Hope I'm Not Too Late, Have Some Pi Day Memes.

I think we should take more time to appreciate the cruel irony in so many of the bsd backstories, because Asagiri has this way of writing that's not just "oh sad things happened to this character." They're twisted, each in their own special way.

Atsushi: His whole life, he was treated awfully because he had the tiger. And yet, that tiger is what helped him survive that treatment, it's a manifestation of that will to live he grew because of his abuse. It's the source of all his strength and all his pain. The director told him to only hate him, never to hate himself, and yet, all his life, he blamed only himself for his misfortune. The one lesson the director wasn't trying to teach him is what he learned.

Dazai: At the beginning of dark era, Odasaku has one of the healthiest wills to live. And he reaches out to save Dazai from his own darkness, but he can't. But at the end of dark era...it's flipped. Dazai is begging Odasaku to stay, he's reaching out to stop him, he's telling him to find some meaning in life, that things will get better. Mr. "life is meaningless" himself is trying to tell his friend that life has value because he doesn't want him to go. It's right after he told Odasaku how he knows he's destined to lose everything he desires, and then Oda leaves him because he's lost his will to live. And when he dies, he sees himself as a man who failed to become good, to give up killing, yet Dazai sees him as a success story that people can change.

Chuuya: Chuuya's friends betrayed him because they thought he was betraying them by joining the Mafia. And then Chuuya joined the Mafia in order to protect the friends who just betrayed him.

Yosano: She only wanted to save lives. All she wanted was to help people, to heal them, and yet it was that kindness that ended up turning against her. Because by helping them, she also became the source of all their problems and all their pain. She saved their lives so much that all they wanted was to die.

I could go on for longer, but then this post would be very, very long. There's just something about the cruel irony in each of the backstories that make them all feel so tragic.

While I'm grateful bsd doesn't do the "As you know..." type of exposition, it's crazy how much worldbuilding there is like. in the shadows of everything. Like, what's up with the Great War? This isn't even so evident if you don't read the light novels, but there was literally a world war that ended less than fifteen years before the start of the main timeline. It's because of the war that there are so many orphans in the universe. It's because of the war that ability users have faded into a myth, and why they have to get special permits to work and usually gravitate towards underground organizations. It's because of the war why world relations are so shaky, why the government strictly monitors all ability users, and yet all of this is sort of like...in the background? Season four is the first time we ever even get a real flashback and actual exposition about it in the anime, even though it's been vaguely referenced as early as season two with Mimic. They literally did experiments on children, hence Chuuya. So much of the world and the violence and the tripartite framework all came into existence because of the war. And until the most recent arc, where it's being brought to the forefront with both Fukuchi and Fyodor's plan to eradicate ability users, it's sort of just in the background.

And don't even get me started on the lore behind the Dragon Head Conflict because like-

Too busy for a full analysis, but I'm just gonna drop this here and leave.

(Quote is from Stormbringer, the first time Chuuya uses his corruption.)

I bet Chuuya was terrified of dentists when he first joined the Mafia.

Because like. He grew up on the streets. I doubt any of them ever exactly got health insurance.

So the first time Mori informed him what a dentist was and how often he was required to go, he actually freaked out.

Chuuya: what do you mean you sit in a chair and let a stranger tamper around inside of you?!

Mori: It's just your teeth, Chuuya, and it's required.

He won't refuse an order, so he goes, terrified. And the second he enters and sees the chair he immediately starts "Oh grantors of dark disgrace-"

Only for Dazai to show up because Mori made him tag along in case Chuuya tried to get out of it. He had to stand there the whole time, because if he let go, Chuuya's power would destroy the office on its own.

And even though he's become used to it by now, Dazai will never. ever. stop making fun of how terrified he was that first visit, nor will he ever let him live it down.

They're on a mission, and Chuuya's trying to be intimidating. Only for Dazai to tell the enemy, "oh, don't be scared of this chibi. He peed his pants the first time he went to the dentist." (he did not. or at least, he claims he didn't. We'll never know the true story).

Needless to say, Chuuya made sure that any enemy who Dazai told didn't live to share the info. Which may have been Dazai's plan all along, it's hard to say. Either way, no matter how much time has passed, Dazai still can't resist making fun of him for him once in a while.

And after the mersault arc, when Chuuya couldn't get the fangs out, he may or may not have said "Oh no, perhaps you should go to a dentist-"

Chuuya kicked him in his broken leg.

We talk a lot about the cycle of abuse, but we need to discuss the savior chain more because, aside from being one of the most wholesome concepts in the entire series, it's also way more direct than the cycle of abuse and it's what breaks it.

Odasaku begins to save orphans because a man told him to write fanfiction and that led to him to stop killing. He told Dazai to become a good man because he knew for himself that yes, this is a more beautiful path, this makes life just a little bit more worth living.

Dazai saves Atsushi because he sees what Odasaku told him: a traumatized, helpless orphan. He saves him (at first) because of the promise he made to Odasaku, and the opportunity given to him on a silver platter to help out an orphan and give him a home (properly this time).

And on Atsushi's end, that means everything to him. The fact that for the first time in his life, he has someone who didn't give him up on him. That he now has a home, a place where he belongs.

And it's for that reason that he chooses to save Kyouka. He doesn't give up on her because Dazai never gave up on him. Because he feels empathy for her, and wants to bring her over to this new light he's discovered because someone was kind enough to show it him.

Dazai helps Atsushi because Odasaku helped show him the light.

And Odasaku told him to become good because a man once showed him the beauty of saving lives instead of taking them.

And it's this cycle that ends up breaking the cycle of abuse, this generation mistreatment of orphans because they see their own darkness inside of them. Instead, this cycle sees the light inside of others and it brings others to save another.

the main four [& knuckles voice] and hyuse

Beast is seriously insane from Akutagawa's perspective because like. Imagine a man showing up in your darkest moment of revenge, only to completely call you out on all your deeply sensitive flaws and everything that's wrong with you, kidnap your sister, and ask for a rematch without actually leaving a way to find him again and you're just like, "hello do I know you??"

And then some four and half years later you actually find him again only to learn he's like actually the Mafia boss, he for some reason deeply wants you to fight this other guy who you barely know, you get completely wrapped up in his ridiculous scheme for some reason or another, he compliments your fight with said stranger by comparing it to another fight with said stranger that has never existed in your mind, casually reveals the most crazy, existential crisis inducing information, appoints you and stranger who you just met to be "guardians" of something you barely understand when all you want is to find your sister and be a detective, and then you're forced to watch as the man who again, you've met exactly one (1) time before in your life, casually throws himself off a roof and you're just like. "ok???"

I'm starting to think that Atsushi's real character arc is him slowly becoming more and more ok with murder.

chuuya’s role in bsd is so funny to me. you’re watching this show and every 10 episodes or so this pretty guy drops in, and he’s the coolest most OP guy in the show so he can really only hang around for a few minutes before he makes any conflict obsolete. and he’s supposed to be part of the villains but he never really does anything that evil and is mostly helpful? he just appears and does something badass and fucks off again. and this is all already really weird but also every time he shows up it’s clear that he and one of the other main characters have like, definitely fucked, which adds a whole other layer of absurdism. and the best part is he accomplishes this in maybe 11 total minutes of screen time.

I just wanted to know the fandom's opinion on this, because while some people, like Danny Motta, seem to think it was the worst season by far, others, including myself, really enjoyed it and don't understand the hate. So I just wanted to know what the overall fandom opinion is on this season. But personally, I don't get the hate. The finale with the fusion was great, and I loved the filler/slice of life parts, even if the anime did certain chapters dirty (Read chapter 39!! It could have been a whole episode, and the anime gave it, I counted EIGHT minutes). And the 15 arc is one of my faves. But what do you guys think?