Ok, follow up post to the original cause I wanted to actually offer my analysis/interpretation on this.
I feel like this is a right/left brain analogy đź§µ
Dazai covering his right side, the side supposedly responsible for the emotional & artistic things. It says alot about his mindset, accurate for that time.
It’s intriguing, then, Kouyou covers the “logical” side
I feel like this lends to why Chuuya & Kouyou do get along well. While both Chuuya & Kouyou are no doubt very intelligent (Asagiri literally refers to Chuuya as a genius) they both still lean very much into their emotional side as well. Even if Kouyou seemingly does so less.
Kouyou reveals herself, however, not only in her care for Chuuya but we mainly see it how she handled the situation with Kyoka.
She could have insisted Kyoka come back without ever changing her mind but when Dazai presents her with a way to save Kyoka from dark, she agrees quickly.
Kouyou clearly cares & wanted to help & protect Kyoka even if she went about it poorly. She was trying to help based on her past experiences, lest we forget that she tried to leave the mafia herself once, for *love* no less. She also tends to get emotional when talking about her past or her wish to help Kyoka.
But once she was presented with another solution, a far better one, she didn’t do “what’s best for the mafia”. Kouyou agreed to what was best for Kyoka & that was definitely a more emotional choice.
This is an area where Chuuya & Kouyou align. So, of course they would get along.
Chuuya always seems to find the balance between his logic and emotion. However, he can easily & often does lean more into his emotional side first, then his logical side.
It’s similar for Kouyou, even if we don’t see it as much from her.
Back to Dazai then, when he left the mafia & the cover on Dazai’s “emotional side” was gone Dazai seemed to also move more towards that balancing of the two sides.
He started off heavily relying on his logical brain & struggled emotionally. Often feeling numb or apathetic mostly, hence his suicidal ideation.
Then he meets Chuuya & this shifts. Chuuya forces him to experience new feelings. As Chuuya is a living breathing example of most things Dazai felt the world lacked. It opened Dazai to the idea that there is more to the world, there is more to *people*. Chuuya intrigues Dazai enough to make him want to live a little longer again. Chuuya gave him a reason to keep going, a promise of more.
From the moment he met Chuuya, it was a process of letting more & more emotions seep into his mind & his heart. We see how he feared for Chuuya in 15 even after they just met, even though Dazai *knew* it was a plan.
I might even venture to go as far as to say Dazai may not have feared for someone else’s life that hard before. It was a burst of unrecognizable emotions to him. After this, he only had more & more emotion seep in as the years went by. In Storm Bringer he was ready to sacrifice the city to give Chuuya a choice.
That relationship opened Dazai up to others later, namely Oda & Ango. Which only further encouraged the intermingling of his logical brain and his emotions. Then reaching the point at which the bandages were finally removed entirely and then he, like Chuuya, moved to striving to find the balance rather than relying on one side.
Bringing us back to current Dazai as he is still attempting to find that balance.
He still leans more towards his logical side. This, of course, in contrast to Chuuya who, while intelligent, more easily leans into the emotional.
Yet another thing between them that completes & balances each other. Soukoku will always pull the other back when drifting too far.
So, of course, Soukoku complement each other & it benefits them both.
Having Kouyou on Chuuya’s other side I think also does help Chuuya stay grounded while in the mafia. Chuuya isn’t one to lose who he is but I think having someone else who he knows *cares* like he does helps.
Now, additionally, if we apply this to Beast, I think this also says alot about beast Dazai & why Asagiri says beastzai would be the hardest for someone to portray.
Because *this* Dazai, is perhaps *too* far into his emotional side. He’s always intelligent but in beast, his actions aren’t fully logical, they’re emotional.
He appears cold & calculating as always but he saw another version of himself suffer the great loss of a best friend & allowed his emotional desire to prevent that from happening take control. Thus, his emotional side takes over, thus him covering the opposite side from canon Dazai, he’s covering his “logical” side.
I feel like this is the main difference between all the various Dazai we’ve seen.
PM Dazai relied heavily on his logical side, especially before meeting Chuuya. He rarely took emotion into account unless it involved the 3 people he actually cared for. We see him make emotional choices when it involves Chuuya, Oda, and Ango. Dazai did seem to let more and more emotion seep in over time as a result of knowing them, however, leading to that moment the bandages are removed.
Beastzai is leaning far too heavily into his emotional side, getting lost in it even. Acting solely on an emotional desire rather than a logical one. His desire to prevent a tragedy. He only was using his intellect to further that emotional desire.
Canonzai went through a steady progression, meeting Chuuya starts to open him up, this extending over time to Oda & Ango, leading to the cover on his “emotional” side being taken off.
But beastzai skipped all of that, all the *progression* to that point for canonzai & so beastzai just got all these intense emotions he never experienced before all at once when he saw canonzai’s memories & therefore he sunk far too deep, too quickly into his emotions.
Now current/ADA Dazai is the balance of the two extremes, and seemingly the closest to happiness.
ADA Dazai uses his logical brain as always but he also actually takes emotion into account as well and has more people he actually cares for now.
I think that says alot to the theme of bsd, leaning into that “everything is grey” dynamic. Everything is about the *balance* of things. Showcasing that anything in extremes in either direction doesn’t work.
Anyway, just some thoughts I had and interpretations of mine. Take them as you want, as always.
Oh and just to be clear, I don’t think Dazai was ever “emotionless”, even at his worse. Even if he was numb and apathetic. He was also lonely.
Just saying the more people he came to care about (Chuuya, Oda, Ango then later the ADA) the more he was able to feel a variety of emotion.
My original post:
Fortune telling
(May 2022) Personally, I really like the theory of gojou losing 6 eyes (in a narrative sense).
Possible foreshadowing hasn't been incredibly subtle either. These are from the 2 openings and the Phantom Parade video (Avant by Eve, which is technically not canon but still a recurring theme). Vivid Vice especially had a bunch of foreshadowing for the Shibuya arc, so I wouldn't be surprised if this was slipped in there too.
14 dazai from last year i forgot to post 🤧
its called payback
So, due to Saiki's manipulation, humans are stronger and more resilient than they otherwise would be. Saiki says that in his world, small people can defeat much larger opponents in physical combat, so it's not like this rule only applies to already strong characters. Kurumi is small and thin and can still effortlessly throw a table. Despite everyone's strength being multiplied, Kaidou is still incredibly weak. He can hardly throw a ball two feet and his punches feel like tickles. Would Kaidou have been even weaker if it weren't for Saiki's manipulation? His lack of stength is already significant by real world standards. Was Kaidou supposed to have chronic asthenia and/or a condition that causes weakness?
remembered this line from Beast and now I have to kill myself
Bsd 101
Kinda criminal that he has a transformation power-up that color coordinates any outfit as a side effect, and the anime just… keeps him in bleached jorts.
The fight between Luffy and Usopp in Water 7 is one of many iconic moments in One Piece and the fact that it's been analyzed to hell and back is a testament to that. However, what is usually discussed about it are Usopp's actions and why he reacted to Luffy telling him they have to get a new ship the way he did. But rarely do I see people talk about Luffy's side of things and why he snapped at Usopp so hard Sanji had to kick him. And that's a shame. So I decided to do just that. This is an analysis of Luffy's POV of the whole ordeal.
When Luffy hears that the Merry is beyond repair from the shipwrights, he reacts with anger and denial - just like Usopp later that day, although not as aggressive as he is willing to listen to the shipwrights' explanation. He clearly cares about the Merry; that is his nakama and they are telling him to abandon her? No way! He would never do that! (see: Nami, Robin, Sanji.) He actually raises the same points in objection as Usopp later.
But then Iceburg reminds him that he's the captain and would be putting the rest of his nakama in danger if he doesn't pull himself together.
And Luffy takes that to heart for Iceburg is right.
So, after taking out his pent up feelings on the Franky Family, he makes the hard decision as the captain, because as much as the Merry is their nakama, unlike the rest of the crew, she is not a living being (he doesn't know about the Klabautermann at this point but the point stands even if he knew). But he is still grieving for her! His nakama is at the end of her life and there's nothing he can do about it. So when it's time to tell Usopp the sad news, he deals with it like ripping off a band aid. He goes straight to the point, no feelings, just the cold hard truth. Because thats how he deals with delivering sad news that deeply affect him as well (as seen in Wano when he tells Tama about Ace's death) because he is grieving and it's hard for him, too. Luffy doesn't like complicated things and dealing with his own grief is complicated. So he simplifies it. To appear calm and steady, because he is the captain and must show his resolve - no weakness allowed, he delivers the news with a smile.
But he overdoes it. Luffy is hurting so he wants to move on from this painful topic as soon as possible. Unfortunately, that is not the way to go about it. Usopp's already been in distress after losing the money and getting beaten up and now Luffy's telling him they are abandoning the Merry like it's no big deal. Usopp can only interpret Luffy's actions as cold-hearted. But that can't be, this is Luffy we're talking about! He cares about his nakama, right? So Usopp demands an explanation. But Luffy is hurting and just wants to move on so please Usopp just stop questioning his decision he is the captain and has the final word!
And so they shout; unable to listen to the other over their own feelings.
Until it culminates in Luffy finally shouting the painful truth that he's been avoiding this entire time. Their nakama is at the end of her life and there is nothing that can be done. A catharsis.
Luffy visibly calms down after that. But only for a little bit. Usually, this would be the end of the misunderstanding and thus the end of the argument and both parties would go on to support each other in their shared grief. But that would require both parties to get their catharsis. While Luffy got his catharsis by finally confronting the harrowing truth of the Merry's impending demise which reflects his deep fear of loneliness and losing loved ones, Usopp's true deepest anxieties lie somewhere else - the feeling of his own inadequacy and the fear of being abandoned for not being enough which he projects on the state of the Merry. And so the argument continues.
Usopp starts questioning Luffy's judgment (calling him dumb for trusting some strange guys and doubting the shipwrights' integrity) his captaincy, and, most importantly, he starts questioning whether Luffy even cares for the Merry, whether he actually cares about his nakama. And that hurts. We as the audience know the extent to which Luffy is willing to go for his nakama. We know how deeply and freely Luffy loves. And his nakama know it, too. That's one of the reasons they stand by him. Or at least they should know that. Usopp is too blinded by his own fears and insecurities that, in that moment, he forgets this undeniable truth. He accuses Luffy of turning his back on an injured comrade, of only pretending to care. Usopp's words hit like a gut punch. Luffy snaps.
"Don't think you're the only one taking this hard! Everyone on this ship feels the same way!"
That includes Luffy as well. If Luffy wasn't dealing with his own pain, I'm sure he would have noticed the hidden meaning behind Usopp's hurtful words or at least realized that Usopp was just lashing out and doesn't actually mean what he is saying, that he is actually crying out in pain, wallowing in his own anxiety, because Luffy is an excellent judge of character. But at this moment, his judgment is clouded. How dare Usopp accuse him of such a horrible thing! Usopp is his nakama and should know that Luffy does care! How dare he! And just like Usopp, in his anger that stems from hurt, Luffy (almost) says something so hurtful that Sanji rightfully kicks him. But it's too late. It doesn't matter that Luffy didn't actually mean it and apologizes after realizing what he said. The damage's been done. Usopp's fears have been confirmed. And so he leaves and challenges Luffy to a duel. If Luffy were to refuse or fight him half-heartedly, it would only add insult to Usopp's injury by hurting even the little pride Usopp has. So Luffy accepts and fights with his whole chest.
It is a hollow victory.
In one single day, he learns one of his nakama is too badly damaged to accompany them on their journey any longer, pushes another nakama away in his grief and anger, and Robin is still nowhere to be found. Luffy is the captain and it's his duty to be the steady rock for his crew in tumultuous times. But when he is torn between dealing with his emotions and being a captain that his crew can rely on, Luffy is on the verge of breaking.
However, Zoro says it best:
And so, Luffy hides his tears under the brim of his hat.