Dazai Osamu: The Tragedy, and The Hero

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.

Dazai Osamu: renowned Japanese writer.

As obvious as every other name was, this struck to me as most peculiar. If you compared the two, there was no way you could call them the same. Dazai Osamu, the character from the renowned anime series, was proud, downright brave, and extremely talented in being two steps ahead of everyone. In a world where the Armed Agency had to deal with injustices with supernatural abilities they called “Gifts”, Dazai had to be the most gifted of them all.

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?


 

I had to start with something small, something so insignificant I could have overlooked it: Dazai’s supernatural ability to nullify other people’s own powers was named after the author’s best selling book, “No Longer Human” - a work which is said to be one of his best.

I was restless still; I ended up reading it, after I had watched Aoi Bungaku, which featured an anime adaptation of that novel. The book had been dark from the get go, but it was the most beautiful book I had ever gotten the chance to read. It recounted journal entries written by a man called Yozo, who was afraid of people; a man who, due to his fear, had to struggle through countless and more troubles regarding both his practical life, as well as personal life. A major theme through it all was a feeling of detachment the character felt so strongly; he did not feel as if he belonged to society. Yozo simply did not feel “human”.

That was where I had to draw a line to connect the dots. Though Dazai was not technically afraid of people in the anime or manga, he must have faced a sort of dejection because of his powers.

Think about it - anyone who has seen the show (and even someone who has not) could comprehend how intense his powers are; the ability to completely render an opponent’s powers useless - no matter how lethal - is a scary thought. His powers are undoubtedly different, dangerous, and destructive.

And because of that, people are afraid of him. That is both obvious and inevitable; many characters from the show - be it his allies or enemies - attest to that, showing how they would be willing to do anything but face him in combat. They consider him as inhumane - and if you think about it, Dazai might feel the same way.

Another aspect of Dazai that correlates with the author is his apparent obsession with suicide; in the anime, Dazai tries to find different ways of ending his own life. Many a times, he is seen to coerce women to commit such an act along with him; that is an almost comical connection to the author himself, who had once tried to commit double suicide with a woman.

Scenes from Season 1.

(Surprisingly enough, this aspect does not relate to Yozo, but it relates to Kazuko from the author's book, “The Setting Sun”; in it, she is seen to struggle through her downfall terribly. Her tone of speaking and interactions led me to believe that she did want to end her own life once and for all, but she did not want to inflict pain onto her mother and brother due to her death. That may be a way how she did not want to feel that level of “suffering” and “pain” - which was why she never tried committing suicide.)

I was surprised to see how lightly - and quite comically - this love for suicide was made a part of the anime character’s profile, but I had decided for myself that if anything, it only directly relates to how repeatedly Dazai Osamu mentioned suicidal themes in his stories.

This thin thread of connection, my fellow readers, is nothing compared to the colossal revelation I encountered, when I realized a noteworthy scene in Bungou Stray Dogs Season 2, episode 4:

Scenes from BSD Season 2, episode 4.

This was a major scene, because it was the first time Dazai’s character got a chance to truly shine. In a nutshell, it basically sheds light upon all his motives, all his beliefs, and all his values, summing everything that he ever moralized into one simple statement: that he just wanted a reason to live.

That rings remarkably true to Yozo in Dazai Osamu’s book, “No Longer Human”. Yozo had resorted in a life of darkness as well (without a single regret), with nothing but lies and drinks giving him support. The “violence” and “death” become synonymous to the self hatred he let his mind suffer through. And strangely enough, from the way he would almost always seek comfort with prostitutes, it’s obvious how “instinct” and “desire” were things that let him feel the reality of humans. Those were things that let him feel a little bit of peace in his otherwise hurtful life. Here’s an excerpt from Chapter 2, reflecting his comfort:

“But in their arms I felt absolute security... these prostitutes always showed me a natural friendliness which never became oppressive. Friendliness with no ulterior motive, friendliness stripped of high-pressure salesmanship, for someone who might never come again. Some nights I saw these imbecile, lunatic prostitutes with the halo of Mary.”

One might doubt this assessment: is it really that deep of a connection? someone might ask.

If that is the case, then please look at these scenes:

Scenes from BSD Season 2, episode 4.

See what I mean? That expression has to be of a man who’s barely able to hold on, who’s unable to find a reason to continue living and fighting through his loneliness. It's the very culmination of emotions felt not only by Yozo, but by many characters Dazai Osamu has ever written stories about. In his works as famous as “No Longer Human” and “The Setting Sun”, the most repetitive emotion is loneliness; a gaping emptiness that could not be filled with worldly things.

In the end, I have decided for myself: the two have a lot more common than I thought they would.

But what do you think? Do you agree with my assessment? Or do you think I’m missing something? In any case, do comment below to let me know - I’d love to discuss with you guys. You can find me on Tumblr and Twitter!

Thank you for reading and enjoying my article - until next time, take care!

[All screenshots taken from gogoanime. Excerpts from the translated version of “No Longer Human" are taken from here.]