I'm Starting To Think That Atsushi's Real Character Arc Is Him Slowly Becoming More And More Ok With

People really don't take into account how much Atsushi suffered in that orphanage, or how much it affects his character. I mean, I hate his backstory that it had to happen to him, and he deserves all the hugs and sunshine in the world, but one thing I like is that it's not just a Tragic Backstory™ for the sake of being a Tragic Backstory™ like so many protagonists have. It's because of the abuse that he grew such a will to survive. He has to live because the world doesn't want him to, and yet at the same time, he still hates himself and feels he needs to earn the right to live, hence why he's so desperate to save people. It's not out of the goodness of his heart, though I believes it becomes more like that later on, at the beginning, it's just to earn the right to the life he so firmly desires. He's really not just a typical shonen protagonist with a sad orphan backstory because why not, but it really became a core part of who he is as a character.

Also, the next arc of bsd had better be reserved for every ada member giving Atsushi a hug and throwing him a birthday party because the way this arc is going and Fyodor like please just give him a break and let him eat chazuke please.

Tw child abuse

The earliest memory we have of Atsushi at the orphanage where his age is mentioned is 11 years old.

Atsushi doesn’t leave the orphanage until he’s 18. At minimum he’s been there for 7 years.

To put that into perspective that’s the same amount of time between Dazai and Chuuya meeting each as teenagers to reuniting in present day.

That’s a long arse time.

And we don’t even know the full extent of the the abuse Atsushi suffered.

Including but not limited too….

Having his foot nailed to the floor and then having to hold that position and “reflect on his actions.” (chapter 39.)

Kids cutting his hair as a prank (Omake 6. Yes that’s why it looks like that.)

Being subjected to a “point system” where other kids would get him in trouble to gain points (chapter 39. It’s also noted that losing points meant no food.)

Almost being killed twice as a child (chapter 35.)

Being burned to the bone (chapter 28. Atsushi compares his experience to Lucy’s who said she was burned by a hot poker. But we don’t know if that was the same thing used on him.)

Shibusawa torturing him for his ability (Dead Apple.)

Being locked in a cage for days (chapter 39. In this specific incident it was his 3rd day of imprisonment.)

Flashback of someone holding Atsushi’s head down in a bowl of water (chapter 35.)

Being held down and injected against his will, which both painful believed to be poison (chapter 39. Atsushi does later wonder if it was nutrients but it’s never confirmed.)

Having his ribs kicked to the point they broke (chapter 35.)

Not confirmed that the Headmaster ever shot Atsushi. But Atsushi believed the Headmaster bought the gun with him to punish him with it (chapter 39.)

Being told he’s nothing but a burden on the world and should vanish from the earth forever (chapter 1.)

Being kicked out the orphanage for causing wreckage with an ability they were purposely keeping from him that he had no control over (chapter 1.)

This poor boy. And who knows what else he went through in that place. And this was after being abused and then abandoned by his parents.

I can't with this New York Times article

Source

FOUND FAMILY COMMITING WAR CRIMES FOR EACH OTHER.

Seriously, how are there people who don't see them as a found family? They're literally the most wholesome part of the series. They better be reunited soon, and I want an entire episode dedicated to the afterparty.

"Kunikida is alive. If he died, there's no way I wouldn't have sensed it. Not just Kunikida either. As long as at least one agency member remains alive... They will never stop resisting. This battle will be won by my team."

The only acceptable way for bsd to end is with Atsushi standing over Fyoghurt with a knife, Epic the Musical Vengeance Saga style.

"You can't kill me."

"Exactly!"

*Cues angry stabbing while Dazai holds onto Fyoghurt to stop his ability from taking over Atsushi*

"HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE HELPLESS-"

So you know what I just found out that suddenly makes things make more sense?

The legal age of adulthood in Japan was 20 until 2022. Which means that in 2012 or 2016, when the BSD manga and anime came out, respectively, 18 would still have been considered a minor.

Because one thing that always sort of confused me was the fact that Atsushi was 18, and yet they still kicked him out because of the tiger and not because he was the legal age of adulthood. Because he would have technically still been a minor. So the orphanage sucks, basically.

Anyways, that's a fun Today I Learned

no but in all honesty i fucking love how weird bsd gets it's never taken itself too seriously and the fact that it gets SO wild sometimes is just perfect for my brain. are there contradictions? yes. does it make zero sense at times? totally. do i have the most fun with it every single time? HELL FUCKING YEAH

Concept: After the Guild arc, the news wants to do a live interview with the people directly responsible for stopping the Moby Dick from crashing and saving the city.

AKA. Atsushi and Akutagawa

It takes a bit of deliberation on both parts, but the Agency and Mafia eventually agree, because they feel it will be good PR.

They both get trained, as well as doing some join practices, for how to speak on live tv and not sound like they want to kill each other.

On the actual day of the interview, Atsushi and Akutagawa are there on screen, Dazai and Chuuya are behind the camera to guide their respective orphan's and get them to smile more (or in Akutagawa's case, look a little bit less like he wants to murder the camera), and Mori and Fukuzawa are there as the leaders of the organizations.

So. Three generations of skk under roof while the tv is live? What could possibly go wrong?

(hint the answer is everything)

I think Dazai's backstory is really cool in how, despite having more information about it than most other characters, majority of his life is just one giant noodle incident.

Yep, that's the line I'm going with as an introduction to this analysis. Just bear with me.

To start off, for those who don't know, the term "noodle incident" originates from the (amazing) comic Calvin and Hobbes. In it, the whole idea is that Calvin did this unspecified thing in school that involved noodles, but it's never confirmed what exactly happened. It's only referenced in passing, and it is clear that it was not good. Applied to general fiction, the term Noodle Incident refers to an event that is often referenced, but never clearly explained, and what is important is the characters' reactions and feelings towards it. The principle idea behind it is that imagining what said incident could be is way more significant and impactful than anything it would actually be if it was said. It's not the event that's important, but the effects and responses to it are. *for more info, I recommend Overly Sarcastic Productions trope talk video about it*

Now, how this plays into Dazai's life is that, while it is extremely evident that he likely has a horrible, tragic backstory, we never really get to see much of it. The earliest we are introduced to him, he is already suicidal, and he has lost most in hope in existence. These feelings are tempered a bit when he first joins the Port Mafia, but they come back all too quickly. And while you could argue that him being in the Mafia is a large contributor to his depression,the main reasons why he seeks escape clearly transpired before he ever met Mori.

Dazai was already trying to commit suicide at fourteen, which is how he met Mori. Something happened earlier in his life, but we don't know what. Asagiri himself says that he left Dazai's core, the reason he wants to die, vague on purpose. We aren't given many details, and honestly, we aren't given much backstory to it either. The two biggest hints that we get is when he is speaking to Odasaku. First in The Day I Picked Up Dazai, and the second from Dazai and the Dark Era.

We have no idea who or what Dazai is referring to. From all that we have seen, all the backstories and light novels we are given, the only people that we know of whom Dazai actually lost were Ango and Odasaku-for Ango, it was that special friendship, and Odasaku, it was his life. And even so, it isn't much of an explanation, because he was obviously suicidal before he met them, as evident from how he speaks to Odasaku, and losing them wasn't a catalyst for Dazai's depression. (As a matter of fact, it was actually the first step towards improvement, but that's a different analysis).

Yet for how much we don't know about Dazai's life, I think it's done in such a way that it doesn't really matter. It's a noodle incident, in that sense. Because it's not about the events that actually transpired, it's about how that affects Dazai and the way we see him. Don't get me wrong, I would love a full, confirmed backstory, but Asagiri doesn't seem to intend to write it, and that makes Dazai's character so beautiful. It's also one of the reasons why the dark era, especially the light novel, is so tragic. Because yes, you can argue that as far as tragic backstories go, losing two friends isn't near the most awful, especially not in this universe (I'm not trying to play the "which character has more trauma" game, but compared to, for example, growing up in an abusive orphanage, it's relatively not as inherently tragic. That doesn't make it any less horrible though). But the point of the backstory isn't just to explain the reasoning why things ended up the way they did, why Dazai left the Mafia, boo hoo his friend died, but Odasaku and Ango represent everything in Dazai's life, everyone from his past we never got to meet and I'm not sure if we're ever going to. They symbolize all the things in his life that mattered to him, everything he never wanted to lose but did. The last scene in the bar, where the three of them meet up for the last time, Ango leaves, the picture with the three of them laughing and smiling, the whole thing is meant to serve as a microcosm for Dazai's life as a whole. That he feels he's always going to lose everything, and that's why he wants to die. We don't get details, we don't know the specific events, but we're left with the emotions that gives us an important glimpse into this character's mind, more than his life, and that's what makes him such an interesting character that's left open to interpretation and analysis. We aren't privy to the tragedy, but the aftereffects of it. And, almost as if to prove the point, Odasaku dies the next day. Right after Dazai says he always loses everyone, further cementing the idea that there's almost a curse surrounding him, a void of loneliness that may never be fulfilled, which is as much as Odasaku tells him when he dies.

Whatever happened in Dazai's life before fourteen was probably something horrible and tragic. Maybe he had a family. Maybe he had other good friends. Perhaps he even believed in the goodness of life and humanity. But what's really cool about the way he's written is that the exact events are not important nor necessary to understanding his character. His life is one big noodle incident, yet because of that, we're able to glean an almost deeper understanding about him, by leaving the details in the dark and exposing only the raw, humane emotions left behind. The most important part about any backstory in fiction isn't about what actually happened, it's about how does this affect the character now? What lasting impact did it leave on them, and how is it evident in the way they interact with the story in the present? This is something that Asagiri nails on the head when it comes to his backstories. And I think the lack of clear information about Dazai's backstory, yet all the information we do end up getting about him, is one of the reasons why Dazai is such an interesting and intriguing character in the series.

Thank you all for you time. You may now return to your procrastination.

*121 spoilers*

oh ok so we are actually going to acknowledge the Dazai phantom in the room I just thought we we'd let him chill and grant him residency didn't think we'd start to ask questions like why. Why has Atsushi been hallucinating a man this whole time.