katsu-not-found - Tumblr blog

katsu-not-found · 7 hours

Text

Previously, I made a post about mentorship and hierarchy in the Dazatsu dynamic. As a TLDR, that post used Dead Apple and Manga Chapter 39 to illustrate that there's more to the relationship dynamic and how Dazatsu subverts those tropes.

Something I mentioned is how Dazai goes all out for Atsushi. I wanted to expand on similar observations. This part features Kyouka, Q, Ango, Odasaku, and Akutagawa and explores some aspects of Dazai's dark characteristics. I'm using the manga and animated material only. Fair warning: This continuation is SUPER LONG, I kid you not, and equally Dazatsu-biased. Take it on a car ride with you or something.

In the Guild arc, besides infiltrating the PM to gain information on Atsushi's bounty, Dazai does something else on behalf of Atsushi. He helps free Kyouka. As far as I know, Atsushi is the only one hellbent on freeing her from the mafia at the start. It looks like Kyouka didn't cross Dazai's mind until Atsushi grew determined to do something about it. Kunikida tells Atsushi to give it up at least twice, otherwise he'll drown trying to save her. Kunikida is simply realistic and objective. Kyouka is a criminal who has killed 35 people and awaits arrest. Dazai admits to Kyouka in Chapter 34, "The ADA has no reason to save you."

But Atsushi has made up a reason to save her. Atsushi believes she's redeemable. It's good enough for Atsushi. It's also good enough for Dazai and it would've been good enough for Odasaku.

I know I'm not saying anything new here, but I love the connections between these characters and the domino effect of redemption and atonement. In Chapter 35, Dazai tells Kyouka in this panel with Odasaku in the back because he's ever-present:

Dazai joined the ADA to try to be one of the good guys, help the weak, and protect the orphans. Atsushi wants to help Kyouka. Kyouka's wish is to stop killing people. The ideal scenario for Atsushi, and the best solution for Kyouka, is for her to join the Agency. What does Dazai do?

He plots.

Atsushi does not know the amount of power he has. Dazai's brain works overtime to fulfill Atsushi's desire. You might think that's my shippy heart talking, but then, in A Heartless Dog, Dazai introduces himself to Akutagawa as a newly minted Executive who offers to fulfill whatever desire Akutagawa has. Old habits die hard, I guess. But the difference is that Atsushi is part of the ADA and is working with Dazai. Dazai doesn't have to persuade Atsushi, offer him anything, or buy his loyalty. All of that already happened in Chapter/Episode 1.

To be good is uncharted territory for someone like Dazai. But he's trying to navigate, and uses Odasaku's will as a map, and Atsushi's morality as a compass.

Dazai doesn't have to go hardcore, and yet, he plots. Dazai is terrifyingly methodical. He goes step by step to get the desired result through the Kyouka sub-plot. Logically (good day to you too, Mori-san), he needs to take out the most troublesome obstacles on his priority list. Dazai persuades Kouyou to back off and convinces her that Kyouka with the ADA is the best course of action. Dazai doesn't need to resort to anything other than manipulation.

He can mind-break people into doing what he wants. There are many kinds of torture, like stuffing unfortunate sods with pudding in 55 minutes. Let it not be said that Dazai isn't creative.

(I like the entire interaction between Kouyou and Atsushi in Chapter 26. She keeps teasing Atsushi about Dazai all the way through.) Generally, Dazai's words are his weapon. He's more of a psychological than a physically violent type. Both facets can be sadistic in nature, but Dazai won't make himself sweat unless he really has to (Chuuya can confirm). Memorably, in Chapter 25, Higuchi claims Dazai's blood is "mafia black" and his recorded methods were sadistic in his mafia days. But Dazai contests that sadism was just a "process of doing things," and, "it's boring."

Dazai also says that "people change." My view of ADA Dazai tends to be optimistic. His character arc is attempting to go from negative to positive. This doesn't mean the journey will be smooth. Dazai can still backslide, but the last conversations with Fyodor in Mersault emphasize Dazai's budding positiveness towards the world. Violence and sadism for its own sake is mundane and mechanic for a mind already bored with the world. Dazai might see himself above that as well. In S2, Ep2, Dazai showed himself disappointed with how the mafia was doing its business. The senseless killing as a source of contention and dissatisfaction didn't sound new at all. Odasaku's influence would amplify it.

On the other hand, Dazai as a boss was violent with Akutagawa, but the use of violence was calculated, specifically allotted to someone wild like him. It was his teaching technique. Dazai admitted it himself:

"Odasaku would have patiently and firmly guided you." "I'm a man hated by righteousness. Men like me handle their useless subordinates like this."

Dazai had high expectations for Akutagawa. Akutagawa was too quick to kill. So Dazai and his training were severe and unforgiving. Dazai, like Akutagawa, is a product of his environment, distorted values, and a darkly cynical mindset.

In A Heartless Dog, Dazai killed Akutagawa's enemies as a hiring incentive and his method was to "cause a little discord among them." Akutagawa noticed Dazai wasn't carrying a weapon. Dazai warned Akutagawa that if he accepted his offer, hell awaited him.

Dazai says to Jouno from The Hunting Dogs in Chapter 57, "It seems we'd get along well."

(You don't see Dazai making this gloomy bitter face every day for anyone. Jouno is that good. Dazai's past catches up to him and he resents everything there is to resent.)

I consider that Jouno's mode of operation is comparable to Dazai's. Jouno's approach with the owner of the Uzumaki cafe could be an approximate model example.

I'm not claiming Dazai hasn't ever been violent and sadistic. The PM has violent and sadistic methods, e.g. how they take their revenge (Murder on D Street, Chapter 6). He had Mori as a role model. Dazai potentially could be, if there's a real driver and he's beyond pissed off, but he won't be conventional about it.

In Chapter 25, Dazai threatens Q, "I will hollow out your heart." Dazai's dark tendencies came to the fore, and the sight of Atsushi under Q's ability didn't help matters.

I picked the following manga caps for the contrast between Dazai's eyes (and the use of color, background, and lighting as well). Harukawa recommends noting these artistic details to gauge a character's psychological state.

Dazai and Q in Chapter 25. Atsushi's life was in serious danger (Naomi and Haruno's as well). Q promised to break Dazai's "new, weak friends."

Dazai and Ango in Chapter 26. About Odasaku. "Do you actually think...that I've forgiven you?"

Dazai is not okay. But he's practical and needs to use Ango for his Kyouka-plan which will bolster his Yokohama-plan. Dazai doesn't make it easy, however. Among all the possibilities Dazai could have chosen, he sends Ango to the ER. Dazai and Ango in Chapter 33. Amnesty for Kyouka and festering Odasaku-related resentments.

Dazai Is Not Okay Part 2: Electric Boogaloo. Dazai hadn't approached Ango until it was truly necessary. If he's going to be vindictive and cause mayhem, it's going to be convoluted, or elaborate, but viciously effective and it will serve a purpose. He gets the Special Dept's assistance and a broken Ango as a bonus. Dazai covers all his bases. Don't cross this guy, he'll screw your ride (Chuuya can confirm). Dazai and Atsushi in Chapter 25. Before The Slap happens.

His eyes are clear and light. He touches Atsushi's face. Everybody step back! Be careful, because Dazai's having Emotions. You can't tell me Dazai doesn't care. If anyone reduces this dude to just an unfeeling, depraved asshole, they can get off my fucking lawn. Atsushi invokes too many feelings of the painfully mushy kind. People like to ignore The Slap. I don't.

Notice his face. We know what Dazai looks like when he's in a negative headspace and wishes to cause harm. Dazai doesn't do it to be cruel. He shocks Atsushi out of his mental agony. He spares Atsushi further misery.

Then Dazai drops one of the best phrases in this entire series. It is also one of the few times he's sounded like a respectable senior. The situation was that grave. In general, I don't think traditional violence and sadism have ever been Dazai's go-to options. But give him a reason, and he'll be brutal in inventive ways, particularly if it does the job without him having to do physically much.

He favors psychological tactics and machinates because, more than anything else, Dazai is ruthlessly logical. At least in the manga. (Mori-san would be proud.)

Insensitive people would tell you, bitch, get over your damage, it's in the past. I've heard that a lot. But Dazai states, "I have no right to take away your past." He treats with respect Atsushi's pain and does not disregard it. In fact, he affirms and validates it.

Atsushi's growth as a person will be stunted if he doesn't drag himself out of his traumatic quagmire. "If you wallow in self-pity, life will be an endless nightmare." Dazai should know. He understands, and empathizes, as he has lived through similar circumstances.

In Chapter 39, Dazai says about the headmaster:

Dazai is correct and he's the best person to explain. The orphanage was a hostile place. This was Atsushi's lot in life. The headmaster tried to do right by using the wrong pedagogy, the most barbarous methodology.

The headmaster was a man incapable of breaking the cycle of abuse he'd grown into, and taught Atsushi with violence, under the belief that was the way to "endure suffering" and persist in a dangerous world. It is a backfiring, misguided logic.

But it is human nature. Asagiri touches upon these themes all the time. Good men do bad things and bad men do good things. The mutability and symbiosis of good and evil. Akutagawa and Atsushi are a representation. The PM and ADA working together is another. Redemption and atonement for characters with dark backgrounds like Fukuzawa, Odasaku, Kyouka, Dazai, and others. Fukuchi and his entire character arc.

Atsushi, who is a survivor, must battle against the dark side of his fractured mind. Trauma makes every day a struggle and it shows for Atsushi.

But if we let it define us, we can't rise above it. We can't do anything about the past, but we can do something about the future. Atsushi is trying to change and Dazai has been a contributor.

Dazai cares and so he shines a light on Atsushi. As I mentioned in the previous post, Dazai provides understanding, clarity, and solace. Sometimes, that's all we need from someone else: human warmth to ground you.

Atsushi received a touch of humanity from he who had once been branded a demon.

A demon with a vast, bloody ledger. A demon who trained Akutagawa with violence and put him through hell.

It would be a hopeless world if men were unable to change. If no one believed you could change for the better.

It is the reason why Atsushi's belief in Dazai's capacity for goodness is extraordinary. Dazai's transformation begins with Odasaku's tragedy. But with Odasaku dead, Dazai doesn't have anyone to fall back on.

In DA, Dazai asks, "Do I look like such a good person?"

Atsushi says without a doubt, "Sure, why?"

Dazai and Kyouka are stunned.

And then, "I think Dazai-san can put his past behind him again."

There is hope if one person is believing in you. Dazai's belief in Atsushi is what propels Atsushi through the DOA arc. Dazai and Atsushi take turns playing this role for one another.

It is fucking beautiful. Dazai and Atsushi in Chapter 29.

Atsushi-kun.

In short, get someone who looks at you like Dazai looks at Atsushi. Goddamn. Has he smiled like this at anyone else? The art is overkill. Harukawa please explain. I've been going back and forth between all these chapters. After having tracked the facial expressions Dazai's been making since Chapter 1, this smile stands out all the more.

Is this a shoujo manga? The Atsushis of the BSD multiverse stand no chance. How is Atsushi supposed to withstand that? (WAN Atsushi is the exception. He is ahead of the game, knocking Dazai out without even trying. Gratitude and flowers. Dazai is doomed.)

This boy is far gone.

Dazai and Kyouka in Chapters 35 and 36.

(Dazai is the worst customer service rep ever.) Let's contrast again with this Dazai, a self-proclaimed gold medalist in the murder Olympics. Bottomless eyes as Asagiri dictates.

Both panels showcase opposite ends of Dazai's emotional spectrum. Dazai's present versus Dazai's past. Dazai looking at Atsushi versus Dazai looking at himself (figuratively).

Dazai remarks, "Atsushi-kun who gave you a chance." A chance Dazai turned into a plan he realized over 10 chapters. All the maneuvering this man had to do because Atsushi believes that Kyouka can change. Kyouka's transformation starts with Atsushi.

For Kyouka, Atsushi is a light in the dark. Just like Kyouka parallels Dazai, Atsushi parallels Odasaku.

The entire conversation with Kyouka is moving. Dazai happens to be one of the best people for this role. Dazai forms another empathic connection to compel Kyouka into a final resolution so that she passes the test, which Dazai designed, and joins the Agency.

Kyouka became an element of the desired outcome in Dazai's plotting, so her admission would happen one way or another. But Kyouka needed to make the decision herself, or it'd be pointless.

Atsushi is awestruck. From his perspective, Dazai must seem out of this world, almost god-like. Dazai knows and does everything, using "the most suitable solution" at hand.

It's consequent that Atsushi, when he's scared witless by the unknown in DA, and paralyzed by uncertainty in DOA, relies on Dazai first and foremost. This reliance can be positive or negative depending on the background (or the universe), and Atsushi's psychological state. Dazai has left an imprint on Atsushi's mind, becoming a guiding cornerstone when Atsushi feels lost.

Dazai speaks like he's ticking off items on a to-do list.

"I'm glad everything worked out nicely." All in a day's work, right? Dazai puts blood, sweat, and tears into anything he deems necessary, but that is just a Tuesday for this guy.

Odasaku's ghost is a double-edged sword. His memory can inspire Dazai to do good and evil. Dazai's (a)morality stumbles whenever the right circumstances align. However, the balance tends to lean to the good side with Atsushi (and the Agency) as a positive motivator, and as a measure of integrity to follow.

These two have created a positive reinforcement feedback loop. So Atsushi grows more courageous and mentally stable with Dazai's support. This is where the arc ends and later on, we hit Chapter 39. I believe it's easier to find the truth in Dazai's actions than in his words. Dazai goes out of his way for the people he cares most. A good portion of this story is about Dazai pulling out all the stops for Atsushi.

24 notes · View notes

katsu-not-found · 4 days

Text

I’ve noticed that a point of focus of the dazatsu dynamic in this corner of fandom is the mentor/mentee trope for Dazai and Atsushi and...I have some thoughts. Some long ramblings ahead:

Dazai vouched for Atsushi and took him in as his junior as Fukuzawa ordered. But the rest of the Agency takes on the role of mentor. Atsushi has gone out on cases with other members like Tanizaki, Ranpo, and Kunikida. He trains with Kunikida.

Beyond that, he follows Dazai’s orders but the same goes for everyone else who is Atsushi’s superior. Dazai isn’t exactly dogging Atsushi’s heels, fretting about his learning curve. Atsushi runs free and makes his own decisions when he’s under pressure (there’s something to be said here about trust, Dazai keeps trusting this boy to make the right decision when push comes to shove).

If Dazai directly involves himself in Atsushi’s business, the approach he takes is the opposite of what he did with Akutagawa. Dazai acts in the background, he orchestrates and moves the pieces, he still manipulates the situation, but he will let Atsushi come to his own conclusions. Dead Apple and the Portrait of a Father manga chapter 39 come to mind.

Does Atsushi regard Dazai as his mentor or his teacher in his POV? I don’t remember if he does in the anime or the manga. Fresh out of the orphanage, Atsushi doesn’t know much about the world, so everyone is his mentor in that sense.

I like Portrait of a Father for several reasons:

Akutagawa does recognize Dazai as his mentor. He feels deep respect for him. For Akutagawa, Dazai was the demon who gave him meaning, whereas for Atsushi, Dazai is the god who showed him benevolence. And this sounds like something I’d put in a damn fanfic. Akutagawa said:

Yeah, I take this literally because he's not wrong. For better or worse, despite the abuse, that's what the headmaster was.

What Dazai says later on at the park gives an insight into Atsushi's psychology and behavior. This is what Atsushi learned. The headmaster taught him to cling to life and survival using the most barbaric, twisted methods. (Hate me, but don't hate yourself, said the headmaster to Atsushi, then proceeds to torture and this is Itachi all over again, fucking hell.) I can’t ignore in early BSD (as a filthy, filthy shipper) how Dazai goes above and beyond for Atsushi. Of course, the example people will remember the most is Dazai going back to the Mafia for info on Atsushi’s bounty. But what I like to think about more often is in this chapter. Dazai organized everything, followed Atsushi around, had Akutagawa give him the file.

This is Dazai. An amoral dude, ex-mafia man, carrying the will of his dead BFF. He doesn’t need to do everything he does in this chapter. Yet, everything he does is for Atsushi’s benefit. Dazai schemes so that Atsushi follows a trail of his own and discovers information about the headmaster with the help of Tanizaki and Akutagawa.

Because when things need to get done, Dazai gives his 200%, this guy is insane with the plotting he does. Kunikida might say he's a lazy ass, but get Dazai something to do and he's a damn overachiever.

He didn't need to approach Atsushi at the end of the chapter. I've seen posts misunderstanding what Dazai says here. It's about intention. Dazai defaults to logic and analysis, he pieces apart Atsushi's situation, trying to provide some clarity and comfort in the only way he knows, and he does it like a friend would. Like Odasaku might have had. Dazai doesn't seem like a guy who'd bother comforting people, but he tries here. It's interesting how much thought Dazai put into it. Very interesting.

People bring up power imbalance and mentorship all the time with dzat. There might be on paper, but Dazai never cared about hierarchy. The actual dynamic between Dazai and Atsushi is a sort of give-and-take that goes beyond mentorship and hierarchy.

In the Guild Arc, Atsushi tells Dazai, "We should make an alliance with the Port Mafia, trust me bro ✌," Dazai goes ahead and makes it happen, despite his resentful misgivings.

In Dead Apple's graveyard scene, Atsushi says with cutting perception, "Was it a person you liked/were in love with?" Japanese to Eng is a nightmare. In the movie he doesn't specify gender, I think. And Dazai deflects with, "If it had been a woman I loved, I would've died with her. He was a friend." (Though you can be in love in a platonic way, this guy stinks of so much closeted gay-performative straight to me, I can't be the only one. It's like he wants to convince the world he likes women. Stupid headcanons.)

By the end of DA, it doesn't escape me how Atsushi effortlessly rephrases Odasaku's words. And how Dazai tries to explain his actions to Atsushi. Dazai finds Atsushi to explain himself. He doesn't have to do that as a superior. Once again, it's about intention. As a result, what Dazai gets from Atsushi is reassurance and trust.

Which is what Atsushi gets from Dazai in return (even when Atsushi hallucinates him, rip Atsushi's head). I remember that these guys met each other a few months ago and I have to sit down. I think the point of this was...these two don't fit into the neat trope boxes we're used to. It is another reason why I like them instead of the other alternatives.

61 notes · View notes