enough sway in the mafia since he was 14 (correct me if I'm wrong). He was allowed to be the sole witness of the Boss's final wish. SOLE WITNESS. A young boy at the age of 14 was allowed to be the sole witness. 

He was considered to be the youngest executive in the Port Mafia. If so, then why didn't the other executives (during the reign of the Old Boss) fight over the choice to be the witness of the Boss's death other than Mori. Perhaps the Old Boss didn't have executives, but that's unlikely.  

Now, that's something.  

FLASH THOUGHT #3:

Talking about suicide… I think Dazai doesn't want to die, but he does. He's failed so many suicide attempts, some of them being sabotaged, but what about the others. 

Since Dazai didn't have anyone around his age constantly (save for Oda and Ango, but several years later… perhaps when he was 16, seeing how Oda and Dazai knew each other during the Dragon's Head Rush), he only had victories of his missions and such to comfort his loneliness.  

I think that it's practically ingrained in him. 

Dying means winning and losing. Your life is finished. 

If that's the case, dying would mean he lost (but won). It's conflicting and confusing as hell, I know ;-; . I'm trying to explain my thoughts the best I can - . 

When Chuuya came around, his loneliness was, um, calmed, a little. 

Oda died and gave him a reason to live.

I think he still feels a little lonely though.

That's the end. I'll be out like a light in about 3 mins so I'll just, drop a GIF and go before I start pressing anything on accident.

Yep, okay, bye bye.

oh, I forgot the hashtags, um .

Hashtags added.

Good night. :D

[corruptedsorrows]

what do you think of chuuyaxdazai? chuuyaxatsushi? chuuyaxakutagawa? chuuyaxyasano? chuuyaxranpo? chuuyaxkunikida? chuuyaxtachihara? chuuyaxango? chuuyaxtsujimura? chuuyaxodasaku?

   Heck that’s a lot of ships anon. I guess the easiest way would be to put them in a sort of number ranking and explain my reasoning, yes? Let’s go with that. 

   So the range is 0 - 10, 10 is OTP/intensely shipped and loved, 0 is absolute NOTP, don’t bring it near me with a 20 foot pole. Sound good? Alright let’s go! 

(read more because this is a titan of a post)

ChuuyaxDazai

Hnnngh… my grandmaster of BSD ships. I don’t think it should come as much surprise to anyone here that this is my OTP, ranking an easy 10/10 ship. There is so much complexity and depth to these two I could rant for hours, but I’ll hold my tongue. I will say at the very least, with this being my OTP I am honestly quite choosy about who I open my heart to with it.

I want to explore all facets of this ship, not just jump straight into romance and smut (although yes, I do like it). More than anything I want to explore the drama between them. I want to have fun shenanigans of teasing and their childish banter. I want Chuuya to understand the shit that goes through Dazai’s head and pull him back from the cliff he’s drawn to–if only for a moment. Chuuya knows how much his head tortures him now, he understands that after having spent so long together. He knows he absolutely isn’t the cure Dazai needs, but he can’t help longing for it. The double edged sword of always being the one passed over for Dazai certainly doesn’t make admitting what he feels towards the man any easier to understand. Why should he want to be involved with the person he’s always being compared to? 

This sort of depth is what I’m looking for in anyone that wants to RP this ship with me. I want to dive into the core of SKK and swim in those troubled waters. I want them to fight and scream at each other, to reach their limits and break down as the finally have their masks shattered. These two know each other to such a depth–even with all of their bad blood that they can still understand each other’s thoughts and actions without speaking on it. They can still trust each other with their lives and know that even though everyone else they thought they could trust–that may have even shown kindness towards them, has let them fall. No matter how badly these two fall out with each other, they’ll never let the other fall past the point of being saved. At the end of the day they’ll be the one outstretching their hands to catch each other.

ChuuyaxAtsushi

I WANT TO RP WITH AN ATSUSHI SO FRICKING BADLY. As the brutality of SSKK I want Chuuya to mentor Atsushi and work with him on accepting his ability. Chuuya’s gone through so much of the same strife and struggle I think these two could understand each other very well. Granted, they’d probably clash on the surface given how little patience Chuuya has for those too afraid to fight (it’s the Port Mafia way), but knowing Atsushi’s fears about hurting others with his ability and being afraid of it he understands very well. He knows what it’s like to feel like a monster, to be transformed into something when everyone else’s ability is merely an extension of themselves. It’s different when you become something instead of wield it. 

I want these two to have these talks so badly, and I sincerely hope Kafka will give us this content because I think Atsushi could stand to grow so much under Chuuya’s guidance. Again, like Akutagawa I view these more on a familial/mentor relationship, but I think unlike Akutagawa, Chuuya would be able to dote on Atsushi more and be allowed to express himself in more heartfelt ways–like hugs and gentle hair brushes… things like that. I’d put these two at 6/10. 

ChuuyaxAkutagawa

Oh Akutagawa… while I don’t really ship these two, I like to think of Chuuya as something like the replacement for Akutagawa. I don’t think Chuuya did a very good job considering how much Akutagawa still pines for Dazai’s attention, but Chuuya understands that pinning at least. He knows how painful it was for Akutagawa when Dazai left suddenly, and seeing how Dazai’s effectively replaced them all with ADA equivalents must hurt like hell to him. I love having Chuuya as a source of comfort for Akutagawa, but I don’t romantically ship them together. This would be more of a familial/mentor relationship and I prefer it that way between them. 4/10.

ChuuyaxYosano

I WANT THESE TWO TO GET PLASTERED IN A BAR TOGETHER! Chuuya and Yosano would be THE BEST drinking buddies and no one can tell me otherwise! I think these two have decent potential as romantic partners–but there’s a huge problem between them–and that would be Mori. Yosano can’t stand the idea of him and Chuuya has dedicated his life to servitude under him. There would be so many arguments and fights over this that it would be a serious point of contention between them. 

I would love to see though… if one day they got on well enough for Yosano to truly see the damage Corruption has done to Chuuya. It’s something she wouldn’t be able to heal from how long its existed in his system. She could of course heal him if he were in a state of Corruption that lasted long enough to put his life in jeopardy, but otherwise Chuuya would be one of the few cases where she simply wouldn’t be able to heal someone and could only watch them waste away with each use like a fatal disease. What sort of affect would that have on her I wonder? 6/10.

ChuuyaxRanpo

Ok this is admittedly a guilty ship for me. I honestly didn’t realize how much I would ship this until I actually started RPing here and got to interact with an amazing Ranpo. I think it’s enjoyable because in many ways Ranpo is like Dazai as far as intellect is concerned. While Chuuya doesn’t have background with Ranpo, the man is able to easily cut through Chuuya’s bullshit and pride in order to get to the heart of what Chuuya is really feeling. And he teases Chuuya about just as badly and as a MUN I’m horribly weak to my muses being teased. I would put these two at about 8/10? 

As much as Ranpo is able to give Chuuya by means of healing and growth, I’m not sure how much Chuuya would be able to give Ranpo in return. He’s certainly not the best intellectual companion, but maybe that’s what Ranpo finds amusing. He can indulge in simpler things and not have to overthink all the time.

ChuuyaxKunikida

I don’t think Chuuya would ever meet any of Kunikida’s ideals so 0/10. No, I’m kidding! I think these two would fit really nicely together as work friends–even though they’re on opposite sides. They have one extreme headache in common and it would be nice for them to just chat out their frustrations over drinks at a bar. Kunikida may just have to step down from his high horse a bit to be able to stoop to casual conversation with the enemy. I’d give them a 2/10. I’m not much for a romantic ship for them, but friendos? YES PLEASE!!!

ChuuyaxTachihara

At first I was like, ah… they’re good bros. Just what Chuuya needs, a best friend that he can confide in. And then Tachihara was revealed as a spy and member of the Hunting Dogs, betraying Port Mafia and I just tiorewihtwfoilahflidu. CHUUYA APPARENTLY ISN’T ALLOWED TO HAVE ANY FRIENDS OR FAMILY JFC. When’s Kouyou handing in her notice at this rate?! However, Tachihara’s leaving of Port Mafia, and his compounded feelings towards them definitely added a nice level of spice for me with this ship, giving it room to have less bromantic feelings and more romantic. 

I enjoy them as an angst ship and I so yearn for that confrontation between them. I enjoy ships that have a lot of work to be done and aren’t smooth sailing–but there’s potential. There has to be some foundation there that holds them together, and in this case it’s that former friendship. So for these too I’d now say that they’re at 6/10.

ChuuyaxAngo

This is quite honestly a ship I struggle to understand as far as how it would work. I see how they could get on with being mutually misunderstood by both their organizations and suffering as a result of their abilities but Chuuya has so much animosity towards Ango for all that he has done and what he represents by working for the Special Abilities Division. Hell, Ango has even referred to Chuuya by his number, making him feel even less human when he already struggles with that concept so much in his life. I truly don’t see these two working together and think they would be far better off with others. 2/10.

ChuuyaxTsujimura

In perfectly good honesty I have not read the spin off novel for the Special Ability Division. However, Chuuya would likely feel very similar to her in the way he does Ango. Chuuya HATES the government with a burning passion for what they put him through. While Tsujimura does seem to have a considerably bigger heart, Chuuya would likely not be able to stand her due to her affiliation not only with the Division, but working directly with Ango as well. Strangely enough though, I do think her concern for Chuuya’s well being would warm his heart quite a bit. It’s rare for anyone to show compassion towards the danger he throws himself into so… on that merit alone it gives her quite an advantage: 6/10

ChuuyaxOdasaku

Again, Chuuya once more doesn’t get on with someone in this listing. It’s an unfortunate pattern. He blames Oda for convincing Dazai to betray the organization and leave, so Oda is in his own way a traitor in Chuuya’s eyes. However, he can also see how Oda’s influence has changed Dazai for the better, and he’s grateful for that. Chuuya’s feelings towards him went from jealous friend, to enemy, to a father figure he wished he could’ve had. Dazai was very lucky to have had someone to teach him in his life for so long. So if anything, it would be more of a paternal/familial ship with Oda and it would certainly be complicated. I’d place this at about… 3/10?

[suicidefrantic]

Continue from X with @diverse-hearts

He knew Chuuya would come for him, and he had. The storm of Corruption could be heard and he simply smirked. He was counting , though it didn't seem like it. Counting the moments it took for Chuuya to release him from this prison. No one had thought to run away from the approaching storm, his boyfriend was coming. It was something that had recently happen, something that had happened on the spur of the moment. He had gotten pissy and instead of using insults, he had just forced Chuuya into an angry kiss. A kiss that had become rather heated and well it turned into an admitting of feeling and sexual frustrations. Then somehow the two began to date. It had been a week , if not a little longer.

The brunette was addicted to his ginger, he didn't know what to call it--- but he loved the kissing and the touches. He adored cuddling with the other , both heated moments and softer ones. Though his heart  felt off , like it was being clutched and whatever was clutching it refused to let go. It did actually hurt a little to see Chuuya like this, but his ability would end it all. He leaned in and wrapped his arms around Chuuya to lean in for a gentle kiss. Except.... Corruption didn't end. Something was wrong? Was it his ability .... was it not working now of all times?

Chuuya was covered in blood , and when Dazai might enjoy the sight if it was different reasoning for it... it hurt him to see all of this. The marks of Corruption not fading but bursting open and growing. Blood, confusion, fear... he had never had to deal with anything like this in the least. Chuuya pulled him into another kiss and he held him closer and his lips returned the kiss , trying to comfort the other with his kisses. So much blood, it didn't bother him to be covered in blood from kissing his boyfriend. The blood nor tears stopped him, but he was more concern about stopping this. Corruption should have stopped. He could feel something dark pulling at his mind, he pushed it back. It was like something was telling him that Chuuya was dying.

Brown eyes stared into blue , he saw so much fear there. He leaned into the hand on his cheek and then it all ended so quickly. Dazai held Chuuya's body closer to him as eyes closed. His lips going to go to kiss Chuuya again. Stay with me... that is what he was thinking. Then the body fell limp in his body , a faint red glow of Chuuya's ability than nothing. He felt it. His eyes stung as tears fell from his eyes. "Chuuuya.... come on.... Chuu..." he was shaking as the tears rolled down his cheeks and he held the ginger close to him. No... no.... no... this couldn't be happening.

"We... we finally got together. I'm finally where ya wanted me to be. Don't go dying on me... it was within the time frame. It wasn't to late.... ya can't die...." No something else was wrong , though his mind was wanting to not work... to shut down. He held Chuuya closer to him. Rain began to fall within the building , as Chuuya's tantrum had left the roof and walls blown off of the room he had been kept in. None of it mattered. "Chuuya... don't leave me ya bastard. Come back to me..." This might as well be death... because Chuuya wasn't there.... it was like he felt him leave. The body was alive... but the entities inside wasn't there. An empty husk.

"Why do people keep dying on me..... Chuuya --- ya weren't suppose to leave me." The rain plastered his brown locks to his skull, he didn't care as he held the bloody body to him. "Yosano.... I have to get him to Yosano...." He was shaking as he pulled out his phone. He dialed the number. "H...help... Yosano... I need Yosano. Save him" he sounded pitiful as he sobbed , basically begging . Dazai never showed emotions like this, hell no one in ADA even knew of his relationship with Chuuya. He could have called Mori, but he didn't want Mori anywhere near Chuuya. This was that man's fault. Ango.... Ango might know something.

Another call "Ango.....everything ya have on Arahabaki... now... I need it." His voice wasn't steady. Tears continued to fall. He didn't care rather or not Ango was on the phone or not still, the phone left his hand and he held Chuuya closer. "We are going to get ya fixed up, Chuuya. I love ya... ya hear me... I love ya." Dazai had never said those words in his life. "Help me.... why am I so fucking useless! Why didn't my ability work....." and this was the time when Dazai would blame himself for everything. He would believe his father's words from so long ago... he really was useless. If he couldn't save his boyfriend like normal.... what use did he have in this world?

[errantcanis]

@narrationis​ asked ; ✂✂✂ ( kill ango now :')))))))) make dazai kill him with oda having to witness. )

send me ‘✂’ and my muse will kill yours

under a cut because this comes with various warnings, all tagged

As Sakunosuke watches Ango’s lifeless body slump to the floor, he wonders how it ever got to this point.

He knew that Ango blamed himself for his death. He knew that Dazai blamed Ango for it, too. The only person that had never blamed Ango, not even for a second, was him. Ango had just been doing his job. He hadn’t known what would happen. If he had, Sakunosuke knows he would have done something. Ango never would have allowed it. He has complete faith in the love that Ango held for him. He’s seen how much his death has affected his lover, and he knows that can’t be faked.

And oh, how it hurt to watch Ango’s mourning and be unable to do anything. Unable to comfort him as he cries, unable to wrap an arm around him and pull him close and kiss him and tell him that he loves him. How it has hurt to watch him play long, melancholy violin solos, tears rolling slowly down his cheeks - ( how he longed to cup his face and wipe them away gently ) - and then pull himself together and slip his mask on so that he could go about his day. Ango has always been good at that. Good at locking his sadness away so that he can continue on as normal. It hurts. It hurts to watch him go about his day, to see the tiny moments when it slips and there’s a hint of that sadness in his beautiful golden eyes. It’s the worst the times that he reaches out to touch him, forgetting that he can’t, and sees Ango shiver as his fingers just pass through.

He’s spent years watching Ango come to terms with his death, and it never got any easier. Even as Ango got better at it, it still hurt. The times when Ango visits his grave hurt the most. The soft words he speaks, the way his mask just crumbles.

There is no doubt in Sakunosuke’s mind that Ango still loves him.

Dazai always visits on his birthday. He visits other times, he knows, but his birthday is always certain. Sakunosuke is always there, watching and listening. His friend struggles, too. He talks about Ango, and the anger and bitterness in his voice even after all these years is unmistakable. Dazai has always been good at hiding his emotions, too, at disguising what he is thinking and feeling. Except when it comes to him, and to Chuuya. Even Dazai has his weak points.

When Ango appears, Dazai’s gaze is electric, crackling with years of rage. Ango takes a step back, offers to come later, but Dazai is already stalking forward and Sakunosuke wonders why it took so long. Ango might have helped Dazai once, might have made his life possible, but that blame never left. The blame never left and seeing Ango here, flowers clutched in hand and his intent clear, is just too much.

The crunch of Ango’s nose as it crumples beneath Dazai’s fist is sickening, and Sakunosuke cries out, tries to intervene but he can’t. He can’t and he hates it, he tries to pull them apart but he just sinks through them, incorporeal and useless. Ango’s flowers fall to the ground as Dazai’s hands wrap around his throat and squeeze. There is nothing that Sakunosuke can do, hands useless as they try to break Dazai’s hold. There is nothing he can do except watch as his friend slowly squeezes the life out of the only person he’s ever loved.

And then Dazai lets go, and Ango slumps to the floor next to his flowers. There is nothing left of him, his glasses askew and his hair mussed. Dazai stares at him without emotion for a long moment, then glances back over at Sakunosuke’s grave.

─── ❝ ...I’m sorry, Odasaku. ❞

It isn’t enough. There is nothing that he could ever do or say that would be enough. As Dazai turns and walks away, Sakunosuke feels himself begin to fade away. He has no reason to stay anymore, with no Ango to watch over. And so he fades slowly away next to the body of the man he loved until there is nothing left of either of them.

He only hopes that Ango is waiting for him, wherever they both end up.