{"id":3559,"date":"2017-01-09T22:46:00","date_gmt":"2017-01-09T14:46:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en-d27fq2mgp64qlg.cloudfront.net\/3559\/qoo-guide-bungou-stray-dogs-truths-behind-abilities-dazai\/"},"modified":"2017-02-08T16:23:35","modified_gmt":"2017-02-08T08:23:35","slug":"qoo-guide-bungou-stray-dogs-truths-behind-abilities-dazai","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/d27fq2mgp64qlg.cloudfront.net\/en\/post\/3559\/qoo-guide-bungou-stray-dogs-truths-behind-abilities-dazai","title":{"rendered":"[Qoo Anime] Bungou Stray Dogs: truths behind abilities \u2013 Dazai"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\nThe stray dogs may have an author’s name, but they themselves are pieces of literatures.<\/p>\n

Bungou Stray Dogs’ characters are all named after famous authors. On the surface, it seems like they possess the personalities of these authors. Deep inside, they are beautiful metaphors for these authors’ work.<\/p>\n

Their abilities actually tell us a lot about it.<\/p>\n

\n

\u592a\u5bb0\u6cbb – \u4eba\u9593\u5931\u683c: “\u6065\u306e\u591a\u3044\u751f\u6daf\u3092\u9001\u3063\u3066\u6765\u307e\u3057\u305f\u3002\u81ea\u5206\u306b\u306f\u3001\u4eba\u9593\u306e\u751f\u6d3b\u3068\u3044\u3046\u3082\u306e\u304c\u3001\u898b\u5f53\u3064\u304b\u306a\u3044\u306e\u3067\u3059\u3002”<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dazai Osamu – No Longer Human: “Mine has been a life of much shame. I can’t even guess myself what it must be to live the life of a human being.”<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

“\u4eba\u9593\u5931\u683c” and\u00a0“No Longer Human” aren’t exactly equal. In fact, these kanjis\u00a0mean losing the\u00a0eligibility for being a human. Yet,\u00a0Dazai’s ability is to nullify others’ abilities. What does it have to do with\u00a0losing the\u00a0eligibility for being a human?<\/p>\n

1. Dazai hints at being one who loses the\u00a0eligibility for being a human.<\/strong><\/p>\n

During Dazai’s “Dark Era”, he\u00a0obviously does not see any purpose in life. He finds life meaningless, dull and somehow painful to bear. He has lost the will to be a human. While death, on the other hand, is a release; and it’s exciting because there is no turning back. This is the reason why he indulges himself in a\u00a0world of violence and bloodshed. By being close to death, he may find a reason to live.<\/p>\n

In the actual book, the protagonist Oba Yozo finds living meaningless\u00a0like the dark Dazai does. Instead of\u00a0a\u00a0world of violence and bloodshed, Oba indulges himself in the thrill of sex, drugs and alcohols to a point that he almost dies. It is Oba who describes himself as not deserving to be a human.\u00a0Dazai’s personality and his ability are very likely to be a reference to\u00a0the book as well as a reference to\u00a0the real-life Dazai.<\/p>\n

\"\"\u0394 Oda: “Listen. You told me that you might find a reason to live if you lived in a world of violence and bloodshed. You won’t find it. Be on the side that saves people… If both sides are the same, be a good man.”<\/p>\n

2. The ability No Longer Human is rather an ability to save people from losing their\u00a0humanity.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dazai finds a purpose in life\u00a0from\u00a0Oda’s\u00a0last words – to save people. Since then, Dazai’s ability makes a beautiful contrast with what it actually means. In occasions where people lose their humanity, Dazai uses No Longer Human to save people who are in fact no longer human. The writer and mangaka actually thought this through. It is genius that they use the book title’s meaning, “losing the\u00a0eligibility for being a human “, to represent Dazai and other characters who suffer too.<\/p>\n

\"\"\u0394 Dazai saves\u00a0Atsushi from losing his human side to his tiger counterpart.<\/p>\n

\"\"\u0394 Dazai saves\u00a0Chuuya\u00a0from losing his\u00a0humanity and dying when his energy is used up.<\/p>\n

\n

In the next part, I will be talking about Dazai’s best partner in crime – Chuuya. Let me\u00a0end this post with an adorable face of his.<\/p>\n

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