Dazai should be glad Fyodor is trying to kill him rn bc if I were as emotionally stunted as him and in the position of having prepared a long sentimental gay speech about saying goodbye to my ex only for it to turn out they did in fact not drown as intended and then his new lover comes up to the mic and reminds me I said all that shit about our hearts connecting and what not I would jump off the nearest roof in embarassment fr

... Okay time for my honest, unbiased view on the bsd s5 ending.

It wasn't amazing.

A lot of it was! The final circumstance, with Fukuzawa utilising the one order and being burdened with the responsibility, that's incredibly well done. So is the way Fydor died (I made a whole post on how it worked thematically and how it perfectly utilised the strengths and disparate worldviews between Dazai and Fyodor) and the ending with Aya and Bram, and how Bram is utilised by Ranpo makes sense in an interesting way. So, the ending, and the new situation we find ourselves in is amazing, but it just... feels a little shallow.

First of all, Fukuchi. 'The great and powerful unbeatable villain is secretly on the good side/let's himself be defeated' isn't inherently a bad trope, but it needs a bit more time and buildup than we got. I feel like, after some of the best fights in the series with Amenogozen, and how clever and tactical his techniques were, the final fight seemed a little like he'd been written into a corner. It's a good fight ideologically, but we've seen Fukuchi win without his sword before (Tachihara) and it just, falls a little flat that he just gives up that fast.

Same with Dostoyevsky! We never even figure out his ability, and he dies by being stabbed by a vampire and blown up? Thematically sound, but just so anticlimactic. And I can't help but wonder, why didn't Chuuya just manipulate a bullet into the back of his head? It would have been much easier.

In fact, the whole prison break arc is now a little less impressive on a rewatch. When you rewatch the Moby Dick arc, you're constantly struck with 'wow, if that hadn't happened, the whole plot would have fallen apart, the strategy was so intricate and layered'. Now, when you watch the prison arc, you're just like 'oh yeah, Chuuya's on Dazai's side. Dostoyevsky never stood a chance'. Chapter 101 or 109 don't have any long term narrative weight because it isn't a genuine emotional moment of vulnerability, it's a performance.

I still love the proof of the bond between Soukoku, and the fundamental truth, that they'll always rely on each other. But it just cheapens Dazai's moments of vulnerability in this arc.

Also! Sigma! Is completely irrelevant to the plot. Unless this kicks into gear in the new arc (which I think it will), Sigma tells Atsushi the page is with Kamui and that the detective agency is to be assassinated. This has no merit, because Fukuchi reveals he has the page of his own accord, and Ranpo negates the assassination plots. Then he's a valuable character during the prison break, proving Dazai's character growth, and his bond with the detective agency, but he doesn't have any plot weight. He's just there for Dazai to explain things to, an audience self insert. Then he gets stabbed by Fyodor, and trades information for a plot that's been wrapped up already, and he's literally forgotten about. (Unless the information he got was actually relevant to an arc that comes into play after Fyodor's death, in which case I shall eat my words happily.)

I think I was just kind of disappointed. A lot of the ending just had no gravity. Everyone is alive, the strategy implemented at the beginning worked, and the villains are defeated by theatre tricks, or because they wanted to die.

I just feel like the story lost scale a little bit. I made another post actually praising BSD's use of scale, how it keeps threats small, contained and personal, but the latest arc stretched too large, without any significant loss.

I really don't want to come across like I thought that the series was bad or anything. The character moments were great, and there were some masterfully wrapped up themes and morals, and I loved the ideological fight between Fukuzawa and Fukuchi and also Dostoyevsky and Dazai. I just... feel like the ending almost corrupts the greater story.

(Of course if anyone thinks otherwise, I'd love to hear from you! Healthy discourse is always a joy!)