Just Curious

I just learned about the Untold Origins getting a manga, and while I'm not complaining, I just have to ask like...how. How in the world does Asagiri have so many people making manga of his works like????? I have no idea how mainstream bsd considered in Japan, but what is this, manga number seven? Eight? Every day it gets harder and harder to introduce new people into this fandom.

Was in Barnes and Noble today, and I found a collection of Dazai's works titled "The Real Osamu Dazai." And this was on the back:

Like....why. How. I understand if you just see edits and stuff you'd think he's the main character, but like, watch one episode, read one chapter, and anyone with basic media literacy could tell that he isn't the main character. Even google could tell you that. Why does this keep happening??? My boy Atsushi deserves more than this.

I saw a video once that tried to claim that Chuuya accidentally became popular, and I actually laughed. Like no. Nobody gives a character a hat, gloves, red hair, and a choker without at least expecting they'd be popular. No one makes a character short, a wine lover, loud, and a Mafia executive if they didn't suspect they'd be popular. you don't make a character the ex partner to the other most popular character and have them bicker like children if you thought, "eh, no one cares about this guy." No one gives a character the power of gravity manipulation and the power to create black holes when they go feral if they thought, "yeah, pretty mid-tier character" NO ONE MAKES A CHARACTER JUMP OFF A PLANE AND FIGHT A DRAGON—

I know I already made a post about this, but I wanted to expound on it a bit, because I'm still obsessed with the idea of Dazai being a bad person on the good side, and Chuuya being a good person on the bad side.

Because in essence, the fact that Dazai's in the Agency helping people is because he's selfish, and Chuuya stayed with the Mafia because he's selfless. Contrary to what a lot of people say, Dazai didn't leave the Mafia for Odasaku. He never promised him, never said "I'll do it for you," never did it because Odasaku wanted him to be good. He did it for himself. Odasaku tells him that he'll always be alone, something Dazai fears and knows deep down, and asks what he's supposed to do now. Odasaku then gives him advice, tells him that being on the side that saves people will make his world a bit brighter, and so Dazai agrees to leave the Mafia for himself. And once Dazai agreed to this, then Odasaku says "Man lives to save himself..." Further cementing the idea that Dazai is doing this for his sake and his sake alone. He wants his own life to be better, and if helping people will make it a bit brighter, then he's willing to try doing that.

Chuuya, however, would never leave the Port Mafia because he's the opposite. He cares more about other people than he does his own self. From youth, he became the leader of a child gang in order to protect them, because he felt he was fulfilling his duty as someone with power to protect those who took him in. And even after they betray him, Chuuya still joins the Mafia in order to protect them. To protect the kids who just stabbed him in the back because he would never betray those who did good to him. And the Mafia did that. They took him in, gave him a place to live, a job, a purpose, a family. He actively seeks to make connections with those around him, and once they have his loyalty, it never leaves. In Stormbringer, the detective wanted him to betray the Mafia, and he wouldn't do it, yet later, when the detective dies, Chuuya mourns his death and the loss of opportunity for him to leave the Mafia. It shows that he did, in fact, wish to leave, but he never would. Because why would he hurt those around him who've done good to him? It's very obvious that he's selfless and self-sacrificial, as seen in Fifteen, Stormbringer (where he gave up ever knowing if he was human in order to protect the city), and Dead Apple where he risked his own life to protect the city. The fact that he's still with the Port Mafia, still actively being a bad person, is because he never would and never could leave them, and would do anything to protect them, no matter how bad they'd treat him. Because he cares more about others than his own happiness.

And it's because of that their dynamic is the way it is now. Dazai's one of "the good guys" and Chuuya's one of "the bad guys," but the lines become much more blurred when they're together. Who's the better person in the dynamic? Someone who's doing bad for others or doing good for himself? Either way, both are morally gray characters who blur the lines of morality when they're together.

Having the events of Dazai's entrance exam take place before the start of the series rather than during it really makes Kunikida's character make so much more sense. Specifically why, at the beginning of the series, he was really hesitant to save Atsushi, or have Atsushi save Kyouka. It's not out of rudeness or apathy. He won't let himself care, because he tried before. He tried to bring up a kid that had a bad life, and it only ended in failure. The events of the Azure Messenger arc really shape Kunikida's character into being someone who wishes he was a hero, but isn't. That he can't save everyone. So when Dazai saves Atsushi, at first, Kunikida doesn't want to grow close or allow himself to care because he feels that this too is only going to end in failure. Hence what he tells Atsushi about he and Kyouka both drowning if there isn't enough room on the boat (the metaphor admittedly makes more sense when he said it). It just adds so much in respect to his character if it happened before the events of the series as opposed to during it, because then it just makes Kunikida out to be super uncaring. But he's not. He just doesn't want to get his hopes up until he can truly accept the fact that this time, it might end better.

So like.

If that's not Fyodor, does that mean Nikolai is just hugging some random dude's hand???

Just wondering.

Since there won't be a season six anytime soon, I decided that they should make a season 5.5 where they animate both Stormbringer and 55 Minutes and title it Bungou Stray Dogs: Nobody Likes French People.

"Atsushi is a cinnamon roll ray of sunshine."

WRONG.

Atsushi is a little sass who would do anything he needs to in order to survive. He saved dazai (when he intended to rob him )and then was upset he wouldn't thank him.

He shoved over the trash can in the second episode and basically told dazai to khs.

He had knowledge of the future, a future where four million people were going to die, and deliberately used that knowledge just to mess with Dazai because he could.

He will call you out on your flaws and judge you for them. Sure he's nice and a people pleaser a lot of the time, but inside, he's a little judgy sass and we love him all the more for it.

It's objectively hysterical that it took Kunikida so long to figure out Dazai was in the Mafia.

For starters, the entire Entrance Exam light novel, he and the president were commenting on how suspicious it was that this man just seemingly had no past at all. and stated numerous times that he thought he was some sort of criminal.

And then there's this scene:

Dazai *randomly gives a detailed run down of the organ trafficking business*

Kunikida: how do you know that??

Dazai: Oh i heard two people talking about it once.

Kunikida:

Kunikida: yes that makes sense.

Or that time when he ran into Akutagawa and electrocuted him:

Aku: yes you are worthy of being Dazai's partner.

Kunikida: "worthy of...?" Do I know you?? Does Dazai know you??

Aku:

Aku: goodbye now.

Like all the clues were there but Kunikida just thought this man was too lazy to have ever really been a professional criminal.

I love how for the last few chapters, I saw so many posts that were confused, annoyed, bored, and just generally frustrated with the direction the series was taking, claiming that it was getting repetitive, and then this chapter came around and now everyone is like "YES YES THIS IS WHY IT'S MY FAVORITE SERIES THIS IS AMAZING THIS IS A MASTERPIECE I NEVER DOUBTED YOU FOR A SECOND ASAGIRI, YOU LITTLE GENIUS—"