Bro im gonna be so disappointed if Dazai goes back to the PM..

and it's not even because it's sad for him, it's just..

Let other characters shine too JSJDJSJ 😭 we've already seen PM Dazai in dark era, it would be refreshing for a new ADA character to be put in the Mafia. A place they're not used to. Let them grow there man!!! I want to see how another ADA member would react in a place like the PM. Like cmmon man, dazai alr has sm screen time. Let the other characters shine in that stressful situation T_T

'We all yearn for the woods. That's why every fellow on this island wants to settle down near a tree - just one will do.'

I think it’s crazy actually that people think it’s impossible for Chuuya to trick Fyodor without Fyodor having to be dumber for it. Especially when a popular theory was that after the drowning Chuuya had begun faking it, why is it so hard to believe he’d just been faking it the entire time?

This doesn’t even touch on how it’s been SUCH a LOUD point throughout mersault that Fyodor has hugely underestimated Soukoku. So, by obvious extension that would include Chuuya too if not more so than Dazai seeing as he insinuated multiple times that Chuuya was Dazai’s tool rather than equal partner.

Actually I need more of this

I think it would fix me

Chapter 110 is 13 pages long welcome to hell!!! so in a lot of ways this is just more fuel for a theory that I've had for a few weeks now, that's only gotten stronger with each recent season 5 episode, which is that the last episode of the season is gonna end on 110, and that Asagiri/Harukawa and Bones have been collaborating to make this happen, specifically because it's a major turning point that would be the only good place to end the season on.

When we started getting especially long chapters again (like from 25-35ish pages, with the exception of 107.5, the last two being some of the longest we've ever had), at first I just assumed that Asagiri/Harukawa got freed up from some other obligations they'd been having to cause the extremely short/half chapters, like promotional stuff for the anime/Beast movie, or working on light novels. But then 109 happened, with the "supposed" death of Dazai, and heavy emphasis at the end on how literally everyone is at their lowest point right now, and I got to thinking. 11 episodes is a strangely specific number for an anime season -- why not 12, or 13, or even 10, like you'd usually see? Why have we gotten suddenly gotten two 35 page chapters out of nowhere, that's almost unheard of at this point? They're both beautiful chapters, don't get me wrong (as always), and maybe A/H simply just didn't want to cut them in halves because they felt like the full emotional impact wouldn't hit/that there were no good cutoff points in them, but you can't deny that it's surprising, after all the shorter chapters we've been getting. Why has the anime been going at such insanely breakneck pacing for the most part ever since around the Sunday Tragedy chapters, even more so than it has in the past? So much so that it feels dangerously close to overtaking the manga?

Well, maybe, just maybe, it's because..... Asagiri decided a long time ago that whatever happens in 110 is the only point that feels "season finale"-worthy enough, in an arc that still isn't anywhere close to being completely wrapped up, and so both the manga and the anime have been specifically coordinated to reach that part within 2 and a half weeks of each other?

I've seen a lot of people now think season 5 will end with 109, and as much as my sadistic side would find that hilarious, I honestly don't think they'd do that and realistically don't want it to happen; it'd be so cruel to cliffhanger the anime for years like that, and just doesn't feel like a season cliffhanger BSD would do, a series that is ultimately hopeful and uplifting. Seasons 2 and 3 had a positive, conclusive ending; the only reasons seasons 1 and 4 didn't was because they're technically not really full seasons of their own, and are more like the first cour of another "season" that also came out that same year (seasons 1 and 2 both aired in 2016, so they're more like one big season, and seasons 4 and 5 have both aired this year, so they're also more like one big season, again taking into account how episodes 12 and 50 are not satisfying finales like episodes 24, 37, and hypothetically, 61, are). I really can't see season 5 ending with Dazai and Fukuzawa's supposed deaths, Sigma being unconscious and maybe close to death, Atsushi being vulnerable and limbless again, everyone we love still vampires, and the entire world being basically doomed; that's just too depressing and not like BSD at all. However, having said that, if it doesn't end there, there really isn't any good place to end the season before that, either, that feels in any way satisfying or like a finale at all. And so, to me, that only leaves after 109: chapter 110.

I think things are really gonna turn around next chapter. Like I said, everyone is at their lowest point right now, it cannot possibly get any worse, the framing of Dazai, Fukuzawa, and sskk at the end of 109 is telling us that; this is the time for the heroes to finally start winning again, with Aya being so close to pulling out the sword, and for all the thematic reasons other people have talked about to death that I don't need to go into here again. This upcoming chapter being so short again makes a part of me wary of 110 being "the one", so to speak, I won't lie, but at the same time, it's very possible that it needs to be that short because that's all the final episode of the season will be able to reasonably fit in, since it's already gonna be VERY close if they do make it all the way to 109. And at the end of the day, I don't doubt at all that Asagiri and Harukawa can make these the most monumental and game-changing mere 13 pages ever if they wanted to; a chapter does not at all need to be extremely long in order to be an important and impactful one, even if short ones we've gotten in the past haven't felt the most important.

An additional thought I've had, though this is much more crack territory than all this already is, is that since we know from Anime Expo that a Stormbringer movie at some point is highly likely (judging from Asagiri's reaction when someone brought it up), it's possible that chapter 110 and thus the final episode will involve the long-anticipated return of Verlaine and/or Adam, or at least some other major reference to Stormbringer, that would naturally and smoothly lead into a Stormbringer movie to explain things to people who haven't read the novel. It would make a lot of sense, especially since the s4 OP has the Old World sign behind Chuuya, which might be a hint that this has been in the works ever since seasons 4/5 were first in planning with Asagiri. We also know that Dazai and Chuuya's voice actors apparently struggled to record their lines together this season, which probably relates to 101 and possibly 109, but it could be 110 too.... I could be very wrong, as I'm no expert on this kind of thing, but I kinda doubt they would bring Chuuya's actor in for just the vampire growls, and Asagiri placing heavy emphasis on Chuuya's importance this season in that one interview gives me the impression that he's talking about much more than just 101/109. But that's the least solid evidence I have, that's just mostly based on vibes I get.

So basically, I think a lot of factors -- the unusual episode count, how close the anime is to catching up to the manga with three whole episodes left, the seemingly arbitrary recent chapter lengths, and the climactic events of 109 -- can tell us that 110 might be a very, VERY big deal. Again, there's of course no way this arc is anywhere near close to being finished, with so much left to address and resolve, but since it is currently incomplete in the manga, unlike the previously adapted arcs, if the anime was going to adapt it at all, they'd have to find a place that feels satisfying enough to end this season, knowing there won't be more anime for a long time after this, and so I think they specifically planned for that, from both Bones' and A/H's sides. 10 episodes might not have been enough to reach that point, but 12 or 13 might have been too many it wouldn't have been if Bones actually decided to slow down and let the story breathe the way it needs to, but this post isn't meant to criticize the anime, so maybe 11 was just right. And maybe Asagiri and Harukawa specifically pushed to make recent chapters longer than usual, in order to make sure that the manga reached the story content in 110 the monthly release right before season 5 was to end.

Is this just copium? Absolutely. Am I going to look like an absolute clown in two days when this post ages like milk? Probably. But the evidence is There, so let me just enjoy my delusions until Sunday, okay 🥂🫡

ACTUALLY, I'm not done yet! i have more Dazai anguish to let out!

it absolutely destroys me that both Mori and Oda independently come to the conclusion that Dazai desperately needed someone to try harder with him.

in Side A, Oda literally has to tie Dazai down to tend to his wounds and tricks him into going to the bar with him, and Dazai's response to this is to follow him around like a puppy.

in Dark Era, Oda says this:

But maybe, just maybe, that was the wrong approach—or at the very least, when it came to the man sitting next to me. Somebody probably should’ve tied him up, pried his chest open, and stuffed a vacuum cleaner inside. Then, as he screamed and cried until they needed to punch him to shut him up, they’d suck every last bit [of the darkness] out of his chest and stamp it into the ground. But in reality, such a vacuum didn’t exist. Chests don’t open up like that, and no one is capable of such feats. What we see is everything, and everything we see, we ignore. All we can do is stand before the deep ditch between us and others and keep silent.

and this:

"I thought you were similar to Dazai at first, rushing into battle and wishing for death without even considering the value of your own life. But he’s different. He’s sharp-witted with a mind like a steel trap. And he’s just a child—a sobbing child abandoned in the darkness of a world far emptier than the one we’re seeing." He was too smart for his own good. That was why he was always alone. The reason why Ango and I were able to be by his side was that we understood the solitude that surrounded him, and we never stepped inside it no matter how close we stood. But in that moment, I kind of regretted not stepping in and invading that solitude.

in the main story, Mori gives Dazai the opportunity to leave and start a new life outside of the Mafia. you can 100% argue that he forced him into it, both for selfish reasons and for Dazai's own good.

in Beast, Mori realizes his mistake with not treating Dazai like family:

"A young man with a death wish once came to me. I wanted to save him, but I couldn’t…and never again do I want to experience that." [Then, to Atsushi: ] "You can leave the orphanage once you find something else to prove that you are you. Until then, you can live here as my student—no, as my son."

they both realize this about Dazai, but neither can bring themselves to act on their impulse to force their affection onto him. and, by the time they realize their mistakes, it's too late.

it makes me wonder if ANYONE is ever going to be that for Dazai, yanno? or if he's just going to keep holding everyone at arm's length and THAT will be his downfall?

my idea of a good ending in canon for skk would be Dazai and Chuuya throwing a bunch of insults at each other like they usually do, and then, as Chuuya turns to leave, he throws a hand up in a wave and says something about "next time", implying they will indeed cross paths again. That's where my bar is.

Re-reading the bsd manga and picking up more stuff now and it is an experience.

Because Asagiri and Harukawa wtf is THIS

You can't just drop this and never bring up these two together again.

I know WHY this is here. It's at the end of volume 10 where it's revealed that Gin is Akutagawa's younger sister, so it's art showing the two younger sister's in the Mafia and the ADA.

But WHY do they look so good here! They look straight up devious too like they know something or have secrets?? Naomi I am looking directly at you because you look so suspicious here but I don't know what to suspect you of.

They're back to back and melding into eachother like they're rivals or something too, this single image feels so important but it's literally the ONLY mention we ever have of these two at the same time.

This literally gives me the same feeling of looking at art of sskk in the ying/yang position or soukoku in opposing/matching colours.

I know it's probably because they're the sisters in opposing organisations but why does this art make me feel like this is much less about their organisations and more about THEM opposing/paralleling eachother.

I am now hoping so much that this art is also foreshadowing because whatever this art of them and whatever dynamic it implies is just so interesting to think about.

when he steals Bram's body like an icon

[ID: An edited "But it was me, Dio!" meme. Instead of Dio there's Fyodor staring from the side with a smile. End ID]

Skk fam, how are we feeling?

can we form a coup against asagiri and make you the writer instead? genuinely... I am not taking the Fyodor immortal information well.. please help............................ ( ´，_ゝ` )

Oh, I would absolutely not do BSD well either. I just wish Asagiri had stuck to his roots more. He was a great comedy writer, and the beginning of the story was great for it. It's the action and Death Note stuff he can't seem to get mastery of. But for the immortal part: I'm not entirely sold that Fyodor's immortal, yet. It seems like yet another twists that will twist to reveal oh, shocker, he faked his memories to confuse Sigma/the ADA... or something. Could very well be immortal, but not 100% guaranteed.

sometimes I think about how Chuuya and Dazai's abilities are literal reflections of each other's lives because Chuuya's ability makes him "no longer human" and Dazai's life is "the tainted sorrow" and then I think about how without Dazai's ability Chuuya would literally be dead by now because Dazai's ability is the only thing that can pull Chuuya from Corruption and Dazai initially had a deal with Mori to finally end his life but that deal is conveniently forgotten about once Chuuya joined the mafia

For the sake of storytelling and NOT failing Chuuya’s arc it fit better for his humanity to have remained intact. If he REALLY had been vampire-ized it would have HAD to be addressed exactly because he struggled with his humanity so much through his arc.

There's so much BSD lore that we're just never gonna get for a while.... or ever.

This story is not for people who are good at living. In this world, there exist people who are so good at living that they do not need a "story" at all. They are the ones who think that stories are, after all, just a pastime for your hobbies, that they are not necessary for life, and therefore it is a waste to spend money on such things. I did not assume such people to be readers from the beginning. I cut them off. On the other hand, there are certainly people who need stories like oxygen still. I always hope that Bungo Stray Dogs will become the oxygen for such people. They are the "lost ones" that Dazai talked about. - Kafka Asagiri, 季刊エス, circa 2019 (translated by Twitter user Popopretty)

you can't tell me Asagiri described his story and its purpose like this and then decided to kill off a suicidal character whose story centers on redemption and healing with a shot to the head. you simply can't tell me that makes sense. somethings gotta be up

i know we often talk about dazai’s obsession with chuuya (admitting to thinking about how to annoy him every day) but honestly chuuya kind of enables it with his 190 ways of exacting revenge on dazai