Lets Talk About The Atsushi Cannibalism Theory (its 1 Am And Im Not Sorry)

Let’s talk about the Atsushi cannibalism theory (it’s 1 am and I’m not sorry)

So there are two parts to this theory; and let’s start with the easiest one as it has actual relevance to the source material.

Atsushi Nakajima ate people when he was unaware of his ability. First I want to point out that this is probably canon and just ignored by all of the characters. When Atsushi first met Kunikida and Dazai, during the restaurant scene both in the anime and in the manga, they say they’re looking for a *man eating tiger*. Which, let’s be honest while a starving tiger would eat people, probably means it wasn’t just hysteria and Atsushi had confirmed deaths. He was considered a dangerous beast by the military, and would be killed on sight, not subdued.

So at the very least, even when he attacks Dazai, and they scold him for being reckless, we know there are probably confirmed deaths to his ability. Most likely as a starving tiger he ate these people or tore parts of them off so badly they died without help in the middle of the night. He’s kept unaware of this for his own mental health (we saw how the Dead Apple event affected him), and for plot convenience. Now that he has control and never uses a full tiger form again, he’s not just going out and eating people. But the ADA knows he’s killed people, they have to right??

Second, a theory with little to no evidence that’s a fan theory that I personally find fascinating is the “what did Atsushi’s parents do to him before the orphanage?” We get the line from Fitzgerald (I can’t find which season it’s from) “After breaking your ribs, he had these choice words; ‘after every thing your parents did to you when you were just an infant, this doesn’t even count as abuse’.”

We never get real confirmation or hints as to what exactly Atsushi’s parents did to him. There are fan theories I’ve seen (I don’t know the origin) where Atsushi’s birth parents may have eaten parts of him out of poverty and desperation, because he could regenerate with his ability. We know his ability has been active since early childhood, hence the being locked up and other forms of abuse at the orphanage.

Though there’s no hints or solid evidence, I’m fond of this theory because of the irony that his parents ate him, only for him to eat other people. Had the tiger or Atsushi not been starved would this have happened? Would the tiger continue to eat people out of instinct, or a form of familiarity and comfort?

It’s a wild theory and it’s absurd, but it’s one that sticks in my mind often

do you ever have that one thing you're internally BEGGING people to ask you about

You ever feel like a little guy who’s just a little too unhinged?

I’m not letting this hide. Y’all are wild.

I think one of the saddest things people tend to overlook (at least in what content I’ve seen) about Yosano’s past is what happens after the war.

Yosano says that the war was one of the worst parts, she was actively traumatized by Mori, and exposed to things no child should see. She was attacks, hated, used and manipulated emotionally. Not only is that horrible and horrific and she lost her only friend in the military to suicide, and that’s a huge amount of trauma for an eleven year old to go through.

To me the saddest part of when she says; “Even after the war they kept me in isolation in a mental facility. I don’t imagine I would have left, even if the door was left open.”

It really shows that Yosano didn’t just leap over her trauma, the war started when she was 11 and the show and manga starts when she’s 24, it’s been years of living with Fukuzawa and Ranpo learning to deal with her trauma in a healthy way. A lot of situations, even if not as severe as Yosano’s deal with the victims feeling the same way!

As if they wouldn’t be able to leave, even if the door was wide open and freedom was right there staring them in the face. The emotional and mental manipulation can even make freedom be scary, it’s new and not routine and not, sad as it is, comforting or familiar.

I’m a weird writer man, sometimes I’m like hehe little guy falls in love and other times I crush my characters with trauma

I love the slap

I love it sm and I'm so glad asagiri added it.

A lot of people tend to either justify or shame Dazai for this but they are missing the point of that scene.

Dazai had JUST been confronted by the PM. One new member that only knows Dazai through what she has been told and one old member who has seen what he is capable of. They both agree that he is still the same person. They both open the door for him and say, "there's no changing. You'll always be a PM member. You will always be destructive."

When he comes back he sees two things. He sees Kyusaku: his first failure as a mentor, a direct consequence of his cruelty and malice. Then he sees Atsushi, the young man he is trying to imbue with as much good nature as he can using his ability to choke a defenseless coworker. That whole scene just proves Higuchi and Gin right.

He wanted to. He tried his hardest but the product is the same. He pushes people until they lose control and hurt others. He's been doing it since the PM and he was doing it with Atsushi. When Atsushi is freed he is still without control. He's spiraling and as terrified of his ability as he had been when Dazai first found him.

All at once Dazai realizes how little he has done to change things and how his past, just because he left it, doesn't stop having consequences. That entire scene is Dazai's fault. He put every character there on a path to end up there. It's horrifying for him, it's demoralizing and discouraging. YEARS of personal growth have amounted to NOTHING. He's scared so he falls back on strategies he knows will work. He slaps Atsushi.

It's such a monumental loss for him because he was making an active effort for so long not to be physical with ANYONE. But he regresses. He realizes that Higuchi was right. He is still PM deep down.

It is that scene that marks Dazai's decision to keep Kyusaku alive. He could keep using violence to try and fix all his mistakes but he would never grow from it. He chooses to let Kyusaku live because he wants to be different and he wants that for Kyu as well. After this Dazai takes a much less active role in Atsushi's development. After this when Atsushi loses control over his emotions Dazai is kind, gentle and reassuring.