One day, I had come across an article about anime recommendations (I had just given my last exam for the year - what did you expect me to do?) And funnily enough, instead of getting some new anime to watch, all I got was a mind-boggling discovery: the characters from the famous anime - Bungou Stray Dogs - were named after certain writers of times gone by.
My initial reaction was, “Wait, wasn’t that just a coincidence? The Japanese were bound to run out of original names one day, right?"
Apparently not, because after research driven by curiosity, I confirmed for myself that indeed, every character from Bungou Stray Dogs was inspired by a famous writer. Ranpo, the Armed Agency’s renowned detective, was named after Edogawa Ranpo, who was respected for advancements in Japanese mystery fiction. Kunikida, the idealistic soldier, was named after Kunikida Doppo, whose best works were based around realism. Akutagawa, Atsushi, and even Poe, were all famed authors. The list goes on and on.
And yet, the one that left my mouth agape in surprise was Dazai Osamu: named after the tragic, legendary writer of the same name.
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| Dazai Osamu: renowned Japanese writer. |
And in utter contrast, Dazai Osamu, the grand author, was not so lucky. He had lived a dark life, featuring two suicide attempts (with the last one being successful), and many tragedies to his name. His books were even darker, as they depicted the darkest, most devastating aspects of the human mind, not even romanticized the least. Despite being what most would call “depressing”, the hand with which he wrote was truly remarkable. The emotions that he portrayed were always brutally honest, showing the sincerity he possessed so well.
One was a walking tragedy, while the other was a somewhat aloof hero. What did the two have in common?
